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.

Out of Death and Into Life!

2 Chronicles 17; Zechariah 2; John 5; Revelation 6

Concentration is difficult. The world is in a mess, or at least the news says it is. A well-known pastor says it is ripe for the antichrist. While many have great hope in new leadership, history shows that human leaders are flawed and very soon the people who elect them are again dissatisfied. Personally, I’m grieving the losses. We are in lockdown here. Everything but essential services are closed. Our church went back to online only. Our family cannot join us for Christmas dinner. Even worse, we wait for confirmation but it seems our great-nephew has died. My heart struggles to see what I know is there; that God loves us and He never makes mistakes.

Jesus illustrates the fact of “the big picture” in the plan of God by telling the religious people of His day that this plan started a long time ago. They missed it because from the beginning, they refused to rely on the Lord and instead trusted their “own way” no matter how many times their efforts got them in trouble.

Like that description of insanity, sin also is about doing the same thing over and over thinking the results will be different. In the case of the religious Jews, Jesus said to them:

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:39–47)

There are days when the reality of unbelief and the consequences of sin get me depressed. I can repent for myself but cannot change the hearts of those bent on doing their own thing to their destruction. This is not to say that the people of God will not die a physical death. However, biblical ‘destruction’ is about separation from God for eternity. Some will die forever because of their determination to reject God’s salvation. Yet others will die physically because they determined to follow Jesus Christ!

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Revelation 6:7–11)

If this life only is the most important thing, then we are all coming to the same end, but as Jesus said, there is more to life than this life:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. (John 5:24–25)

APPLY: Today, this promise from Jesus is my comfort. The young man that we have been fervently praying for has passed, not from life to death, but from death to life. He stands before the throne of God complete and more alive than when he was here. And we will see him again, not just for a short visit but forever and ever.