2000-10-12 - Peace in Israel

Messiah His Final Call to Israel, Part 8

What will it take to see a lasting peace in the land of Israel? I do believe that the Holy Scriptures are not silent on this issue of peace. I do not believe that the plans of men no matter how honest, noble or forthright they may be, will usher in this lasting peace. In this devotional we will begin to examine certain passages of Scripture that are foundational to a lasting peace in Israel, and the peace that will encompass the world.

When Israel came out of Egypt, the Lord led His people to Mount Sinai. Here he appeared in a unique manner and delivered His law to His people. The accounts of these miraculous occurrences are recorded in the Books of Exodus and Leviticus. In the Book of Numbers appears the record of Israel's trek through the wilderness for forty years. There arose during this period a new generation that had not seen the miraculous manifestations of the giving of the law and many infallible proofs of divine intervention at Sinai. At the close of the wilderness wanderings, for the benefit of all the people, especially the new generation, God again broke through the natural barriers of commonplace events and spoke those portions of the law that met the requirements of the time. This repetition of the law constitutes the Book of Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy chapter 4 is replete with meaning. Among the things discussed are the giving of the law, the remnant of the Hebrew people seeking God in the end time, and the deliverance of Israel from Egypt.

In Deuteronomy 4:9-14, Moses urges the people to be diligent in keeping before their minds what they saw and heard at Sinai. The very atmosphere was supercharged with the presence of the God of the universe. Mount Sinai vibrated with divine glory, and a hush of holiness and awe settled down upon the people. Then God, the sovereign of the universe, the covenant keeping Jehovah, spoke the Ten Words, the Ten Commandments, which set forth the basic principles of God's relation to man and of man's relation to man.

Deuteronomy 4:9-14 "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children's children; ¹⁰ the day that thou stoodest before Jehovah thy God in Horeb, when Jehovah said unto me, Assemble me the people, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. ¹¹ And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. ¹² And Jehovah spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of words, but ye saw no form; only ye heard a voice. ¹³ And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. ¹⁴ And Jehovah commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it."

The speaking of the living God to mortal man was unknown to the peoples of the earth. "Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of fire, as thou hast heard, and live?" (Deuteronomy 4:33). This rhetorical question demands the answer, No. "Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee; and upon earth he made thee to see his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire" (Deuteronomy 4:36).

In verses 25-31 Moses gives a brief survey of the course of Jewish history from his day through the centuries to the end time. By the judgments of the Tribulation, the Israelites surviving that period will, comparatively speaking, be few in number.

Deuteronomy 4:27-31 "And Jehovah will scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number among the nations, whither Jehovah shall lead you away. ²⁸ And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. ²⁹ But from thence ye shall seek Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt find him, when thou searchest after him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. ³⁰ When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, in the latter days thou shalt return to Jehovah thy God, and hearken unto his voice: ³¹ for Jehovah thy God is a merciful God; he will not fail thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them."

From these verses we see that the remnant of Israel will seek God with all their heart in the latter days and will find Him.

In verses 32-40 appears a second glimpse of God's delivering His people from Egyptian bondage. It is such a sublime statement of a historical fact that the reader will appreciate the quotation in full:

Deuteronomy 4:32-40 "For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? ³³ Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? ³⁴ Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Jehovah your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? ³⁵ Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that Jehovah he is God; there is none else besides him. ³⁶ Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he made thee to see his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. ³⁷ And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out with his presence, with his great power, out of Egypt; ³⁸ to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as at this day. ³⁹ Know therefore this day, and lay it to thy heart, that Jehovah he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else. ⁴⁰ And thou shalt keep his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days in the land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, for ever."

A most wonderful and sublime peak of Jewish history is yet in the future. Moses concludes Israel's National Anthem with a matchless prophecy of Messiah's second advent. He will appear as El Gibbor (Isaiah 9:6), God the mighty warrior.

Deuteronomy 32:39-43 "See now that I, even I, am he, And there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; And there is none that can deliver out of my hand. 40 For I lift up my hand to heaven, And say, As I live for ever, 41 If I whet my glittering sword, And my hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine adversaries, And will recompense them that hate me. 42 I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, And my sword shall devour flesh; With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the head of the leaders of the enemy. 43 Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: For he will avenge the blood of his servants, And will render vengeance to his adversaries, And will make expiation for his land, for his people"

King David also spoke of Messiah's coming in Psalm 18:1-19. Also see Habakkuk 3:1-15 and Isaiah 63:1-6.

When Messiah does come, He will champion the cause of the faithful remnant of Israel, lift the curse from the earth, and establish His reign of righteousness from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. Then and only then will peace be established and wars cease. Unfortunately, most today will not lend an ear to the truth. It appears as though man believes he can establish his own rules for lasting peace. Some I am sure are very sincere in their desires and efforts to establish peace but they will come to naught. For it is only God's plans and purposes that stand. It is our desire to slowly help you to discover the truth around the events that bring about real peace to Israel. It is our prayer for the truth to rise and for the masses to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Next week we will begin to examine the peace process from Leviticus 26. This prediction was given by Moses at Mount Sinai and is a brief outline of the meandering course over which Israel travels during the centuries, from Moses day to the time that the Chosen People are gathered from among the nations and are restored to their own land.

In His Service,
Rick & Sandy

liv4yeshua@cfdevotionals.org
http://www.cfdevotionals.org