2022-04-22
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The joy of the Lord concerning Israel came as a refresher to me about the love He has and the joy He gives. By far, today’s Israel isn’t perfect, but there is joy to be had concerning Israel’s future. Please read JER 31: 1-20 to which I will refer after I first cite RO 11: 25. “Do not be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” What this means is that traditionally Jewish people will reject Christ as Lord until all the Gentiles who will become faithful in Him have done so. Then, the hardening of traditionally Jewish hearts will lift, and they will recognize Him as Lord. This is likely to be about 1/3 of the Jews in the end times [ZECH 13: 8-9].
Now, let’s look at God’s eventual will for Israel from JER 31, beginning with God’s assertion, ‘At that time, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be My people.’” This is not the only time God makes this claim concerning His people. It’s repeated as frequently as any assertion in the Scriptures, which leads me to believe He wants us to understand it well. Today’s traditionally Jewish people may reject Christ in North America and elsewhere, but that won’t be permanent. Sadly, some groups of Jews in Israel have persecuted Messianic Jews and even gone so far as to burn Bibles containing the NT and have believers in Christ be forced to leave the country. But these unfriendly acts of disobedience to God won’t last forever.
We should look at the blessings coming Israel’s way that will grant His faithfulness, love, and joy: “The people will survive the sword; find favor in the desert; I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness; I will build you up again; you, O virgin Israel, will…dance with the joyful; enjoy the fruit of your vineyards; a watchman will cry out, ‘Come, let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God,’ sing with joy for Jacob, make your praises heard, O Lord save your people, the remnant of Israel; a great throng of your people will return, among them the blind, lame, expectant mothers, and women in labor; I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they won’t stumble, because I am Israel’s Father and Israel is my firstborn son; He who has scattered Israel (in the diasporas) will gather them and will watch over His flock like a shepherd; will ransom Jacob and redeem them from those stronger; Israel saved will shout for joy on the heights of Zion and rejoice in the Lord’s bounty; the people will sorrow no more; the evil people will be no more; they will return from the land of the enemy; there is hope for the future and diaspora will end with the people’s return from being disciplined like an unruly calf because I am the Lord God, God’s heart yearns for Israel and has great compassion for her” [JER 31: 1-20]. Does such a long list of blessings for believing Israel surprise us? It shouldn’t if we know our loving, joyful God well!
LV 19: 17-18, “Do not hate your brother in your heart, rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” I’ve always considered Leviticus as our “rules book” because God makes it so clear what we should do, including all Judeo-Christian people who read the OT (Old Testament). But there is great advice in it that applies for all time, including our present. RO 12: 19, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is Mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” We must remember: When God inspires the Bible’s human writers to repeat a concept, He thinks it is important. It is never constructive to “hate our brother (or sister) in our hearts. We surely hurt ourselves and it’s often lost on the target of this wrongdoing. Moreover, it blocks incoming joy and love from the Lord.
PRAYER: O Lord, Your word is a love letter to all who believe, whether Jew or Gentile, living in Israel or in diaspora. We are reminded of Your presence in our lives and intervention. You grant us favor by blessing us every day, even though we are spending this time on earth to be trained as imperfect as we are. You grow our faithful obedience to You. You are training us to think in eternal terms and to learn how to watch for You at work in our lives. Then, we will observe the many blessings You bestow on us. We watch and try to model You as Your Son, Jesus did, as You grant us inner joy. Your perspective is of great value to us, and we thank and praise You for it. You help us make godly decisions out of godly thoughts; You teach us Your wisdom so we can avoid the pitfalls the evil one provides and with which he temps us. We proclaim PS 40: 1-3 and 2 TIM 3: 16-17. Praise and thanks be to You, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to write about the joy that restoration brings us next week. [Do be sure to consult any citations herein that you don’t know].
For many years as anyone who has counseled people having family troubles knows, hatred and/or grudge-holding has brought a lot of wrongdoing into people’s lives. It has split families, brought the evil one’s work into them, and caused every kind of injury to people unlike the mainstream. As humans, we were created in God’s own image [GN 1: 27]. We are intellectual, physical, emotional, and spiritual beings. Each of these parts of our personalities must be nourished. It is illogical for a God to hate a person “created in His own image.” Moreover, the Hebrew translation uses the word, “Eloheim” which is plural for Himself. We can take that to mean the Triune God, Who has three personalities, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So, when God says for us to not have “hate in our hearts,” He is being clear about that. We can apply this to our lives by refusing to hate those different from us and surly not holding grudges within or outside of our families. God wants us to be happy with the person we see in a mirror, and He wants us to recognize Him as the Leader in our lives. He wants us to take joy that He is a fulltime Resident in our homes and in every aspect of our lives. As our Parent, He sometimes has to discipline us, but He is also forgiving when we stop offending. His joy is giving us joy by blessing us. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2022. All Rights Reserved
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