ISRAEL’S KINGDOM
GOSPEL & THE GENTILE’S
GOSPEL OF
GRACE
From the beginning, God’s
dealings with humanity were specific to the Nation of Israel commencing when He called Abraham. This relationship continued
down through Abraham’s lineage all the way to Isaac’s son Jacob. God let them
know through Abraham that He was going to set their Nation apart as a people.1 In the Book of Exodus, the Nation
of Israel is preparing to come out of Egypt where they were under the bondage of Pharaoh.2 It was during this time that God began
to send plagues upon Egypt to persuade a stubborn Pharaoh to let His people go.
Pharaoh refused to obey God so the plagues started and continued until Pharaoh
agreed to let the Jews go.3
The
first three plagues that fell on Egypt affected
all the land of Egypt
including the children of Israel.4
The plagues that came after the first three plagues had fallen did not. This
was because God confirmed the covenant He establishes with Abraham by putting a
division between the Israelites and the Egyptians.5
People were no longer one nationality in humanity they became two:
Ø
Jews,
and
Ø
Gentiles
God dealt primarily with the Nation of Israel
all the way up through the Old Testament. Even though Israel was God’s chosen
people, they were deeply rooted in unbelief. Finally, God was fed up and
allowed their Temple to be destroyed by General Titus in 70 A.D. At that time,
the Nation of Israel was dispersed throughout the earth.6
When God uprooted them from their land, He made them a promise that He would
bring them back again to their homeland. God has not put away His chosen people
even though we are in the church Age
where He is calling out a people for His name.7
God’s plan is to deal with the Jews at a future time picking up exactly where
He left off with them, prior to the Cross of Christ Jesus. The Law was given to
the Nation of Israel so
that they could see the condition of their relationship with God. They were not
successful at keeping the Law because to be acceptable to God at that time was:
Ø
To
be perfect
Ø
Holy,
and
Ø
Righteous
The Law showed how imperfect, unholy, and
unrighteous man really was.8
Every attempt man made to follow the Law only showed how far away he was from
God. There was a vast amount of rules, rituals and sacrifices in which blood
had to be shed to cover the imperfections of the people. The Law was designed
to condemn by:
Ø
Pointing
out man’s faults
Ø
Guilt
Ø
Sin,
and
Ø
To
show men how desperately we needed God’s mercy
The
Law was supposed to:
Ø Stop men from prideful,
self-righteous behavior, and
Ø From bragging about how good we think
we are
Its goal was to break
through man’s stubborn pride and lead us to Christ Jesus for Salvation.9 The Law first came in the form of the Ten Commandments written by the very
finger of God on stone tablets for a specific people. These Ten Commandments were given to Moses
at Mt. Sinai for him to deliver
to the children of Israel.10 The Ten Commandments are:
Ø I am the Lord your God, Who has
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall
have no other gods before or besides Me.
Ø You shall not make yourself any
graven image [to worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth; You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the Lord
your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, But showing mercy and
steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My
commandments.
Ø You shall not use or repeat the name
of the Lord your God in vain [that is, lightly or frivolously, in false
affirmations or profanely] for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes
His name in vain.
Ø [Earnestly] remember the Sabbath day,
to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment and dedicated to God). Six
days you shall labor and do all your work, But the seventh day is a Sabbath to
the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, your
daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your domestic animals, or the
sojourner within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the
earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. That is
why the Lord blest the Sabbath day and hallowed it [set it apart for His
purposes].
Ø Regard (treat with honor, due
obedience, and courtesy) your father and mother that your days may be long in
the land the Lord your God gives you.
Ø You shall not commit murder.
Ø You shall not commit adultery.
Ø You shall not steal.
Ø You shall not witness falsely against
your neighbor.
Ø You shall not covet your neighbor's
house, your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox,
or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's (Exodus 20: 1-17).
Many statutes and regulations were
later added to the Law, which were:
Ø Govern conduct
Ø Worship
Ø Civilities, and
Ø Diet
(Deuteronomy 4: 7-8)
The Gentiles have similar Laws that are
written in our hearts so that every man has the ability to recognize their
spiritual condition and decide whether they need Salvation.11 Because man has lost respect for law, they have also forgotten about
the source of all Law and authority.12
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