“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were THE LEAST OF ALL PEOPLES; but because the LORD loves you, and because HE WOULD KEEP THE OATH WHICH HE SWORE TO YOUR FATHERS, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. “Therefore, know that the LORD your GOD, HE IS GOD, the FAITHFUL GOD WHO KEEPS COVENANT AND MERCY FOR A THOUSAND GENERATIONS…” (Deuteronomy 7:6-9)
What oath did God swear to the fathers? “The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country and your people. Go to the land I will show you. “I WILL MAKE YOU INTO A GREAT NATION. I WILL BLESS YOU. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you. I will put a curse on anyone who calls down a curse on you. ALL NATIONS ON EARTH WILL BE BLESSED BECAUSE OF YOU.” (Genesis 12:1-3) When Abraham was obedient to God, the Lord said, “…in blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore…In your seed ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED, because YOU HAVE OBEYED MY VOICE.” (Genesis 22:17-18)
The writer of Hebrews tells us, “When God made His promise to Abraham, saying, “Surely in blessing (1) I WILL BLESS YOU, and in multiplying (2) I WILL MULTIPLY YOU.” …Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by TWO UNCHANGEABLE THINGS in which IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD TO LIE, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.” (Hebrews 6: 13-14, 17-18) We know that Israel WAS PUNISHED MANY TIME’S because of their disobedience, King Nebuchadnezzar DESTROYED Jerusalem and SOLOMONS TEMPLE in 587 BCE, and forced the Jewish people into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Then is 70 Ad, Roman General Titus came to Jerusalem, tore down Herod’s beautiful temple (the second temple of God) and killed thousands of Jews and sent the rest ALL OVER THE WORLD. Dictator Adolf Hitler’s “Final Solution”—now known as the Holocaust—came to fruition during World War II, with mass killing centers in concentration camps. About six million Jews and some five million others, died in the Holocaust—more than one million of those who perished were children.
Then, for the SECOND TIME, (“And it shall be in that day, the Lord shall again set His hand, the SECOND TIME, to recover the remnant of His people…” (Isaiah 11:11)) God brought Israel back, on May 14th, 1948, Israel became a nation, once again! Remember, “IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD TO LIE” No matter how rebellious the Jews are in FAILING TO ACCEPT JESUS as their Savior, Jesus says to them, “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place. Then let those in Judea FLEE into the mountains.” (Matthew 24:15-16) “And the woman (Israel) fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place PREPARED OF GOD (God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear) that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days (the last half of the tribulation).” (Revelation 12:1-3; 5-6) The Jewish Nation goes through this because of their refusal to accept Christ, but when beast declares “he is god” that’s when they realize they have been deceived. God’s Church will be gone by then because “…the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but THE ONE WHO NOW HOLDS IT BACK (the Holy Spirit in the Church) will continue to do so till HE is taken out of the way (the catching up, rapture). And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth…” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8)
OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL TO SAVE US, WHO BELIEVE IN HIM AND ACCEPT HIM, AS OUR ABBA FATHER!
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham