Section 5  -  Conclusion
 

Conclusion

In our endeavour to study Scripture and correctly cut the word of truth, we must differentiate between subjects which differ in the sacred writings. Why else would they have been recorded as different?

Scripture distinguishes between Israel, the chosen people of God, and the Ecclesia which is the body of Christ. It is important to recognise the similarities but, it is just as important to note the differences that exist between the two entities. Confusion will be inevitable if we neglect this exercise. And, sad to say, confusion is endemic within our Christian fold because this principle has been ignored!

God's dealing with Israel has been set aside for the present. But, because of careless handling of the Scriptures we have misread the situation and have quite eagerly jumped to the conclusion that God has set Israel aside permanently! And so we have laid unwarranted claim to many promises and privileges that belong exclusively to Israel. How many times have we been advised by evangelists and pastors to lay claim on the promises of God - for health and prosperity, comfort and peace, here in the now!

We do not have the authority to deduce that the promises that God made to Israel are indeed ours just because Israel proved unfaithful to her calling. God's promises depend on God's faithfulness. We cannot discount His integrity, for He swore to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob that the promises would come upon their descendents.

God’s character and His integrity are at stake. His very right to be God, omniscient and omnipotent, is in question! Israel is the people HE has chosen to be HIS - a people to bring glory to His name through His dealings with her. Of course, Israel has failed. But, her failings are only typical of humanity. God's faithfulness to Israel in spite of her weaknesses assures us of His dependability in His promises to us! 

Yes, God entered into a number of exclusive solemn covenants, or contracts, with His Chosen people. He has never done this with any other nation - and Scripture assures us that He never will! 

The Covenant Of Circumcision, that God made with Abraham long before the nation came into existence as such, singled them out as God's specially chosen people. From that time until the present Administration of Grace, fellowship with God was with the people of Israel exclusively! And this covenant of circumcision in flesh will still qualify Israel for the fellowship and ceremony of the New Covenant that God will establish with that nation in the Millenium:

God created the heavens and the earth. Everything belongs to Him, and He it is Who decides the allocation of terrestrial territory and the periods of tenancy. He made a Territorial Covenant with Abraham, and subsequently with Isaac and Jacob, with promises concerning a select tract of land which was to be the permanent home of His people. This covenant God made was to be binding on Himself through the generations of the people of Israel. So many passages of Holy Writ emphasise God's guarantee that His promises concerning the land of Israel and the kingdom will be fulfilled exactly, and as scheduled, and will become a fact for the faithful of Israel. 

God made the Sabbath Covenant with Israel in which the seventh day of the week was dedicated to Him, and the observance of which distinguished Israel from all the other nations. This day was ascertained through the miracle of the double portion of manna given on the sixth day and its absence on the seventh. This cycle went on for the forty years of Israel's journey through the wilderness. This observance of the Sabbath is included in the charter of the law as one of the 'Ten Commandments'. In the centuries following their entry into Canaan, however, this observance became encumbered by numerous traditions that caused the spirit of that covenant to be lost sight of. Though the Jews of today observe the Sabbath according to the letter and their traditions, the time is coming when it will be, once again, recognised and accepted in spirit and in truth.

The Old Covenant was established with the giving of the law on Mt.Sinai by the angel of the Lord through Moses to the people of Israel. It was a binding contract between God and the people of Israel exclusively and was sealed with the blood of a sacrificed animal. 

It is quite clear that God did not choose Israel to fill this privileged position because she had qualified herself in some way and therefore deserved this calling. This election was determined before she came into existence - before she could perform any act that could possibly qualify or disqualify her. Whatever God determines must and will be realised in every detail. In spite of all the seemingly insurmountable obstacles and obstructions, and in spite of all her own devious machinations, Israel will fulfil God's plan for her and will fully realise her glorious God-determined destiny! 

Israel has failed dismally to keep to her part of the contract - even from the very start. Her track record illustrates an inherent stubbornness. Through the centuries God has chastised her for her failure. God's chastisements, however, are not vindictive but corrective! In her desperate attempts to get it right she appended even more restrictions and controls to the law that she had been given. 

She still does not realise that there is an inherent inability of the law to empower a proper obedience to its very principles. It was never designed to provide that function. There was a very vital component, something essential, that was not included in the Sinai Covenant itself - and that inevitably brought failure! This made it impossible for Israel to observe the law as it should be. At present she cannot even attempt to observe any of the Temple ceremonies and rituals - a Temple does not stand in Israel. There is no Sin offering, there is no Day of Atonement, there are no sacrifices! For the last two thousand years, what claim can she have to righteousness through law?

In effect today, Israel is a secular state and her people, for the most part, irreligious. The name of God is brought up to bolster political claims to territorial rights. Circumstances combine to make her a very reactionary force in the area. But her problems and predicaments keep her in the spotlight in these traumatic times. For those who have become aware of the situation through Scripture, these are truly exciting times we have been privileged to witness!

Israel herself will be saved not because she generates her own repentance but because GOD brings her to repentance and to a realisation of the folly of her ways. And when she is made to recognise that nothing else is able to save her from the predicament of imminent destruction as a nation, then, and only then, will the lesson of humility finally sink into her consciousness. Only then will she truly repent and call upon the Lord and be saved. She has to learn through trauma and hard experience that she needs God to remove her obstinacy and to enable her to obey. 

Though she proves herself to be unworthy and unfaithful, God's integrity and His faithfulness remain unscathed throughout! God does not discard her and take another in her stead! In spite of all her weaknesses and failings, God has not replaced her in His plan. She will take her place as He intended and at the time He had determined before He put the plan into operation. As a people, they will still be HIS and HE will be their God! This will be a major part of the glory of the Kingdom when Christ comes to rule! God WILL succeed! Israel will return! 

Israel will not be replaced in God's heart by the ecclesia. And she will not even have to share any of her special privileges and prerogatives with the ecclesia! Yahweh loves Israel still, and the portrayal of her relationship to Him in Scripture is one of marital bliss.

After the Pentecostal period God suspended directly dealing with her as the nation. But, He will resume this program. For a period of time Israel has been hardened, and she will remain in her stubbornness ‘until the complement of the nations may be coming in’. At that juncture, the Body Of Christ will be complete - with every member having been called and justified by faith only, according to the evangel PAUL preached. God will remove this ecclesia from the scene and the way will at last be open for ‘the man of lawlessness’ to be revealed!

This restored program with Israel will be introduced by a time of selection and refining - during the ‘great affliction’ phase at the start of the Day Of The Lord. Only then, and not before, will God's promises to Israel really begin to come to fruition!

So, Scripture speaks of a NEW covenant, in contrast to the OLD, that God intends to establish with the same nation in the not too distant future. This Covenant will be built upon better promises, and will be empowered with the vital factor which will be supplied at its inception. Israel will then know the law and keep it. The privileges in the earthly Kingdom of God under the New Covenant will be exclusively for the faithful out of the nation of Israel - and with no others! Once again there will be meticulous observance of sabbaths and holy days with their associated animal sacrifices. Priesthood and rituals and ceremonies will be central to the worship and liturgy in the Kingdom Of God that is to be established. And the land of Israel, promised to the descendants of  Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, will be divided among the twelve tribes. Fellowship and Temple-ceremony will be limited to the circumcised in heart who are also circumcised in flesh!

Throughout all of God's dealings with humanity, His Name, His Integrity, His Glory are of paramount importance for Him to be GOD and not something less! He put all of this ‘on the line’ when He chose the nation of Israel to be His People, a people whom HE would sanctify! Things do not seem to be working out right. But we must always keep in mind that God does not operate according to our criteria nor along our guidelines. Everything moves according to the purpose of the One Who is operating all in accord with the counsel of His will!

Ours is a different evangel from that which belongs to the Circumcision. Though there are a few similarities, the very basis, scope, operation, and destiny concerning our salvation is vastly different! And, when we come to realise the transcendently glorious destiny we, of the Body Of Christ, have in God's plan, we will not even dream of settling for even the highest privileges that Israel will enjoy in the coming eon!
 

Back to:
....Main menu of articles

....Section 1   -   Introduction
.........................The Special Place of Israel
....Section 2a & 2b   -   The Circumcision Covenant 
....................................The Kingdom or Territorial Covenant 
....Section 2c & 2d   -   The Sabbath Covenant 
....................................The Sinai or Old Covenant 
....Section 3   -   Israel's Failure 
.......................  .Israel Chastised 
....Section 4   -  God's Good Name 
.........................Still The People Of God