God’s Predetermined Purpose

The theme that’s announced at these meetings is The Last Word on the Middle East. Let me say immediately that the last word on the Middle East has already been spoken. It was spoken thousands of years ago. It was spoken by Almighty God through the mouth of His prophets and what God has said is happening and will happen—that’s the last word. You can read the newspapers or watch the television for the latest news, but when you want the last word you’ll find it in the Bible. I’m committed to believing, in fact I’m totally convinced of two things: I was convinced of them instantly in the middle of the night in 1940—the first is that Jesus Christ is alive, the second is the Bible is the Word of God. It’s true, it’s accurate, it’s reliable and it’s up to date.

The first theme that I’m going to deal with in my talks this afternoon is God’s predetermined purpose to regather the Jewish people and to restore the Nation of Israel. Much of what I have to say this afternoon will simply be quotation from Scripture. I believe that it’s good to let the Bible speak for itself. Sometimes we’re so busy with commentaries that we don’t actually get to the Scripture itself. I’m sure some commentaries are good, but I’m sure the Bible is better.

I’m going to go back now for a series of passages of Scripture starting with Isaiah chapter 11, the 11th chapter of Isaiah beginning at the 10th verse. The version I’m using today is the New International Version, but I don’t always stick to all of it. I make a few adaptations myself—what thus emerges is ‘The Prince Version.’ Beginning at verse 10:

“In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. [The Root of Jesse is, of course, a main title of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.] He will stand as a banner to the peoples; the nations [or the Gentiles] will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. His place of rest is at the Father’s right hand in the glory of the Father.”

There is just a prediction in one verse that amongst the nations of the world many will turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, acknowledge Him as Savior and Lord. Then we come to the phrase ‘in that day’ again

in the next verse. In the prophet Isaiah, in that day occurs many times and nearly always it’s associated with the Messiah. I don’t know that it’s always associated with one specific period of human history; it’s rather that where the Messiah is, that day is. Where He is He creates a certain period of time which centers around Him. However, there is no doubt that in many passages in Isaiah, ‘in that day’ refers to a period at the close of the present age, and I believe that’s true of this passage that we’re looking at now.

“In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.”

This is a very significant verse for a number of reasons. First of all, there is a theory popular today that the book of Isaiah was the product of more than one prophet. People tend to talk of Deuteroal (phonetically) Isaiah, the Second Isaiah; Trito (phonetically) Isaiah and so on. Personally, I have to say I see no reason to believe that theory. I think what actually gave rise to that theory in the first place was a prejudice on the part of interpreters that it was not possible for God accurately to predict future events, even naming rulers who had not been born. Now I don’t subscribe to that prejudice. I believe it is possible for God accurately and in detail to predict future events, therefore I have no problem with the predictions in the prophet Isaiah. I do not have to assume that they were written after the event and then attributed to a period before the event, which in a certain sense it would be a pious forgery. I don’t believe, myself, there’s any forgery in the Word of God. I know of no convincing reasons why we should accept that. Interestingly enough, if you ever have the privilege of going to Jerusalem to the Israeli Museum and you see the remnants of the Dead Sea Scrolls which are there, as you probably know there’s a complete scroll of prophet Isaiah which dates either to the first century B.C. or A.D., and you can see the whole scroll. It’s written in parallel columns starting of course in Hebrew from the right to the left going down, and then moving to the next column.

Interestingly enough, the point at which most commentators would divide Isaiah is the end of chapter 39, and it so happens that in this manuscript, chapter 39 ends about one line from the end of the column. So if the scribe had any sense that chapter 40 began a new prophet or something completely separate, it would have been natural for him to leave that vacant line at the bottom and go to the next column, but he didn’t do that. In other words, in the mind of the scribe from that period there was no thought that there was more than one prophet Isaiah, and I see no reason to believe that.

And I see this passage as significant because in the 11th chapter of Isaiah, a passage which is never attributed to any later prophet, it says:

“In that day the Lord will stretch out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people…”

So already in Isaiah chapter 11, the prophet foresaw one scattering, one regathering, a second scattering and a second regathering. Already he looks beyond the Babylonian captivity and the return from Babylon to Jerusalem. That there is further evidence of this we see from the rest of the verse:

“…he will reclaim the remnant that is left of his people [which is Israel and a number of nations are listed] from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, [which is often represented as Ethiopia] from Elam [which is Persia or today Iran] from Babylonia [which is Iraq], from Hamath [which is Syria] and from the islands [or the coastlands or the continents] of the earth.”

Now the regathering from Babylon did not fulfill that prediction. There are nations and places mentioned there from which there was no return of the Jews after the Babylonian captivity. In other words, the prophet is here looking forward to a scattering of Israel that was subsequent to the Babylonian captivity and a regathering of Israel that followed that second scattering, and here it is in the 11th chapter of the prophet Isaiah.

“Now let’s look and see what the prophet goes on to say about this situation:
He [that is, the Lord] will raise a banner for the nations
And gather the exiles of Israel;
He will assemble the scattered people of Judah
From the four quarters of the earth.”

Notice, it’s from every quarter of the earth which was never even remotely fulfilled in the return from Babylon. And it says in this connection

“He [the Lord] will raise a banner for the nations…”

I believe it’s important that we see that the regathering of Israel at this time to their own land is a banner that the Lord has raised to the nations. It’s something in which God is speaking to all nations, and He’s speaking very effectively. He has their attention.

Last summer, 1979, Ruth and I spent about four months in Jerusalem attending the Hebrew University there and we observed that there was not one week in those four months when Israel was not in the center of world news. That’s an amazing fact. There’s a tiny little nation of three and a half million people on a strip of territory so small you can hardly find it on the globe, and yet every week the eyes of the world and the focus of the news media were on that people and that strip of territory. About that time President Carter of the United States broke the American treaty with Taiwan and made some kind of an agreement with Red China, a nation of almost one billion people. There was a certain stir in the American press. It didn’t last as long as a month, and people forgot about it. There were one billion involved in that situation, three and a half million in Israel and yet the focus has consistently been on Israel. That is no accident. God has raised up a banner for the nations.

He has the attention of the nations and He’s saying something to them. I believe that amongst other things He’s saying, ‘The Bible, My Word, is a true, relevant, and up-to-date book. The things predicted in it are still happening with absolute accuracy today.’ That’s one thing. Another thing that God is saying is, ‘I am a covenant-keeping God. I made a covenant four thousand years ago with Abraham and with his descendants. I swore that I would never break that covenant; I never have broken that covenant; it’s still in force today; and I’m working out in human history the implications of that covenant.’

Those are two extremely important things for the whole world to know. First, the Bible is the book with the answers. Second, when God makes a covenant it stands. It will not be broken. God will never break His covenant. In the midst of a culture and a society where words have become almost meaningless, where compromise is the order of the day, and where no one really attaches much importance to anybody else’s promises or commitments, it’s very important for us to know that in the Scripture God has made commitments which He will never break. It’s important for all nations to know that there is a covenant keeping God who watches over His word to fulfill it, who is Supreme above all nations, and who’s going to work out exactly what He’s declared in the Scriptures. All nations need to know that and they need to give heed to it. If they do not, it will be to their own great cost.

“Let’s look further to what the Lord says in this key passage:
…he will gather the exiles of Israel;
he will assemble the scattered people of Judah,
from the four quarters of the earth.
I pointed out already, that is not fulfilled in the return from Babylon.
Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
And Judah’s enemies will be cut off;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
Nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.”

We need to bear in mind that when Israel initially was scattered and taken into captivity, it was by two Gentile empires—Assyria and Babylon. And Israel at that time had been divided into two kingdoms—the northern kingdom, which was normally called Israel or Ephraim, the southern kingdom, which was known as Judah. And those two kingdoms were frequently at war with one another. That was the condition of the nation when captivity began. What God is here saying is that when they are finally restored it will be as one nation, not as two nations, and the enmity between those two kingdoms and the tribes that they represent will have been taken away.

Now it’s very interesting that almost a few hours prior to the rebirth of the State of Israel in 1948 no name had officially been elected for the State. And there was something of a crisis to choose a name. One name that was proposed and almost chosen was Judea, but at the last moments Israel was chosen. That’s extremely significant, because had the name Judea been chosen it would have perpetuated the division. It would have been the name of the southern kingdom. The choice of the name Israel represents the union of the two divided kingdoms. So again we see an exact fulfillment in history. And then verse 14:

“They will swoop down on the slopes [or shoulders] of the Philisitines to the west; Together they will plunder the people to the east.
They will lay hands on Edom and Moab,
And the Ammonites will be subject to them.”

I wonder how many of you realize that when you read the word Philisitine or Philistia in the Bible, it is actually the word which gives us the present word Palestine or Palestinian. It’s the same word. So it says here:

“They will swoop down on the shoulders of the Palestinians to the west;”

That is Gaza and Sinai. We have to say—without considering the political implications—that’s happened. Then it says, they will turn to the east, and it speaks of three places: Edom, Moab and Ammon. What contemporary nation covers those three places? Jordan, that’s right. Go to the top of the class. Edom and Moab is the territory east of the Dead Sea stretching down to Akiba. Ammon today is Amman, the capital of Jordan. Now this is interesting. If I’m right in suggesting to you that this is approximately where we are in God’s prophetic program, the suggestion is that something will happen in the West Bank which is not predicted by politicians. Somebody said the other day, ‘The Jordan has a remarkable river. It’s the only river in the world which only has one bank. You never hear about the east Bank.’ It’s not my purpose to get involved in politics. I simply want to point out to you that almost everything that’s happened in Israel for the last thirty-five years or so has been contrary to the expectations of the experts. One thing I have learned, if I rightly understand and apply the Scripture, and there’s a big if, but if I do that, that’s what’s going to happen.

Now I’m going to go rapidly over a number of passages of Scripture dealing with the restoration of Israel. I want to turn now to Isaiah 43 verses 1 through 7. The previous chapter ends with a picture of Israel’s rebellion and God’s judgment upon it. But chapter 43 begins with a but. It indicates a change in the course of events.

“But now, this is what the LORD says—
He who created you, O Jacob,
He who formed you, O Israel;”

You notice there’s a difference between creating and forming. Creating is bringing something into being. Forming is making it what you want it to be. It suggests, usually, the operation of a potter. So God created Israel, but He’s now forming them.

“‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
And when you pass through the rivers,
They will not sweep over you [or overwhelm you.]
I would say that has been fulfilled in Jewish history for something like two thousand years.
When you walk through the fire,
You will not be burned;
The flames will not kindle on you.
For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;”

That’s the only explanation of the survival of Israel, I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

“I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
And because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
And people in exchange for your life.”

That’s a very, very solemn thought which I will not seek to interpret, but we need to examine God’s standards of values, because they’re very, very different from contemporary humanist values. Just to mention one thing that’s impressed me in dealing with Job: He was prepared to allow his seven sons and his three daughters to be taken by death. God attached so much importance to one man, that He let his family go. You and I wouldn’t think that way. God’s values are different.

Let me point out something else to you about Job while we’re on it because I want to complete the picture. You’ll find that when Job had learned his lesson and come to understand God the way God intended, God gave Job back double of everything. Twice as many camels, twice as many donkeys, twice as many sheep, twice as much gold and silver. The only one thing He didn’t double—He never doubled his children. Now you know why? Because the first ones were still there. See, when our children are called home by the Lord they’re not lost. That’s a beautiful lesson, isn’t it? But God was prepared for all those people to suffer that much to get His way with one man. And I don’t think you can really understand human history until you realize that God is prepared to let all sorts of terrible things happen to get His way with one nation—Israel. Let me read those words:

“Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
And because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
And people in exchange for your life.”

Notice God says because I love you. He never did tell us why He loved her. He only says, ‘Because I love you I will do that.’ You think God is unfair? Do you think God loves you? Do you think He’s unfair to love you? He’s done a lot for you and you know why He did it? Not because you deserved it, not because you were religious, not because you were clever, but because He loved you. That’s the root cause of events in this world. Going on reading:

“‘Do not be afraid, for I am with you [now listen to these words];
I will bring your children from the east
And gather you from the west.
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
And my daughters from the ends of the earth—[Notice that does not apply to the return from Babylon.]
Everyone who is called by my name, [the Hebrew says on whom my name is called] Whom I created for my glory,
Whom I formed and made.’”

Do you believe in predestination? I believe in this church I’m certainly allowed to say I do. I used to know the previous minister of this church. I don’t know the present minister. If you don’t believe in predestination, you don’t believe the Bible. You believe in free will? I do. If you don’t believe in free will you don’t believe the Bible, because the Bible teaches both. But here we’re dealing with God’s sovereign choice. He said, ‘I put My name on you. You’re going to be Mine, and everything I do in history I do because I chose you.’

I can’t think of any other reason why God’s been so good to me except that He chose me, and why He chose . . . I think all eternity will be too short to find out. Sometimes as Christians we’re prepared to accept God’s grace towards us as individuals, but we don’t realize that God exercises grace toward nations and I’m not so sure that He isn’t trying to exercise grace towards this nation.

“Let’s look at what the Lord says there. There are four quarters of the compass—in verse 5:
I will bring your children from the east [that’s Asia]
Gather you from the west.”

Which is essentially what we call the West today—Britain, the United States, Canada. You see, the words chosen are appropriate to each. It’s pretty hard to get the Jews away from the prosperous so-called ‘free West’. God says, ‘I’ll have to gather you. I’ll have to draw you.’

“But I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’”

When you read the points of the compass in the Bible, always start from the land of Israel. North is north of Israel. It’s Turkey, Poland, Russia, and so on. And of course today the largest country in that area, Russia is very unwilling to let the Jewish people go. So God says, ‘Give them up!’ It’s an order. And they are obeying reluctantly, amazingly, but simply because God said so.

“And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’”

The south there in Hebrew is Yemen. Who could have believed that an entire Jewish community would be released, but they were. Something over a hundred thousand Jewish people made the journey, came back. See how accurate the Scripture is? It doesn’t make random statements. It’s absolutely precise. We have to go on quicker. Isaiah 44:1 through 3:

“‘But now listen, O Jacob, my servant, [there’s another but]
Israel, whom I have chosen.
This is what the LORD says—
He who made you, who formed you in the womb,
And who will help you:
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.”

It would be worthwhile going over these chapters and counting how many times the Lord says to Israel, ‘Do not be afraid.’ Can you see any reason why? Now listen:

“For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
And streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
And my blessing on your descendants.”

Notice that though the first steps in the regathering are geographical and political, the ultimate purpose is spiritual, and God will not cease until He has achieved His spiritual purpose, the outpouring of His Spirit. Going onto verses 24 through 26 in the same passage, that’s Isaiah 44:

“‘This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
I am the LORD,
Who has made all things,
Who alone stretched out the heavens,
Who spread out the earth by myself,
Who foils the signs of false prophets
And makes fools of diviners,
Who overthrows the learning of the wise
And turns it into nonsense,
Who carries out the words of his servants
And fulfills the predictions
Of his messengers,
Who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’
Of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be built,’
And of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’”

Notice God says, ‘When I speak through My servants the prophets, I will watch over that word and see that it comes to fulfillment. And any word that is contrary to that will not stand.’ He foils the signs of false prophets. I hope I will not be controversial but I’ll say it anyhow. The strongest spiritual force that opposes God’s purposes in the Middle East is Islam, and it is the product of a false prophet. God is going to make it of no avail. He makes fools of diviners. How many of you go to fortunetellers? Don’t put you hands up. Those are diviners. How many of you read the horoscopes? You’d better stop. God makes fools of those people, and you are in trouble if you go to them for counsel and direction.

“Who overthrows the learning of the wise
And turns it into nonsense.”

Here’s a simple example of this. I’m sure all of you have heard of the Encyclopedia Britannica. It’s probably the standard work of human knowledge available today. In the edition published in 1911 there’s an article by a learned German professor on the pronunciation of ancient Hebrew. In that article he says something to this effect, The possibility that we will ever recover accurately the pronunciation of ancient Hebrew is as remote as the possibility that a Jewish Empire will ever again be established in the Middle East. That was published in 1911. Thirty-seven years later in 1948 it was false. What stands? The Word of God through His prophets. Isaiah 46:9 to 10:

“Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning,
From ancient times, what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”

That’s Almighty God speaking. We’d better give heed. We’ll turn now to the prophet Jeremiah and look just briefly at a number of predictions in Jeremiah that deal with the same theme. First of all Jeremiah 16 verses 14 through 16:

“‘Behold the days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when men will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’
but they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will
restore them to the land I gave their forefathers.”

Now that’s a remarkable statement because the great historical event in the history of Israel which still today is the theme of their most sacred religious ordinances, is the Passover—the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. But Jeremiah says there will come a day when that will pale into insignificance in comparison with the second great deliverance which is of Israel from the north country, which is emphasized—Germany, Poland, Russia, and from all the countries where ______________. In other words, the second Exodus is going to be far more significant than the first. And in my personal opinion that is already true. The miracles done in the first Exodus were tremendous and awe-inspiring, but when you think of all that is involved in the last century in the regathering of the Jewish people from all nations, the infinite number of different situations in which God has had to overrule, I believe in effect it is a greater miracle and it’s not yet complete. And then one more verse there:

“‘Behold I will send for many fishermen,’ declares the LORD, ‘and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.”

It was my late wife, Lydia, who pointed out to me years ago, that’s exactly what happened to the Jews in Europe. God sent for the fishers, then He sent the hunters. A fisher entices its prey with a bait toward it, but a hunter drives by fear from behind. First in Europe and principally in Germany, God sent the Zionists from Palestine with the message, ‘Get out while you can. Things are not going to be good very soon.’ Those that heeded went. When the fishers had done their work, God sent for the hunters. And I want to show you that there’s a certain ruthlessness in God. If He’s going to get something done, He’s going to get it done no matter what it costs. The hunters were the Nazis.

I was in West Berlin in 1966, I believe. I was preaching on the period toward the close of this age and I was speaking about various indications that the age is drawing to its close. One of them was the regathering of Israel. I was speaking in a large, public auditorium with about five hundred German people present, and I got to this passage and it suddenly dawned on me to whom I was speaking. And I thought to myself, ‘What am I going to say?’ So my interpreter (I understand German), my interpreter read this passage and there was absolute dead silence in that auditorium. You could have literally have heard a pin drop. I thought, ‘How do I bring this home without insulting these people?’ So I said to them, ‘Now your eyes have witnessed these events. You’ve seen it happen before your own eyes. You of all people know that this is the truth.’ And I said no more. And there was not one that could deny it. See how accurate the Word of God is? First the fishers, then the hunters. Turn to Jeremiah 18:

“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’”

Have you ever discovered that God sometimes requires you to be in a certain place to hear what He has to say? I have.

“So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.
But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?’ declares the LORD. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”

That’s all I want to read. The message goes on. How many of you have ever seen a potter shaping a vessel of clay on the potter’s wheel? A few of you. You can see it today. As a matter of fact, they’ve just restored it in Jerusalem—only the last few months. Usually you had to go to Hebron to see it. I remember watching there once and seeing the man with the moist clay in his hand, he works the treadle with his feet, the wheel spins, and he holds the pot against the spinning wheel. And as I looked at it I saw the principle that he uses applied pressure to shape the pot, to make it what he wants it to be. And then I thought of this passage. You see, I believe this is not merely a general principle, it’s a specific prophecy. Israel is the pot. The first time they were marred in the potter’s hands. He didn’t throw it away. He said, ‘I’ll make you again, another pot the way I want you.’ That’s what He’s doing right now. And notice the method—what is it? Applied pressure.

Study the history of Israel for the last thirty-two years. It’s one long continuous process of applied pressure—economic pressure, military pressure, spiritual pressure, psychological pressure, political pressure. What’s happening? Nothing is happening by accident. God is reshaping a people the way He wants them to be. It’s being fulfilled. Turn on to Jeremiah 30:1 through 7:

“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.
The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,’ says the LORD.’
These are the words the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:
‘This is what the LORD says:
‘‘Cries of fear are heard—
terror, not peace.
Ask and see:
Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
With his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,
Every face turned deathly pale?
How awful that day will be!
None will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,
But he will be saved out of it.’’”

Notice how specific there. God speaks of the regathering of Israel and Judah. He says it will not be a time of peace, it will be a time of terror, a time of pressure, a time building to a fearful climax of agony. But he will be saved out of it—the time of Jacob’s trouble. Again we see everything following the course that God predicted. And then in Jeremiah 31 verses 27 and 28:

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD [that phrase is very frequent in Jeremiah], ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will plant the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the offspring of men and of animals.
Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,’ declares the LORD.”

Before I became a preacher, as I indicated, I was a philosopher. One of my favorite fields of study was logic and I think that’s been one of my problems as a preacher. I can’t escape the implications of logic. God says, ‘Just as I watched over them to do the evil, so will I watch over them to do the good.’ I cannot believe that anything changes; I cannot believe that the person who does the evil will not be the person who will do the good. I cannot believe that the people who received the evil will not be the same people that will receive the good, and I cannot conceive how the evil could be ‘literal’ but the good could be ‘spiritual.’ I am unable to believe any of those suggestions. You know what I believe? I believe it means exactly what it says. There’s no need to change it, spiritualize it, play around with it. If I had any theory of Scripture that forced me to take those words in other their plain meaning, you know what I would do? I’d change my theory.

“Jeremiah 31 verses 31 through 34:
‘The time is coming,’ declares the LORD,
‘when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
When I took them by the hand
To lead them out of Egypt,
Because they broke my covenant
Though I was a husband to them,’ declares the LORD.
‘This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time,’ declares the LORD.
‘I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
And they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
Or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’
Because they will all know me,
From the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the LORD.
‘For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.’”

All I wish to do is to point out there that this regathering of Israel that we see predicted here is associated with the making of a new covenant with the house of Israel. And then verses 35 through 37 in the same passage,

“This is what the LORD says,
he who appoints the sun to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD Almighty is his name;
‘Only if these decrees [or fixed ordinances] vanish from my sight,’
declares the LORD,
‘will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me.’
This is what the LORD says:
‘Only if the heavens above can be measured
and if the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,’ declares the LORD.”

To me that is a clear commitment that God will never change or break His covenant with Israel or His commitment to them in spite of all the wrong that they have done. And then in Jeremiah one final passage 33:7 through 9. The Lord is speaking’

“I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before,
I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive their sins of rebellion against me.
Then this city [Jerusalem] will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peach I provide for it.’”

Notice again that God’s ultimate purpose is spiritual. He will cleanse them from all their sin, forgive all their rebellion. At present we are mainly in the preparatory stage, but the climax is clearly stated in the Word of God. Let’s look at two other prophets briefly—Ezekiel 36 verse 22 through 32:

“‘Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone.
I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.”

It’s very, very important to see that the prophecies of the Bible emphasize that God will do this for Israel not because they have deserved it, but because of God’s grace and because of God’s commitment to them, because He will not break His covenant.

Now I believe, it’s not my theme this afternoon, that God is also renewing the Christian church. And I want to point out to you that the principle is exactly the same—God is not doing it because the church

deserves it. He is showing as much grace to the Christian church as He is showing to Israel. It’s funny how easily Christians see that the Jews don’t deserve God’s grace. Some of you would be surprised how easily the Jews see that Christians don’t deserve God’s grace. They’re very clear about that. Going on in verse 24:

“‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. [Notice that phrase your own land. I’m going back to that in a minute.]
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.”

Notice the initial restoration is political, the ultimate purpose is spiritual. But there seems to be a principle in the Word of God that there’s only one place on earth where God will deal with Israel as a nation, that is in their own land. Verse 26 is a very significant verse:

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

Now in my personal experience that’s precisely where God is at, at this moment. He is taking away the heart of stone and giving the Jewish people back a heart of flesh. I have been associated with Jewish people since 1942 in a fairly close way, including having them as members of my own adopted family. And I would have to say that in that period of time there has been an amazing difference in the response of the Jewish people to the truth of the Bible, to the Holy Spirit and to the claims of Jesus. And I would say that if you had to pinpoint a moment in history when the change really began it would be in 1967, the time of the Six-Day War when the Jews regained political control of the Old City of Jerusalem. It seems that that was a turning point.

Today, in my personal experience, there’s a warmth and an openness and a responsiveness in the hearts of Jewish people towards Christians who honestly love them and towards the name and the claim of Jesus which has not been for probably nineteen centuries. See, God gave the Jewish people a heart of stone. This is one of the hardest things to understand in Scripture. It was a judgment of God. A heart of stone cannot respond to the Holy Spirit. But when He gives them back a heart of flesh, it’s capable of responding. It does not mean that they will necessarily respond, but it means they’re capable. That’s where we are, and as Christians it’s very important we know what’s going on.

“…I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

You know one of the things the Bible reveals is you cannot keep the law of God in your own fleshly strength or will. There’s only one power that can enable any of us to obey God. What’s that? The Holy Spirit. So God says, ‘First I’ll put My Spirit in you, then you will be careful to observe my laws and keep my decrees.’

See, I suppose the greatest single error of Israel in their understanding is they’ve tried to keep the law of God in their own fleshly ability, like many Christians. Whether you’re a Jew or a Christian, it can’t be done.

Just to go back to my own experience. At the age of fifteen I was duly confirmed at Eton College chapel. The Bishop of Oxford laid his hands on my head. I was sincere. I really thought I ought to be better than I am. I had no doubt about that. So I thought, ‘This will do it. From now on I’m going to be better.’ You know what happened? I got rapidly worse. I struggled with this for about six months and then I said to myself, ‘This thing doesn’t work. At least not for me.’ You know my problem? I was trying to obey God without the Holy Spirit. No one can do it, Jew or Gentile. God said, ‘I’ll put My Spirit in you, then it will be natural to you to obey my laws. Verse 28:

“You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
I will save you from all your uncleanness…
Notice, the living in the land is a step towards the spiritual purpose of God.
Okay, one final Scripture in this context. Amos 9 verses 13 through 15:
‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD,
‘when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman
and the planter by the one treading grapes.
New wine will drip from the mountains
And flow from all the hills.
I will bring back my exiled people Israel [or alternatively, will restore the fortunes of my people Israel],
They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. [Which is exactly what they’re doing right at this time.]
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine’
They will make gardens and eat their fruit [exactly as they are doing right now.]. I will plant Israel in their own land,
Never again to be uprooted
From the land I have given them.’ Declares the LORD your God.”

That has never been fulfilled up to this time. No previous activity of God has ever planted Israel in such a way that they were would not be uprooted. No one can claim that prophecy was fulfilled in any previous period of human history. Either it’s being fulfilled now or it’s never going to be fulfilled.

Now I’ve got time to deal with one more question, which is a very thorny one. I trust it won’t prick you, but I’m going to have to deal with it. The question is Who Owns That Land—The Land of Israel? Okay, it’s a question that if we’re really honest we cannot avoid. Well, I want to make a number of statements. First of all, the land belongs to God. Okay? Psalm 24 says, ‘The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.’ God own every place. He owns Britain. I don’t know what He wants to do with it, but He owns it. The world and they that dwell therein—He owns you and me. Let me show you just two passages where God speaks about this land that we’re talking about, the Land of Israel as ‘My land.’ First there’s Ezekiel 38 verse 16, Ezekiel 38:16. Interestingly enough, the two passages which I’ve chosen both relate to attempts of Gentiles to do things in relation to the land other than that which God intends. Speaking about this great prophecy of Gog and Magog in the end-time invasion which we’re not going to go into today, God says prophetically:

“You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O God, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.”

Notice, ‘my people Israel . . . my land.’ It’s God who’s speaking. Joel chapter 3 and verse 2. We’d better read verse 1 because that sets the scene. Joel 3:1 and 2:

“‘In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I will enter into judgment against them
Concerning my inheritance, my people Israel,
For they scattered my people among the nations
And divided up my land.”

Notice again, ‘my people . . . my land.’ That’s God speaking. That’s the primary ownership of the land. It belongs to God. Secondly, God by an eternal covenant gave it to a certain section of the human race. Turn now to the 17th chapter of Genesis, read verses 7 and 8, God is speaking to Abraham, Genesis 17 verses 7 and 8:

“I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
The whole land of Canaan [that’s the land], where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.’”

Notice, the whole land for an everlasting possession to Abraham and to his descendants, and the descendants are further specified as first of all Isaac, and then Jacob. In Genesis 26 God speaks to Isaac, Abraham’s son. This is what He says. Genesis 26 verses 3 and 4:

“Stay in this land [that’s the land we’re talking about] for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you.
For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.”

And then in Genesis 35 verse 12, God goes on to the next generation to Isaac’s son Jacob, who was later called Israel. Genesis 36 verse 12, God is speaking, He says in verse 11:

“‘I am God Almighty, be fruitful and increase in number. [Then He says in verse 12,] The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.’
And then it’s summed up by a statement by the psalmist, Psalm 105 verses 7 through 11:
He is the LORD our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
In other words, God carries out what He has determined in every part of the earth.
He remembers his covenant forever,
The word he commanded, for a thousand generations,
The covenant he made with Abraham,
The oat he swore to Isaac.
He confirmed it to Jacob as a law,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant:
‘To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion you will inherit.’”

It’s an everlasting covenant confirmed to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jacob’s descendants forever. Now let me show you briefly that this is still so, that it hasn’t changed. Now we’re going to back to some of the passages that we already looked at and look at them very quickly again. Jeremiah 30 verse 2 and 3.

“‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.
[Verse 3] The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,’ says the LORD.”

It is absolutely clear and specific, He will restore them to the land He gave their forefathers. And then in Ezekiel 36, we just looked at this passage but it doesn’t do any harm to look at it again. I trust your fingers are getting a lot of exercise. Ezekiel 36 verse 17:

“‘Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions.”

So it was their own land but they defiled it. Okay now we go on to the prophecy of restoration in verse 24 speaking to the same people:

‘‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and

“bring you back into your own land.’’”

All right. It was their own land when they were disobedient. It will be their own land when they are restored. It has never changed. And then if you want to look in Amos 9:15, we were just there but it is such a nice passage, I think it’s nice to read it again:

“‘I will plant Israel in their own land,
never again to be uprooted
from the land I have given them,’ says the LORD your God.”

I cannot think how language could be clearer than that. There’s just two alternatives—you either believe it or you don’t believe it. As for me, I believe it.

Now let me point out one simple fact and I close this first part of my teaching. I want to show you a deep principle involved in this which enables us to understand, I think, God’s dealings. Turn to Deuteronomy 32 if you want to verse 8, Deuteronomy 32 verse 8:

“When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
When he divided all mankind, [I think most other versions say the sons of man or the sons of Adam],
He set up boundaries for the peoples
According to the number of the sons of Israel.”

So when God originally determined the land allotted to each human nation, where did He start from? From the land allotted to Israel. First of all He gave Israel their inheritance, chosen according to their number. And then all other nations received their inheritance in relationship to Israel’s inheritance. Now this is stated also in the New Testament. In Acts 17:26, this is part of the speech that Paul made on the Aeropogas (phonetically), the Hill of Mars, to the men of Athens. Just the one verse, Acts 17:26, speaking about the true God, Paul says:

“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”

So God has determined not only where the nations should live, but when they should live there. But

the starting point for His whole determination was the inheritance of Israel. That’s where He set out from. Now let me give you a simple parable. Here I am with my fancy three-piece suit and my waistcoat or vest. Okay. Incidentally the gentlemen’s tailor that used to make my clothes at Eton called this thing a vest, see? So the Americans are really, they’re nearer Old English than the English are. Did you know that? That’s just by the way. Now this vest has got one, two, three, four, five buttons, and how many of you would ever start by buttoning from the bottom? Nobody. Suppose I make an error and put the first button in the second hole? What am I going to have? Problems all the rest of the way, aren’t I? Every other button has got to be in the wrong hole and when I get down to the bottom, if I can get there, I’ve got one misplaced button that’s got nowhere to go. Well, that’s a very simple parable, but that’s how it is with the nations of the earth. Israel is the first button and if that isn’t in the right hole, no other buttons can really be in the right hole either. This is a very important principle and I’m going to close my talk now with this.

When we talk about God’s plans for Israel we cannot sit back as representatives of other nations and say, ‘It doesn’t concern us! Let God deal with Israel—they’re His problem.’ How many of you are tempted to feel like that? Don’t put your hand up.

Okay, mind you, God took the problem on and He declares He’s able to deal with it. I don’t believe anybody else could. But you see the point it, and I’ll return to this in my second message, all nations depend for their well being on Israel being in their right place. So we’re all involved. When Israel are out of their place, there’s disorder in the world. How many of you would agree there’s disorder in the world right now? Do you know the root cause? There’s disorder in the Middle East, chaos, upheaval, war, suspicion, jealously, division of ___________, one root cause of that problem is the fact that Israel are not in their right relationship to God, and not in their right place. And until that is changed, no other nation can enjoy the full blessings and provision of God. God has made us dependent on the fulfillment of His plan for Israel. That’s perfectly fair.

Some people talk about justice. Now I want to say that I lived in Jerusalem from 1946 through 1948, and I saw what went on. In fact, I not merely saw it, I was part of it. Twice my wife and our children had to leave our house in the middle of night to save our lives, once at 9 p.m. and once at about 4 a.m. So— and I realized many, many people suffered. Many people hadn’t really done anything to bring that suffering on them. Jews suffered, Arabs suffered, other people suffered. I’m fully aware of that, but I still have to point out to you that God in His infinite wisdom has so ordained it that the rest of us can never have all that God’s intended for us until Israel are in their right relationship with God and their right place. And all that God is doing now is directed to that end. There’s going to be suffering, there’s going to be upheaval, but the ultimate purpose of God is the good of all nations.

God has got a place for all nations. There’s just one thing, the place He’s allotted to Israel is not for other nations. That is settled. I’ll tell you one thing, you don’t need to worry about God being just. He’s a whole lot ‘juster’ than we are!

Now I’m neither Jewish nor am I Arab. In that initial upheaval, as I’ve said already, my wife and eight children, one of whom is here today, fled from our house twice to save our lives. I don’t say this out of bitterness, but we were pursued by the Arab Legion. They were intent on harming us. That’s the way life is today.

Do you think you have total security here in Britain? You’re pretty foolish if you do. You know there’s only one real place of security, it’s in the will of God. To be aligned with God’s purpose. ‘He that doeth the will of God abideth forever.’ Find out God’s will. Align yourself with it and you’re unsinkable. What I’ve been unfolding to you this afternoon I firmly believe is the will of God. God is going to carry that purpose through. We don’t have an option on that. The only option we have is, Will we align ourselves with God or will we oppose Him? I trust that none of us here from whatever nation or background we may be will be so foolish as to reject the counsel of God and oppose it. For God has promised well-being, blessing and prosperity to all who will align themselves with His purposes. But for all of us, Jew or Gentile, it requires one essential thing—that we humble ourselves before Almighty God and submit to His purposes.