ISRAEL 22.05.2017

Radioprogram, Israel, 22.05.2017

Announcer 1: In today’s program, we will continue to speak about the calling of the descendants of Abraham, the people of Israel.

Announcer 2: I’ve heard many times when people refer to Israel as the Keepers of the Law.

Announcer 1: Yes, before entering Canaan, On Mount Sinai, God gave the Israelites His laws, statutes and commandments. First God gave them the Ten Commandments, which He wrote on stone tablets with His own hand. Then God gave the Jews a number of laws and statutes, which they had to keep. These were the moral laws that secured proper relations among the Jewish people.

Announcer 2: And later they even became the foundation, on which the legislations of the coming civilizations were formed.

Announcer 1: God then gave them statutes for religious feasts, the description of the Tabernacle, instructions for bringing sacrifices, offerings and gifts, and rules concerning “clean and unclean” things.

For non-Jews, they seem lifeless, unnecessary and unimportant; it is easy to cast them off as a bunch of old rules, because “Aren’t we freed from the Law?” However, in acting like this, they demonstrate casual attitude to the Bible.

First, the Ten Commandments are valid even today. The fact that we are “delivered from the Law” does not mean that we have a right to lie, steal, kill and fornicate. Of course we don’t! Second, the laws, statutes and commandments were given to the Jews to have proper relations with one another and the Lord on the land He promised them. 

Announcer 2: And what was the purpose for all that?

Announcer 1: God wanted to raise up a holy nation in the midst of all the Gentiles surrounding Israel, that would have the fear of the Lord and would live in His presence. That is why He ordered the Israelites to keep His laws in all their generations. 

Announcer 2: Oftentimes, when non-Jews read the Bible, they forget that God is always faithful to His people, that His promises, His commandments and His Covenant are valid at all times. We already mentioned that “Pesach” is to be celebrated forever. The same has to do with other feasts, namely “Shavuot” or the Day of Pentecost, “Sukkoth” or the Feast of the Tabernacles, etcetera. Israelites also observed the Sabbaths, according to Exodus 31:16-17, and circumcision, according to Genesis 17:9-14.

Jewish people had to observe these for generations and for centuries. God established them from the time He gave the Law. It is interesting that in Romans 7:12, Paul speaks about the significance of the Law for both the Jews and the Gentiles, “Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.” Many nations perceive the Law as something wrong, extreme, strange and repulsive. Such attitude is not biblical. For a Jew, Torah, – the Law of God, – is the reflection of God. They keep this Law. Listen to what the Psalmist says in Psalm 119:12-19: 

“Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.”

Without delving into all the functions of the Law and its role in the salvation of mankind, it is enough to mention that by giving His Law on Mount Sinai, God wanted them to love it and to highly esteem it, to heed to it and to obey it. The Law is the reflection of God’s nature, will and holiness. For this reason, it is important to emphasize the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: 

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18).

God made His people keepers of the Law. No wonder Jewish people always keep and highly esteem the Law. They carefully copied the text of the Law, so that even a little line was not changed or missing. Both Rabbis and ordinary Jews, with danger to their own lives, ran into burning synagogues to save the scrolls of Torah. So-called “Christian” SS-soldiers mocked and killed the Orthodox Jews who tried to save the holy scrolls of Torah and the Writings from being desecrated and destroyed.

Announcer 1: The Law was a covering for the Israelites, to keep them from falling under curse. God gave them opportunity to choose between blessing and curse.

On Mount Sinai, God gave the Law to the people of Israel and made an everlasting Covenant with them. That Covenant included rights and responsibilities, permissions and prohibitions. The Covenant also comprised of blessings and curses.

The Covenant or Contract between God and His people relates to every area of their lives. No other people had such a privilege, as the basis of it was their election. The basis of such a privilege was the faith of their forefathers. It was also God’s faithfulness and His salvation plan for mankind. Again and again, God says, “You shall be My people, and I will be your God” (Jeremiah 30:22).

By His covenant, God established the promise He gave to Abraham, Isaak and Jacob, and the promise He gave to Moses. And by saying, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient” in Exodus 24:7, the people gave their consent to God’s suggestions and conditions. Since then, everything depended on their obedience or disobedience. Obedience to God would lead to blessing, and disobedience to curse. Deuteronomy 28:1-2 says,

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

However, verse 15 says, “…if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.”

Sometimes people think God is like a grumpy old man who easily gets angry and uses threats. That is why they conclude there are two gods – the angry god of the Old Testament, and the loving god of the New Testament. However, it is wrong and theologically incorrect. God is constant in His existence and consistent in His actions. The Old Testament too shows us that God is full of love. In Jeremiah 31:3, the Lord says to Israel, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” 

By speaking about blessings and curses, God gave the conditions of the blessings to Israel. Under the “covering” of the Covenant, the people have protection and blessings, but outside the “covering” reigns the curse that has ruled over all the creatures after sin was committed in the Garden of Eden. It was because of disobedience that sin, disease, hatred, wars, lack and death entered the world. Through God’s Covenant and by His mercy, people can have something other than the curse of sin; they can enjoy blessing in abundance! But God will not make anyone accept these blessings. You have a right to choose, taking into account the Covenant conditions. That is why in Deuteronomy 30:19-20 God says through Moses: 

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Announcer 2: The calling of God’s people also has to do with Church, so let us discuss the journey of the people of Israel after they left Mount Sinai.

When the children of Israel left Mount Sinai, their future was already decided. God’s plan provided blessings, multiplication, the Promised Land as their inheritance and abundant life. If the nation kept serving the Lord in holiness with all these, the revelation knowledge would increase until the time of the Messiah’s coming drew near. Through the Messiah, God’s glory would fill the whole earth, and the nation of Israel would become light to all the nations. Starting from Zion, justice and righteousness would spread around the globe, and the kingdom of the Messiah would be established. This was God’s plan, which He revealed step by step through His prophets.

Page after page, the overall picture is completed in the Bible. Israel was to become the model of the destiny of mankind. That is why God required of Israel, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

The Old Testament is the revelation of God’s will to both His people and all the peoples. It describes the trials, successes and defeats of the people of Israel and the miracles of God that brought salvation, restoration, preservation, protection and blessings. It also describes the destructive consequences of the people’s disobedience to the God of Israel.

Theoretically, one can easily criticize Israel based on the Bible. Why were they not obedient to Moses in some matters? Why were they not grateful to Gideon for his victory? Why did Samson fall, even though the Lord blessed him so much? Why were Elijah, Elisha and other prophets persecuted?

Actually, many politicians, writers and artists became famous only after their death. But you won’t find any other nation that provided such a detailed description of their own failures, mistakes and defeats, as the Jewish people did. All the nations make every effort to describe their history from the best point of view, highlighting their nation’s achievements, wisdom and foresight.

And here we have a people, which fulfills a difficult but glorious task, and has a calling to inherit all the nations. This people is the future of mankind. No wonder constant wars have been waged against it.

Announcer 1: But we also see how many times Israel was under curse, and we know that curse comes as a result of disobedience.

In Deuteronomy 28, the Lord warned that breach of the conditions of blessings and abandoning faith in God would have consequences, “Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other…”

Throughout the Old Testament, we see multiple examples of disobedience and divisions in Israel. God sent judges, prophets, priests and kings that delivered the land and restored the nation. Besides, for centuries, the Jews were persecuted by the Gentiles. They were forced to compromise, to adapt and to assimilate.

When the Jews had difficulties, they cried out to Moses, “We want back to Egypt!” When they still had no king, they demanded from Samuel, “Make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). But when, as a consequence of their sin, they became subjects to other nations, - Midianites, Amorites, Philistines, - they cried out to God, and God delivered them (see Judges 6:1-16). However, soon they again abandoned God, lived in compromise and became subjects to the Gentiles.

Through king Jeroboam and king Ahab, Jewish people fell into idolatry, worship of demons and witchcraft, even though the Law forbade all those practices. Queen Jezebel had prophets of Baal, worshipped Asherah, and sacrificed children to Molech in the valley of Hinnom. Idolatry grew to the extent they started to perform pagan rites in the Temple itself, and the Book of the Law was completely forgotten.

During the reign of king Josiah, the country underwent reforms, the Temple was repaired and cleansed, and priestly service was resumed. At that time, they also found the Book of the Law, which laid forgotten under rubble and dust for many years (see 2 Kings 22). When Hilkiah the High Priest found the Book of the Law and it was read to king Josiah, the king was horrified. He tore his clothes, realizing that the whole nation was under the curse of the Law and that they needed to turn to God again.

That’s how God judged unrighteousness. Another example of reforms was during the reign of king Hezekiah. He “…held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him…” He cleansed the land from idolatry, destroyed the wooden images and altars of the idols, the sacred forests and high places. The Lord blessed him for this and “the Lord was with him… wherever he went”.

Announcer 2: Still, God was so merciful that He sent prophets to Israel to give direction and to convict them. The role of the prophets was truly significant in that nation. 

Each time Israel forgot God and His Law, God sent His prophets to convict them and to bring them back to Himself. God sent Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos and others. They called God’s judgment on idolatry and injustice, but also spoke about God’s mercy, forgiveness, restoration and blessings.

None of them ever said, “Everything is over now; you have lost everything, and now you are no longer a people”. Each prophet spoke with reproach about dispersion of Israel, but at the same time encouraged them that restoration would come, and prophesied that they would return to their own country.

God judged His people by driving them out of their land and keeping them in the Babylonian captivity for 70 years, all for their ungodliness and disobedience. In Lamentations 1:4-5, Jeremiah says,

“The roads to Zion mourn because no one comes to the set feasts. All her gates are desolate; her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. Her adversaries have become the master, her enemies prosper; for the Lord has afflicted her because of the multitude of her transgressions. Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy.”

It was something unheard of… everything God promised to them was destroyed and scattered. The Temple was burned down; the city walls were torn down; Jerusalem was in ruins. God, – their Keeper and Protector, their Fortress and Rock, – departed from them and was far from them. Instead of mercy, He sent them judgement. Hosea says,

“Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: ‘There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land’” (Hosea 4:1).

And Isaiah says, “Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward… Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers devour your land in your presence; and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers” (Isaiah 1:4,7).

What a disaster! Of everything God promised through Moses, everything David praised God for, and everything Solomon built, nothing was left; the country was destroyed, Jerusalem was burned down, and the people were in captivity. Where were the promises? All hope faded; there were only hopelessness, anguish and distress. “Did God forsake us forever? Did He reject us from His face?” What the prophets forewarned happened. The Jews were reaping the bitter fruit of what they sowed. Would that nation survive in history, or would it disappear as many nations did?

Announcer 1: No matter what happened to them, they always saw God’s faithfulness in their lives.

It is written in Jeremiah 31:35-36

“Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar, the Lord of hosts is His name: ‘If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever.’”

So we can see that it was not God’s will that the nation of Israel should be perished.

 

Word of the Week: Ever Fighting Soldier

 

Announcer 2: It is written in Ephesians 6:11-17, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”.

Many believers do not understand that every single thing we do in service to His Kingdom is a spiritual warfare. They think that ministry is like a laid table from which flows the anointing, all by itself; and you just need to sit and enjoy. And once they feel opposition, drowsiness, weakness and sadness, many of them give up and eventually are defeated. However, living on the brink of defeat and dealing with all kinds of difficulties somehow is not what we strive for or what God teaches us. We must deal the finishing blow to the devil and get him out of our way; we must disarm him and drive him out of our lives. Then God can do much in our lives, by leading us into His perfections.

The Holy Spirit teaches us to wage this war and to win the victory. 

During the fight, it is necessary to keep in mind that you are a soldier and you are to “…partake in the sufferings of Jesus Christ as a good soldier”.

You are a soldier. You are always in service, and you always encounter attacks. If you feel you are out of the game and God is very far from you, it means you have left the battleground in the spiritual world. If your war is against the devil, then know that he will be quick to go into the offensive.

So do not trust any feeling or thought that tries to distract you from your goal. You should realize that the war never stops. Learn to be attentive and alert at every attack, not to let the enemy to pass to the offensive from the defensive. Instead, attack him yourself, and make him flee from you. Endure hardships as a soldier of Christ, twining an unfading wreath for yourself. You know what you are fighting for; you learn to fight and to work in difficult situations, for you know that you will have a great reward. And as long as you are hungry for victories, you must fight. As long as the battle goes on, see that you are a good soldier. And as long as you are a soldier, there is another victory in store, and you can win in every battle!

People could have avoided a lot of difficulties, if they understood the purpose of the warfare. The Church has not fulfilled its obligation if it has not taught the children of God about the necessity of warfare, according to the Word. That is why the devil was able to keep thousands in defeat, broken and affected, while they could stand strong and have a victorious walk. Once we were all deceived. But now, having learned the truth, we will not give in to the devil! The Word of God says, “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways” (Deuteronomy 28:6-7).

This is God’s covenant with His army. If we paraphrase this Scripture in the New Testament language, it promises us both involvement and victory in the spiritual warfare. Only the enemies here are not the Philistines, the Amalekites or the Moabites, but the principalities, powers and the rulers of the darkness of this age. If these enemies rise against you, God will help you to overcome them. They will attack you one way, but will flee from you seven ways. This shocking promise of the Lord teaches that you can live overcoming your enemies!