THE PROMISED EXALTATION OF A CHOSEN PEOPLE
THE REDEMPTION OF ISRAEL: Covenant Blessing

On the day that God called Abraham out of idolatry and Abraham responded in faith, God entered into a covenant of grace with that man and his descendants. The covenant was renewed with Abraham’s son Isaac and his son Jacob. It was extended and expanded with David beyond just the racial lines to the royal lines. Those covenant promises have not been revoked! They cannot be! Paul emphatically states, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom.11:29). Should God break the covenant, that would make Him either a deliberate deceiver, unreliable to keep His promise, or at the least, an impotent God, incapable of keeping His promise.

God is not through with the Jew! Look at the promise of Romans 10:13, “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’ ” Do you believe God will keep His word? Now, consider the promise of Romans 11:26, “And so all Israel will be saved.” Do you doubt that? You can’t have one without the other.

Early in church history, anti-Semitism came creeping into the church. Where the church had been exclusively Jewish at its start, it became almost exclusively Gentile. Satan saw an opportunity to attack Israel—those he hates. Do you wonder why there is such hatred for Jews? It is because they are God’s chosen—and the devil despises them. Several heresies became entrenched in the church. One of these is that Israel has been replaced by the church—a new spiritual Israel. Augustine was a powerful proponent of this. Later, with the Reformation, and the revival of the church, many key doctrines were recovered, especially justification by faith, yet Luther took a hard turn toward anti-Semitism and most of the Reformers likewise advocated replacement theology—and still many who subscribe to Reformed Theology do today.

Now, a new wave of anti-Semitism is sweeping the world. Pope Benedict recently decried what he calls Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land and attacked Bible-believing Christians for supporting Israel. Well, I get my direction from God, not the Pope. The world is turning against the Jews—even our government. This is all part of the end-times events predicted in the Scripture. But, the promise is given of Israel’s future deliverance. There will come a time when they will receive Christ as their Messiah. This will usher in earth’s golden age at Christ’s return. How exciting that will be!

Mediate on the grace of God that not only saves a prodigal person, but a profligate people, as you ponder these truths:

25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience,
31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.
32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. (Romans 11:25-32)