Israel...Jews...Islam?

Genesis 17:10-11,13 - This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. ...and My covenant  shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

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Circumcision is a cutting; cut off, cut down. It was required by God for Abraham to show his commitment to God (above) and all his descendants, Israel. 

From Abraham's son Isaac came the people of Israel and eventually Jesus. Oh, first Abraham fathered the son, Ishmael, who became the precursor to Islam but this union was not ordered by God. It was an action not of faith but of doubt and acting out without trusting God.  He definitely gave Abraham the promise that his descendants, an eventual great nation, would come from his loins with his wife, not her maidservant.  [God said] "...for in Isaac your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.” ‭‭(Genesis‬ ‭21:12b-13‬)

So Israel is a very small but great nation in the eyes of God, which seems to be hated by some. Yet others tend to be sympathetic to the Islamic cause. A little more on this later...

Circumcision also means setting oneself apart from others, to be cut off. Abraham was to do this too, as we as believers are...division and covenant between God and those who walk with Him. Abraham was told to leave the country where he lived and settle in a land to which God directed him, which he did. He was to separate himself and his family from those in the land.

In Abraham's day circumcision was a physical sign of devotion to God. Proof that they agreed with His covenant. Today that circumcision, through Jesus, the descendant of Abraham and Isaac, is of the heart. We allow this circumcision of our heart to prove our devotion to God the Father. The heart being circumcised is of a spiritual nature. And we are also told that God's Word cuts deep: For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ‭‭(Hebrews‬ ‭4:12‬)

Circumcision and cutting. Important in a desire to know this God.

And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. ‭‭(Deuteronomy‬ ‭30:6‬)

(Old Testament)

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh--(Philippians‬ ‭3:3‬ ‭ESV‬‬) (New Testament)

That you may live and not be confident of the flesh. We are to trust in God, not man. Set apart. Faith in what is unseen vs. what is seen, God vs. man. If we allow our hearts this circumcision, God's covenant, will be with us. That same covenant as with Abraham. 

So if we have allowed this circumcision of our hearts, we are counted as part of the very people God calls His own, Israel. This same covenant God referred to with Abraham becomes ours. It also means realizing the importance of this tiny nation and its people. If we do not support His people, His nation, we really are not part of His covenant. There is 
blessing and cursing that comes with that. 

There are some who hate Israel. If you look closely, some might be of the line of Ishmael and a jealousy and hatred of a people God chose as His own over another who believes they should have received God's blessing way back when. If you know the whole story you can see His words are specific regarding inheritance and covenant.

The Jewish people, as hard as some might find it to hear, are God's chosen. Jesus was in the line of Isaac, not Ishmael. Yet any descendant of Ishmael may also become part of the covenant if they choose to believe in Christ. That being said, anyone would be welcome into the kingdom. It's our choice to make. 

John‬ ‭4:22-24‬ ‭-You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

Everlasting Ordinance

Exodus‬ ‭12:14‬ ‭- So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.

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I'm sure I've written about this before. This is about Israel just before God delivered them out of Egypt. They were instructed by God, through Moses and Aaron, to do some things. Although it speaks of a celebration, the Passover, the everlasting ordinance that would be between God and His people, it is clear that it is the everlasting ordinance between God and "whosoever will" believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved and have everlasting life. 

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ‭‭(John‬ ‭3:14-15‬)

Ordinance: An action prescribed, statute.

This ordinance speaks of a feast, which the Jewish people still celebrate, in remembrance of that day thousands of years ago. I'm sure you know the story. Each family was to kill a spotless lamb, apply the blood to the doorposts and lintels of their home, then roast the meat and eat all of it...or if there was any remaining, burn it. The angel of the Lord would come later and kill all the firstborn of every Egyptian household, both man and beast. It would be brutal. But none of the people of Israel would be touched because of that blood on the doorposts of the homes of the Jews. It was an everlasting ordinance between God and His people.

They would be set free from their captivity in Egypt. They would then be led to the land which God had already set aside for them. 

Our salvation is like this. We receive Christ, through the blood of our spotless Lamb of God, and through Him alone we are set free from the slavery of the world's clutches (Egypt). Through this sacrifice of His life for ours...and then ours for Him...we have entered into a new birth, new life, new land that God has promised to those who believe. 

However, if one has not applied that blood to the doorposts of their heart, it will not happen. It is a heart matter. It is not an intellectual knowing of who Jesus is, but a heart knowing of Him. We recognize and regret our sins, repent of them and thank Him for His wonderful act of love on that cross for each of those "whosoever will" receive Him.

We can proclaim each day the salvation that saved us from the evil one who wishes to daily take control of our lives. We become part of the very same everlasting ordinance. We claim the right to say we are the children of God, not by the good things we do but by the very sacrifice of that spotless Lamb of God. Not our plan for salvation, but God's plan for mankind's salvation.

Is that blood of the Lamb over your heart? Have you decided to give your life to the One who gave His? It's the only way it can be done. Remember...it can be an everlasting ordinance, something God requires. Yet His requirements are for our good...for our life everlasting. Won't you consider it. Won't you share the idea with your friends and family? 

Exodus 12:23-24 - For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever.

Strangers in This World

Genesis‬ ‭17:8‬ - Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

God made a covenant with Abraham in the Old Testament. That covenant was to to make him a great nation, he and all his descendants. If we are in Christ we are one of those descendants and we are part of this covenant. The land we will inherit someday will be heaven. We are strangers to this world, but not to heaven.

God calls all believers peculiar people. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light...‭‭(1Peter‬ ‭2:9‬) Have you been called out of darkness into His marvelous light? As believers and followers of Christ we will be "hated" by the world. We will be criticized, looked down upon, ignored, scoffed and even persecuted for our beliefs...even the truthful, uncomfortable words of the Lord. Words which some people find impossible God would say.

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (‭‭John‬ ‭15:18-19‬)

This covenant still is for all who call on the name of the Lord. It is available to anyone, no matter how sinful...rebellious, stubborn...against God one might be. Being against God includes those who know of Him, but do not know Him intimately, spiritually.

For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers; our days on earth are as a shadow, and without hope. ‭(1Chronicles‬ ‭29:15‬)  Like Israel in the land God gave them, they were only passing through in their life. That land was not really theirs, but God's. Kind of like heaven! Our lives on earth are fleeting; yet beyond life lives an eternity. That eternity is either heaven or hell. And...they are an eternity. Forever. 

God tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and all other things will be added to that. We are not supposed to worry about tomorrow because today has enough trouble of its own. And God knows all our needs before we have need of them. The whole point is to trust in God for our lives. But how can we trust Him if we don't know Him? How can we be part of the marvelous covenant He has between Himself and His peculiar people? If we are in Christ we are those peculiar people that others look at and wonder how in the world we can take Him so seriously. Ummm...how in the world! 

If we are in Christ we share the future kingdom: Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here. (John‬ ‭18:36‬)
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ... (‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:20‬)

Again, we can all be part of the kingdom of heaven...if we seek Him first, trust Him, and then wait eagerly for the Savior. God's everlasting covenant has been carried through the whole Bible. It is for anyone. It is for those who today scoff and believe that others are acting as if they are superior. The fact is, we are not. By God's own words He has said otherwise. We are peculiar people! Some might think they are superior...that's a given. I am no better than the greatest sinner because everyone sins. I have this going for me, though: I have recognized my sins, recognized my need for a Savior and have received Christ as that one and only Savior. I have learned what the truth is. And, again, anyone who wishes to know the truth can. It's that simple.

‭‭John‬ ‭17:14-17‬ - I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

He Is Mindful

Psalm ‭8:1,3-4,9 - O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens! When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!

As I feel the effects of yesterday's very early morning travel, time zones, last night's early bedtime and finally awaking at four in the morning, I stepped outside into the early morning darkness. Oh, what I saw! A bazillion stars. I thought of God's promise to Abraham to be the father of many nations and descendants, and how God ...brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” (Genesis‬ ‭15:5)

And then later in the morning my husband and I took a drive to view mountain after Arizona mountain. The amazing beauty of range after range heading off into the distance. Who can fathom the greatness of it all? 

Sometimes it's all I can do, this praising God for all He is, what He has created, what He has done and will do, to think on His authority and sovereignty. How excellent is His name!

As this psalm says, what is man that He is mindful of him, that He visits us? When we take the time to see just the early morning stars, I believe even if one does not consciously think of Him, He is visiting us. He is showing us His glory. He is longing for all to recognize Him and His creation and power and sovereignty. Oh, He doesn't need us...but He desires that we recognize our need for Him. 

He created all things...try to wrap your head around that. Really, try it. The stars hang in the sky because He has ordained it. The sun rises and sets, as does the moon, at His will. There is a purpose, as Ecclesiastes says, a time and a season for all things. And all things are under His will. Who can comprehend this? 

And yet, He is mindful of us. Of us! He created us for His pleasure...that He could bless us with so much of what truly counts...most importantly eternal life. So why shouldn't we recognize Him fully in our lives? It's what He desires. More than all these things, He wants us to know Him. Job asks, What is man, that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart on him, that You should visit him every morning, and test him every moment? I think anyone who has known God has wondered this. And, yes, He does test us. He tests us to see if we will trust in Him, will continue to follow Him in our trials.

I can't wrap my head around all He has created or how. I come to Him in that childlike faith, acknowledging His greatness. How else can one come to Him with humility for who He is? But get this: not all these descendants God promised Abraham will become children of God. Galatians 3:29 tells us that. We must belong to Christ or we will not become part of that seed of promise. What a privilege to become one of those descendants from Genesis!

In the Book of Revelation study I am doing, in Chapter 1 it states that John, the disciple who wrote the book, per God's instruction, saw One like the Son of God...and fell on his face as if dead for the incredible vision of who He was. I seriously doubt that we will be able to do anything else but fall to our feet before Him some day. Scripture says every knee will bow...and every refers to those who have received Him and those who have not. Yet, here in Revelation, it also states that Jesus placed His hand on John and told him not to be afraid. While He is Alpha and Omega, First and Last, if we have humbly given our lives to Him and trusted Him, we need not fear because He is also our Beginning and End, the Almighty.

Jesus counts those who have received Him, who have been born again in the Spirit, as part of the numerous stars in the sky. We are part of the great inheritance. We are sinners yet we are His friends, bought by His blood. To think that in the beginning, even before then, when He created all things, He knew us, He knew who would follow and who would not. It's a mystery to be sure. 

How excellent is His name. Do you know this amazing God? This God who knows you...and is mindful of all His creation.

Psalm 111:2-5,9-10 - The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them. His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and full of compassion. He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant. He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.

Longing and Belonging

Corinthians 3:23 - And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. 

Our God not only desires we belong to Him but He longs that we belong. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (‭2Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬)

Just as Christ is God's Son, when we receive Jesus we become adopted heirs in the inheritance, children of God. We are Christ's and because He is God's, so are we. It comes through Christ alone. His Son loved Him so much He gave His life for the forgiveness of our sins. When we come to repentance and receive Christ, we are forgiven. 

The story of Abraham has intrigued me for years since I realized the importance of his two sons. God covenanted with Abraham that his descendants would be too numerous to count, greater than the number of stars he could see. One problem, Sarah was beyond child bearing years. But God promised...!

They took the situation into their own hands, however, figuring they had missed something somewhere. They went ahead of God's timing and devised their own plan, that Sarah's handmaid would bear Abraham a son. But this son, Ishmael, was not to be the rightful heir in this proposed and covenanted line of descendants. Years later, after Sarah was over 100 years old, she conceived and bore Abraham another son, Isaac.

Isaac would be the rightful heir and in the line of the descendant of Christ, who would play such an important role in later history. Not Ishmael, although he was the descendant of another great nation. Sarah's hand maid was not of their heritage; she was Egyptian, a foreigner. There began a contention between the two brothers, perhaps more from Ishmael than Isaac. The descendants of Ishmael have held this contention toward Isaac's descendants ever since...as we see in the news today between Islam and the Jews and Christians, nearly everyone. A description of Ishmael: He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him...(‭Genesis‬ ‭16‬:‭12‬).

But we, Jew or Gentile, any race or color, who have received Jesus, who call themselves Christ followers, are part of that very covenant and promise of God to Abraham. We are grafted into the lineage through our faith in Jesus Christ. We receive Him, we are co-heirs. What a privilege. It still brings some contention with those who do not agree with our beliefs, but we can know and trust in God's covenant. And when we are Christ's, we are God's. That's good news. 

Galatians 3:27-29 - For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

Consuming Fire

Genesis 15:17 - And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.

God made a covenant with Abram (before he became Abraham). That covenant is extended to us. With Abram the covenant was made with various animals and fowl. They were cut in two pieces and divided. While Abram was in a deep sleep God came as the smoking oven and consuming fire that passed through the pieces and a covenant was made that the land Abram had been given would be his, for he and his descendants.

For whatever seemingly totally unrelated reason, I jumped to Deuteronomy 9. and there at the top of the page were these words: The LORD a Consuming Fire! Israel was enslaved in Egypt at this time. Moses was speaking to the people, telling them they were to cross over the Jordan River that day. They were going to defeat their enemies and (re)possess the land that was rightfully theirs through the promise to Abram. These enemies were greater in strength and number but with the LORD behind them they would succeed because He would be a consuming fire. 

God can be a consuming fire in our lives too, if we allow Him. We have a choice to make. Do we want to possess the land God has promised us or do we not? The land spoken of above was physical. Our Promised Land is Heaven. The only way to receive that land is to come into relationship with Christ. Through Jesus we become the descendants of which it was written. We may not be Jewish, but as followers we are grafted into God’s family. We have been adopted (Ephesians 1:5 - having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will...)

Israel was told not to think that it was they who succeeded on their own. It was the LORD who would destroy their enemies. They were also very pointedly told it was not because of their righteousness or uprightness of their hearts, but only His righteousness. Oh, people understand this! Israel was helpless without God. They were disobedient in His eyes, a stiff-necked people. So we can be.

We cannot think we will just die and go to heaven because we believe we're good, that we have righteousness on our own. No, just as Israel was helpless without the LORD, we are helpless without Jesus. We receive righteousness when we receive Christ. When we receive Christ God becomes the consuming fire within us to make us more in the image He requires. His Spirit is the refiner spoken of in the Word; He purifies us as gold and silver; we are tested by fire through situations in our lives.

Deuteronomy 9:7 says "Remember! Do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness..."  We are all in a worldly wilderness before receiving Christ. We provoke God. But...He made a way for us. But we must make a decision to choose this day whom we will serve, man or God. We have to be willing to be part of the covenant offered to us. That decision is made through Jesus. He is that covenant...the new covenant. 1Corinthians 11:25 - In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood..." 

The Kingdom of Heaven is ours when we accept the terms of this Covenant. God the Father becomes a consuming fire against the rest of the world, against the god of this world, for us. This all so exciting. His plan for us is to live for Him, obey Him and worship Him. When we do the Kingdom of Heaven, our Promised Land, the land that the LORD our God gave to our ancestors so long ago is ours also. Do you see the similarity? 

There will be a day when God as our consuming fire will descend upon this world again and destroy wickedness and only if we have been redeemed by Jesus Christ will we overcome, being righteous only through Him. We will be safe from the coming storm. As Moses interceded to God for rebellious Israel, Jesus intercedes for us to the Father. We cannot possess the Kingdom of Heaven based on our good works but only by our receiving Christ and His greatness and righteousness.

I’m thankful for a Savior who becomes a personal consuming fire to work righteousness in and through me. 

Deuteronomy 9:6 - Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. 

Cut a Covenant

Genesis 15:18 - On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land...

God is a God of covenant. The Hebrew meaning of covenant is to cut. In the ancient days covenants were cut between two people. Animals were used to solidify this deal. They were cut in two and placed opposite each other and each man walked between the cut pieces. There was an understanding that if either one broke that covenant they would end up like the animal.

God told Abram, as we saw yesterday, that the land he saw would be his and all his descendants'. Abram asked how he would know that it would be his. This was the beginning of this covenant.

God asked Abram to bring him two of three types of animals and birds (even the number and types of animals have rich meaning). The animals were to be cut in two. Abram was probably beginning to get the picture. As Abram fell into a deep, God-induced sleep, a smoking oven and burning torch passed between the pieces of meat. The oven and torch were God Himself. I'm assuming the deep sleep was because Abram would not be able to survive the very presence of God. "You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live”(Exodus 33:20). Note, though, that it was customary for two to walk through the sacrificial animals. Only God walked through, making the covenant His covenant with us. It will never be broken because God never changes. We are the ones who will so choose to break it. Also...wasn't Jesus the only one who died for our sins?

So God's covenant was made. Yet there's more! Abram had no offspring. He reminded God of this (like He needs it), I'm sure, when he heard the words "you and your descendants." Thus the LORD had to let Abram know that He would produce those offspring. Never fear.... And that's where a bit of trouble comes in. Abram has his first son, not through his wife Sarai, but through her handmaiden, which was not what God had in mind. Although God honored this firstborn son in one way, it was not the honor that was initially intended.

After the birth of Ishmael (and the link to the Islamic nation) God spoke again to the covenant that He had with Abram and how he would become the father of many nations, with arai. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you (Genesis 17:7). In verse 8 God says again that the land he is in would be part of that inheritance.

Oh, how deep this gets! Just as God covenants with Abram so He covenants with us as we receive Him, as we sacrifice our lives for Him, as we separate (divide) from the old person to the new and from the world to become strangers in this world, set apart as children of God, children of the inheritance, children of the promise or covenant, not the world.

So it continues, Sarai bore Isaac, the true son of the inheritance. There is one more cutting that needs to take place. The ritual of circumcision. It was as a sign of the covenant. Genesis 17:10 - This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised. It was a sign that separated the Jews as well as those bought as slaves then from the non-Jew. I look at this as a type of difference between the believer today and the non-believer. Our hearts have been circumcised to the Lord. Romans 2:29 - ...circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter...

Interesting to note that Ishmael was also circumcised as one within the household. I wonder if this was to maintain some relationship, as it were, with God? There is no one not invited into relationship with God, and even back then, God honored Ishmael. The Muslims are invited yet today.

We as Gentiles are grafted into the heritage and inheritance through Christ. Grafted...isn't that another form of cutting? Romans 11:17 gives us hint about this: And if some of the branches were broken off [Jews], and you, being a wild olive tree [Gentiles], were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree...  When we choose Christ we are like of the wild olive stock that is grafted in. 

An interesting verse shows a type today for non-believers: Genesis 17:14 - And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant. The covenant with God is out there for all people. If it is presented to us and we do not want a part of it, we will, in the end, be cut off. Cut off. More cutting.

There are numerous scriptures in reference to cutting. Anything that causes us sin should be figuratively cut off. Branches that do not bear fruit are normally pruned or cut off...that also means Christians whose lives are not lived in a way to bear fruit...they are removed. Our hearts can be cut by the Word of God, which is a good thing. We begin to realize the truths that lie there and they pierce our souls, laying bare our wrong thinking, our sin, our weaknesses.

God desires to cut a covenant with all mankind. He did that through Jesus Christ who became the Savior of all. When we enter into covenant with Him, He does as He did with Abram. We have made the sacrifice of our lives like Abram did. God has honored that with the sacrifice of His Son. God will not walk out on that covenant. 

Colossians 2:11 - In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ...

God's Heart for Israel

Jeremiah 31:1, 3 - "At the same time," says the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people." The LORD has appeared of old to me [Jeremiah], saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you."

I hinted the other day that God will bless those who support Israel and He will curse them that don't. Israel comprises the true "apple of God's eye," the Jews. This little country has withstood the test of many times over the last 6,000 years. It may like it will be completely overthrown one day, but I guarantee it will not. There will be a day when not only we, but they, will see the soon coming Messiah. 

You might also look at this this way: God loves us; He desires to be our Husband; He has made a covenant with man that cannot be broken...if we choose to follow Him. As you read this, replace Israel with yourself. Personalize it. This is what God feels not only about His little nation, but His people...those who choose to follow Him. What He has done for Israel, He can do for us. We fall into the same category as Israel as His chosen people.

God loves Israel. The covenant He made with her is much like a marriage agreement. He bestowed blessings upon her. He chose to be her Husband. He chose her to be the light to the lost world. His love is everlasting and never changing. Genesis 17:7 and Hosea 2:19 - "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy..." Again, "you" refers to us as well.

God took care of Israel like a husband takes care of his wife. He desired to show the world His bride. He spoke gently and lovingly with her. He provided for her, fed her and clothed her. He was proud of His bride and gave her everything she needed. 

And then...Israel became unfaithful to Him. He pleaded with her to return to Him, but she chose not to. She chose to worship idols and live an adulterous life. He lost His patience and decided to distance Himself from her. When Israel realized His absence, she decided to repent; however, it was not from her heart and God lamented: "O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew it goes away." (Hosea 6:4)

In her unfaithfulness, God chose to reprimand and warn her, out of His covenant love. That heart of love that never fades. He longed for her to seek forgiveness and return to Him, her first love. God will not give up on her even today. He will not divorce her but He will cling to her even in her disobedience.  "Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my God!"' (Hosea 2:23)

God continues to show mercy on His bride. He still continues to woo those who do not know Him. He allows disobedience and He causes her to now not benefit in those blessings He has promised her. There will come a day when He will show His love for His adulterous bride again. She will see how He had taken care of her (for 6,000 years). She will renew her vows with Him and the world will see that He has not stopped loving her. 

Isaiah 54:7 - "For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you." God is now in the process of gathering His people back to the small nation of Israel...to their Promised Land. It began in 1947 when Israel became a nation of its own again. We are told that when this gathering begins to take place, we are in the last days. God's plan for Israel, for all mankind and for the return of Jesus is at work right now!

When that last day comes "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth..." (Philippians 2:10)  Despite the wars and disagreements between Israel and her enemies, God will show His sovereignty. On that day all of Israel, the Jews, and those on earth who have not yet bowed to the authority of the one, true God, will see Him and know and bow down. Better to bow now than then. Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Remember, God's heart for Israel is also His heart for us. Our lives parallel the lives of ancient Israel. When they followed God they were blessed; when they strayed He turned His back until they cried out for Him again. Israel's enemies cursed her and they were cursed in time. He can do that today too. 

Jeremiah 23:5-6 - "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."

Blood Covenant

Leviticus 17:11 - For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.

I've spoken about sacrifices not only in our own lives when we allow Jesus access to it, but about blood and the significance of it in God's eyes. Now we come to life being in the blood. We cannot live without blood; we cannot have eternal life without the blood of Jesus.

When we receive Christ, we are sealed in His blood of sacrifice. Just as animal sacrifices were important in the Old Testament, the New Testament shows us how one more sacrifice was made to put an end to all the others...through Jesus Christ on the cross. 

When we receive Christ, His blood mingles with our spiritually and we in essence become a new person. His blood has covered our sins like the first animal sacrifice made by God with Adam and Eve...done to make clothing to cover their nakedness, their sin. 

So all throughout the years, God required these blood sacrifices. And now it's all about Christ and His blood. It's all about our sins being covered by His blood and how we can attain eternal life through Christ when we receive Him. It is His blood that continually purifies us when we confess our sins. So, that first acceptance of Jesus is important for the beginning process of purification. 1John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Physically we need blood to survive but because we are still limited human beings, we will still die physically; spiritually we need Jesus' shed blood to have eternal life. It's that simple.

This is what a blood covenant with God is all about:  It's a covenant between God and man. It can never ever be broken. It is borne out of love. The first covenant was made with God and Adam...the sacrificing of the animals for their clothing. And sacrifices continued right through to Jesus.

A covenant between God and man is for our protection, provision and to ensure a deep friendship. The Hebrew meaning of the word covenant is "pledge...between men or God and man" and comes from a root word meaning "to eat" (which requires cutting). So, that's where the animal/blood sacrifice comes in.  A blood covenant goes farther than any manmade agreement. Man can break covenant. God cannot. When we come into covenant with God through Jesus, and His blood on the cross, our blood spiritually mingles and we are in essence one new person.. We become one in Christ. It's all about a relationship with Christ. 

Take a look at this. We see the Trinity in this covenant: God the Father, the covenant-maker (His word to us), God the Son, the blood of the covenant--sacrifice--(His work for us), and God the Spirit, the sealing element of the covenant (His work in us).

From the beginning of time God has had this plan...first He wanted communion (relationship) with Adam. When Adam failed to keep his end of the bargain, God had already had another plan, that of the sacrifice of His own Son so that all of mankind could be reconciled to that very first communion He had with man. The blood tie that binds is Christ.

Let your mind, heart and soul be illuminated by these truths. God does not lie. He is here for all mankind. He seeks a covenant relationship through Jesus Christ. Ask and receive.

1John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.