- 11, <ì_A \0\T\ The Future Glory Of Israel
by Dr. Thomas M. Chalmers
H ow g l o r io u s w i l l b e t h a t d a y when Israel is recon ciled to God! Then will she arise in the full glory of spiritual life from God. His people will be prepared to serve God as they have not done in all their history. Then will the mystery of the choice and preservation of Israel in the midst of the nations be made clear to all. The sight of a nation for centuries separated by unbelief from the favor of Jehovah, but now reconciled to Him, will attract the attention of the whole world. The con version of a people who for so long rejected their own Messiah and Lord will cause rejoicing in all ends of the earth. Multitudes of men and women will marvel at the grace and love of the Almighty in bringing this nation to its Lord. Israel reconciled to God will furnish a fresh and marvelous proof of the truth of the Holy Scriptures. Here will be manifested on a national scale the mighty power of divine grace in regenerating sinful men. The result will be fresh glory to God. For the millennium of rejection, God will receive everlasting praise from a reconciled Israel. II. THE GLORY OF A REUNITED NATION The nation of Israel has been disunited for nearly three thousand years. No other people has ever presented such a spectacle of disunity with the promise of final com plete union. How beautiful it will be to see the tribes of Israel all dwelling in peace and holiness in the renewed and enlarged land of Palestine. Then will appear the true glory of Israel. Then will the nation fulfill the whole purpose of its Lord, and all Israel will manifest the lovely unity of Psalm 133, whereby the precious ointment of the Spirit and the dew of heavenly blessing will fill the earth with all graciousness. The classic passage revealing the coming unity of all the tribes of Israel is Ezekiel 37:15-25. Ry the command of Jehovah the prophet took two sticks, ong standing for the southern tribes and the other for the northern tribes. These two were to become one in his hand, and this pub licly before the people, so that we see here a dramatic parable which would be clear in meaning to all. The word of the Lord to the prophet, in verses 21 and 22, makes this still clearer: “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land; And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all.” III. THE GLORY OF THE THEOCRATIC KINGDOM When the great Messiah of Israel appears a second time, He will bring to full realization the covenant promise to Abraham The covenants of Sinai and
David were but outgrowths of the Abrahamic covenant by which the way of pardon and eternal life was fore shadowed and the kingdom pledged. The great hope of Israel, of an earthly kingdom of peculiar glory and power, was not destroyed by the coming and redemptive work of Christ, but was merely postponed during the unbelief of the Jews. With such a King as the Lord of glory, with Israel a blessing to men everywhere and the nations largely con verted to God, so that the earth is “ filled with the knowl edge and the glory of the Lord,” what else but glory will adorn the lives and homes of men? IV. THE GLORY OF MEDIATORIAL BLESSING TO THE WORLD The highest glory of Israel in that day will be that of mediatorship for the world. For this was Israel chosen, and Israel’s chief blessing will not be enjoyed until she yields to thef Lord to accomplish this great task set for her. When the proper time comes there will be no question as to the readiness of the Jewish nation for “ Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power” (Psalm 110:3). The heavenly gifts of that anointed race will then be devoted to bringing the richest spiritual blessing to the Gentiles. The last great promise in the original covenant with Abraham reads, “ In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). Israel’s blessing is for the purpose of blessing to the whole world, as the prayer of renewed Israel in Psalm 67:1, 2, reveals: “God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all na tions.” Well may every believer today praise God for His great people and promise concerning Israel. Well may every Jew ponder the decision of the rabbinical council in rejecting their Messiah almost 2000 years ago and bringing such suffering upon this poor nation while the Gentile nations have entered into Israel’s blessing. But God who is rich in mercy leaves the pathway open to each person who by faith accepts God’s Anointed One. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. Bu,t as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were bom, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” .1— “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever be- lieveth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”2 You are invited to place your faith and trust in the Mes siah of Israel — Jesus of Nazareth. !) John 1:11, 12, 13 2) John 3:14, 15
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THE KING 'S BUSINESS
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