God's Blessings on Israel
God has blessed the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in many wonderful ways.(Psalm 147:19,20) He has also punished them very severely. Jesus assured us that to whom much is given, much is required. That has been true for Israel, and for all of us. God made a lasting covenant with the descendants of Jacob which He is still working to complete today, so I believe God will continue to use Israel throughout human history on this earth. Consider a couple of things with me this morning.
God gave His word through Israel. What a blessing for the whole world. He chose to bless all of us by inspiring men to write down His love letter to us. All of the Old Testament and most of the New Testament was written by Jewish believers. God did this so all of them and all of us, Gentiles, would have no excuse for not trusting Jesus, as Lord. We owe these men a lot, but we need to learn from Israel's failure to obey God's word and trust the Lord. They were punished, and those who do not believe are separated from God. The same is true for all of us. We have His word. What will we do with it. Most of the Gentiles have rejected God's word, too, so they are missing God's blessing of salvation.
God meant for Israel to spread His word, so all the peoples of the world would know Him by their example. Now, the church is to share God's word with the world, so all people groups will come to know Christ. Both have largely failed in what God has given us to do. We need to treasure God's word and share it with others, as we obey it, so the whole world can come to the Lord.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 149-150 and Proverbs 1-2.
God gave His word through Israel. What a blessing for the whole world. He chose to bless all of us by inspiring men to write down His love letter to us. All of the Old Testament and most of the New Testament was written by Jewish believers. God did this so all of them and all of us, Gentiles, would have no excuse for not trusting Jesus, as Lord. We owe these men a lot, but we need to learn from Israel's failure to obey God's word and trust the Lord. They were punished, and those who do not believe are separated from God. The same is true for all of us. We have His word. What will we do with it. Most of the Gentiles have rejected God's word, too, so they are missing God's blessing of salvation.
God meant for Israel to spread His word, so all the peoples of the world would know Him by their example. Now, the church is to share God's word with the world, so all people groups will come to know Christ. Both have largely failed in what God has given us to do. We need to treasure God's word and share it with others, as we obey it, so the whole world can come to the Lord.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 149-150 and Proverbs 1-2.