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Announcer (00:00:00): It's time to think about the Bible like you never have before. This is Christian Questions. After this episode, go to ChristianQuestions.com to check out other episodes, Bible study resources, videos, download the CQ app and more. Today's topic is, "Is the Jewish Nation Really God's Chosen People?" Coming up in this episode, when Jesus came to earth 2,000 years ago, the Jewish nation rejected him, and as a result, he was crucified and they were cast off from God's favor. When you think about it, that's a pretty serious offense. Is it really possible for Israel to come back into God's favor after such a disaster? Here's Rick and Jonathan.

Rick (00:00:41): Welcome everyone. I'm Rick. I'm joined by Jonathan, my cohost for over 25 years. Jonathan, what's our theme scripture for today's episode?

Jonathan (00:00:49): Jeremiah 31:33: "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD, I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."

Rick (00:01:06): Israel. Just say the name and likely if anyone listening follows anything about events on the world stage, they will have a strong opinion one way or another. This is fascinating because the nations of Togo and Honduras, while not well recognized in world events, have about the same population as Israel, and that's about only 9.5 million people. What is it about this tiny little nation on this tiny sliver of land that draws such attention? Well, biblically, there are thousands of years of history in events that keep Israel in the forefront of world events. From a Christian perspective, we know that God had cast them off as a result of rejecting Jesus as their Messiah. So what's the story with that consequence? Did Israel lose their standing with God on a permanent basis, or is there hope for their future? And if there is hope, what does it look like?

Jonathan (00:02:02): Israel had its beginning as a highly favored people of God long before Moses and the Ten Commandments. Abram was a unique man who was sincerely dedicated to obeying the God of heaven, even though his father's house was entangled in pagan beliefs. God literally called him out of that environment and promised that if he would follow, God would bless him. Rick, this is an "if-and-then" equation. If you do this, then I will do that. God is requiring great faith from Abram. Genesis 12:1-3: "Now the LORD said to Abram, go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you..."

Rick (00:02:46): Let's pause it right there just after verse 1. Go, leave, and go someplace; I'm not telling you where. I'm just telling you there's a land out there and it's picked out for you. There's the first step of faith in that initial promise. Go ahead.

Jonathan (00:03:00): "And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse."

Rick (00:03:12): "I will bless you, and make your name great; and you will be a blessing." So you've got receiving of blessing and giving of blessing. Built upon that; leave and go. I'm not telling you where, but someplace. Verse 3:

Jonathan (00:03:27): "And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

Rick (00:03:31): Not only will you be blessed and be a blessing, but just so you know, all the families of the earth will be blessed. That's a big deal. Obedience to God's direction would yield a homeland and a family heritage that would become a great nation. Added to this promise in Genesis 12:1-3 was the promise that all of the families on the earth would be blessed by it. So this is a very significant event in the life of Abram. Now, this is before his name has changed to Abraham. Abram receives this kind of, it sounds like, almost out of nowhere.

Jonathan (00:04:06): This promise of God foreshadows His entire plan for all humanity.

Rick (00:04:11): That's an important point. We're going to see how that point just continues to blossom as we go through this. Sometime after that initial promise, God reiterated His promise to Abram again. This time, it was after he (Abram) and Lot separated their camps. Now, so, he did leave his father's house. He took Lot with them. They had so much, so many belongings, so much cattle and herds and so forth, they had to separate. And so they separate. Lot separates from Abraham. Abraham gives Lot the choice of which way to go. Notice the focus of what this promise is reiterated to say here. This is Genesis 13:14-16:

Jonathan (00:04:49): "The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever." Rick, quick observation; forever is a long time. Continuing: "I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered."

Rick (00:05:20): He is talking about "numbering your descendants" in this innumerable fashion. Let's remember at this point, Abraham doesn't have any children. He is still childless. The first promise was given when he was 75 years old, kind of old. He's older now, still no kids.

Jonathan (00:05:37): This rendering of God's promise foreshadows the earthly nation of Israel. Abraham's descendants will be great in number and they will inherit the land forever.

Rick (00:05:48): That's a big deal. That's a big deal. You've got this reiteration of this promise, and like you said, it foreshadows this earthly nation of Israel. Twenty-five years after that first promise, back in Genesis 12, Isaac was born. Several years later after that Abram's name was changed to Abraham. So in his faith, he is willing to offer up his son as a sacrifice to God because God asked him to do that. God intervenes, as we all know, we all know the event, the account, it's very dramatic. God intervenes and then restates his original promise. But it's refocused. It's meaning is now expanded some. Let's look at Genesis 22:15-18, and kind of go slowly through this.

Jonathan (00:06:34): "Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son."

Rick (00:06:48): "You have not withheld your son, your only son." This is like forty years plus after the original promise. Abraham was 75. He's probably now 75 and 25...110.... He's a old guy, okay? 115 years old or something, 116 or 117. He gets this promise, and he was willing to give up that son. So you look at that and you say, there is something really, really special here about the faith of Abraham. That's significant as we will see as this all unfolds, because obedience is a big part in working and being favored by God. Isaac, as his long-awaited offspring, ended up being a testing ground for that profound faith that Abraham had. Let's continue with Genesis 22:17:

Jonathan (00:07:35): "Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore, and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies."

Rick (00:07:47): Now it's "as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore." You have this growing promise. You had it stated and 40+ years later it is stated, and now even in a bigger way. This great nation, like we said, would be a "stars of the heaven and as the sands of the seashore." In this promise it says they would have a complete victory. Now, you are not even sure what victory means at this point, but whatever it is, it's complete. Alright? Let's go to Genesis 22:18:

Jonathan (00:08:20): "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

Rick (00:08:27): The equation; obedience brings blessing. Abram left his father's house. You said before it was an "if-then" thing. This is such an important part of understanding the faithfulness of God and the faithfulness of Abraham.

Jonathan (00:08:45): This rendering of God's promise reveals the "stars of the heaven" detail and does not mention the land like it did in Genesis 13. Since Isaac was a clear picture of Jesus, God is foreshadowing the heavenly offspring as well as the earthly offspring of Abraham and the blessing of all humanity.

Rick (00:09:04): We always talk about the promise that God gives to Abraham. But what we don't normally stop and pause and consider is that when God reiterates that promise, oftentimes He changes the focus depending on who He is speaking with and what He is looking for them to understand. And here the "stars of heaven" were introduced because you've got Isaac. Let's go further now. God's clearly emphatic promise to Abraham continued to be revealed to both Isaac and to Jacob. So it's not just given to Abraham, but to Isaac and then to his son Jacob.

Jonathan (00:09:41): As I read this, there was another famine in the land. Isaac was looking for food. Genesis 26:2-4: "The LORD appeared to him (Isaac) and said, Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham."

Rick (00:10:07): This is this promise to Isaac and He's talking about, "Look, don't go elsewhere. Go where I have told your father and I'm going to reestablish what I said to him." Now think about this. God is a God of promise. If He says something once, that's all you need. But here He is saying it again and again. And now He is saying it to the next generation. And here's how He reiterates that, in Genesis 26:4:

Jonathan (00:10:35): "I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed..." This rendering of God's promise reiterates the land and the "stars of heaven."

Rick (00:10:52): He is talking about the land, saying, "Isaac, don't go into Egypt, go into the land because I promised it to your father." But He is reiterating the fact that it is "as the stars of heaven." That's a big deal. Why is it a big deal? Why not the "sands of the seashore?" It's because Isaac represented Jesus as the spiritual offspring. There's a subtlety in seeing how God's promises are meant to unfold when we watch the details. Who is being spoken to? What is the context? What is happening? This helps us see what this really is. Let's look at Galatians 3:16 as the fulfillment of that:

Jonathan (00:11:31): "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, And to seeds, as referring to many, but rather to one, And to your seed, that is, Christ."

Rick (00:11:43): It's pretty specific. Jesus is this promised seed. When you see the promise reiterated to Isaac, you realize that God is showing them this is, yes, it's going to be about the land. But it is the spiritual seed that is the most important thing. You've got it reiterated to Isaac. God doesn't stop there. He also speaks that promise to Jacob. Now, Jacob, Isaac's son, represented Israel as the physical nation. We know that because Jacob's name was changed to "Israel." So, there is no stretch there. No stretch at all.

Jonathan (00:12:17): This is Jacob's dream of the stairway to heaven. Genesis 28:13-15: "And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed." This rendering of God's promise reiterates the land and the dust of the earth. But Rick, no stars.

Rick (00:12:58): When you realize that God is speaking to an individual and He is basically saying, "This is the promise I made to your father, and this is the parts that you play. This is the part that you are beginning," it really makes sense. And it's such an inspiring thing to see God's promise, not just restated, but restated in a customized fashion so that the one hearing it understands that "He is talking to me." There is this incredible focus in this tremendous, tremendous promise of God. Jonathan, as we wrap up each segment, yeah, you're laughing already. Yeah, you know, it's coming. God's promise to Israel "is real." Now before you go any further, I know, I know it's corny, but I couldn't resist. The the point of all of this, we're asking, is Israel still God's promised nation? Are they still His chosen people? His promise to Israel is real. It truly, truly is. That's what the scriptures are going to show us.

Jonathan (00:14:00): Long before the nation of Israel was even recognized as a nation, they were chosen to be a people for God. This privilege came from obedience, which led to a promise that would include their nation as well as all humanity. And this reminds me of 1 Samuel 15:22: "To obey is better than sacrifice."

Rick (00:14:23): Obedience is the key to be blessed and then to be able to bless. It's both startling and inspiring to see how firmly God planted His promise into the lives of those who obeyed His direction.

Jonathan (00:14:40): To be God's chosen people sounds like you have just won the lottery, blessed of God. What could possibly go wrong?

Rick (00:14:48): Oh, don't ask that question. God's blessings from the creation of Adam were, and always have been, bountiful in their results. However, God's blessings always require one teeny, tiny little detail called obedience. Many of us have likely heard some form of the saying "with great privilege comes great responsibility." Well, Israel was given blessing. And they would need to be obedient so they could give blessing. They are given blessing for the purpose of being able to give it. Obedience is what is in between.

Jonathan (00:15:29): And that's an equation in God's plan forever, isn't it?

Rick (00:15:32): It is. You can't avoid it. No matter what age of humanity you look at, obedience, like that scripture you said in Samuel, "obedience is better than sacrifice." We need to focus in on that. What happens with obedience when you're not obeying? Well, let's take a look at Amos 3:1-2:

Jonathan (00:15:52): "Hear this word which the LORD has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt: You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." Ouch. That doesn't sound like it's easy to be favored by God.

Rick (00:16:12): No, no, no. There is nothing easy about being favored by God. But there's everything blessed about being favored by God and it becomes a choice.

Jonathan (00:16:23): Rick, I found a source that states that the phrase "brought you out of the land of Egypt" is found over 80 times in scripture.

Rick (00:16:33): That's amazing. over 80 times. In this scripture where he says, "Hear the word the LORD spoke against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family, which He brought up from the land of Egypt..." you are saying that phrase appears 80 times in Scripture.

Jonathan (00:16:48): Exactly.

Rick (00:16:49): That becomes really significant because that is showing God living up to His promise in a big way. That was the greatest deliverance the world had ever seen. And 80+ times in Scripture that is mentioned. We want to remember that, because that is going to come into play a little bit later. As a nation, Israel, right from the start, was always in a position of choice, always. Following God's leadings and having His blessing and protection, or do what you feel like doing and reap the results of sinful choices. Take your time, which one do you want to pick? When the nation was young and just becoming established, Joshua said the following, just before he died. Again, it has to do with obedience. Joshua 24:14-15:

Jonathan (00:17:36): "Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your father served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Rick (00:18:03): "Choose you this day who you will serve." So when you are favored by God, you are not suddenly pre-programmed to only do God's will. You are given God's will and the choice to do God's will. We saw Abraham do God's will, leave his father's house. We saw him follow along. We saw Isaac learn to follow God's will. Jacob learned to follow God's will. Now the nation has to pick up with this obedience because they are the chosen nation. They're the blessed ones. So Joshua is essentially sending them off, saying, "You have to choose." Once established for generations, Israel became weary. They became tired, they became almost bored with God's ways and wanted to be like other nations. This is sad, Jonathan, but this is true. 1 Samuel 8:4-7,9:

Jonathan (00:18:56): Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Rama and they said to him, Behold, you have grown old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations. And Samuel prayed to the LORD. The LORD said to Samuel, listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. Now then listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them." So Samuel goes to the people and gave them this long laundry list of what's going to happen if they have a king, and it's not good. The king will take away your sons and your daughters and put them into servitude. He'll take some of your land and your animals, just to name a few.

Rick (00:19:48): So you're just getting started...

Jonathan (00:19:49): Just getting started.

Rick (00:19:50): They had clear warning, and yet that's the other thing about being God's chosen people. He always told them ahead of time, do this and it'll be good. Do that. Yeah. Here's what's going to happen and I'll show you, I'll tell you, I'll explain it to you. So he gives them, Samuel gives the people this long laundry list. What happens? 1 Samuel 8:19-20:

Jonathan (00:20:14): "Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go before us and fight our battles." Well Rick, who was it that led their battles up to this point?

Rick (00:20:32): Can you even imagine? That's the proverbial slap in the face, saying, "We want a king to lead us into battle instead of God Almighty who's always delivered us and we've never lost when He's led us." It's this misunderstanding, this misconstruing, because sin and self-will get in the way. Just because you're God's chosen people doesn't mean those things go away. It just means you have the opportunity to make choices, to stay in the blessings of God. So it is, it's a really hard thing that was said there. Choices have consequences. God's chosen were warned and for most part suffered mightily under the kings that they desired. So it didn't work out well. But here's the thing, Jonathan. God didn't take the kings away from them. He let them have them. He goes, okay, you said it. Now for generations and generations and generations, you're going to have what you asked for. And that's the thing about our heavenly Father. He does what He says He's going to do.

Jonathan (00:21:30): A few were good, but many were bad.

Rick (00:21:32): That's really the point. So these choices do have the consequences. Idolatry; idolatry, putting something else before God, seems to always have been a problem for Israel. Another choice that they had was in the time of Elijah when Ahab and the prophets of Baal faced Elijah. Now this was a big event. 1 Kings 18:21-22:

Jonathan (00:21:59): "Elijah came near to all the people and said, how long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him, but if Baal, follow him. But the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, I alone am left a prophet to the LORD, but Baal's prophets are 450 men." It was 850 to one, which included the 400 prophets of the Asherah. So here's Elijah against 850.

Rick (00:22:29): So Elijah sets up this challenge of having fire from heaven consume the sacrifice to show the true God. Now obviously he says, okay, you guys go first, and you call upon your God. Then I'll take my turn. So he sets up this challenge and we know what happened. God heard Elijah's prayer. Jonathan, before we go further, just to restate, why are we talking about this? Because these are the chosen people of God. God had made a promise to Abraham and they had problems being faithful. They would go in and out of faithfulness as generations went by, but He tolerated and worked with them in all of that. So, go ahead.

Jonathan (00:23:07): Do you remember the prophets from Baal were yelling and screaming and cutting themselves. There was blood going on their altar,

Rick (00:23:14): It was gushing.

Jonathan (00:23:16): And Elijah, "Now, he may be sleeping. Maybe he's on a trip."

Rick (00:23:19): Yeah, yeah.

Jonathan (00:23:20): Oh, unbelievable.

Rick (00:23:22): And so you look at that, and then Elijah's turn comes and what happens?

Jonathan (00:23:31): "When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God." What happened? The wood was consumed, the stones were consumed, water and dirt all consumed by fire from God.

Rick (00:23:45): Not only was the sacrifice consumed, but everything around it.

Jonathan (00:23:48): Yes.

Rick (00:23:49): You see this drama that says, "I am the Lord your God, follow Me." That drama was something that you look at and we look at it and say, I'll never ever stray again. But that's not human nature. Sometimes in spite of the people's lack of faith, God delivered them due to the faith and obedience perhaps of one man. You had Elijah standing for the people, and God giving them hope and opportunity because of that.

Jonathan (00:24:18): Well, like Elijah, in our Christian walk, we share the same choice. Listen to God's word or listen to the noise coming from all different directions. Our loyalty is being tested.

Rick (00:24:30): It is. And when we look at God's chosen people, we're asking the question, is Israel still God's chosen people? We're tracking their history. And what we're seeing is, they run hot and cold. God never changes because God made a promise. And when God makes a promise, that's all you need to know. It's a fact that just has not yet been discovered. So what we're seeing is, in spite of the hot and cold of humanity, God is clear. Now let's continue with Israel's choices because the next part really doesn't work out so well for them either. Let's go to John the Baptist.

Jonathan (00:25:10): Oh, okay. Let's look at the context here. The priests and Levites were sent to question John the Baptist and asked him, "Who are you?" This is found in John 1:24-27, 29-30: "Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, and said to him, Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? John answered them saying, I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you do not know. It is he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he on behalf of whom I said, after me comes a man who has a higher rank than I, for he existed before me."

Rick (00:26:02): John gives this unmistakable introduction. John is confronted like, are you him? John says, no, the one coming after me is. And then the next day it's, here! Behold, look right there! Behold the Lamb - he's standing right there! Behold (I'm getting a little dramatic.)! But "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." He makes it plain to the people. He's drawn hundreds and thousands of people to him, and he's showing them their Messiah. Now we all know how many of the people loved and followed Jesus, and the average person really did, but the rulers? They didn't. Matthew 23:37-39--and we're now fast-forwarding to near the end of Jesus' ministry and the important calling out of the Pharisees that he had to do before his ministry ended:

Jonathan (00:26:57): "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say to you, from now on you will not see me until you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!" The nation was rejected and desolation soon would follow. But there is a hint of a promise of the future. Why? Because the promises were intact.

Rick (00:27:34): That's the point. God makes a promise and it stays intact. And you see Jesus saying to the Pharisees, and therefore to Israel as a nation, "Your house is left desolate." That is a dramatic statement of a lack of favor. You no longer, there's no longer blessing in that house. But yet you're right. There's this small thread that says, "but until..." So you've got something to hold onto, but it's small compared to the desolation which was to follow. So in this segment we're looking at the fact that God's promises stayed intact even though Israel was hot and cold throughout all of that history. That helps us to understand what happens when God makes a promise and mankind doesn't live up to it. There's a lot of things here, but God stays steady. So God's promise to Israel? Israel, wait, that's my line, okay? God's promise to Israel is real. Now, go ahead.

Jonathan (00:28:39): Choices matter. Israel had been God's chosen, they had God's Law, they had the land that God gave them, and they had a history of blessing through obedience and trouble through defiance. Their national rejection of Jesus and his casting them off was the beginning of Israel's greatest national trial since their Egyptian enslavement.

Rick (00:29:02): That's an important factor; their greatest national trial since that enslavement by the Egyptians so many generations before. See, history can always help us understand the present and even see into the future, but only if we perceive it in the context of God's plan.

Jonathan (00:29:22): So does Jesus having cast off Israel from God's favor bury them as a nation? Does Israel have any hope at all?

Rick (00:29:31): The last question you asked was like, Hey, this is the lottery. What could go wrong? And now you're saying, do they have any hope at all? The answer to this question is a resounding, emphatic, unequivocal, undeniable, yes, there's hope. While we see Israel's disfavor as a tragic result of choosing darkness over light, we know that Jesus himself showed us the hope that they would have. Why have hope after such a rejection? Well, that's easy. Because this was all in the capable hands of God's plans and purposes. That's where it all rested. God had promised. And that's all you ever need to know. He would deliver.

Jonathan (00:30:14): Jesus himself prophesied that Israel would be cut off. Luke 13:6-9: "And he began telling this parable: a man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard keeper, Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up this space? And he answered and said to him, Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down."

Rick (00:30:53): So that's a pretty dramatic picture of Israel being on trial here, and not bearing fruit for those three years of Jesus' ministry. And there was six months left of Jesus' ministry before Israel would actually begin that casting off. So we fast-forward now, we've got that parable, that prophetic parable that Jesus is speaking, and he's talking about this fig tree. After riding into Jerusalem, now this is about a week before his crucifixion, after riding into Jerusalem and cleansing the temple, Jesus shows what's about to happen through his treatment of guess what? A fig tree. Matthew 21:18-19:

Jonathan (00:31:34): "Now in the morning, when he was returning to the city, he became hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, he came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and he said to it, No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you. And at once the fig tree withered." Now remember, the fig tree is a symbol of Israel. Jesus will always use that symbol to show their hope.

Rick (00:31:59): That symbol of this fig tree shows the problem, and it's going to show the hope. It's going to show the fulfillment of promise. We want to understand that, because scriptures are very clear when you look at the big picture and you take all those pieces that seem not to mean anything. When you put them together and you put them together in an orderly fashion and see the certain pictures that go throughout the Bible, and you'd see the fig tree very, very clearly representing Israel. So you've got this withering of the fig tree because he knows what's coming. He absolutely knows what's coming. Jesus' actions were a result of what he saw and what he knew was prophesied long before he said those words. And we look at Jeremiah, go back to Jeremiah 16:9 to verify that:

Jonathan (00:32:49): "For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am going to eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride."

Rick (00:33:04): That sounds like a systematic snuffing out. It's really a very, very sad thing. It's a sad thing. The voice of rejoicing and the gladness and the voice of the groom and the bride, it's like you're taking away all of the joy. The prophecy continues. It continues to say that people will demand an explanation for such harsh, harsh treatment. Let's go to verses 11 through 13 of Jeremiah 16:

Jonathan (00:33:30): "Then you are to say to them, It is because your forefathers have forsaken Me, declares the LORD, and have followed other gods and served them and bowed down to them...You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me. So I will hurl you out of this land into the land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will grant you no favor."

Rick (00:34:05): Jonathan, when you hear that and you put it in the context of that Amos scripture that you reacted to before it's at outs. That's pretty harsh. This is really sad. First of all, they're demanding an explanation; what is happening here? And the explanation is, well, your forefathers were bad. They didn't stay faithful. And you can pause the explanation and you can say, well wait, wait! But you were even worse. And the reason they were worse is because they had the Messiah in front of them. They saw his miracles, they saw his teaching, they saw his character, they saw his life, they saw his example, and it was rejected. And it says, "I will hurl you out of this land." It is such a dramatic sadness. Israel, the Jewish nation, God's chosen people; "I will hurl you out of this land." You look at that and it's like, it's this heartbreaking thing, but it's a necessary heartbreak because God's promises are bigger than the moment. We can never forget that. So we've got this Jeremiah prophecy and there's many, many others, we don't have time for all of them, but we've got this as a touchstone, so to speak. Let's continue with Jesus. We looked at Jesus saying, "Your house is left unto your desolate." Let's go further now, let's go to just before his crucifixion. I mean just before. Jesus plainly warned Israel of this awful time. His warning to them was his last public statement before he died, as he spoke this warning while carrying his cross to Calvary. Jonathan, this is sobering. Luke 23:28-30:

Jonathan (00:35:44): "But Jesus turning to them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me, but weep for yourselves and your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed. Then they will begin to say to the mountains, fall on us, and on the hills, cover us." This being Jesus' last public statement was...how could he have given a statement carrying his cross in the agony that he was? But his focus is, this is what's happening to natural Israel. He's saying, "Guess what's coming because of this rejection."

Rick (00:36:22): He's saying, "Don't weep for me." Now look, you watch this man who's been beaten to a pulp carrying this cross, and you're going to weep for him because it is the most tragic, sad thing you can imagine. He stops as he's carrying his cross and you've got all these people around, and he makes this public proclamation, "Weep for yourselves. Because what's happening here is the beginning of something that is going to be tragic for you." That just gives you a sense of the character, the insight, the focus, the clarity, the determination of Jesus, even hours before his death. It is really remarkable. So, this sounds like a path from which there's no return.

Jonathan (00:37:08): It does.

Rick (00:37:08): Yeah. We're not building up a good case for promise here.

Jonathan (00:37:11): No we're not.

Rick (00:37:12): But that's not the end of the story. We need to read on in that prophecy from Jeremiah. So we paused Jeremiah for a moment. Now let's go back. Remember it said, "I'll hurl you out of the land." Let's go further. Jeremiah 16:14-15, and then 17-18:

Jonathan (00:37:30): "Therefore behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when it will no longer be said, as the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but, as the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them. For I will restore them to their own land, which I gave to their fathers."

Rick (00:37:55): This statement, this statement in Jeremiah is far more dramatic I think than we might realize. The entire Bible uses the deliverance of Israel from the of Egyptian slavery as a marker of the absolute greatness of God's power. This deliverance will be recognized as exponentially larger than that.

Jonathan (00:38:18): Wow. That's huge, Rick. This gathering of Israel started back in 1878, seventy years before they became a nation again in 1948 and seventy years later, Jerusalem was recognized as the capital of Israel.

Rick (00:38:34): So now let's look at that because you can see that that's a process, a process of unfolding. Nobody can deny; well, people could deny, but they'd be lying. But you can't deny that Israel is an actual nation in the world. They were not a nation for all of those generations. And you look at that and say, well how did that happen? This is God's promise beginning to show itself, beginning to show itself as that fact that others just didn't see happening yet. But here's the thing, Jonathan; this scripture says, "No longer will they say, blessed be the God that delivered out of the land of Egypt..."

Jonathan (00:39:06): Remember, that's 80+ times plus in the Bible.

Rick (00:39:09): So the Bible folks, listen to this. Think about this for a second. The Bible, one of the big markers of all of Scripture is the delivering of Israel out of the land of Egypt, out of slavery. This scripture says, "you ain't seen nothing yet." That deliverance was a small sampling of what this deliverance is going to show. That is God's promise. See, now we're beginning to see something bigger. Now this prophecy continues with some harsh stuff; sending out fishers and hunters that bring Israel back home. But then, then going back to Jeremiah 16, verses 17-18:

Jonathan (00:39:48): "For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes. I will first doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their despicable idols and with their abominations." Now this prophecy is saying, "I know how bad they are, and yet My deliverance for them this time will be the marker that unfolds the door to eternity."

Rick (00:40:20): The marker that unfolds the door to eternity, that opens up that door, is Israel being regathered from the four corners of the world. We are actually seeing that piece of prophecy in play right this very minute. What most of us don't realize is that is the beginning of the marker that shows what God's eternal plan is. That's how big it is. It's bigger than their being delivered from Egyptian slavery. That blows my mind, because the Bible is built around that deliverance. And yet that's nothing compared to this. God's promises are not to be doubted. The Apostle Paul knew of and looked forward to the restoring of Israel to godly favor. He knew it was coming way back then before the disfavor really, really, really took effect. Romans 11:11-12:

Jonathan (00:41:16): "I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!" See, Paul knows they're being restored.

Rick (00:41:40): He knows. "How much more will their fulfillment be!" This is an expectation. This is an expectation the apostle has. He's not shy about it as we will see because we're going to spend some time in Romans chapter 11. You see that he understands the faithfulness of a promise of God. That's really what this comes down to. Because of the failure of Israel, the call to discipleship to Christ went out to the Gentile nations. Jonathan, without that failure, you and I would not be sitting here.

Jonathan (00:42:06): That's right.

Rick (00:42:07): So there's a tremendous blessing to many as a result of that. This shows us consequences for wrong actions and also shows us blessings for godly obedience. All things in time as God unfolds His plan. Romans 11:15:

Jonathan (00:42:23): "For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?"

Rick (00:42:32): So you see that you have to just pause and read scriptures like this slowly. Let yourself absorb what's being said about the physical nation of Israel. Soon the regathering story of restoring of Israel back to full favor with God will be recognized as one of the most powerful proofs of God's power and plan throughout all of the world. That's what the prophecy said. And if God said it, it's true. Jonathan, God's promise to Israel is real!

Jonathan (00:43:09): As we observe the fall of Israel from God's favor, we can clearly see that sin and choices for evil cannot stifle the plan of God. He allows all of humanity, which in includes His chosen people, Israel, to walk away from Him so when all is said and done, they will never want to leave Him again.

Rick (00:43:29): That's the key. He allows sin and degradation so the experience can give us the clarity of "never going back there, had enough, want to move on to something bigger and better." So as we see these things being put in order, it's hard to wrap our minds around the depth, the forethought and the power of God's plan.

Jonathan (00:43:53): When does this amazing regathering take place? What will be the end result of God's chosen people being fully restored?

Rick (00:44:01): Well, the short answer to these questions was revealed right when we began. God's promise to Abraham explicitly and repeatedly described the blessings of all the families of the earth. While we know that this blessing comes from Jesus as THE seed of blessing, we also see that many prophecies unmistakably show that the physical nation of Israel will play a major role in this blessing as well. Jonathan, there are many Christians that look at Israel and say, "Well they're done. They're over," because you've got spiritual Israel, and they see Christianity as the replacement for Israel. What they fail to realize that what these prophecies and these scriptures have shown us, they fail to realize that God's plan is bigger than that. He gave a promise, He verified the physical part as well as the spiritual part. One doesn't replace the other; the two end up working exactly together in perfect harmony, because that's what God promised.

Jonathan (00:45:07): When Jesus prophesied the signs of his return, he quietly told us that Israel's regathering and beginning stages of favor would be one of those signs. Luke 21:29-31: "Then he told them a parable: Behold the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near." This started in 1878 in the town called Petah Tikva, which means "Doorway of Hope."

Rick (00:45:45): That was a fulfillment of prophecy because God's promises cannot be stopped. God is eternal and He can promise something, and then thousands of years later that promise can come to fruition. And humanity can lose sight of it and make fun of it and forget about it, but it is eternal. When its time arrives, it becomes unmistakable. That's really what Jesus is saying. He's talking about his return; as he's saying, "You'll know that I'm returning when you see the fig tree with leaves." Now remember the fig tree that he withered? And nothing ever good came from that again. So you see that his return is tied to the restoration of Israel. That's a big hint as to how God's plan unfolds with this blessing. So now the apostle Paul sets us on a path of prophecy as he continues describing Israel's regathering and their restoration. We're going to go back to Romans 11, and these are important verses because again, the big question is, is the Jewish nation really God's chosen people? Unequivocally YES. Just listen. Just listen. This is Paul, this is the apostle to the Gentiles talking about the physical nation of Israel. Romans 11:25-27:

Jonathan (00:47:05): "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, the deliverer will come from Zion, he will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins." "All of Israel will be saved." Did you hear that?

Rick (00:47:37): I was actually listening to what you read, I really was. I really was. And you know the interesting thing is Paul is quoting an Old Testament prophecy. The beauty of Scripture is when you tie it together, you see this harmonious message that tells us these very big, profound things. He's quoting from Isaiah, and so we know that this prophecy in Isaiah has a future fulfillment. A lot of times, again, some Christians look at prophecies like this and say, well it was about them at that time. Well the fact that the apostle Paul brings it to the New Testament times and makes it about all of Israel tells us it was about that time, but it's also about the future. Isaiah 59:20-21:

Jonathan (00:48:17): "A redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, declares the LORD. As for Me, this is My covenant with them, says the LORD: My spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring, says the LORD, from now and forever." Now, wait, didn't Jesus come to Zion 2,000 years ago, and none of this came true?

Rick (00:48:46): You're right. He did come and none of it came true. But that's why he returns. Because his return is what finally brings those things. Jesus' return accomplishes what this prophecy said, as Israel had rejected him at his first advent. Why? Because God promised. God promised, and the return of Jesus is the proof of his promise. And one of the reasons he comes, he comes to gather the true saints to heaven, we know that. But one of the other main, main reasons; bringing down the kingdoms, we know that. But it's to restore; to finally fully, clearly, unequivocally restore the nation of Israel. We know that. We know that because the scriptures tell us that. Jeremiah further helps us see the power of this New Covenant with Israel. This is important. There's a New Covenant. We had the old, now there's a New Covenant here being spoken of in Jeremiah 31:31-34:

Jonathan (00:49:48): "Behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares the LORD." Well, the Old Covenant came as a result of Israel's deliverance from Egypt. The New Covenant comes as a result of Israel's deliverance from being scattered throughout the world and nearly destroyed. Let's read verse 33: "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD, I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." I'd like to pause here. The old Law Covenant was written on stone tablets, but the New Covenant will be written on their hearts.

Rick (00:50:45): That's beautiful.

Jonathan (00:50:46): That is, it is. I'll continue. "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, know the LORD, for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the LORD, for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

Rick (00:51:03): So, you have the comparison of the Old Covenant and the New, and there's a brilliance here in Scripture. Now that's no surprise, but I just want to pause and acknowledge it, okay? In this prophecy it says, "This New Covenant won't be like the one I made when I brought them out of Egypt." That's one of those 80+ times, okay? It won't be like that. It'll be different. It'll be bigger. It'll be written on their hearts. So it will be in a position where it actually sinks in, not from the outside in, but now from the inside out. There's this incredible depth of God's promise that you look at in scriptures like this. You say this is not just about a theoretical nation with theoretical people at some theoretical time. This is real human beings, one at a time, having that covenant written on their hearts. That just blows my mind how beautiful this is. So this is great favor. How long will this new favor and this New Covenant last? Fortunately we have an answer because Jeremiah's going to describe that for us as we continue in Jeremiah 31:35-36:

Jonathan (00:52:14): "Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; the LORD of hosts is His name: If this fixed order departs from before Me, declares the LORD, then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever." So as long as the sun is there, all is good?

Rick (00:52:41): Well, that's what the prophecy is saying. Folks, listen to this, okay? Please understand this is an earthly prophecy for an earthly nation. How many Christians think that the earth is going to be burned up? You can't have a burned up earth and this happening at the same time, it just doesn't fit. The prophecy says, "God who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and stars for light by night, as long as those things occur, My promises are intact." Jonathan, you're looking into the future millions and millions and millions of years.

Jonathan (00:53:18): How about eternity? I like that sound.

Rick (00:53:19): I think eternity sounds pretty good. The point is that what you have is a promise. "In thee and thy seed will all the families earth be blessed." You've got an eternity attached to it. That's the magnitude of God's promise! And wait, it's even bigger! Okay, just hang on, okay?

Jonathan (00:53:38): Okay.

Rick (00:53:38): What will this eternal covenant with Israel accomplish for the rest of resurrected humanity? Because so far we're looking at Israel saying, well this is pretty cool. This is pretty amazing. This is pretty huge. But remember it said "all the families of the earth would be blessed." Let's look at Micah 4:1-4. We'll take it in pieces.

Jonathan (00:53:56): "And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it." Now, "mountains" represent governments. This is God's government. And "peoples" represented here are all humanity that ever lived. Let's continue, verse 2: "Many nations will come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob (Israel), that he may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths. For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." All, Rick, will be educated based on the truth, the word of God.

Rick (00:54:42): Jonathan, the word of God is the promise of God. We have just, through Scripture, been able to see dramatic demonstration of the magnitude of the word of God. You've got all nations flocking to the God of Jacob, the God of Israel. You've got the law of God coming from where?

Jonathan (00:55:04): Jerusalem.

Rick (00:55:05): The capital of the world in God's kingdom. You see this magnitude and what it's telling us is, God is saying very quietly that "I made a promise and here's what that little short promise actually means." And through scripture we see it magnified here and magnified there and dramatized so that we can hold onto and say, "This is something that we can really, really, really look forward to." Let's go to verse 3:

Jonathan (00:55:36): "And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions from mighty distant nations..."

Rick (00:55:41): So judgment is a big part of this.

Jonathan (00:55:43): Yes, absolutely.

Rick (00:55:44): That's why it's called the Day of Judgment. The Day of Judgment is not a bad day, it's a good day. Because it's a day of reckoning. It's a day of reconciliation, it's a day of trial, it's a day of growing into the righteousness of God through Christ, as shown by Israel. So you've got God's government established. You've got the people streaming to it. You've got the judgment, right?

Jonathan (00:56:09): You got it.

Rick (00:56:09): So what's the next word in the scripture?

Jonathan (00:56:12): "Then..."

Rick (00:56:13): Okay, stop. "Then." You put these things in place and now something else happens as a result. What comes next?

Jonathan (00:56:22): "...they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war. Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken." There will be no more war. World peace at last!

Rick (00:56:48): It says, "For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken." When God makes a promise, there is nothing in any part of eternity or any part of creation that can change that. It speaks of each sitting under their own vine and fig tree. You think about those as physical vine and fig tree, but think about the symbolism. Humanity will dwell in peace, safety, and righteousness under the vine, which symbolizes Jesus and his faithful church. Remember in John 15, "I am the vine, you are the branches."

Jonathan (00:57:22): Yes.

Rick (00:57:22): The fig tree, which we know obviously symbolizes the nation of Israel. All of God's highly favored; the true faithful Christians, the nation of Israel, will be watching over all of God's favored; the rest of all of resurrected humanity.

Jonathan (00:57:42): Rick, billions in real time will witness Israel's deliverance from their final battle prophesied in Ezekiel 39:6-8. And after this battle, in Zechariah 12:9-10, the prophecy says that the nation of Israel accepts Jesus as their Messiah and deliverer, and everyone will witness it.

Rick (00:58:04): That's an interesting thing you said that we just have to pause and consider. Millions and millions in real time, perhaps billions in real time will watch that. Technology attaches the world. The world can see events in real time. Israel will have final trouble, final battle, and they will have final deliverance. Today's podcast has no time for that, but that's all scriptural. They will see God's promised protection and deliverance unfold before them, before all of these things will happen. And this is why, Jonathan, this second deliverance from all the four corners of the Earth is so much bigger than the deliverance from slavery in Egypt, which was mentioned over 80 times, incidentally, in the Bible. That was an introduction to this deliverance, which is an introduction to eternity. It's amazing. Romans 11:33-36:

Jonathan (00:59:00): "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the LORD, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen."

Rick (00:59:27): What a powerful depiction of the glory of God through the physical nation of Israel, the physical nation of Israel, God's chosen people. Their favor, folks, their favor is going to be bigger than you can even begin to fathom because that's what God promised. Finally, Jonathan, one last time, God's promise to Israel? Israel!

Jonathan (00:59:57): The account of Abraham's faith and obedience and God's promises to him introduced the breathtaking account of the nation of Israel. God favored them. Then when they rejected Jesus, He cast them off, not only for their own good, but for the good of every human being who ever lived. Let's see these things for what they are; just, loving, wise, and powerful.

Rick (01:00:24): Let's see God's word for what it is. An undeniable, unmistakable promise of today, tomorrow, and eternity. Let's see God's plan for what it is; a well-thought-out reconciliation process that includes any human being who's ever lived to be raised and have the opportunity for life. Let's understand these things. And just one last time, let's go back to Genesis 22:17-18: "...indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." This is the promise of God. So this is the word that establishes what will happen for eternity for all of humanity. Let's take God at His word. Let's take the word of God and realize it's a plan and a promise for a future that is beyond our imagination. Folks, Israel is God's chosen people. Think about it. We love hearing from our listeners. We welcome your feedback and questions on this episode and other episodes at ChristianQuestions.com. Coming up in our next episode, "Does Biblical Truth Really Make Us Free?" We'll talk to you about that next week.

Final Notes (01:01:51): copyright @2023 Christian Questions. In addition to this transcript, we provide comprehensive CQ Rewind Show Notes for every episode. They include every scripture quoted during the podcast, as well as graphics, illustrations and bonus material. Click the "CQ Rewind Show Notes" button near the audio player or sign up to receive these weekly at ChristianQuestions.com. This transcript was created using artificial intelligence. While we believe it to be accurate, we apologize for any errors that may exist.