National Israel ... The Great Parenthesis
In print or on TV newscasts
we have seen Jews praying by the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. The Moslem Dome of
the Rock completed in 691 A.D. stands in the background on the site where the
beautiful temple of the Lord built by Herod once stood.
A big change took place when the armies of Rome under
Titus destroyed the city and the temple in A.D. 70. Pages of history have been
written since the kings David and Solomon once ruled here in resplendent glory.
So let's take a look.
By conservative estimates it was about 4,000 years
ago when the Lord said to the fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, "Unto thy
seed will I give this land." And that time He did not say how he would
give it or on what terms. Later on at Kadesh Barnea, Israel learned that they
would have to take it by military conquest. The Lord also promised that they
could possess and enjoy the land just so long as they obeyed Him and kept His
commandments, but no longer. Both of these conditions were made crystal clear.
Taking the land by quick military conquest was
accomplished by Joshua. But keeping the land by obeying the Lord or losing it
by disobeying Him, as the historical and prophetic books of the Old Testament
show, was quite another matter.
Deuteronomy chapter 28 spelled out these conditions
with elaborate detail. The first 14 verses promise Israel blessing and
prosperity if they obey the Lord, but the rest of the verses from 15 to 68
promise cursing and loss of the land if they do not obey. Consequently,
Israel's prophets encouraged the nation when it obeyed the Lord, but warned when
it did not. This ministry of the prophets, based on the provisions of their
law, is consistent throughout Israel's long history.
So it is not surprising why the northern ten tribes
and the southern two tribes lost their land. Primarily, it was not that the
Assyrian and Babylonian armies were stronger, but that both kingdoms had
disobeyed the Lord and forsaken Him. Again, the Scriptures make this crystal
clear. For the northern ten tribes see 2 Kings 17:5-23;
and for the southern two
tribes see 2 Chron. 36:14-21. Both nations were taken captive.
The temporary (parenthetical) nature of the Mosaic
system was indicated by Moses himself when he promised Israel another Prophet
to whom they must listen (Deut. 18:15-18). A new priesthood was also promised.
The prophet Jeremiah promised the nation a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34). In
this way the nation of Israel was taught to look forward to change — to a new
and better way. Prophecy always pointed forward to change — sometimes to
judgment, and sometimes to better things.
It is most important to note that when God's promises
to the nation of Israel are connected with blessing, it is always assumed that
the people to whom these promises are addressed will be obedient. But suppose
they are not obedient, then what? Remember what happened at Kadesh Barnea when
the people refused to enter the promised land? They paid for their disobedience
by dying in the wilderness.
And there is this: Jesus said, as He wept over the
city of Jerusalem because it would reject Him, that "the things which
belong to thy peace" were not going to happen. Why? "Because thou
knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:41-44). Instead of these
promised good things, and because they would soon betray and murder Him, He
said the city would be destroyed and the people scattered — those who were not
slain (verse 44). See also Luke 21:20-24. 2
Although the nation of Israel
never fully recovered from the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, several
thousand did return under Zerubbabel following the decree of Cyrus. See Ezra
chapters one and two. Later on others returned with Ezra (7:6, 7). And still
later on others with Nehemiah. See chapter two.
Many were in the land when Christ was born. Now that the long-promised Messiah had arrived, some big questions would be asked and answered, including how the prestigious religious leaders would respond to Him. And how would the people?
Born of the Virgin Mary, Jesus the Christ was so
human in His appearance, so much like the men who were His disciples, that
Judas thought it necessary to kiss Him for positive identification in
Gethsemane, the night of betrayal. The incarnation is not only one of the most
important facts of Scripture, it is also one of the most inscrutable.
But there was
much more: He backed up His claim to being the Son of God by healing the sick,
stilling the waves by a simple verbal command, forgiving sin, and by doing
other things that only God can do, such as raising the dead.
We don't have to wait long
for answers to our questions. Almost immediately, following the beginning of
His ministry, the progression of opposition by the religious leaders started.
Matthew's account is typical: a) They charged Him with blasphemy in His claim
to have the authority to forgive sin (9:3). b) With using Satanic power:
Casting out devils through
the prince of the devils (Beelzebub)" (9:34; 10:25). c) While they led
their stock to watering on the Sabbath, they were so livid when Jesus healed
the man with the withe on the Sabbath that they plotted to murder Him
(12:10-14). Their buildup of opposition intensified until they had Him nailed
to the cross.
On the other hand, Jesus reprimanded these leaders
for substituting tradition for the Word of God (Matt. 15:3-6). For neglecting
the "weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith" (Matt.
23:23), as well as for a long list of other things recorded in Matthew chapter
23 — the greatest "Woe" chapter in Scripture.
And how about the people? Though great numbers
followed Him (Matt. 4:23-25), He often spoke to them in parables because of
their resistance to His gospel, which was a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy
(Matt. 13:10-15). He pronounced "Woe" upon the cities of Chorazin,
Bethsaida and Capernaum because they repented not under His preaching (Matt.
11:20-24). But rejoiced over those who did repent. He put it this way, "I
thank thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes" (Matt.
11:25). He rejoiced over the Father's control, and then issued the great
invitation, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden
..." (Matthew 11:28-30).
Opposition to Christ was bound to peak, and it did
when He got to Jerusalem the last time. The trickery and deceit and lying they
used to trip Him so they could deliver Him to the Roman authorities is without
bounds; and hard to believe when these religious leaders were supposed to be
the elite, the very best in the nation of Israel.
It is little wonder that Jesus called them: Blind
leaders of the blind, robbers of widow's houses, serpents, a generation of
vipers, and so hypocritical as to be deserving of hell itself. In His parable
of the householder (Matt. 21:33-41), He likens them to their fathers who
persecuted God's prophets and killed some of them. Then He warned of a big
change in God's dealings with them, "Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom
of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits
thereof" (Matt. 21:43).
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