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Chapter
23
The
Holy People
“And
the Gentiles shall
see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by
a new name, which
the mouth of the LORD shall name… And they shall call them,
The holy
people…” (Isaiah 62:2 & 12)
What a vivid contrast we find here in these words from Isaiah
when we compare them with what Moses had prophesied for the times that would
pass before the above prophecy was fulfilled. “And thou shalt become
an astonishment,
a proverb, and a
byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.”
(Deuteronomy
28:37) In direct fulfillment of Moses’ prophecy,
the World Book
Encyclopedia gives the following definition:
‘Jew – slang, to bargain with over-keenly beat (down)
in price, used in unfriendly manner.’ Even worse the Oxford
Dictionary states the following: Jew – Person of
Hebrew race, unscrupulous usurer or bargainer, cheat,
overreach. ’The rejection, despisal and persecution
of the Jewish people by the nations is commonly
known as
anti-Semitism, and has led to horrendous crimes against this people by
which so obviously have been set apart from the nations by
God. Balaam, one of history’s first hired advocates
of anti-Semitism was forced by God to bless and not curse Israel. Among
his blessings, the following prophecy is found: “…the people
shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned
among the
nations.” (Numbers 23:9) A people apart, a
history of sorrows, a lonely pathway of anguish and grief. How
is it that the chosen people of God have become the rejected
people of our world, and however shall they recover to become the head
of the nations as has been promised?
Christianity
is the only religion that has been born out of the rejection of its own
people. The Lord, Yeshua Messiah is a Jew from the house of
David, born in the Land in David’s City. He is the
foundation stone of faith for millions. Christianity is a Jewish
religion with its roots firmly planted in the Patriarchs and
Prophets. The Christian handbook, the Bible, has been written, compiled
and preserved by Jews. The divine inspiration of the Bible is again
clearly seen by its declaration that, Messiah blessed be He,
should be rejected by His own: “He
is despised and rejected
of men; a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our
faces from him; he was
despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3)
I
am aware that the following observations are very delicate but could I
truly be called a Christian friend of Israel if I failed to
broach it. I believe with all my heart that Israel’s sad lot
is a direct consequence of her rejection of Yeshua.
There
will be a steady deterioration in her relationship with the nations
despite her best efforts. Let me balance this by saying again
that the nations are courting disaster too by their rejection
of Israel as God’s covenant people in their God-given land.
Eventually, these two gross errors will find their fulfillment
in the emergence of a false messiah. He will have universal
acclaim both in Israel and the world. Far from being a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief, he will rise with lightning speed
to a position of world supremacy. His feigned friendship with
Israel will serve no other purpose than to give him access to
Israel’s ‘soft belly’: “I
come in my
Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own
name, him ye will
receive.” (John 5:43) His aim will be the total
annihilation of all Jews from the face of the earth.
Praise
God that he who knows His own has already chosen a remnant among His
people. This remnant shall be preserved by His mighty right
hand and will totally revolutionise world opinion in regard to
the Jews. When He who was despised and rejected by His own is enthroned
as “King of the
Jews” in Jerusalem, Israel too shall reverse its
current position and be the head, not the tail of the nations,
Jerusalem shall be the joy of the whole earth: “And
they shall build
the old wastes, thy shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall
repair the waste
cities, the desolations of many generations.” (Isaiah 61:4) “And
it shall come to
pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and
house of Israel; so
will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your
hands be strong. For
thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when
your fathers provoked
me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented
not: So again
have I thought in
these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not…
Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts
in Jerusalem, and
to pray before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In
those days it shall
come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of
the nations, even
shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go
with you: for we have
heard that God is with you.” (Zechariah 8:13-15, 22-23)
Oh
Israel, how we long to see you fulfill your God given destiny. What a
wonderful change shall take place in regard to the attitude of
the nations. The Jews, humbled by their amazing rejection of
Messiah, will be a meek and lowly people perfectly suited to rule the
world under the guidance of their King.
I
remember being saddened some time ago when British Royalty went to
visit the late President Sadat of Egypt in the Royal Yacht. No
King or Queen want to visit Israel, how different it will be
then. “Thus
saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and
set up my standard
to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy
daughters shall be
carried upon their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing
fathers, and their queens
thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their
face toward the earth,
and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the
LORD; for they
shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” Isaiah 49: 22-23)
Oh
how wonderful, wonderful word of the Lord which gives us such hope even
though today, a darkness is descending upon both the Holy Land
and our world. Arise, O lover of the God of Jacob, pray and
intercede for Israel for the promise is sure, and our God has commanded us
who are watchmen to take no rest until His holy name is vindicated.
Then shall the Jews be called “The
holy
people” to the glory of God. O Lord, hasten that
day.
© Copyright Dirk Evenhuis. The book Israel's Destiny is
protected by
Australian copyright law.
No part of the book may be used or
distributed for commercial reasons without the written
permission of
the author Dirk Evenhuis.
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