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Burning Questions
answered by Rev. Colin Le Noury
When the Jews rejected Christ,
did this
end God's purposes for them as a nation?
No!
No! No! and a thousand times No! God has not terminated
His relationship with His ancient people Israel.
This fact cannot be overstated, especially in these
days when so-called "Replacement Theology"
is gaining popularity; asserting that the church
has taken the place of Israel in God's plan and
purposes.
The
question posed above, however, is not a new one,
nor is it merely a reaction to the falsehood stated.
The same question obviously existed in peoples minds
in the New Testament days. The great apostle Paul,
the theologian of the New Testament, poses this
question rhetorically in his treatise on Israel
in Romans 9-11. He says, "Hath God cast away
his people? God forbid. For I am an Israelite, of
the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God
hath not cast away his people which He foreknew"
(Romans 11 :1-2a).
Paul
is most emphatic about God's relationship to His
people Israel and is convinced that the sovereign
and eternal purposes cannot in any way be altered
by the whimsical attitudes, or even the downright
rebellion, of the people themselves.
To
appreciate this relationship it is important to
have a clear understanding of the history on which
it is based. A history which dates back to the call
of Abraham himself.
Abraham,
of course, was the father of the Jewish nation and
was chosen by God to raise up a people who would
be God's representatives among the peoples of the
world. The prophetic promises given to Abraham concerning
his descendancy through the line of Isaac and Jacob
forms the Abrahamic covenant - the basis of God's
relationship with Israel.
Years
later the Lord spoke to king David about his purposes
for his people as a nation. The Davidic covenant
, as found in 2 Samuel 7, confirms and assures him
of God's faithfulness to his people - a people who
had not always been faithful to Him.
Paul
is convinced that the Lord does not break His promises
or go back on the covenants He has made. Indeed,
it is in the context of God's covenants that Paul
makes the statement, "For the gifts and calling
of God are without repentance" (Romans 11:29).
The
Living Bible paraphrases verses 28-29 very clearly
in the following words, "Yet the Jews are still
beloved of God because of His promises to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. For God's gifts and His call can
never be withdrawn; He will never go back on His
promises."
It
is, of course, true that the nation of Israel, at
this time, is very much in a state of unbelief.
Despite this, however, the discerning student of
prophecy will clearly see that the Lord is still
working out his purposes for them as a nation.
Far
from being ended, we believe that God's purposes
are just beginning to unfold in a new way as the
Jewish nation is restored. In chapter 37 of Ezekiel's
prophecy he speaks about the renewal and revival
of Israel nationally. His vision of a valley of
crumbling skeletons which come together in perfectly
formed bodies and then become clothed in flesh before
receiving the spirit of life. Many see in this the
re-establishment of the Jewish nation in 1948 and
the continuing hand of God upon them in subsequent
years.
Once
again, the apostle Paul is clear in his own mind
that the day would come when they would be converted
from their state of unbelief and restored into a
harmonious relationship with their covenant God.
"For
I would brethren that you be not ignorant of this
mystery ... that blindness in part has happened
to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be
come in. And so all Israel shall be saved"
(Romans 11:25-26a).
Clearly
then from a biblical, historical and prophetic point
of view we can determine that God's purposes for
the Jews are far from ended.
YT
7/96
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