ISRAEL AND THE GOSPEL
A heresy as old as the Church is the teaching that Israel is the Church.
With the setting aside of the nation of Israel, this teaching says that all the
promises to Israel have passed to the Church and that we cannot expect the
fulfillment of any of the promises or the keeping of any of the covenants
which God has made to and with the nation of Israel. All of this, in spite of
the direct teaching of the Word of God to the contrary. For instance we read
in Romans 11:29 that "the gifts and calling of God are without repentance ";
that is, every gift, every promise, and every covenant which God has made
with Israel shall yet be fulfilled.
Our purpose, D. V., in the next few articles of this chapter is to give an exposition of Romans IX, X and XI, which gives God's teaching, plans, and
purposes concerning Israel and her relationship to the Gentiles and the
Church. We will do well at the very outset to keep in mind the three divisions of mankind as given by God in the New Testament. In I Cor. 10:32 we
read of Jews, Gentiles, and the Church of God. We will have a fuller exposition of that a little later in our studies. We also want to get this truth over
that at no place and at no time does Israel ever mean anything but the lineal
descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
In Romans 9:1-5 we read: "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great
heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the
flesh: Who are Israelites: to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory,
and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the
promises,' whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ
came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. "
As the Apostle Paul calls upon his conscience to bear him witness in the
Holy Spirit that he is telling the truth in Christ, we call to mind that there
are three realms in which man stands: (1) He could have said the truth "in
Adam." All mankind is in Adam, and the pride of the flesh and of life if
reared in an environment where truth is honored could cause an
unregenerate man to have regard for the truth. (2) Paul could have spoken
the truth "in Moses." Under the law Moses had commanded, "Thou shalt
not bear false witness." Paul's regard for the law and the covenants of Sinai
would have impelled him to tell the truth. (3) Paul speaks the truth "in
Christ." Regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and having genuine love for the
Lord who is Truth, Paul as a man in Christ and as a member of His Body,
the Church, was speaking the truth in the element in which he lived: that is,
in Christ. It is not just pride of the flesh, it is not just obedience to the law of
Moses, but it is in Christ that Paul speaks concerning his love for his
kinsmen Israel.
When Paul speaks of his kinsmen he refers to the relationship of the flesh
(Phil. 3:4-6). Paul remembers that according to the flesh Christ was of the
seed of David and of Abraham; consequently, a Jew Himself. This is a most
refreshing statement to read in this day in which we find so few people who
have a love for the Jews. Here is a reference to a very common experience: A
lady was visiting in an evangelical church pastored by a nationally famous
individual, and when she asked the pastor about work in that city among
the Jews, he replied, "Thank God, we have practically run them all out of
here."
The tragedy of such misconception pertaining to Israel is to be seen when
a Jew makes a confession of faith in Christ. He becomes literally "a man
without a country." His own people, the Jews, care nothing for him; and
Gentile Christians will not welcome him into their fellowship except in a few
isolated instances where the Word of God has been taught and the people
have been instructed pertaining to Israel's place in God's plans and purposes.
Personally, I cannot help but love the Jews for several reasons: Our Bible
came through them; the Saviour came from Israel; Jesus loved them; Paul
loved them; and we are commanded to love them.
Who are Israelites? In Rom. 9:4, 5 we have the Holy Spirit's definition
and the characteristics of the people called Israel. If you approach these two
verses with an open mind and with the desire to know the will and Word of
God, you will never again confuse the words Israel Gentile, and Church.
1. The first thing we notice about the children of Israel is that they are an
adopted nation. God adopted them as a nation, and He has never at anytime
nor will He ever at anytime adopt a Gentile nation. We read in Exodus 4:22
that Israel is His son, even His first-born. You will notice here that He does
not say first begotten. Jesus is the first begotten, but Israel is the firstborn; so you see, God has these two Sons, Jesus and Israel. Now there is a
sense in which there is the adoption of individuals into the family of God
(Rom. 8:23), but this adoption is not consummated until the return of the
Lord Jesus Christ and the resurrection and redemption of our physical
bodies. The church is not adopted but rather is begotten and is a new creation in Christ Jesus. Israel today, the adopted son of God, is temporarily set
aside because of unbelief, but the promise of God is that this adopted son is
to be put back in his rightful place as head over all the peoples of the world.
2. Who are Israelites? They are the only nation to whom God revealed His
glory. The glory of the Lord was manifested to Israel in the pillar of cloud
by day and of fire by night. God's revelation of Himself to the nation of
Israel in the glory of consuming fire has never been manifest to a Gentile nation, neither to the Church of the living God-only to Israel.
3. Who are Israelites? They are the only nation in the world with whom
God ever made a covenant. God has covenanted with individuals of the
human race, but never with a Gentile nation. The first covenant was made
with Abraham, confirmed to Isaac and again to Jacob pertaining to the
land. God covenanted with Israel to give them the land from the River of
Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea on the west to the Euphrates river on the
east. This land was to be an eternal portion for the nation of Israel. As of today, Israel has possessed only a fragmentary portion of that area, and the
covenant of God with Israel is that she shall yet possess it in its entirety.
No such covenant has been made with any Gentile nation.
Another covenant God made with the nation of Israel, which has no
counterpart with Gentiles or the Church, is that of the Seed of David. God
said He would raise up the Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh to sit upon the
literal Throne of David and that He would rule over the house of Israel as a
nation forever (Luke 1:32, 33; II Sam. 7:11-17). No such dealings does God
have with the Church or the Gentiles.
4. Who are Israelites? To them God gave the Law. Here is a truth
unrealized and unappreciated by the majority of Christians. God did not
give the Law to the Church nor to the Gentiles but only to the nation of
Israel. If anyone truth is set forth in the New Testament it is the blessed
fact that we of the Church are not under the Law but under grace. The only
Gentile upon whom the Law had any bearing was anyone who became a proselyte of the Gate; that is, he took upon himself the vows and ordinances of
the Jews, associated and affiliated himself with them and thus by choice
was recognized as a Jew, though a Gentile.
5. Who are Israelites? They are the nation to whom was given the service
of God. The service of God pertained to the tabernacle, the temple, the
priesthood, the altars, the sacrifices, various garments of different
materials and hues, different articles of furniture with all the ritual, as well
as special seasons and days which were involved. God has never given such
to a Gentile nation, nor to the Church. And all of these Protestant and
Catholic churches with their rituals, robes, candles, altars, holy days and
seasons, and weeks of prayer, are nothing but a conglomerated union of
paganism and Judaism with an affected Christian atmosphere. Study the
Acts of the Apostles to see the simplicity of Christian worship and possibly
you will appreciate the fact that the service of God as such was given only
to the nation of Israel.
6. Who are Israelites? To them God made certain promises, and there is
not a promise in the Word of God to another nation. These promises are
many and they relate to individuals of Israel as well as to the whole nation.
Some of them were spiritual and some temporal. Many were pertaining to
the land, the city, the temple, and they also spoke of the superiority of the
nation of Israel to the other nations. There are also spiritual promises made
to the nation of Israel which relate principally to the happy days to come
during the millennium.
7. Who are Israelites? It is of them that the "fathers" came. We read of
father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but there is no father from among the
Gentiles. In fact, when we come to the days of our Lord we have His specific
command to call no man father (Matt. 23:9).
And last of all, the Israelites are the people from whom as concerning the
flesh, Christ came. If the Church is Israel, then we would read that Christ
came from the Church; whereas, the Scripture tells us that Christ Himself
established the Church.
A careful study of the above facts in the light of the Scripture should be
sufficient to convince any open-minded individual that the children of Israel
are separate and distinct from the Gentiles and the Church, and are not to
be confused with either.
SPIRITUAL ISRAEL
"Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not
all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of
Abraham, are they all children: but in Isaac shall thy seed be called" (Rom.
9:6, 7).
When one begins a discussion of Israel he soon hears it said that Gentiles
who believe on the Lord are spiritual Israel. In this regard we want to make
a statement to be noted well and kept always in mind: Every time the word
Israel is used in the word of God, it is used to designate the lineal descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Gentiles who have faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ are called "of the seed of Abraham" but are never called
Israelites. In the sixth verse quoted above we read, "For they are not all
Israel, which are of Israel." Weymouth's translation gives it in these words:
"For not all who have sprung from Israel count as Israel. (Here Israel
means Jacob whose name has been changed to Israel.) The truth is that not
all of the lineal descendants of Israel are called the children of Israel; neither
are all the descendants of Abraham called Israel. The children of promise
came through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Neither the descendants of
Ishmael, the sons of Abraham by Keturah, nor Esau are called Israel
because they are not the children of promise. I am a Gentile believer, but
that does not make me an Israelite, because I am not a descendant of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Much trouble exists today in the land of Palestine between the descendants of Isaac and the descendants of Ishmael. Not only do the Arabs, but
also many Gentile Christians, refuse to accept the Word of God in Gen.
21:10 which tells us concerning Ishmael: "The son of the bondwoman shall
not be heir with my son, even with Isaac." Therefore, the son of the bondwoman is not to inherit any of the promises made to Abraham which were
also confirmed to Isaac and Jacob. Paul quoted that passage of Scripture in
Gal. 4:30, calling attention in this particular instance to the fact that the
promises of God are to the son of Sarah and not to the son of Hagar.
In order that we may know that the distinction between Isaac and
Ishmael is because of God's election and not because they had different
mothers, we have the experience of Jacob and Esau given in Rom. 9:8-13.
These two sons had the same father and the same mother, and were twins.
God chose Jacob and rejected Esau. This reveals to us, as stated so clearly
in the Word of God (Rom. 9:11), that election is of God and not of the person
elected. Permit just a word or two pertaining to the doctrine of election. Do
not ever be guilty of saying that you do not believe in election, predestination and foreordination, but say rather that you do not understand these
things though you do believe them. These doctrines are clearly taught in the
Word of God.
Election is primarily for service. God chose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
out of multitudinous thousands, that through them, an elect group, He
might bless all the rest of mankind. Today we have the Church who are the
elect of God. God is calling out of the multitudes today a people for His
name (Acts 15:14), that through this minority group of the elect, He might
bless all the rest of mankind. The election of God does not mean that the
others are predestined to be damned. All were born under the curse and
none had any claim on God. If God chooses to elect certain ones, then the
others have not a word to say except in the light of the fact that God has
manifested His grace by saying, "Whosoever believeth on the Son, hath
everlasting life." Election, predestination and foreordination are of God.
Man's part is to recognize the scope of God's grace and know that he can
qualify under the designation "whosoever," and by believing, be saved.
Election is a family expression, and after one comes into the family of God,
he appreciates the fact that he was elected of God.
Charles H. Spurgeon's illustration of election is very clear. He said that it
was as if he approached a door over which was inscribed the words,
"Whosoever will may come." Realizing that whosoever included him, he
entered the door. Upon entering he looked back at the door and saw inscribed these words, "Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world."
God does the electing-man does the believing. A man goes to hell not
because he was predestined to but because he refused to believe on the Lord!
Jesus Christ.
Now the election of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob manifests God's Love in
setting aside the posterity of these men and designating them as the
children of Israel. Their election was not to damn the rest of the world but
that through them all men might be blessed (Gen. 12:3). God's election of
Israel was for the following purposes: (1) To establish a people through
whom Christ should come in the flesh (Rom. 9:5; Acts 2:30). (2) That
through them His revelation (the Holy Scriptures, both the Old and New
Testaments) might be given to mankind (Rom. 3:1, 2; Psa. 147: 19,20). (3)
That the testimony of the one true and living God might be preserved and
propagated through them. (4) That they might be Jehovah's witnesses to all
the nations of the world.
Though Israel is set aside today as a nation and enjoys no national
privileges, neither assumes any national responsibilities, we will learn in
Romans XI that during this period of national rejection, opportunity has
been extended to the Gentiles to be Jehovah's witnesses. But because of the
Gentile's unbelief they shall surrender that privilege and it will be again
given to the nation of Israel.
ISRAEL STUMBLES: The Stone of Stumbling
"As it is written, Behold I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense:
and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed"(Rom. 9:33).
The closing portion of the ninth chapter of Romans tells of Israel's
unbelief and their failure to attain unto righteousness because they sought
it not by faith, and they subsequently stumbled at the stumbling stone. The
stone of stumbling is also the rock of offense, and in this discussion of
Israel's blindness we want to set forth some of the teachings of the Word of
God on Christ as the Rock as well as the Stumbling Stone.
Some say they do not believe in types, but such an attitude can only be
manifest because of failure to understand the whole of the Word of God. In I
Cor. 10:4, we have the Holy Spirit's teaching that the Rock is a type of
Christ. In the eleventh verse of the same chapter we read, "Now all these
things happened unto them for ensamples. " The preferred translation is,
"These things happened as types." These statements should be sufficient
for any open-minded person to appreciate the fact that all of Israel and her
experiences and appointments of worship, places of worship, and order of
worship are types. And they are all written for our admonition.
Accepting the Word of God that the Rock is a type of Christ, we turn to
Exodus 17:1-7. The children of Israel were camped in Rephidim where there
was no water. They began to chide Moses crying, "Give us water that we
may drink." He rebuked them, and as their thirst increased so did their
murmuring. Moses cried out to the Lord concerning his duty to the people,
and the Lord told him to go on before them and take with him the elders of
Israel and his rod. God promised that He would stand before Moses on the
rock at Horeb. He was told to smite the rock and from it would flow water
for the people to drink. The smitten rock is a beautiful type of the Lord
Jesus Christ who on Calvary's cross was smitten. From His riven side
flowed blood and water (John 19:34). The rock being smitten provided water
for the children of Israel. Christ being crucified provided life for all who
would believe.
We want to say in this connection that the crucifixion and death of Christ
was an absolute necessity in God's plan of redemption (John 3:14). In this
verse we read, "Even so MUST the Son of man be lifted up, " showing the
necessity of the crucifixion of Christ. Likewise we read in John 12:24 that
"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die it abideth alone. "This
is Christ's answer to the Greeks that they could have no part in Him until
after His death. The beginning of one's spiritual life is by coming to the
smitten Rock, that is, the crucified Christ.
As the children of Israel continued their journey toward the promised
land, we read in Numbers 20:1-13 that they thirsted again and began to
chide Moses because there was no water. On this occasion the Lord told him
to take the rod, gather the assembly together with Aaron his brother, and to
speak to the rock and it would give forth water so that the congregation and
their beasts could have drink. Moses disobeyed the Lord, and in a spirit of
rebellion smote the rock twice. It was because of this sin that he was forbidden to enter into the promised land. (Here is something for earnest reflection: Moses, because of disobedience, was prohibited from entering the land
of Canaan, which is a type of the Millennial reign of Christ. Moses, however,
was saved. Scripture teaches that one may be saved and still not reign with
Christ in the Millennium.)
We used to wonder how the Lord could bar Moses from entering the promised land just because he struck the rock instead of speaking to it, but
when we came to understand the typical teaching of striking the rock the second time we realized the enormity of Moses' sin. When he struck the rock
the second time he was teaching, in type, that Christ could be smitten, or
crucified, the second time; and no where do we find such a teaching in the
Word of God. In Hebrews 6:6 we read of Christians crucifying to themselves
the Son of God afresh. We say Christians because an unsaved person cannot
crucify to himself the Son of God the second time. Christ died once to put
away sin (Heb. 9:26).
These two experiences of the children of Israel with the rock, and the
teaching of the Lord is evident. The rock was smitten once. Christ died once
to put away sin. After that, sin in the life of a Christian is dealt with on the
basis of speaking to the rock rather than smiting it. I John 1:9 says, "If we
confess our sins, He is faithful andjust to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. " We trust Christ only once for salvation. Our
relationship is then established. We have become a child of God. Sin cannot
affect this relationship once it is established; however, sin in the life of a
Christian breaks the fellowship with God and this fellowship is restored by
speaking to the Rock.
Also in John 13:10 we learn that after one has been washed and then
becomes defiled, he does not have to be washed all over again-only his feet
which have been soiled by travel. We also learn in the teaching of the Tabernacle that after the sacrifice has been offered on the brazen altar for sin, the
priest does not return to the altar and offer another sacrifice to cleanse
himself of defilement, but he goes on to the laver of brass where only his
hands and feet are washed.
One should be able to see now that Moses' great sin which kept him out of
the promised land was the destruction of a type relative to the speaking to
the rock.
In Matthew 16:18 the Lord says that He is going to build His church upon
this Rock. In the seventeenth verse is the revelation that Peter's confession
was a God-given one rather than one of his own initiative. The Rock upon
which God is building His church is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. "For
other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (I
Cor. 3:11); "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of
the corner" (Psa. 118:22); "Jesus said unto them, Did ye never read in the
Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the
head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?"
(Matt. 21:42).
Jesus Christ Himself is the chief Cornerstone, the Foundation, the Head
of the church.
There is a reference in Daniel 2:34, 35, 44, 45 relative to the future
manifestation of this rock, or stone, in its relation to the Gentiles. After the
four world empires described in this chapter (Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece
and Rome) have run their course, a Stone cut out of the mountain without
hands is seen smashing the great image on the feet and grinding it to
powder. The powder then is blown away as chaff from the summer
threshing floor, and the Stone grows until it fills the whole earth. This is
God's description of the smiting of the Gentiles by the Stone, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and described in our text as the Rock of Offense. With the
smiting of the Gentiles, Christ establishes His Kingdom which fills the
whole earth (Isa. 11:9). Some erroneously believe that this refers to Christ's
first advent, but a casual glance at contemporary events will establish the
fact that the Gentiles are still in power and that Christ's kingdom does not
fill the earth. The smiting of the Gentiles by the Rock of Offense will not
take place until Christ's second coming. ". . . and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed."
THE BUDDING OF THE FIG TREE
With the many things which are transpiring in the land of Israel and
among its people, the question most recurring is this, "Is the fig tree budding?" There are some interpreters today who go to great lengths and pains
trying to prove that our Lord did not use the fig tree to symbolize the nation
of Israel. I want first of all to establish from the Word of God that the fig
tree is a symbol of Israel, and in the second place to establish the fact that
the fig tree is budding.
The import of all this is to be found in the statement of our Lord that
when the fig tree begins to bud, His coming draws nigh. In Matthew 24:32
the Lord says, "Now learn a parable of the fig tree. . ." The ASV gives it as
"Now from the fig tree learn her parable. . ." None other that the Lord
Himself said that the fig tree is a parable; that is, the fig tree is used by Him
to symbolize or portray something besides the tree.
A tree in Scripture is used by the Lord to symbolize a national power (see
Judges 9:8-15; Daniel 4:10-16, 19-27; Matthew 13:31,32). In Judges the nations symbolized by the trees seek to elect a king over them. In Daniel 4,
Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire are symbolized by the great
tree which is cut down for seven years. In Matthew 13, the mustard bush, a
vegetable, becomes a tree, or a world power. We find two trees and a vine being used to symbolize Israel. In Isaiah 5:1-7, the Lord tells us that the
grapevine symbolizes Israel. In Romans 11:17ff, the Lord tells us that the
olive tree symbolizes Israel, and in Matthew 21:19; 24:21; Mark 11:12-14, 20
and 21; Luke 13:6-9, the fig tree symbolizes Israel. In Judges 9:8 the trees of
the forest sought the olive tree to reign over them. She refused. In the tenth
verse they sought the fig tree to reign over them. She refused. In the twelfth
verse they sought the grapevine to reign over them. She refused. The olive
tree symbolizes Israel in her covenant relationship to the Lord. The
grapevine symbolizes the spiritual blessing Israel is to be to the whole
world. The fig tree symbolizes Israel as God's national witness to all the
world. The vineyard was allowed to go to waste. Some of the branches of the
olive tree have been cut off, but the fig tree itself was cut down. Our Lord
spoke three parables concerning the fig tree. Matthew 21:18-20 says, "Now
in the morning as he returned into the city he hungered. And when he saw a
fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only,
and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And
presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they
marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!" Herein the
Lord turned aside to obtain some fruit to satisfy his hunger when He saw
the fig tree in full leaf by the wayside. Finding no fruit upon the tree He
said, "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever." The word translated
"forever" has disturbed many Bible students by causing them to believe
that the nation of Israel would never again bear fruit; but the Greek word is
aion which simply means "the age." When the Greek wishes to express
"eternity" it uses the words which are translated "the age of the ages."
When this present age comes to a close and Israel is restored and recommissioned, she will bear fruit in the age which is to follow.
In Luke 13:6-9 we read, "He spake also this parable: A certain man had a
fig tree planted in his vineyard,' and he came and sought fruit thereon, and
found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these
three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down,'
why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it
alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit,
well,' and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down." When the Lord turns
aside to the fig tree in full leaf to obtain fruit and finds none, He says,
"Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find
none." That experience took place after three years of our Lord's earthly
ministry and sets forth the fact that during these three years He had sought
some spiritual fruit from His own people in Israel and had found none. With
the command to cut down the tree the vineyard keeper says to let it alone
for another year, or give it another chance this year, and then if it does not
bear fruit we will cut it down. The Lord agreed to so do, and we find in reality that He gave Israel another chance. In answer to the prayer of our Lord
from Calvary's Cross, "Father forgive them for they know not what they
do," God gave Israel another chance on the Day of Pentecost. God gave
them another chance when Peter preached his second sermon; and He gave
them yet another chance by the preaching of Stephen. When Israel steadfastly refused to obey the Lord she was set aside and God allowed her to be
scattered to the four points of the compass. In Acts 1:8 we find that He
chose another group to be His witnesses. In Romans 11:25 we find that the
setting aside of Israel as expressed by her blindness is only in part and that
it is temporary and not permanent. Romans 11:17 states conclusively that
just SOME of the branches were cut off and not all. The Gentiles being
grafted in AMONG the olive branches bear fruit only as the sap from the
Jewish roots flows through the Jewish trunk out through them.
Back to Matthew 24:32, 33, our Lord says that one of the signs of His
coming is the budding of the fig tree, and while her branch is yet tender and
is just beginning to put forth leaves, you may know that He is near, even at
the door. The fig tree budded May 14, 1948, when Israel became a nation.
Israel was the 59th nation admitted to the United Nations and has been
recognized by some 67 or 68 nations up to the present time (1953). In keeping with the symbolism of the budding of the fig tree we feel that the coming of the Lord is to be soon after Israel becomes a nation.
But one says, "In Luke 21:29-31 it speaks of the parable of the fig tree and
ALL the trees." Yes, that statement but enforces that which we have been
explaining: When Israel becomes a nation and when all the other nations
symbolized by trees become very conscious of their national existence, then
you know that the Kingdom draweth nigh. This simply means that when
Israel becomes a nation all the other nations will begin to draw back from
the desire to be one world and will want to be separate and din tinct nations
in the world. And that is exactly what is happening in the world today. Yes,
the fig tree has budded and the coming of the Lord doth draw nigh. "Even
so, come, Lord Jesus. "
ISRAEL-THE GRAPEVINE
Isaiah 5:1-7
"Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his
vineyard. My well beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he
fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the
choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress
therein: and also looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought
forth wild grapes. And now, 0 inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah,
judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done
more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked
that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go
to,' I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge
thereof, and it shall be eaten up,' and break down the wall thereof, and it
shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste,' it shall not be pruned, nor digged,' but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the
clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts
is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant,' and he looked
for judgment, but behold oppression,' for righteousness, but behold a cry. "
Having described the Lord's use of the fig tree to symbolize Israel nationally, we now turn to the Lord's use of the grapevine to symbolize Israel
spiritually. In the above Scriptures the Lord described how He planted a
vineyard in a fruitful hill, protected it, cultivated it, planted the choicest
vine, made preparation for the harvest, but it brought forth only wild
grapes. This is a picture of the Lord's call to Abraham when He made these
seven promises to him: (1) I will make of thee a great nation; (2) I will bless
thee; (3) I will make thy name great; (4) thou shalt be a blessing; (5) I will
bless them that bless thee; (6) I will curse him that curseth thee; (7) in thee
shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
The Lord's choicest protection rested upon Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
In Egypt under Jehovah's watchful care Israel grew to be a powerful nation. After the exodus under the Lord's personal supervision, direction, and
leadership, He gave them laws to govern every human relationship. He gave
them the tabernacle and temple services with every detail described for
their worship of Him. Unto them the Lord gave the tabernacle and temple
for the place of worship. He adopted them as His own, and called Israel His
firstborn son. The Lord blessed them with His personal presence in the
Shekinah glory; all the promises of earthly glory and blessing He gave to
them. He gave unto Israel the oracles of God, and He chose Israel after the
flesh to be the people from whom Christ should come. "WHAT MORE
COULD I HAVE DONE?" said the Lord. Then when He looked for grapes
Israel brought forth wild grapes.
Because of Israel's failure to be a spiritual blessing to the people of the
world God said He would withdraw His protective care from her. He said
He would scatter her to the ends of the earth and let her lie waste. Through
the centuries the fulfillment of the prophecies relative to Israel's scattering
and suffering have been fulfilled in the minutest detail. In Isaiah 5:8-30,
God pronounced six woes upon Israel because of six very manifest sins: (1)
Because of her selfish covetousness, desolation throughout the land would
prevail, vv. 8-10; (2) because of her joyous revelry and consequent disregard
for the service of the Lord they would go into captivity in deepest humiliation, vv. 11-17; (3) because of her servitude to iniquity, vv. 18-19, and (4)
because they called evil good and good evil, v. 20, and (5) because of self-complacent conceit, v. 21, and (6) because of drunken exhilaration and merriment, vv. 22, 23, the Lord's anger would be kindled; His hand would be
stretched out against them; the nations from afar would dispossess them
and give them captivity and suffering unparalleled.
However, we have a prophecy in John 2:1-10 which promises that the wine
at the end of the wedding feast will be better than that which was served at
the beginning; or, that in the days of Israel's restoration her joy and blessing will be greater than ever in days gone by. Now here is one lesson for us
Gentiles: In Romans 11:21 we learn that the Gentiles will fare no better
than Israel, and we will do well to mark the six sins designated above lest
we ourselves should fall short in exactly the same way.
ISRAEL-THE OLIVE TREE
"The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit:
with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken" (Jeremiah 11:16).
You will notice in the above Scripture that God calls Israel a green olive
tree. As stated in previous articles, the olive tree symbolizes Israel in her
covenant relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The "green" has a
definite meaning of "evergreen," setting forth the truth that it is an
everlasting covenant. In Romans 11:16-24 we have the parable of the olive
tree. (Please get your Bible and read this passage of Scripture now.) The
first fruit is holy, the lump is holy, the root is holy, and so are the branches.
God chose and separated unto Himself a nation. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
are the roots; the twelve sons of Jacob, the trunk, and the branches are their
descendants. The covenant which God made with Abraham was the covenant of salvation by grace (Romans 4:1-4). Because of unbelief SOME of the
branches were broken off and the wild olive branches grafted in.
Right here I want to correct a common error in the thinking of the majority of Christians. In verse seventeen we have the expression "some of the
branches." God did not cut off ALL the branches, neither did He cut down
the tree. The Jewish roots, the Jewish trunk, the Jewish branches still exist;
and the Gentiles, symbolized by the wild olive tree, were grafted in among
the natural branches instead of some of the branches which were cut off.
Key words in this whole discussion are the words "some" and "among" in
Romans 11: 17. The wild olive tree is not the church, neither is it a particular
group of Christians. It simply refers to the Gentile nations that are now
privileged to receive spiritual blessings via the covenant which God made
with Abraham through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
GOD IS NOT THROUGH WITH THE JEW: HAS NEVER BEEN
THROUGH WITH THE JEW, AND WILL NEVER BE THROUGH
WITH THE JEW.
In Ephesians 2:11-13 we see the relationship of Gentiles to God and that
their salvation has come through the covenant which God made with
Abraham-salvation through faith in the shed blood of the Lamb of God. In
Romans 11:29 we read that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance; so God's purpose concerning Israel will yet be fulfilled. The Gentile
Christians today-with but few exceptions-are doing exactly what God
told them not to do in Romans 11:18-20. They are boasting and bragging
against Israel. God's warning is found in verses 21 through 24. Some of
Israel was cut off because of unbelief; the Gentiles shall be cut off for the
same reason, and Israel put back in her place. In the twenty-fifth verse of
this chapter we have the specific statement of God Almighty that the blindness of Israel is partial and temporary. In Romans 9:4 we see that Israel is
the only people with whom God has made a covenant-no covenant with the
Gentiles-only Israel.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ALL THIS? Though hated for the
gospel's sake, they are still beloved for the fathers' sakes (Romans 11:28).
Israel is still God's firstborn son. Israel will yet be God's witness to the
ends of the earth (Isaiah 43:9-11).
A LIVE JEW
After the failure of Adam and Eve to obey the Lord, resulting in their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, God dealt with the human race as a whole.
Their failure was manifested and resulted in their destruction by means of
the flood - Noah and his family excepted. Starting again with the human
race, failure again was manifested at the Tower of Babel.
After that God chose to bless mankind through a chosen family, that of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Genesis 12:3 states very explicitly, "In thee
shall all families of the earth be blessed." That simple statement means that
all the families of the earth are to be blessed spiritually and physically
through the nation of Israel.
One way of bestowing these blessings on the human race has been to have
a live Jew appear and be used of God to resolve a crisis when it appeared.
For instance, Joseph, a live Jew, was sent by God into Egypt to be the
means of blessing not only Egypt and the children of Israel but the whole
world. Moses, a live Jew, was brought onto the scene to resolve a crisis
when it developed between Pharaoh and the several million children of
Israel. Joshua, a live Jew, appeared and stepped into the breach when
Moses was removed from his place of leadership. When an edict was issued,
ordering the extermination of all the Jews in the world at the suggestion of
Haman, Mordecai, a live Jew, was present to resolve that crisis under the
leadership of the Lord.
Only God knows the tragedy that would befall the world and its inhabitants if the nation of Israel, God's means and channel of blessing to the
world, were exterminated. When God took the reins of government out of
the hands of the nation of Israel and gave it unto the Gentiles, Daniel, a live
Jew, appeared on the scene, and for about seventy-five years directed the affairs of state according to the will of God. Other live Jews such as Isaiah,
Jeremiah and Ezekiel, also appeared at times of crises.
Then in the fullness of time when a real crisis had arisen, a live Jew, Jesus
of Nazareth, appeared with the answer to every question and solution to
every problem. But He was rejected, crucified and then He returned to
heaven until Israel shall acknowledge her offense. Before He returned to
heaven He promised that when there arose a crisis of such proportion that
Israel would call upon Him, He would return.
In the meantime, other live Jews have appeared on the scene in times of
crises and through them God has blessed the world. For instance, when
natural resources for production of TNT were exhausted during World War
One, Dr. Chaim Weizmann, a live Jew, appeared on the scene with a formula
for synthetic acetone. This made possible the manufacture of gunpowder
and ammunition which turned the tide of battle in favor of the Allies. Again,
in World War Two when it seemed that all was going against the Allies, Dr.
Albert Einstein, a live Jew, Otto Hahn, a live Jew, and Lise Meitner, a live
Jewess, appeared on the scene. Through the combined efforts of these three
of the house of Israel, the atom bomb was produced and the victory given to
the Allies. When polio was spreading over the world in epidemic propor-
tions, Dr. Salk, a live Jew, appeared on the scene with vaccine which has
almost eliminated polio from the ranks of mankind.
We look for the present crisis to wax worse and worse until the LIVE Jew,
Jesus Christ, returns. When He returns all problems will be resolved and
peace and prosperity, bringing joy and happiness, shall be the portion of
those who will live on the earth during the thousand years that follow.
"Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
WHY I LOVE THE JEW
My attitude toward and regard for the Jew is a matter of recognition and
appreciation-a recognition of my indebtedness to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel, and my appreciation for their many blessings. These have
created within me a love for them. I will classify the blessings under two
heads: First, material, and second, spiritual. I will not at this time attempt
to enumerate Israel's blessings to the Gentiles in the fields of music, art
science, medicine, finance and literature, but choose to speak only of Israel's
contribution to World War I and World War II.
In World War I when the tide of battle was going against the Allies
because of an ammunition shortage, it was a young Jewish scientist who
came to the rescue. Natural resources which produce acetone, used in the
manufacture of TNT, became exhausted. David Lloyd George, who was the
prime minister of England at the time, advertised extensively for someone
to produce a formula for synthetic acetone, and within a short time such a
formula was on his desk. It had been developed by Dr. Chaim Weizmann.
With a mass production of this product, gunpowder was available in great
abundance. And with the resumption of the attack by the Allies, armed with
sufficient ammunition, the tide of battle turned in favor of the Western
Allies. This event, incidentally, was an occasion for the issuance of the
Balfour Declaration which was to open Palestine as a national homeland for
the Jews. For political reasons this Declaration was repudiated by the issuance of the White Paper, and the doors of the homeland were virtually
closed to Israel. The present and continued state of the suffering of England
can be attributed to her breaking faith with her Jewish benefactors.
Not only did World War I come to a close because of the blessings of
Israel, but the same is true of World War II. As the Jews fled persecution in
Germany, three individuals, namely, Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner, and Albert
Einstein, left at various times and by different routes. Soon after coming to
America they were brought together manifestly by the Lord God Almighty,
and pooling their separate findings in the realm of atomic research were able
to produce a formula for the splitting of the atom. All of us remember the
dropping of the atom bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima which brought the
activities of World War II to a sudden cessation. Again, the promise of God
made to Abraham, "Thou shalt be a blessing, " was fulfilled.
The material blessings we have received from the nation of Israel are innumerable, and I speak now of three spiritual blessings for which not only I
but all the redeemed will be forever indebted to the Jews. First of all, Israel
gave us our God. God, the true and living God, is Jehovah, and we read in
Genesis 9:26 that He is the God of Shem. The Jehovah of the Old Testament, who is Jesus Christ of the New Testament, is the descendant of David
and of Abraham. He was called the King of the Jews at His birth and again
at His death. John the revelator designated Him as the Lion of the tribe of
Judah.
I have eternal life because of my personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
According to the Word of God, He alone can save: and Israel was the channel through which God determined that He should come into the world. In
the second place, not only did I get my God from Israel, but the revelation
which has been given by God, called the Holy Bible, was given to me by the
nation of Israel. According to Romans 3:1-2, the oracles of God were committed unto the Hebrew people; therefore, if it is an oracle of God it must of
necessity have been given through a Jew, and if it was not given by a Jew,
then it was not an oracle of God. In the light of Scripture every book in the
Bible was written by a Jew, including the Gospel of Luke and The Acts of
the Apostles, for Luke himself was a Grecian Jew.
The third great blessing of Israel to all people is yet to be manifested. The
Jews are to be Jehovah's witnesses to the four points of the compass. They
are the ones who will fulfill the prophecy of Matthew 24:14. They are the
ones who will evangelize the world by the preaching of the gospel of the
kingdom during the tribulation and the millennial reign of Christ.
Because of these things, how can I do other than love the Jew? I am
supremely conscious of two expressions from the Word of God ", , . and I
will bless them that bless thee" (Genesis 12:3), and "Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem,' they shall prosper that love thee" (Psalm 112:6).
Now you know why I love the Jew!
TO THE JEW FIRST
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God
unto salvation to everyone that believeth,' to the Jew first, and also to the
Greek" (Romans 1:16).
It has not been so long since I heard a discussion between two servants of
the Lord, relative to the Jew in God's purpose. One contended that God was
through with the Jew, that he was cast off and that any effort to evangelize
him would be futile. The other contended that not only was the Jew still
very much in God's program, but that also in this present dispensation the
gospel was to be preached to the Jew FIRST. This discussion sent me back
to my Bible to see "What saith the Lord." In the next few articles in this
chapter I hope, D. V., to give you the result of my study in the word of God,
pertaining to the Jew and his place in God's plan of the ages.
Since the Apostle Paul was the one used by the Holy Spirit to give us
God's order as pronounced in Romans 1:16, I began a study of the life and
ministry of Paul as set forth in the Acts of the Apostles. Three days after
Paul's conversion as recorded in the 9th chapter of Acts, the Lord commanded Ananias to go to Paul and minister unto him. Ananias
remonstrated with the Lord hoping to be spared this meeting with the archpersecutor of the Christians. But the Lord insisted that he go, and in Acts
9:15 we read, "But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen
vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the
children of Israel." You will note that when Paul was set aside to be an apostle to the Gentiles, he was also set aside to go to the children of Israel. This
is important because Paul was not an apostle to the Gentiles alone, as so
many think, but also to the Jews. Not only was Paul also an apostle to the
Jews, but as we follow his missionary journey, we will find he went to the
Jews FIRST.
In Acts 9:20 it says, "And straightway he preached Christ in the
synagogues, that he is the Son of God." This tells us that the first preaching
that Paul did was in the synagogues where the Jews were assembled. Again
in Acts 9:22 we read, "But Paul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus proving that this is very
Christ." We have the second reference to Paul's preaching, and it is to the
Jews; and again in Acts 9:28, 29. "And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus,
and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him." This
third reference to his preaching shows him disputing with the Grecians, who
were Helenists or Grecian Jews.
"And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the
synagogues of the Jews; and they had also John to their minister" (Acts
13:5). Here we find Paul and Barnabas beginning their first missionary
journey, and on the Island of Cypress in the city of Salamis, they were
preaching to the Jews in the synagogues. After some unpleasant expperiences with false prophets in Paphos and the sorcerer Elymas, we find
Paul and Barnabas at Antioch. "But when they departed from Perga, they
came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath
day, and sat down" (Acts 13:14). Here Paul preached to the men of Israel.
The opposition in Antioch became so furious that Paul announced his intention of turning to the Gentiles. "Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold,
and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been
spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, 10, we turn to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46). Mark
this verse of Scripture well, for many superficial readers of the Word reason
that here is the time and place that Paul turns his back upon the Jews. In
this brief study you will see that Paul says this very thing THREE TIMES.
Now back to verse 46 quoted above. WHY did Paul say it was necessary
that the word of God should FIRST have been spoken to the Jew? I will tell
you why-it is because during Paul's entire ministry the gospel was to be
preached to the Jews first. You will notice that whereas Paul says in verse
46, ". . . 10, we turn to the Gentiles," that in the very next city to which he
went, which was Iconium (Acts 14:1), he and Barnabas went immediately to
the synagogue of the Jews and preached to the Jews, and also the Greeks,
and a great multitude of both Jews and Greeks believed. Here is what Paul
did. When the Jews in Antioch refused to receive the gospel, Paul then
turned to the Gentiles of THAT SAME CITY. His turning from the Jews to
the Gentiles was strictly a local experience and NOT national; nor was it
world-wide, for you see in Acts 14:1, that he went to the Jew FIRST in the
very next city.
"And on the sabbath day we went out of the city by a riverside, where
prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women
which resorted thither" (Acts 16:13). When Paul reached Philippi, in answer
to the Macedonian call, he goes on the sabbath (the day on which Jews worshipped-not Christians) down along the riverside where the Jews worshipped for reason of ablution if they were not in the synagogue, and there
he found a number of women. (Had there been ten Jewish men, they would
have had the worship in the synagogue.) Here we see in Macedonia, Paul is
still going to the Jew FIRST.
"Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they
came to Thessalonica where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his
manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them
out of the scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead, and that Jesus whom I preach unto
you, is Christ" (Acts 17:1-3). In Thessalonica, Paul goes to the Jews FIRST.
Why does the Scripture say in the second verse quoted above, "". . . as his
manner was. . ."? I will tell you why-because Paul was not disobedient to
the heavenly vision but preached the gospel according to God's command,
"". . . to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
"And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto
Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews" (Acts
17:10). Paul and Silas in Berea go to the Jew FIRST.
"Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with devout
persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him" (Acts 17:17).
While Paul is waiting at Athens, he goes to the synagogue and preaches the
gospel there in Athens to the Jew FIRST.
"After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth. .. "
and he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews
and the Greeks" (Acts 18:1 and 4). Paul in Corinth is found preaching the
gospel to the Jews first and also to the Greeks, but we find in the 6th verse
of the same chapter, "And when they opposed themselves and blasphemed,
he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own
heads; I am clean; from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles." Because of
the opposition, Paul says, "". . . henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles."
Here again we have the same experience of Paul in Antioch-turning from
the Jews to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). This is the second of the three times
Paul says, "I am going to the Gentiles"; and here, as the first (Acts 13:46),
we find it is local, not national nor world-wide. Look-in the very next city
into which Paul goes from Corinth, which is Ephesus: "And he came to
Ephesus and left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue, and
reasoned with the Jews (Acts 18:19). He went immediately into the
synagogue of the Jews, and preached the gospel to the Jew FIRST.
Acts 19:8 reveals to us that three months of Paul's preaching in Ephesus
was in the synagogue, to the Jew FIRST, and also to the Greek: "And he
went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months,
disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God."
"Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward
God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). Here where Paul
is speaking to the elders of the Ephesian church he tells them that his
witness was "to the Jew first, and also to the Greeks." Notice, however,
that the Jew is still mentioned FIRST.
In Paul's defense before Agrippa (Acts 26:19, 20, 23) he says,
"Whereupon, 0 king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision; but showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and
throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they
should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. That
Christ should suffer and that he should be the first that should rise from the
dead, and show light unto the people, and to the Gentiles." Paul tells us that
he preached first unto the Jews of Damascus and Jerusalem, and then to the
Gentiles. In verse 23, he speaks of the light unto the people (Jews) and to
the Gentiles.
In Acts 28: 1 7 we read, "And it came to pass, that after three days Paul
called the chief of the Jews together." Paul is a prisoner in Rome calling for
the Jews, but in Acts 28:28 he says, "Be it known therefore unto you, that
the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it."
Paul for the third time says that he is turning to the Gentiles.
This closes the missionary journeys of Paul, and we have no record of any
further ministry. We can only judge his turning to the Gentiles in the light
of the two previous times which are found in Acts 13:46 and Acts 18:6
where he went to the Jews FIRST in the very next city.
Really, there is just one thing for us to settle for ourselves, and that is the
question-Are we living in the same dispensation in which the Apostle Paul
lived and ministered? I am answering that for you: WE ARE, and if the
gospel is still the power of God unto salvation, as Romans 1:16 says, it is
still TO THE JEW FIRST. The giving the gospel to the Jew first is as binding on us as it was on the Apostle Paul.
The experience of two great missionary statesmen and founders of missionary organizations, should be very informing and helpful to us. I refer to
J. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, and John Wilkinson, founder of the Mildmay Mission to the Jews-two great men of God
and their pre-eminently successful Missions. On the first day of every year,
J. Hudson Taylor would make out his personal check to the Mildmay Mission to the Jews, and send it to his friend John Wilkinson, with this notation-"To the Jew first." John Wilkinson received this check with a
grateful heart, and in turn made out his check to the China Inland Mission,
mailing it to his beloved friend, J. Hudson Taylor, with the notation-"and
also to the Greek."
Can it be possible that the gospel is still the power of God unto salvation
but not still to the Jew first? I don't think so. In Deut. 32:8, 9 we learn that
the Lord established the nations of the world in time and place according to
the number of the children of Israel. Jacob (the children of Israel) is the lot
(measuring rod) of His inheritance. Acts 17:26, 27 reveals unto us that the
times appointed and the boundaries of national habitation-which were
determined according to the location and number of the children of
Israel-are for the specific purpose of enabling mankind to find God. Since
Israel was chosen and designated to be Jehovah's witnesses to the ends of
the earth (Gen. 12:1-3; Isa. 43:9-12), all the rest of mankind appears in time
and place in relationship to the Jew. That is the reason the gospel is to the
Jew first.
A brief summary of the Apostle Paul's ministry, as recorded in Acts, is
our criterion for accepting his statement that it is to the Jew first. In Acts
9:15 we see that Paul was a chosen vessel to the Gentiles, kings, and
children of Israel. He began his ministry (9:20) going into the synagogues of
the Jews first to preach Christ. In 9:22, arriving in Damascus he preached
to the Jews. In 9:29, back in Jerusalem he preached first to the Grecian
Jews. In 13:2-5, at Salamis he preached to the Jews first. In 13:14-16, at Antioch he preached to the Jews first. In 13:46 Paul spoke of turning to the
Gentiles, but in 14:1, when he came to Iconium he went to the Jews first.
These two experiences show us that when he had gone first to the Jews in a
certain city and they refused to hear him, he then turned to the Gentiles in
that city, but going into another city he went to the Jews first. In 16:12, 13
he went on the sabbath (Jewish day of worship) to the riverside where
prayer was made (plenty of water for Jewish ablutions), where a group of
women had gathered (it takes ten men for a synagogue). The above experiences make it very plain that this was a group of Jewish ladies meeting
for worship, and here Paul again went to the Jews first.
In 17:1-3, at Thessalonica Paul went to the Jews first AS HIS MANNER
W AS. This explicitly states that it was Paul's practice and procedure to go
always to the Jew first. In 17:10, in Berea Paul went to the Jews first. In
17:17, in Athens Paul went to the Jews first. In 18:1-4, at Corinth Paul went
to the Jews first. In 18:19, at Ephesus Paul went to the Jews first. In 19:8,
again in Ephesus Paul went to the Jews first. In 20:21, visiting the Ephesian elders on his way to Jerusalem, Paul called attention to the fact that he
gave his witness to the Jews first and also to the Greeks. In 26:20, in his
defense before Agrippa, Paul explained that he went to the Jews first at
Damascus, Jerusalem, and all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles. In 28:17, arriving in Rome and being imprisoned, Paul first of all called the chief Jews together. This brief summary of Paul's missionary
journey shows unmistakably and irrevocably that Paul went AL WAYS TO
THE JEW FIRST.
The missionary plan and program as unfolded by our Lord's ministry and
teaching was after this order. At His first advent He went ONLY to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. He sent His disciples ONLY to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel. Not until after His death, burial, resurrection and ascension was the way opened for the Gentiles. The tenth chapter of Acts, recounting Peter's experience in the household of Cornelius, manifests the door be-
ing opened to the Gentiles. In 10:45 we learn that when the door was opened
to the Gentiles, it was to the Jews and ALSO to the Gentiles, rather than to
the Gentiles INSTEAD OF to the Jews. This marks a new departure in the
preaching of the gospel, one that is seldom recognized by Bible students today.
I want to repeat that when the Lord opened the way for the Gentiles, it
was on the basis of preaching the gospel to the Jews first and also to the
Gentiles, rather than of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles instead of to
the Jews. In Acts 11:18 we read again that God ALSO granted repentance
unto the Gentiles. Israel isn't completely cast off; Israel isn't completely set
apart; Israel today still figures foremost in God's plans and purposes. "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" (Rom. 11:17). This verse of Scripture and its context give the truth
of God concerning Israel, to the effect that the Gentiles are grafted in
among the Jews; and if any Gentile bears any fruit at all to the honor and
glory of the Lord, it is because of the sap which flows from the Jewish roots,
up through the Jewish trunk, out through the Gentile branch.
In Rom. 11:25 God tells us that not all Israel is blinded but just part of
them, so that today there are many in Israel who see the truth. Neither is
this blindness permanent. Israel's blindness will be lifted when God completes His work of taking out of the Gentiles a people for His Name, to be
united with that remnant of the election according to grace from Israel, to
comprise the body of Christ in which there is neither Jew nor Gentile. God's
unlimited and unqualified blessing upon any missionary endeavor demands
that such endeavor be in accordance with His eternal purpose which is
stated in Rom. 1:16 as to the Jew FIRST, and ALSO to the Greek.
To summarize God's program for missions: At the time of our Lord's first
advent the gospel was to be preached only to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. After Christ's death, burial, resurrection, and ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit, it was to be preached also to the Greeks, but to the
Jews first. After the rapture of the saints and the sealing of the 144,000
Jewish evangelists (see Rev. 7) the gospel is to be preached only to the Gentiles. The Jews who are to be saved in, during, and out of the great tribulation will be saved as a unit-a nation shall be born in a day-by the visible
appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ unto them as their Messiah, "and so all
Israel shall be saved" (Rom. 11:26).
In I Cor. 14:40 the Spirit of the Lord says, "Let all things be done decently and in order ." In a universe created and controlled by God Almighty who
possesses omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, all things of
necessity must be in order. In the beginning God dealt with the human race
as a whole. They failed to obey Him and He called out Abraham, and from
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob came the Hebrew people to whom were committed the oracles (words) of God. From them came the Messiah, and they in
turn were to be Jehovah's witnesses to the ends of the earth. The Gentiles
had no part at this time in God's purposes (see Eph. 2:11-13). Because of
Israel's refusal to receive their Messiah and to carry the glad tidings concerning Him to the ends of the earth, God set the nation aside temporarily
(Rom. 11:25), and placed Gentiles in among the remnant of Israel (Rom.
11:17). To this group were given the privileges of carrying the gospel to all.
(This was done in the first century.) The commission as given by God was to
be followed after this fashion: When the Lord Jesus Christ himself came He
said, ". . . I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel"
(Matt. 15:24). When He sent out the twelve He said, ". . . Go not into the
way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go
rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 10:5, 6). There was to
be no witness to the Gentiles until after His blood was shed (Eph. 2:13).
With His death, the commission concerning the preaching of the gospel was
extended to take in all creatures (Mark 16:15). But with the inclusion of the
Gentiles in the Great Commission we find a particular order being commanded by the Lord. In Luke 24:47, though it was to be among all nations,
they were to begin at Jerusalem. In Acts 1:8, again it is stated that their
witness begins in Jerusalem. In this connection we have the order as given
through the Apostle Paul: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth,' to the
Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:16). Rom. 11:28 also calls attention
to the fact that though the Jews are set aside as a nation they are still beloved for the fathers' sakes.
These passages of Scripture give to us the progression or order in giving
the gospel to the ends of the earth. It was preached until Pentecost to the
Jews only. Afterward, it was preached to all nations, both Jew and Gentile;
but because of Israel's particular place in the favor of God, it was to be
preached to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Regardless of what one's interpretation or concept of this may be, history bears out the fact that
wherever and whenever God's order is carried out-to the Jew first, and also
to the Gentile-the Lord's blessings and provisions have proven that this is
His divine order for missions. Let us sum it up in these words: "Go ye into
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature-to the Jew first, and
also to the Gentile."
WHY IS THE GOSPEL TO THE JEW FIRST. . .
Because therein is the righteousness of God revealed. Please note Romans
1:16, 17a, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power
of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also
to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith. . ." Paul's discussion of the revelation of the righteousness of God is
after this fashion:
1. Paul declared that he is a debtor both to the Greek and to the Barbarian; both to the wise and to the unwise.
2. He declared he is ready to preach the gospel to them that are at Rome,
because he is not ashamed of the gospel.
3. He is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God unto
salvation to everyone that believeth.
4. The Divine order is TO THE JEW FIRST, and also to the Greek.
5. The above four declarations are made because therein is the
righteousness of God revealed.
The most common error in the interpretation of this portion of Romans is
due to an oversight. I have found very few Bible students anywhere who
realize that the righteousness of God is revealed in preaching the gospel to
the Jew first, but after calling it to their attention, it is easy for them to see
it. The question which now arises and which I propose to discuss is
"wherein is the righteousness of God revealed by the preaching of the
gospel to the Jew FIRST."
In God's plan of the redemption of the human race, He is using two instruments, or two servants, in carrying out His purpose. The first instrument, which is also the primary one, is "The Lamb of God which taketh
away the sin of the world." He is the Seed of the woman which shall crush
the serpent's head; the Seed of Abraham in whom all the families of the
earth shall be blessed; the Lion of the tribe of Judah; the Son of David
whose throne shall be established forever, and the Son of God who put away
sin by sacrificing Himself, even Jesus the Christ.
The second instrument God is using in the redemption of the human race
is the Nation of Israel. God called both Israel and Jesus His Son and His
firstborn. God called both Israel and Jesus out of Egypt. God established
Israel's primogeniture, and it still prevails.
In Genesis 9:26-27 it says, "And He said, Blessed be the Lord God of
Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge J apheth, and he
shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant." God's
blessings are upon Jehovah, the God of Shem. Japheth, the progenitor of
the Gentiles, is promised enlargement. There are about 13,000,000 descendants of Shem in the world today, but Japheth has 1,800,000,000 descendants.) Yet Japheth has to dwell in the tents of Shem.
How can nearly two billion Gentiles dwell in the tents of only thirteen
million Jews? The significance of that statement is to be found in the fact
that all of Japheth's blessings are to come from Shem; that is, today, the
Gentiles are to receive their blessings from the Nation of Israel.
God gives expression to the same thought in Genesis 12:1-3, "Now the
Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: and I
will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee, and make thy name
great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee,
and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be
blessed."
The key expression of these verses is to be found in the latter part of the
third verse, ". . . in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed," that
is, all the families of the earth, both Jew and Gentile, shall be blessed by
Abraham and his posterity. Abraham's posterity is referred to in the Scriptures as the seed of Abraham.
When the word seed is in the plural it means Israel collectively, and when
the word seed is singular, it means Jesus Christ individually; so that the
blessings of Abraham to all families of the earth are to be both from Israel
and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now the blessings of Shem, Abraham, and Israel to all the families of the
earth are threefold:
1. God made Israel a depository for His truth. The oracles of God were
committed unto Israel. Every book in the Bible was written by a Jew.
The Jews kept the Bible intact until the coming of Christ, the
establishment of the Christian Church, and the closing of the Canon of
the Scriptures.
2. God appointed Israel to be the channel through whom the personal
Redeemer was to come. Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
was the descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
3. Israel was designated to be Jehovah's witness to the whole world that
all men might know of Jesus the Christ.
Israel has fulfilled two of the purposes for which God brought her into being; namely, she has given us the Bible, and she has given us the Saviour of
the world; but she has failed to be a witness to the nations. All the prophetic
prophecies of God are in agreement that Israel will yet fulfill her third mission and preach the gospel to every creature in all the world.
In Romans 9:4, 5 we read, "Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the
adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and
the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as
concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever.
Amen." You will note the sevenfold difference between the Jews on one
hand and the Gentiles on the other hand; namely, the adoption, the glory,
the covenants, the law, the service, the promises, the fathers-and to these
is added an eighth; namely, ". . . as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is
over all, God blessed forever."
The children of Israel are the only people with whom God has dealt nationally, with whom He made covenants, with whom His glory dwelt, to
whom He gave the law, from whom He required a service, and to whom He
made promises. These facts reveal the difference between the Israelites and
the other peoples of the world. In Amos 3:2 God says, "You only have I
known of all the families of the earth."
Though Israel refused to be God's witness to the whole world, and even
though from 70 A.D. to May 14, 1948, she was cut off nationally, she has
never lost her primogeniture. God's righteousness is revealed in giving her
priority in point of order in the reception of the gospel. The very
righteousness of God demands that the gospel be to the JEW FIRST,
because salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22).
Leading missionary statesmen tell us that over two-thirds of the human
race has never come in contact with the gospel, much less has even heard of
it. After two thousand years of Christian missions two-thirds of the human
race is still untouched. There must be a reason, and there is a reason. The
world will never be evangelized until the nation of Israel is converted and
becomes in reality, Jehovah's witnesses. We read in Romans 11:13-15, "For
I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I
magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them
which are my flesh, and might save some of them. For if the casting away of
them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be,
but life from the dead?" Note the following: Paul tells us that he magnifies
his office as the apostle to the Gentiles in the hope that the Jews might be
saved. Paul's diligence and unceasing efforts to reach Gentiles with the
gospel was to stir up the nation of Israel to jealousy that they might be
saved. In verse 15 Paul tells us he wants to see Israel saved because it will
be then and then only that the entire world will have the opportunity to hear
the gospel. Many people tell me that there are so many Gentiles who have
never heard the gospel of Christ in comparison to the number of Jews, that
we should exert every effort to reach the Gentiles at this particular time.
The Scriptural truth is that the Gentiles will never be reached in any appreciable numbers until Israel is converted.
It is because of God's purpose in Israel; it is because the gifts and calling
of God are without repentance; it is because the Gentiles shall dwell in the
tents of the Jews; it is because Israel is to be a blessing to all families of the
earth; it is because Israel is to be Jehovah's witnesses; it is because of all
these things that the righteousness of God is revealed in the preaching of
the gospel to the JEW FIRST, and also to the Greek.
I WHY WE MUST GIVE THE GOSPEL TO THE JEW
"And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the
mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples to
the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus said unto
him, They have no wine. Jesus said unto her, Woman, what have I to do
with thee? mine hour has not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants,
Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots
of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or
three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water.
And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now
and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of
the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it
was: (but the servants which drew the water knew,.) the governor of the feast
called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth
set forth good wine,. and when men have well drunk, then that which is
worse,. but thou has kept the good wine until now. This beginning of
miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory,' and his
disciples believed on him" (Jnhn 2:1-11).
A Significant FIRST
There is something very significant about the "first appearances" in the
Bible, and this, the first miracle which our Lord performed is no exception.
The fact that it is His first miracle, coupled also with the fact that it is symbolic, demands our closest attention. Get the whole picture of the miracle in
your mind. On the third day, Christ and His mother attended a marriage.
When they wanted wine, it was revealed that they had none. After Jesus'
remonstrance with His mother, He set things in motion to supply the wine.
There were six empty waterpots of stone near by. Jesus commanded them
to be filled to the brim with water. After the waterpots were filled with
water, Jesus again commanded the servants to draw out and carry it to the
governor of the feast. When the governor tasted the water which had been
changed into wine, he observed that it was good. Calling the bridegroom to
him, he complimented him upon having good wine at the last
instead of the customary way of saving the bad wine for the last. This was
the first miracle Jesus performed. It manifested His glory and caused His
disciples to believe on Him. This is not just simply an account of the miracle
which the Lord performed, for Christ did not perform miracles for the sake
of miracles. His miracles were performed not only to minister to those present, but primarily to teach the fundamental lessons which would not be
easily forgotten. The need ministered by the miracles of our Lord, though
satisfied in each instance, continued to exist elsewhere. However, because
the lesson involved had been taught, we do not find the miracle repeated,
and we can very readily see that the primary purpose of the miracles was for
instruction in the deep things of God for those who have ears to hear.
The Significant LESSON
Now let us consider the lesson which our Lord is teaching in this first
miracle of His ministry. Our Lord's ministry is spoken of as being for three
days.
Hosea 5:15 says, "I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge
their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early."
Again in Hosea 6:2 we read, "After two days will he revive us: in the third
day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight." We learn that the
Lord is going to have two days between His two advents, and on the third
day He is going to raise up Israel to live again in His sight. II Peter 3:8 tells
us, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the
Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." We learn that
one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day with the
Lord. Interpreting Scripture in the light of Scripture, we know that all
miracles and parables about marriage and marriage feasts are typical of the
marriage of the Lamb and the marriage supper that follows.
Mary Typifies Israel
Mary, the mother of Jesus, typifies the nation of Israel because she is the
one through whom the SEED had come. Mary attempts to dictate to Him
what to do, even as the nation of Israel attempts to dictate to the Lord. She
is rebuked for not having reverence for the Lord of Glory.
Nation of Israel Without Joy Now
They were without wine at the feast; and Israel at the time of Christ's
return will be without that which alone brings joy to the heart of Israel: The
Saviour- King.
Man's Number for Six Thousand Years
Six is man's number, and the empty waterpots of stone show us Israel's
condition at the time of our Lord's return. Jesus now turns to the servants
and commands them to fill the empty waterpots with water. You will notice
that it was not until the waterpots were filled with water that the water
became wine. Water is a symbol of the WORD of God. Christ could have filled the empty waterpots miraculously, but the main lesson of this miracle is
that He commanded the servants to fill the six empty waterpots with water.
A Command to Christians
Prophetically, that is a commandment to us to give the gospel to the
Jews, and until they have been given the WORD, the miracle transforming
the water to wine cannot be effected, and they can know no joy. You will
recall in the teaching of the "valley of dry bones" that no miracle took place
until the Word of God was preached to the dry bones, and in this first
miracle of the Lord, nothing supernatural happened until the WORD was
given. God can save Jews without our help, but for reasons, good and sufficient to Him, it has pleased Him to bring about reconciliation between
Himself and Israelites through the ministry of redeemed men and women.
THE GOSPEL MUST BE PREACHED TO JEWS BEFORE THEY CAN
BE SAVED.
THE NECESSITY OF WITNESSING TO THE JEW FIRST
"Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of
Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord I
with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was
sick.) There his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou
lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto
death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified. Now
Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard
therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where
he was. Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.
These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend
Lazarus sleepeth,' but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for
your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe,' nevertheless
let us go unto him.
Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a
cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha,
the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he
stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not
unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of
God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid.
And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast
heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come
forth. And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with
graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto
them, Loose him and let him go" (John 11:1-7,11,14,15,38-44).
It is apparent that our Lord is telling something far more important than
a simple recitation of the facts concerning the death of Lazarus.
This raising of Lazarus is the seventh miracle, or "sign," as John calls
them, recorded in John's Gospel. The whole experience of Lazarus' death
and resurrection is a sign given us by our Lord.
Now it is for us to learn the sign and its significance. When we remember
that the Lord Jesus Christ was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel, we know that this sign pertains to Israel.
This incident in the life of Lazarus is a type of Israel's rejection and
restoration.
In verse 11, Jesus said, "Lazarus sleepeth"-meaning, his death is not
eternal. He also tells us in the same verse that he is going to awaken
Lazarus from his sleep.
Israel's rejection is not permanent, only temporary, and she shall yet be
restored in all fullness of glory. Romans 11:25 says, "For I would not,
brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise
in your own conceits,' that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the
fullness of the Gentiles be come in." Now in this verse we note two
things-the blindness is partial and it is temporary.
It is true, the two days that our Lord is absent from the land, Lazarus is in
a state of sickness and death.
In II Peter 3:8, we read, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as
one day. " Here we learn that one day is as a thousand years; and the
significance of the two days teaches that our Lord is going to be out of the
land for two days (two thousand years), then come back into the land, or
return to the earth. Israel is in a state of rejection during His absence from
the earth, and when He returns it will be for the the purpose of raising or
restoring Israel to her place of spiritual leadership. (Israel's restoration nationally speaking will take place prior to that time. In fact, Israel was
restored to her place among the nations on May 14, 1948.)
Now let us observe how Jesus raised Lazarus. First of all, the fact is
established that Lazarus is dead; and we know that Israel is actually cut off
from the Lord spiritually. But in connection with this do not forget Romans
11:28, "As concerning the gospe~ they are enemies for your sakes: but as
touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. "
The Lord could have removed the stone miraculously, or he could have
called Lazarus to come through the stone, but He did not. The Lord could
have by the exercise of His supernatural power removed the graveclothes
Himself from Lazarus, but He did not. We learn from this that our Lord
could save Israel by a miracle and without the help of any human being if
He chose to do so; but it hath pleased God Almighty to save both Jew and
Gentile through the instrumentality of the preached Word as given by
redeemed men and women.
IN WITNESSING TO JEWS, THERE ARE STONES TO BE REMOVED.
First, there is the stone of GENTILE PREJUDICE. We never have a real
Jewish problem until the Jews confess Christ as their Saviour. The problem
is "What shall we do with these Hebrew Christians?" They are outcasts
from their own people, and in too many of our Christian churches, they are
not welcome. It has been stated that it is easier for a Jew to accept Christ
than for a Gentile to accept a Jew. God forbid that any of my readers should
ever lift a hand or utter a word against the lost sheep of the house of Israel,
for God's curse will rest upon such a one (Gen. 12:3). But that stone of prejudice must be removed.
Second, the stone of JEWISH HATRED OF CHRISTIANS AND OF
CHRIST must be removed. Up until the time of Hitler's purge of the Jews,
practically all of the pogroms had been instigated by and in the name of the
so-called Christian church. A brief survey of Jewish persecution will show
you in a short time why the Jews have hated Christ and His followers. That
stone can only be removed by Christians manifesting the love toward Israel
that God required.
Third, the stone of IGNORANCE must be removed. Contrary to popular
opinion, the Jew does not know even the Old Testament. The majority of
them believe absolutely nothing. He must be taught the Scriptures, which is
a task requiring great patience.
After the stone is removed and Israel comes forth, she is still bound by
graveclothes. Her Judaistic and legalistic inheritance and training constitute her graveclothes. This can only be removed by leading her into the
full light of the glorious freedom which we have in Christ Jesus.
Yes, Israel could be saved by supernatural power of the living Christ
without the aid of any human witnessing, but God has not so pleased to
work. His plan is for redeemed men and women to go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature, which surely includes the Jew. In fact,
God's order is "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
Will you heed the words of the Saviour and help to "take away the stone"
and "remove the graveclothes" from the lost sheep of the house of Israel?
FIRST THINGS FIRST
The creation of the universe and the revelation of God pertaining to man's
redemption set forth God's work as being progressive and orderly. If our
lives are conformed to His plan for us there must be order also in them. God
has had a way of requiring certain things first of all at the hands of His
creatures.
First, in the garden of Eden the Lord required that man recognize the
sovereignty of God by abstaining from eating of the fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. Second, it was not long until He required that
the first-born of man and beast should be dedicated to Him. Third, He required a tenth of the increase of man's possessions for His own. Fourth, He
required the first fruits of the harvest to be publicly dedicated to Him as a
part of worship. Fifth, in Matt. 6:33 He required that His disciples seek the
kingdom of God first. Sixth, in Matt. 7:5 He required us to first cast the
beam out of our own eyes. Seventh, in Matt. 5:24 He required us to first be
reconciled to our brothers. Eighth, in Matt. 23:26 He says to cleanse first
the inside of the cup. Ninth, in Matt. 10:6 He required His disciples to go
first and only at that particular time to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Tenth, in Rom. 1:16 in the inauguration of His world-wide mission program,
He required that the Jew should be first, that is, given priority.
It is my firm conviction that modern mission programs are floundering on
the sea of despair and failure because such programs refuse to recognize
Israel's priority. The majority of Christians with whom I am acquainted are
missing great blessings of the Lord, both spiritual and material, because
they refuse to acknowledge that the gospel is to the Jew first in this present
era. Our Lord's mission program briefly is as follows. At His first advent
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself with His disciples went only to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. At His second advent, during the time of the Tribulation the Lord's evangels (the hundred and forty-four thousand of Rev. 7) will
go only to the Gentiles. In between these two specific missionary
movements all believers in the Lord are commanded to go into all the world
and preach the gospel to EVERY creature, to the Jew first, and also to the
Greek.
A careful study of the chronology of the New Testament will reveal that
Rom. 1:16 was written some thirty years after the inauguration of the present Christian era and therefore, is in force today as much as it was in the
day in which it was written. The Apostle Paul, who is the teacher and example for modern missions, always obeyed the instructions of Rom. 1:16 and
went to the Jews first, regardless of the place in which he ministered. The
manifold blessings of God upon groups and individuals are placed in line
with God's plan and purpose. The failure of the majority to put the Jew first
results in their following the course that is at a tangent with God's line of
blessings.
As I think of the blessings of the Lord awaiting any who will claim them,
I beg of you to consider God's desires concerning His firstborn son Israel
(Ex. 4:22). Notice just a few Scriptures. In Mark 16:15 the Lord says, "Go
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." In Luke
24:47 the Lord says, "". . . should be preached in his name among all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem." In Acts 1:8 the Lord says, "... ye shall be
witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth." And in Rom. 1:16 the Spirit of the
Lord says, "to the Jew first."
These particular passages emphasize two things for certain. First, the
gospel is to be preached in all the world to every creature. Second, it is to be
to the Jew first. "Beginning at Jerusalem" means to the Jew first because
Jerusalem was the capital of Jewry. Several questions may have arisen by
now. First, you live in a community where there are no Jews and have no opportunity to witness personally to the Jews. You put the Jew first by praying for the peace of Jerusalem (Psa. 122:6). You give God no peace until He
has restored Israel (Isa. 62:6, 7). In the next place, when you make distribution of your tithes and offerings you put the Jew first by giving to those
who are witnessing among the Jews. You yourself individually are responsible to the Lord for the handling of your funds and you cannot rid yourself of
that responsibility by giving them to a church and permitting it to
distribute them as it sees fit.
For years we have tried to put the Jew first in our prayers, thoughts, giving and ministering and I want to give you this personal testimony that the
blessings of the Lord have been too numerous to enumerate. Believe me,
Gen. 12:3, "I will bless them that bless thee" is as true today as when the
Lord uttered it hundreds of years before the birth of our Lord.
Now is the time to put first things first.
HOME OR FOREIGN MISSIONS?
Recently several have asked questions wanting to know our evaluation of
mission programs. Some are interested in what is called home missions
while others are interested in foreign missions, and still others favor African
missions and such like.
It is interesting to note in the Word of God that there is no such division
of missions as listed above. We find two things pertaining to God's plan of
evangelizing the world, first as stated in Mark 16:15 where Jesus said, "Go
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." According to
this commission there is no such thing as home and foreign missions, but
rather the gospel is to be preached to every creature in the world regardless
of where he is.
After Christ's ascension, and with the calling of Saul of Tarsus to be the
great missionary apostle, God laid down His order of missions and it has
not been changed unto this good day. With the setting aside of Israel as a
nation, and the subsequent destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the
door of the gospel was opened also to the Gentiles. God's love for His people
did not change, though they were set aside as a nation; and the divine order
of missions, instead of being divided between home and foreign, is very
simply expressed in Rom. 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth;
to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
God divides missions into two orders: to the Jew first, and also to the
Greek (or Gentiles). He has never changed that order; and many mission
programs suffer, and many missionary - minded Christians are robbed of
blessings because they do not recognize and follow God's appointed order.
Franz Delitzsch, the great commentator of a century ago, said that any
mission program which did not recognize Israel's priority as stated in Rom.
1:16 was like a bird trying to fly with one wing.
Jesus has outlined it very easily and simply in His Word. For instance in
Luke 24:47, He tells them: "And that repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
In Acts 1:8, He again tells them to begin in Jerusalem: "But ye shall receive
power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be
witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth." Then as stated in Rom. 1:16, He says
"". . . to the Jew first. . ."
Every city into which the Apostle Paul went he ministered to the Jews
first and then to the Gentiles, even though he was called to be an apostle to
the Gentiles. There is but one apparent reason for his phenomenal success
as a witness to the Gentiles, and that is, he followed the divine order of going to the Jews first.
If one is the least bit interested in missions, it will repay a hundredfold to
put Israel first on the mission list and then consider the Gentiles. This, from
the Word of God.
FAiLURE OF MISSIONS
On every hand we hear much today of the failure of Christianity and
Christian missions. The most common alibi that is being offered is segregation in the South.
This seems strange to me in the light of the fact that the greatest period
of missionary activity and out-reach of the gospel was in an era when there
were more slaves in the world, possibly, than any other time, the heads of
government were more corrupt than ever before, the people given over
almost entirely to sports and amusements, the taxes were exorbitant, home
life had broken down and the Bible was not taught in governmentsponsored institutions. I am speaking of the First Century, of which the Holy Spirit tells us in Col. 1:23 that the gospel had been preached to every
creature under heaven, even before Paul was converted.
Before one says Christianity is a failure, the purpose of missions should
be established. God's purpose in missions is not to convert the world in this
age of grace. According to Acts 15:14, He is taking out of the Gentiles a
people for His name. His command was to "preach the gospel unto every
creature under heaven," with the promise that whosoever believed on the
Lord Jesus Christ would be saved. Our Lord Himself came preaching only
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Not until after His death, burial and
resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit was the gospel sent ALSO to
the Gentiles. In Acts 10:45; 11:1, 18; Rom. 1:16 we learn that it is also to the
Gentiles, rather than instead of to the Jews.
God's plan of missions is set forth in Rom. 1:16: To the Jew first, and also
to the Greek. In Luke 24:47 they were to begin with the Jews in Jerusalem.
In Acts 1:8 they were to begin with the Jews in Jerusalem. In Rom. 1:16
they were to continue to give the gospel to the Jews first. Not only has the
modern church refused to give the gospel to the Jew first, but for all practical purposes they refuse to give it to the Jew at all.
The failure of modern day missions can be attributed only to the failure to
follow God's order, to the Jew first. The power of the Lord placed at the
disposal of the church is along the lines of the divine plan, and the blessings
of the Lord are to be found along the line of obedience to His commands.
The success or failure of missions is very simple. Does it follow God's order?
Segregation has nothing to do with the success or failure of missions;
Communism has nothing to do with the success or failure of missions;
Godless rulers have nothing to do with the success or failure of missions; excessive sports and amusements have nothing to do with the success or
failure of missions; exorbitant taxes have nothing to do with the success or
failure of missions; putting the Bible and prayer out of the school has
nothing to do with the success or failure of missions. Obedience to the command of our Lord has all to do with the success of missions. And the command of our Lord is like unto this: "Go ye into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15)-"to the Jew first, and also to the
Greek" (Rom. 1:16).
MAN'S PART IN ISRAEL'S RESTORATION
Ezekiel 37: 1-14
"The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the
Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very
many in the open valley: and 10, they were very dry. And he said unto me,
Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, 0 Lord God, thou
knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto
them, 0 ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God
unto these bones; Behold I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall
live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and
cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall
know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came
together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, 10, the sinews and the flesh
came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no
breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy,
son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the
four winds, 0 breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I
prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they
lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said
unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they
say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, 0
my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your
graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am
the Lord, when I have opened your graves, 0 my people, and brought you
up out of your graves. And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I
shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have
spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord."
In the vision described in the above Scripture we find the Lord taking
Ezekiel out into a valley full of dry bones. As they walked among them the
Lord asked Ezekiel if he thought the dry bones could live, to which he
replied, "0 Lord God, thou knowest." God then commanded Ezekiel to prophesy unto the bones. As he prophesied we note three movements taking
place among them. 1) The bones came together, every bone into his place, so
that no longer was it a valley full of bones, but now a valley of skeletons. 2)
The sinews and flesh and skin came upon the bones, and now it was no
longer a valley full of skeletons, but of bodies complete in every detail except there was no life in them. 3) Breath came into them and they became
human beings and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
(Please note that whereas it was the power of the living God that wrought
this miracle, it took place only as Ezekiel prophesied to these bones.)
There have been various interpretations of this vision. A close friend and
minister of the gospel came to help me in a series of meetings. His first
message was from this text and he said that the people he was addressing
constituted the valley of dry bones. Many denominations and sects have
been called the valley of dry bones.
God has given His own interpretation. In verse 11 He says that these
bones are the WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. Israel rejected, cast off, and
buried in the nations of the world is likened to the valley of dry bones. Now
the question is, can Israel live again-will Israel be restored-and what part
will Christians play in Israel's rebirth?
The dry bones received life in three movements. For about 1900 years
Israel has had no king, prince, sacrifice, image, ephod, teraphim, or country.
I. National Consciousness-Bones Become Skeletons. The first notable
movement among the Jews was the development of a national consciousness under the inspiration of the Zionist movement. So rapidly did
this development take place that at the time of the drawing up of the Treaty
at the close of World War I, Israel asked for representation at the peace
table as a nation. Even though she was denied this privilege, her aspiration
did not falter. It was about the same time that Dr. Chaim Weizmann asked
the Prime Minister of England, David Lloyd George, that England
establish Palestine as a national homeland for the Jews. With varying
degrees of success and failure, the Jews began to return to Palestine. The
dreadful persecution under Hitler which resulted in the death of about six
million Jews caused the demand for a home on the part of Israel to increase
all the more. So bitter grew the strife between the Jews and the Arabs that
eventually Great Britain surrendered her Mandate to Palestine on May 14,
1948.
II. May 14, 1948-Flesh on Skeletons. Israel immediately proclaimed
herself to be a nation, and as of May 14, 1948, the Nation of Israel was
reborn.
Note the parallelism between the valley of dry bones and the Nation of
Israel. 1) As Ezekiel prophesied the bones came together. Israel's first move
was the development of a national consciousness. 2) The bones received
flesh, sinews, and skin, and became complete human beings without breath:
Israel became a nation acknowledged by and received into the United Nations. 3) The human beings received breath and lived-BUT-Israel has not
yet received the breath of life which will cause her to live before God.
III. Yet to Become Alive. Even as Ezekiel was commanded to prophesy to
the bones, so has redeemed mankind been commanded to prophesy to
Israel. When the Lord commanded us to go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature, that included Israel. When the Lord said to make
disciples of all nations, He included Israel. When He said "TO THE JEW
FIRST," He established the order in which the gospel was to be presented.