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"W e already see some o f the marvels o f Israel”
terpretation can we say that the verses which follow will not also be actually fulfilled to the very letter? When God promised that He had not “ cast away his people,” He meant exactly what He said. 2. “A New Heart Also Will I Give You.” Here is something that gives us comfort. That stony heart of Israel, which has withstood the gracious pleading of their God for so long is to be replaced; and in its room there is to be a God-given heart of flesh. What does this mean? Just this: that God is going to re-fashion the Jewish character. In the place of disagreeable traits, He will give them characteristics of which He Himself will approve. His Holy "Spirit will rule in them; and when this has come to pass, they will serve God from the heart. Then they will gladly walk in His statutes and keep His commandments. We all know that there are many traits in the Jewish personality which are hard to like, but this is also true of Gentiles, and let us not forget it! Besides, we should love Israel for Christ’s sake, even though we may not like all they are and all they do. But in that day foretold by Ezekiel all these objectionable traits of character will be changed;
3. “ I Will Bring You into Your Own Land.” God gave the land of Palestine to the fathers of Israel, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. The prophet promised that God would lead Israel, not to Ethiopia, not to China, not to South Africa, not to any of the places to which the scheming politicians of the world have thought to send them. Nor is Ezekiel’s record of God’s grant of this land to Israel an isolated utterance in the Holy Scriptures. At least three times the promise was confirmed to Abraham, and later to Isaac, to Jacob, and to David; and hundreds of times God reassured His peo ple of this part of His covenant with Israel. Palestine belongs to the Jew! It is not the prerogative of any man or nation or government to attempt to give this land to any other people. Nor is the narrow strip which the Jews once occupied all the land given to them by God. In Gen. 15:18 we read, “ In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.” In our own day we have seen Israel restored as a nation. Some have wondered not a little how the entire population of Jews the world over could ever find sub sistence in the small section of land between the Jor dan River and the Mediterranean Sea. But they do not know that the land which God originally gave to Abram and to his seed is about fifty times the size of that por tion conquered by Joshua. Therefore, we need not fear about the man-made schemes to drive Israel from her homeland. 4. “ The Wastes Shall Be Builded.” Let us read to the end of this thirty-sixth chapter of Ezekiel, begin ning with verse 29. We shall quote only portions of these wonderful words here: “ I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field . . . I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the .desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited . . . So shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord.” My friends, this is already coming to pass in a re markable degree. Later as we come to the study of the next chapter of Ezekiel, we shall see just a little of the marvels of scientific farming and progress industrially, culturally, and educationally in this ancient land today. Even greater development lies in the near future. The Word of Israel’s God cannot be broken! Israel is the fastest-growing nation in the world today. TH E NATIONAL RESURRECTION O F ISRAEL 1. Ezekiel’s Vision o f the Valley o f Dry Bones. The thirty-seventh chapter of Ezekiel opens with the strange vision, which God gave to the prophet, inter preted by God Himself, and picturing the national res urrection of Israel. This intensely dramatic scene
Although this map shows the traditional view of Palestine, the area promised to Abraham’s seed encompasses vastly more territory. Great wealth is available in the Dead Sea alone. and a new and truly lovable spirit will be given His people by the Lord Himself. They will recognize in Jesus their long-unseen Messiah. John tells us that “he came unto his own, arid his own received him not” (John 1:11). But when He comes again, Israel will spontaneously and joyfully acclaim Him as their long- awaited Messiah; and with new hearts they will serve Him.
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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