and I dwell in the midst of the land of a people with unclean lips.” Then Israel also had the covenants. This word signifies a specific contract, the first of which was made with Abraham (Gen. 1 7 :7, 8 ). These prom ises were repeated and expanded through Isaac and Jacob, and on through God’s witness to Joseph, Moses and David. The portion of Scripture we are studying also shows how the children of Israel were given the perfect law of God. In addition, the Lord made provision that when the law was broken, a prescribed course could be followed, pointing to the promise of the Redeemer. The various rituals Israel carried out through their priests were the means whereby they might keep in fellow ship with God. The Lord gave Israel many prom ises indicating what He would do for them. The five books of the Old Tes tament reveal this very plainly. We can’t follow the historical, poetical, or prophetical books of the Bible with out seeing this very real and evident fact. The sad part of it is that in spite of Israel’s untold privileges she drifted from these great blessings. We need to learn a lesson from their history. You and I have received great privileges and blessings from God. In the Lord Jesus Christ we, too, have been adopted. We know His glory as the Holy Spirit dwells within our hearts. We have been given His Word that we might walk in newness of life and daily fellowship with Him. As we see how Israel drifted from all of her blessings, we need to ask, “Are we squandering our heritage, too?” Let us take stock, making a spiritual inventory of where we stand. W E have talked about the great privileges God gave to His peo ple as to their name being Israel, as to their adoption, as to God’s pres ence manifested in His glory, and as to the fact that they were a covenant people. Children Of The Father
Now in Romans 5 :9 we come to the fact of their identity with God Him self through the patriarchs, “Whose are the fathers, and of whom as con cerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever.” This expression, “whose are the fathers,” is very important in the light of the Old Testament. In the New Testament when Paul speaks of his relationship to God the Father, as a believer he in variably addresses Him through the Lord Jesus. In the Old Testament the approach was somewhat different, for the prophets speak of God as “God, the father of Abraham, Isaac and J a cob.” Since Paul is speaking of his ancient people, he uses this great ex pression, “whose are the fathers.” In Exodus 3:14-15 Moses asked God, “If you want me to lead the peo ple of Israel, whom shall I say to them hath sent me?” “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM : and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of J a cob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this my memorial unto all generations.” Here God iden tifies Himself with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In so doing He sets forth His wonderful name, “I AM THAT I AM.” This title is wonderful because it tells of promise and of God’s great blessing. Paul also introduces us to one of the reasons why Israel was chosen. It was to bring us the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. In this fifth verse we have both the humanity and the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ stressed. Micah prophesied Christ’s coming through Israel, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephra- tah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose going forth have been from of old, from everlast ing” (Micah 5 :2 ). Israel confirms this for us in his prophecy, chapter 9 verse 6, “For unto us a child is born, 8
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