The Israel of God

The Israel of God

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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