The descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob made up the people of Israel. God chose them to be his people, he adopted them as his children in a special way despite being few and stiff-necked people (Deuteronomy 7:6-7, Exodus 32:9). He saved them from slavery in Egypt. God gave them the privilege to be custodians of his law, gave them statutes and ordinances. He gave them the temple services and a land full of milk and honey which was conveniently placed (Ezekiel 5:5) to influence the World.
Most important God made a covenant with them (Genesis 17:7, Exodus 24:8) that if they keep his word (Exodus 19:5) he will bless them and make them a Kingdom of Priests to bring the Gentiles back to God, be a light to the world (Isaiah 42:6-7, 49:6) and be a channel for Gods blessings. God kept his part (Isaiah 51:2, Psalms 89:34) but they did not. He was patient and forgiving (Joel 2:13) but they consistently failed him as a people (Hebrews 8: 6-7).
There was a need for a new covenant (Hebrews 8: 6-7, Jeremiah 31:31-33). This new covenant did not involve shadows but is the real one (Hebrews 11: 8-10). The temple is in Heaven, the land is a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21:1), the city is New Jerusalem (Rev 21:10) and the blood is of Gods begotten son Jesus Christ. The new covenant is of the Israel of faith (Galatians 3:7, 26-29). Through his mercy God has called us despite being sinful, he has adopted us (1Peter 2: 9-10) and crafted us (Romans 11:17) into true Israel.
In the new covenant, we call on the name of the Lord to be saved and to God to grant us repentance (Acts 2:21, Romans 2:4). God then saves us from the bondage of sin (1 Corinthians 6:9-11, John 8:36), We demonstrate our repentance through baptism (Acts 2:38). The law of God is written in our hearts (Hebrews 8:10, Psalms 119:11). Our part is to love Jesus, keep his commandments (John 14:15), spread his word (Mathew 28:19-20, Revelation 14:6-7, 9-10) and wait for his 2nd coming to fulfill his promises.
We keep the promises refreshed by symbolically taking the blood of the covenant (Mathew 26:27-28, 1 Corinthians 12:24-26) as a witness that we have accepted Christs sacrifice to cleanse our sins. We have the surety (Guarantee) that this new covenant will not fail (Heb 7:22). “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful”-Hebrews 10:23. If we keep the covenant we are the people who Jesus saw sitting with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven (Mathew 8:11, Romans 9:6).
So are you an Israelite?
Discussion Question; Why did God allow polygamy in the old testament but not in the new testament?
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