born she dedicated him to the Lord. It was her desire above all else that he should be a man of Cod. Unfortunately, when he grew up, he got involved with the wrong company, going down the pathway of sin. He testified later that he had violated every one of the Lord's commandments over and over again. For 31 years this mother prayed for her boy. She died with this petition for him on her lips. Augustine was even too drunk to attend her funeral. It was not until two years later that the Lord touched his heart so that he became a great influence for the entire church of Christ for his generation, as well as down through the ages of time. Monica never doubted that God would not hear and answer her prayer for her son's salvation. The Lord honored that faith. Do not give up in prayer. It may be hard to pray without what seems like hope, but it is harder still to hope without any prayer. Trust God, knowing that He doeth all things well, and that with Him, "all things are possible." Q. Walla Walla, Wash. "Genesis 23:9 states that Abraham bought the cave and the field of Mechpelah for Sarah's burial. Why did Jacob re purchase the property when it was rightfully his by inheritance? Had someone taken over the possession of it during the 80 year interval?" A. The remarkable thing is that, in the light of the fact that the Lord gave all of this property to Abra ham, he bought it in the first place. This was to show that both men were expecting to have their full inheritance to come from God by faith. To our Jewish brethren to day, the way to receive the land is not by barter or buying, or by war
fare or treaty, but by doing the will of God as taught in the Scriptures. Abraham and Jacob also wanted to show that they were looking for the eternal blessing of the Lord of glory. Jacob had been out of the land for so long that the ownership of the property might have been in question. He did not choose to pursue his ownership through the promise given by God to his grand father. Q. Encinitas, Calif. "Are the Jews still the chosen people in the same sense as they were in the Old Testa ment, or is this distinction passed on to the Church?" A. Without question, based on the promises of God's Word, the Jews are still His chosen people. They were selected as a nation, not as individuals necessarily, as a means of giving to the world not only our Bible, but also our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Promises to the Church are entirely different. We are look ing for that blessed hope which is the Rapture (I Thessalonians 4:13- 18). Israel will receive the inheri tance of this earth which was given to Abraham without any qualifica tions whatsoever. These two groups are completely different. We do not hold to what is known as "cove nant theology." You can see a fur ther picture of this very clearly de lineated for us in the 11th chapter of Romans, particularly verse one. For the time being, these people may have been set aside, since to day there is not any difference be tween the Jews and the Gentiles on an individual basis. In a coming hour, however, we will see the ful fillment of the many prophecies concerning the return of the land to their hands, and the establish ment of the millennial reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. Page 25
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker