“Let Israel rejoice in Him that made Him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.” (Psalms 149:2)
In reading the Bible, we learn of God’s initiative to redeem man. We may feel that God could have grabbed man out of the devil’s grasp, could have just taken us and be done with it all. After all, He is all powerful. He is the highest authority. And He is greater than satan. The Creator could have spared us all the misery of the kingdom of sin and darkness. But there is one thing God will not do. He will not force man to love and obey Him. He wants us to willingly love and obey Him. We have to choose to love and obey Him because willingly, Adam and Eve chose to love themselves more than God. They chose to disobey Him and granted the devil access to God’s creation, to their hearts, to their posterity and to all that was good that God had made, to corrupt it and destroy it.
And it’s out of His righteousness that God chose Abraham, who loved and obeyed Him to begin the redemption of man. God had a plan of redemption since before creating the world because God sees the past, present and future at the same time. “That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.” (Ecclesiastes 3:15) God lives in eternity. There is no time in eternity. On earth, it took around 18 centuries to redeem man. God chose the perfect time for His Will and Purposes to be accomplished. And He chose Abraham and his posterity, Jacob and his twelve sons, to have knowledge of Him and to usher the redemption of man. Israel is Jacob’s God-given name.
Redemption was for all mankind, not only the Jews. The church is God’s mystery and unknown until after Jesus. It was difficult for the Jews to understand that then, that God would have mercy on heathens, who worshipped other gods and committed despicable sin. But from the beginning God’s redemptive plan was for all. He gives clues throughout the Old Testament of this intention. To Abraham He says, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.” (Genesis 17:4-5) In the Law, there is provision for the gentile. “And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.” (Numbers 9:14) God’s Word from the writings of Isaiah tell of God’s righteousness for all. “Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from His people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep My sabbaths, and choose the things that please Me, and take hold of My covenant; Even unto them will I give in Mine house and within My walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of My covenant; Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon Mine altar; for Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.” (Isaiah 56:1-7)
Then in the New Testament, God demonstrates that His salvation is also for the Gentiles when Peter sees that Cornelius and his family received the Lord and the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, he realizes that Jesus’ redemption is for all, Jews and Gentiles. (Acts 10) “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.” (Acts 10:34-35)
Even though we are not Jews, we are of the house of Israel. Paul explained our part in the promises to the house of Israel. “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.” (Romans 11:16-19) The simplest summation of these Scriptures are that we are part of the house of Israel and partakes of all the promises of God.
So, we also are called to rejoice and to be joyful in our King. And we praise and worship Him not only for His great works for us, in us and through us, but for Who He is. Great and mighty is our Lord Who has done wonderous things.
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