God made all peoples of the world of one blood.
But He divided their tongues and assigned the boundaries of the nations.
Before God made the world, He already planned the crucifixion of Christ for the salvation of all who believe.
He chose Abraham and gave him the promise that the Christ, in Whom people of all nations would be saved, would be his descendant.
To his descendants He also promised the land of Israel, on condition of obedience.
His descendants ended-up in slavery in Egypt.
While in Egypt, God chose the house of Jacob and asked them to give up the idolatry they'd learned in Egypt, but they disobeyed.
God was about to destroy them, but Moses interceded.
So rather than destroy them, God gave to the house of Jacob Moses' Law instead. The Law was made not for the godly but for the ungodly.
The house of Israel's tumultuous history in the promised land was explainable by the terms of that Law.
To all other nations, God also assigned their respective boundaries.
They did not have Moses' Law, but they had the law written in their hearts.
For a time God overlooked their sinfulness and ignorance.
Meanwhile the house of Israel came to reflect the sinfulness of the surrounding nations, to the point that there was no more remedy and God had to refine them through judgment and captivity in Babylon.
Afterwards God restored them in a more sanctified state back to the land, where with Gentile assistance they were able to rebuild the Temple and the wall, and resumed Mosaic worship. God began judging all the nations who had oppressed them. People regularly came up from all nations to Jerusalem to worship.
But Israel repeatedly fell back into abomination. Though the nation was fitted for wrath, it was God's prerogative to leave them in the land in order for His own purposes to be fulfilled.
Then in the fulness of the time-frame revealed to Daniel, God sent forth His Son.
He came to confirm to Abraham's descendants the original promise made to Abraham.
But His own ethnicity delivered Him up to be crucified. He rose again, fulfilling the Law and the Prophets.
He inaugurated a New Covenant in His blood - something that had been planned before the house of Jacob was ever chosen, before the Law was ever given, before the world was even created.
A percentage of the house of Israel believed and inherited the promised salvation. Meanwhile the rest were hardened as a consequence of their unbelief.
In fulfilment of the promise to Abraham, the Gospel of His Son went to all nations. This was the real thing!
Sadly because Israel by-and-large had not understood that the God of their fathers was visiting them, they fell prey to the consequences of their own disobedience. The land was again invaded. Jerusalem was trodden under foot by Gentiles. The Temple was destroyed. The Jews were scattered all around the world. Levitical genealogies which were required in order to serve as priests were forever destroyed. The nations ceased going up to Jerusalem to worship. Sacrifice and offerings ceased forever.
But the Scriptures had not failed, nor been postponed - for the promise had been confirmed by God's own Son to the seed of Abraham. The New Covenant and the new way of worship had been inaugurated in the blood of His Son.
Thus both the Jews who had the Law, and Gentiles who didn't, were alike concluded under sin. From an ethical point of view, it became a level playing field with neither Jew nor Gentile having any covenantal spiritual status above the other.
Jews continued to be beloved for the fathers' sakes. Therefore His salvation continued to be available to all alike, irrespective of ethnicity, upon the same basis: by grace through faith in Jesus, without the works of the Law.
The Jew's continuing tenure of their promised land - as well as any nation's tenure of their allotted land - was subject to certain divine principles, such as: God's own prerogative, or the prayers of believers, or the nation's behaviour.
But He divided their tongues and assigned the boundaries of the nations.
Before God made the world, He already planned the crucifixion of Christ for the salvation of all who believe.
He chose Abraham and gave him the promise that the Christ, in Whom people of all nations would be saved, would be his descendant.
To his descendants He also promised the land of Israel, on condition of obedience.
His descendants ended-up in slavery in Egypt.
While in Egypt, God chose the house of Jacob and asked them to give up the idolatry they'd learned in Egypt, but they disobeyed.
God was about to destroy them, but Moses interceded.
So rather than destroy them, God gave to the house of Jacob Moses' Law instead. The Law was made not for the godly but for the ungodly.
The house of Israel's tumultuous history in the promised land was explainable by the terms of that Law.
To all other nations, God also assigned their respective boundaries.
They did not have Moses' Law, but they had the law written in their hearts.
For a time God overlooked their sinfulness and ignorance.
Meanwhile the house of Israel came to reflect the sinfulness of the surrounding nations, to the point that there was no more remedy and God had to refine them through judgment and captivity in Babylon.
Afterwards God restored them in a more sanctified state back to the land, where with Gentile assistance they were able to rebuild the Temple and the wall, and resumed Mosaic worship. God began judging all the nations who had oppressed them. People regularly came up from all nations to Jerusalem to worship.
But Israel repeatedly fell back into abomination. Though the nation was fitted for wrath, it was God's prerogative to leave them in the land in order for His own purposes to be fulfilled.
Then in the fulness of the time-frame revealed to Daniel, God sent forth His Son.
He came to confirm to Abraham's descendants the original promise made to Abraham.
But His own ethnicity delivered Him up to be crucified. He rose again, fulfilling the Law and the Prophets.
He inaugurated a New Covenant in His blood - something that had been planned before the house of Jacob was ever chosen, before the Law was ever given, before the world was even created.
A percentage of the house of Israel believed and inherited the promised salvation. Meanwhile the rest were hardened as a consequence of their unbelief.
In fulfilment of the promise to Abraham, the Gospel of His Son went to all nations. This was the real thing!
Sadly because Israel by-and-large had not understood that the God of their fathers was visiting them, they fell prey to the consequences of their own disobedience. The land was again invaded. Jerusalem was trodden under foot by Gentiles. The Temple was destroyed. The Jews were scattered all around the world. Levitical genealogies which were required in order to serve as priests were forever destroyed. The nations ceased going up to Jerusalem to worship. Sacrifice and offerings ceased forever.
But the Scriptures had not failed, nor been postponed - for the promise had been confirmed by God's own Son to the seed of Abraham. The New Covenant and the new way of worship had been inaugurated in the blood of His Son.
Thus both the Jews who had the Law, and Gentiles who didn't, were alike concluded under sin. From an ethical point of view, it became a level playing field with neither Jew nor Gentile having any covenantal spiritual status above the other.
Jews continued to be beloved for the fathers' sakes. Therefore His salvation continued to be available to all alike, irrespective of ethnicity, upon the same basis: by grace through faith in Jesus, without the works of the Law.
The Jew's continuing tenure of their promised land - as well as any nation's tenure of their allotted land - was subject to certain divine principles, such as: God's own prerogative, or the prayers of believers, or the nation's behaviour.
No comments:
Post a Comment