Romans 11:11
"I say then, Have they (the Nation of Israel) stumbled that they should fall? (Is Israel completely out of God's program?) God forbid: but rather through their fall
(when did Israel experience this kind of a fall? When they crucified
their Messiah, and rejected His offer of the King and the Kingdom, and
the Old Testament promises, then through their fall) salvation is come unto the Gentiles,..." Now back to Galatians chapter 3. Looking at verse 14 again to see why we went back to Isaiah, Zechariah, and Romans.
Galatians 3:14a
"That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles though Jesus Christ;..." It
doesn't say that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles
through the Nation of Israel like we just saw in Isaiah does it? What
has happened? Israel fell out of the picture when she refused her place
in the Son. When she rejected the Messiah she also rejected that
glorious opportunity of being a kingdom of priests to the Gentile world.
She became as a desolate wilderness of parched ground. We remember
Exodus chapter 19? As they were gathered around Sinai what did God tell
them?
Exodus 19:5-6a
"Now
therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then
ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the
earth is mine: 6. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests,..." Now
we make a big deal of it, that every Hebrew could have been a
go-between, between the Gentile world and their God. What a prospect
they had, but they blew it, they dropped the ball, but it didn't stop
God, thank goodness. Because now Paul can write that the Gentiles have
received the blessing of Abraham, not through Israel but how? Directly through the Lord Jesus Christ, immediately as soon as they believe!
We don't have to wait for Israel to get her act together. We don't have
to wait for a Hebrew to come to a particular community and give us the
knowledge of their God. Oh! God has done something totally different,
and that is, "He went straight to the pagan world with the message of
salvation through the Apostle Paul without Israel as a go-between. Now
another verse just comes to mind in the Book of Ephesians in chapter 1.
Ephesians 1:11
"In whom (speaking of Christ) also we have obtained an inheritance, (Paul is writing to Gentiles.) being predestinated, according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:" Now, then, according to the eternal purpose of God. And here it even makes it more emphatic. Drop down again to verse 11.
Ephesians 3:11
"According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:" Was
God caught off base when Israel crucified the Messiah? No, because it
was all in the eternal purposes. Now flip on over to II Timothy chapter
1, and oh this is so beautiful, and we hope al can see it. Now don't
become flippant on this as it has a double meaning, what is God's
purpose or Will which gives eternally? Life from a death in resurrection
power. Do you remember how we're always using verse 23 in Acts chapter
2, that according to the determinate counsel of God all these things had
happened. All right now look at verses 8 and 9.
II Timothy 1:8-9
"Be
not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his
prisoner but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according
to the power of God; 9. Who (God) hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works (does that ring a bell? What have we been screaming? Not by works, not by keeping the Law. So not according to our works) but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us (not through Israel, but rather) in Christ Jesus before the world began," The
secret which had been hid from the Hebrews and the Gentiles, though the
ancients knew it in part, because the Book says that they walked with
God and some of them were not because God removed them. They were not
Hebrews but were Gentiles who knew the Most High God by way of personal
experience, trust through knowledge of Him.
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