Israel andProphecy _________________ By CHARLES L. FEIN BERG___________________
In prophetic books, sessions and conferences, one hears almost con tinuously of the "Times of the Gen tiles" and the "Age of the Church." Not many realize that there is a Biblical age concerning the "Times of the Jews." "Times of" is a politi cal designation. It relates to sov ereignty or rule on the earth. God first delegated rule to Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26). After the flood God said to Noah, "And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered" (Genesis 9:2). A third such delegating of authority was given by the Lord to Abraham (Genesis 17:6). In this state of af fairs, God ruled through the de scendants of Abraham. Thus, when Israel was in obedience to the will of God, they were free of foreign oppression and domination. Consider the book of Judges for that marvelous truth. When sin dominated the life of Israel they were cruelly and tyranically dom inated by foreign oppressors and invaders. Moses made it eminently plain, "Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness,
and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shaft thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee" (Deuteronomy 28:47,48). No one can fail to see the great contrast between obedience and disobedience in the national life of Israel. Moses again reminded his people in Deuteronomy 28:44 that in case of departure from God's will, Israel would realize in their oppressors that "he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail." On the other hand Abraham's seed was told, "The Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I com mand thee this day, to observe and to do them" (Deuteronomy 28:13). How blessed to trust and obey. To obey is glory. To disobey is agony. Cleave to the will of God and the will of God alone! It is wonderful to see Israel in prophecy giving us another signpost along the way toward obedience of the Lord.
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