Past and Future Chris Bell
These notes are taken from lists of scriptures I had put together through the years, mostly through the eighties and nineties, and while they may have just been sitting around for the last twenty years they weren't idle for they were settling into my heart. God was teaching me through His dealings with Israel about Himself and His absolute Faithfulness. He was working in and through me to help me better understand what it's like to be Faithful.
Firstly some questions that I hope you'll ask yourself and perhaps find the answers to:
Is God Faithful, that's probably the BIGGEST question: does He keep His promise, can He be trusted to keep His word?
Are some of His promises somehow negated by another?
Is He faithful even when we aren't?
2Tim 2:11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him;12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
The other BIG question is...If God has promised Christians a kingdom with Him, forgiveness of sins and an end to sin and death what about Israel? Didn't they come first and aren't we meant to learn from God's dealings with them? 1 Corinthians 10:11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
Where do the Jew and Israel as a nation sit in the big picture? Where does the church sit?
I hope the following scriptures and thoughts can help to bring some light to the subject.
I encourage you to read the scriptures listed as I am just providing the references to give you a start on what is a vast subject. Search out the scriptures and search out God's heart in this matter. Space restricts my entering each absolutely relevant scripture.
It all started with a promise, a covenant.
A covenant is a promise that's binding, it cannot be revoked or annulled, it is a contract sealed in blood. The root word berîyth means to cut. 'It is a covenant often between two unequal parties that brings with it a pledge of protection from the stronger party. This is similar to the biblical picture of God's relationship with his people, except that the inequality between the parties (Creator and creatures) is absolute. It is always made clear that the initiative is God's - that He makes covenants with his people and not vice versa. God initiates, confirms and even fulfills (ultimately in Christ, both sides of) the covenant'. [1]
From creation God used a name to describe His nature, His very self to us His creation.
In the Garden, when He created Adam and Eve He calls Himself 'LORD GOD' or 'Yahweh (YHWH) Elohim' which means The Creator God who makes a covenant and He called Himself this even before there was a need to be in Covenant. Gen 2:4
God's promise began with Adam when He promised to provide (1) a Saviour for sin - a Messiah (Moshiach - the Anointed One), (2) an end to the enemy and (3) the restoration of God's kingdom (God's rule over and in every part of creation).
God sealed the covenant with Adam and his descendants with blood by providing animal skins to clothe him and his wife. The covenant was established and now would continue down through the generations...
The covenant was reaffirmed to Noah who ratified it with the blood of animals and birds he had brought with him on the ark (Gen 8:20-22).
So God began to narrow down the avenue of mankind through which He would bring Messiah, an end to the enemy and the restoration of His kingdom - this would come via a people group, a nation, a priesthood and a family. His promise which was for the whole world would be brought first through the Jew and then to the Gentiles.
God called a man named Abram out of his own country to go to a place inhabited by others, a land chosen by God for him. God told him that this land was to be his and his descendants and that He, God would bless the world through him and his people. see Genesis 12
In Genesis 15, God establishes this covenant promise with him but Abraham wonders how this would all be possible, he was already an old man and he didn't have a son, so how would he and his family gain possession of the promise? It's not that he doubted God's promises, because scripture says that Abraham believed God and that this made him righteous...he just didn't know how God would bring His promises about.
Have you ever felt that way?
To Abraham it looked like an impossibility but God took the onus upon Himself. He had made the promise and He would keep it. Genesis 15The Lord’s Covenant With Abram
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
God took upon Himself the responsibility of fulfilling the covenant and He put Abram into a deep sleep. 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram.God walked through the darkness and through the blood alone while Abe slept. What an amazing picture of what God would do thousands of years later, when Messiah with His face set towards Jerusalem walked resolutely to face death. Through the darkness of pain and suffering, He walked to take upon Himself sin that wasn't His and walk through the offering of His own blood. Messiah took the responsibility for keeping the covenant, a covenant we could never fulfill.
The outward sign that Abraham and his descendants had entered into a covenant with God required the shedding of blood, it was a sign that they would show in their own body - circumcision.
Gen 12:2-3; 13:14-17, 15:5-8, 12-21, 17:1-14
Genesis 17:3-14 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
The covenant would come through Isaac, the son of the free woman, the son of the promise, the child of faith, not born of human decision but to those who believed on His name. God chose the line through which the promise was carried and He chose that it would be through Isaac.
Genesis 17:15-27 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
Although Ishmael was the son born to Abraham's first, he was not the Firstborn or the Son of the Covenant /promise. Firstborn means having pre-eminence, being chief or ruler and many times throughout scripture we see that the one born first is not necessarily the heir and the inheritance is given to another. eg. Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Manassah and Ephraim, David - the 7th son of Jesse among others.
Ishmael would share some of the promises of the covenant but he would have his own promises and they would not be the same as Isaac's. Gen 16:7-15, Gen 17:18-27.
Ishmael's story is an interesting subject worth studying.
God continues to confirm the covenant and it now passes from Isaac and then to Jacob. Gen 26:3-6 & 24, Gen 28:13-17, 35:9-15, 46:2-4
Jacob is named Israel [2] (a prince of God) and the covenant is passed to his family and the line of the Messiah is narrowing down now into a family group within the people of the nation.
God has even chosen the land he wants this nation to dwell in, it is a particular portion of land, one that bridges continents, religions and trade routes. What a strange thing that God would set aside a portion of land and say that He cares for that land? He obviously has His reasons. Deut 11:11-12
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had no idea that God was setting them in the very heart of the world, a place where they could be seen and to have an influence in the world around them. His desire was to bless them so that they in turn would be a blessing.
Most of all, God wanted to be seen in the world, He wanted the nations to see His hand upon a people group and how He treated them. He wanted to show the world kingdom living and how every facet of life could reflect His kingship. He wanted His people Israel to be the light to the nations and God wanted to show His glory through them. Whether or not they did is a subject for another study.
Then a strange thing happens, the people He chose were scattered from their land to all the nations surrounding them and even further afar.
It seems a strange way to show yourself among the nations by scattering your people from the land that you've promised them, but this is exactly what God did.
On the very first day God entered into covenant with Abram He told Him that his descendants would possess the land and in the next breath He says that they would leave the land and be enslaved for 400 yrs. Gen 15: 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
God fulfilled the word spoken to Abraham and He brought them back to the land He had given them, this time with Moses and then Joshua as their leaders. Once again God confirmed the unconditional covenant with the nation and expressed His nature through His Name YHWH (Covenant God).
What was God doing or trying to show us?
God shows who He is and what His nature is like in His dealings with Israel. He shows His love, grace, sternness, holiness, long suffering and His faithfulness toward them. He also shows He is Creator King, Judge and Holy One. Deut 7:6-9, 9:4-6, 30:4-6. The covenant is still grounded in the past with individuals but also with the nation, even though throughout history Israel turns to false gods. Ex 3:6-10, 14-17. Ex 6:2-8.
BUT the covenant is unconditional because God made the promise and His Gifts and call are irrevocable as it says in Romans 11:28 but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.
God keeps the covenant in word and deed. Why? Because of His own faithfulness, His own honour, His glory, His grace.He keeps His promises for His own Name sake, nobody can ever say that He doesn't keep His word, His reputation is at stake.
He does it to show who He really is. The unconditional promise has nothing to do with Israel's righteousness and their ability to uphold the law or keep their promises to God. The Lord Almighty keeps His promises concerning Israel because He is Faithful - even when they may not be and this in turn gives us hope. 2 Tim 2:11- 13. God is not a man that He should lie so when He makes a promise He keeps it.
Is the land still significant and part of the promise?
I believe that they are His people forever and that they will dwell in the land given to them as their inheritance for no other reason than - because God said it.
Ps 105:7-11 7 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”
The piece of land specified by The LORD is shown over and over again throughout the Bible. In this portion in Psalm 105 it is promised to a certain people (Israel) for thousand generations, as an eternal covenant.
More than once these chosen people were expelled from the land given them by God. The Bible clearly shows that Israel will go out into the nations as a punishment; but there is also a purpose in their dispersion - God's glory will be seen and they will be refined.
Israel will have suffering, persecution and God’s judgment now before Messiah comes and glory when He returns. In their hardship they will return to the Lord, this will glorify Him and they will make His name known, holy and honoured in all the earth. Their scattering or what we call the Diaspora was prophesied throughout the scriptures and many chapters show that they will be brought back home to the land in the last days before the coming of Messiah. This will show that God keeps His promises.
Jeremiah 30 - Restoration of Israel
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. 3 The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”
4 These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 5 “This is what the Lord says:
“‘Cries of fear are heard—
terror, not peace.
6 Ask and see:
Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,
every face turned deathly pale?
7 How awful that day will be!
No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,
but he will be saved out of it.
8 “‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,
‘I will break the yoke off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;
no longer will foreigners enslave them.
9 Instead, they will serve the Lord their God
and David their king,
whom I will raise up for them.
10 “‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
do not be dismayed, Israel,’
declares the Lord.
‘I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make him afraid.
11 I am with you and will save you,’
declares the Lord.
‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’
12 “This is what the Lord says:
“‘Your wound is incurable,
your injury beyond healing.
13 There is no one to plead your cause,
no remedy for your sore,
no healing for you.
14 All your allies have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you.
I have struck you as an enemy would
and punished you as would the cruel,
because your guilt is so great
and your sins so many.
15 Why do you cry out over your wound,
your pain that has no cure?
Because of your great guilt and many sins
I have done these things to you.
16 “‘But all who devour you will be devoured;
all your enemies will go into exile.
Those who plunder you will be plundered;
all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
17 But I will restore you to health
and heal your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,
Zion for whom no one cares.’
18 “This is what the Lord says:
“‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents
and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,
and the palace will stand in its proper place.
19 From them will come songs of thanksgiving
and the sound of rejoicing.
I will add to their numbers,
and they will not be decreased;
I will bring them honor,
and they will not be disdained.
20 Their children will be as in days of old,
and their community will be established before me;
I will punish all who oppress them.
21 Their leader will be one of their own;
their ruler will arise from among them.
I will bring him near and he will come close to me—
for who is he who will devote himself
to be close to me?’
declares the Lord.
22 “‘So you will be my people,
and I will be your God.’”
and again from Jeremiah, chapter 31:31-37
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
35 This is what the Lord says,
he who appoints the sun
to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night,
who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar—
the Lord Almighty is his name:
36 “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,”
declares the Lord,
“will Israel ever cease
being a nation before me.”
37 This is what the Lord says:
“Only if the heavens above can be measured
and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,”
declares the Lord.
The return to the land: Deut 30:3-6; Is 54:3-10, 11:10-16, 14:1-2,44:21-23, 46:3-5, 8-10,13,
Is 51:1-8, 59:20-21, 60:21-22, 62, 45:4, 17, 25. Jer 30:1-11 (vs 9 says ‘ Serve David their king- David was already dead when this was written :- looking to Messiah) Jer 31:3-20, 31: 35-37
Eze 20:39-44, 34:11-16, 37 (in particular vs 12-14, 20-23) Hos 1:10-11, 2:14-23, 3:4-5 Zech 2:6-11, 8:1-8
The nations will be judged according to their attitude toward Israel when Messiah returns. Ez 36 esp vs 16-23 ,Ez 20 esp vs 32-44, Ez 37, Ez 38:21-29, Ez 39 Jer 30 Zech 2:6-13, 7:11-14, 8:1-23, 12:1-13, 13:1-2 Isaiah 60:12-16, 61:4-11, 40:1-2
Next: The second Exodus - greater than the first.
1 http://www.theopedia.com/Covenant
2 A sign that often accompanied entering into a covenant was a change of name, other examples are Abram, Simon, Saul.
