Israel is God’s chosen nation. Through this nation God has fulfilled and will fulfill His covenants. Through Israel He has blessed and revealed Himself to all humanity in the promise of a Savior. That promise was fulfilled in the Person of Jesus Christ and ratified by the blood He shed on the cross for our sin. His death purchased our redemption and His resurrection secured our justification before God. The Messiah has come from Israel, fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant that stated that his seed would be the source of blessing to all people in the entire world.
Jehovah God established the national covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai during their journey to the Land of Promise. Israel was to be the nation God would use to reveal and preserve His Word. It was also where He would place His throne in the capital city of Jerusalem, fulfilling the Davidic Covenant. God promised to bless Israel and protect them. He promised to provide for them too. The nation of Israel would forever hold a special place and purpose in God's heart and plan. They were and are a blessed nation indeed!
Despite all that God had done for them in choosing them, providing for them and protecting them from their enemies, the nation made the decision to replace God Him with false gods of their own making. This happened in the days of the Old Testament prophets. Jeremiah 2:13 states "For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." As a result, the relationship went from one of joy and fellowship, to one of grief and judgment. When we see this nation, we shake our heads in wonder. Yet just like the nation of Israel, there are many who through faith in Christ have entered into a personal relationship with God. It too is a covenant relationship. Yet it seems that there are many who forsake their love and loyalty to Christ, a relationship made possible by His death upon Calvary, to indulge themselves in other passions and pursuits; to follow after gods of their own making. In light of Calvary’s cross, is this not also something to cause us to wonder? Let’s examine our relationship to God and renew our commitment to Him. Let us not repeat Israel’s error, but stay true to Him Who loved us and saved us from our sin by becoming our Substitute. He is deserving of our love and our loyalty. Lord send a revival!
