My heart rests on His promises

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 11:14–21)

This happened, at least in part. After the 70 A.D. Diaspora when many were exiled, the Jewish people abandoned idols. They scattered again, then went to war with five Arab states and in 1948 won even more territory than the UN supported for their national home. In 1967, they captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

The “new heart” may have meant new hope rather than a spiritual transformation. A new heart only happens with faith in their Messiah, but most of the people did not accept Jesus as such. Yet the promise still stands and God keeps His promises.

At the moment, the population of Israel is close to ten million with a high-tech economy, but involved in many complex conflicts and that enduring dispute with Palestine. Those who know the promise look for God to bring unity. Only He can deal with those who reject Him so they can chase after life in their own way.

Christians look for the same fulfillment of God's promise. We want the people of Israel to be united under one faith in one Lord God, recognizing that it is Jesus Christ who will rescue them and enable them to live as intended. This is happening in part. Organizations like Jews for Jesus and others estimate that hundreds of thousands of individuals of Jewish descent identify as Christians. A portion of these practice as Messianic Jews, retaining their Jewish cultural identity while accepting Jesus as their Messiah.

This demonstrates that God is keeping His promise. It may not be as fast or as we hope it will happen, but who can guess how He will do it. Even the 1967 war has been considered a surprise in how He works.

The very next passage after the one above says this:

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision. For there shall be no more any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.” 
And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 12:21–28)

I can hear Him say “Amen” and I must say it too. God keeps His word.

Lord, Your promises are fodder for my faith. Seeing them fulfilled is a reward for hope, but also a great assurance that none of them will fail. When I pray in Your will, You say You will answer, and when I ask for a surprise, You do what is the best thing, and it is also always a surprise. Trusting You is truly a great adventure.

God anoints His Servants

 

While modern use applies the word ANOINTED to anyone officially chosen to an important job, the Bible is far more selective. In the OT, the noun māšîaḥ means “anointed one” and is the Hebrew word that gave us the word “Messiah.” The anointing rite involved sprinkling or rubbing with oil on three categories of people: the high priest, prophets and kings.

The focus of māšîaḥ as a term for the king was not on power or royal status, but on the fact that he has been chosen by God to fulfill tasks that the Lord has given. This is especially applied to David, yet Isaiah 45:1–7 says:

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus (non-Jewish king of Persia), whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.”

This passage is significant in that today’s leaders are also put in place by God for His purposes, lest I forget that God’s ways are not my ways and bellyache about those in power. We have an election coming up and it will be interesting to see what happens in light of . . .

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:20–21).

Far more important is that this OT word became a reference to a future “Anointed One” and the NT reveals Jesus Christ as the fulfillment. John 1:40–41 says: “One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).”

The early Christians soon understood that the “anointed one” references in the OT referred to Jesus. They also applied all three categories of prophet, priest, and king to Jesus. Because of this, He is called Christ from the Greek word Christos which means “Messiah, anointed one” and in English, Christ.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. The OT activity of God in anointed people to do His will culminates in Jesus, the One who prayed in the garden before His crucifixion saying, “Not my will but thine be done” and laid down His life, according to the will of His Father. He did this so His Father could be my Father, Abba and that I could call the Messiah of God my Brother. Jesus, the anointed One did  His work perfectly and works in me that I will someday be like Him. That is awesome. All of this also helps me trust Him with things like who wins elections and runs countries. I may not understand His purposes but I do understand that whatever He wants done, it will happen because whoever He anoints to do it will also be enabled for the task.