Love Not the World (Part 2)

Notes
Transcript

Defining the World (Part 1)

Old Testament Foundations

We want to begin our study by defining one word, “WORLD.”
What is the difference in definition between these two statements?
“God created the world in six days.”
“The world hates God”
This study is not about the physical earth or its animals and human inhabitants considered without respect to their morality.
This study is about those aspects of human culture in which unbelievers manifest their rejection of and hostility toward God.
What is the relationship between the world and culture?
How would you define culture?
“Culture is simply the set of patters of thought, communication, and behavior shared by a group of people living together as a society. It results from the natural human tendency to imitate what we observe in others, and without it social harmony would be impossible.”
Is human culture good or bad?
Are some parts of human culture worthy of respect and value? Are some parts bad and sinful? Why?
Human cultures are sinner’s cultures, featuring various forms of sinfulness. How do we tell what parts of culture are good and worthy of value and what parts are sinful?
“Scripture shines upon culture the light of truth and holiness, enabling us to evaluate the moral character of a given culture’s various elements.
What are some factors that makes this evaluation difficult?
Differences in culture across boundaries of place, language, and time. Yet Scripture is sufficient. Aspects of human culture approved of by Scripture are to be embraced; those rejected are to be shunned. Easy right?
What about the aspects of a culture that many not receive definitive evaluation in Scripture? Those are the cases where our task is most difficult.
“The Scripturally rejected aspects of a given culture are what we may call the world within that society.” —Randy Leedy
World is the bad part of culture.” —John Frame
So let us turn our attention to studying the term “world” from the OT testament. The problem is that the term “world” does not occur all that frequently in the OT. Most English translations use the term “world” between forty to sixty times. And most of those occurence refer to the physical creation or to humanity as a whole.
Psalm 17:14 ESV
14 from men by your hand, O Lord, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants.
Ps 17:14 is perhaps the most relevant for our study. The phrase “men of the world” is closest to the idea of love not the world. There are also some references to God judging the world that may also come close to our topic.
Psalm 9:8 ESV
8 and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.
Psalm 96:13 ESV
13 before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Psalm 98:9 ESV
9 before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
However, the idea of God judging the world does not need to be restricted to condemnation and punishment. God could be judging both the righteous and the unrighteous in these texts.
So we must turn our attention to another term for our study.

“The Nations” in the Old Testament

Just because we do not find the word “world” in our sense of the definition- that is the idea of lost humanity in rebellion against God- does not mean that this sense is foreign to our Old Testaments.
In the OT you had one group of people who were chosen by God- the nation of Israel. God made covenant promises with Israel and gave them special revelation that He did not give to other groups of people. The other people groups who were outside of God’s choosing and who were hostile to God were called “the nations.”
So to understand God’s teaching concerning worldliness in the OT we must study the idea of the nations and conformity to the nations.
In the OT the Hebrew expression “the nations” occurs roughly 700 x’s. Not all of those occurences speak to the idea of worldliness. Most of those expressions lack the moral component of rebellion against God. However, we need to sketch a broad picture of how the OT uses the phrase “the nations” in order to have a clear background to perceive the teaching of the OT about the nations in a “worldly” sense.
Genesis 10 is the genealogy of the sons of Noah- Shem, Ham, and Japheth. In this passage God records the division of humanity into nations.
Genesis 10:5 ESV
5 From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.
And again:
Genesis 10:32 ESV
32 These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.
Who made the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood? Genesis 11:1-9, the very next passage, answers that question. God did. He came down and confused the languages of the people and the nations dispersed.
Genesis 11:9 ESV
9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
“Our Father, then, is the One who created the nations, not only in the sens of His having created the human race, but also in the sense of His imposing divisions into national entities with their linguistics, geographical, and cultural differences.” — Randy Leedy (16-17)
Other places in the Scripture confirm this theological truth.
Deuteronomy 26:19 (ESV)
19 and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.”
Deuteronomy 32:8 ESV
8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
The origin of the nations is in the creative and controlling hand of God, motivated by His wise purposes.
What will be the end of the nations? What is God planning on doing with the nations that He originated?
It depends on which nation you are talking about. What is the end of the nation of Israel? Immeasurable blessing.
What about the Gentile nations?
Some of the Gentile nations are destined for destruction. This was especially true of the Cananite nations. They were so full of abominable immorality that God marked them for extermination at the hands of the Israelites. And their destruction was complete. We do not have today communities of Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, Girgashites, or Jebusites. But, Israel has survived.
The same destiny awaits every godless nation.
Psalm 9:17 ESV
17 The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.
Isaiah 34:1–5 ESV
1 Draw near, O nations, to hear, and give attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it. 2 For the Lord is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter. 3 Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood. 4 All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree. 5 For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
“When we find ourselves tempted to walk in the ways of the world, it will be our Savior’s mercy to us if as a warning He recalls to our minds what He has said will be the end of those who rebel against Him. —Randy Leedy (18)
This is not the only end for the nations however. There is a path of blessing as well as destruction.
Genesis 12:3 ESV
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
The Nations did not have to wait for the coming Millennium for some of the outpouring of this promised blessing. God intended the nation of Israel to serve as a testimony of His character to the surrounding nations.
Deuteronomy 4:5–8 ESV
5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?
This blessing for the nations materialized to some degree during the reign of Solomon.
1 Kings 4:34 ESV
34 And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
Also, listen to Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple.
1 Kings 8:41–43 ESV
41 “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.
It will not be until the Millennial kingdom that Gentiles will fully experience the blessing of the Abrahamic Covenant.
Isaiah 49:6 ESV
6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
That day will truly be a glorious day for the nations.
Isaiah 60:3 ESV
3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Jeremiah 3:17 ESV
17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.
Micah 4:3 ESV
3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore;
Zechariah 2:11 ESV
11 And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.
Zechariah 9:10 ESV
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
How is it, though, that Scripture can speak in such opposite terms regarding the nations?
Here is Zechariah God promises to speak peace to the nations, and yet in Isaiah…
Isaiah 34:2 ESV
2 For the Lord is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter.
Why such different language? Here is the key…
Psalm 9:17 ESV
17 The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.
Once Jesus sits upon the throne of David for His Millennial reign, the nations will no longer be able to forget God, and their submission to the Son will bring upon them the rich blessings promised throughout the OT. Yet, even at the end of the Millennium many of the people in those nations will rise up again in rebellion against the Lord. So, while God will pour out the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant upon the nations, He will also deal out destruction in retribution for their rebellion against Him.

Israel among the Nations

Israel is unique among the other nations of the world. Her origin and development is a product of God’s miraculous activity.
What were some of the miraculous ways God brought about the nation of Israel?
Enabled Abraham and Sarah to produce their first child at an old age.
During the time of Joseph, God engineered the family’s migration to Egypt.
While Israel was in Egypt God used social barriers to prevent assimilation into Egypt’s empire.
Over a period of four centuries Abraham’s family grows into a nation.
When the time is right God worked mighty miracles to lead Israel out of Egypt, through the wilderness and into Canaan.
Why did God do all of this? What was his purpose in calling out Israel amongst the other nations of the world?
Deuteronomy 4:32–39 ESV
32 “For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. 33 Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? 34 Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. 36 Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, 38 driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, 39 know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.
What reason does Moses give for why God invested so much of his attention on the nation of Israel? “That you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him.” How would you paraphrase that reason? God chose Israel for the purpose of manifesting Himself to them as the true God of all the earth.
Did God do this for Israel’s benefit alone? No, we have already seen that God through Israel spoke to all the nations.
God makes this intention know in Exodus 19.
Exodus 19:6 (ESV)
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
What is one of the important functions of a priest? To mediate between God and man.
That means that God intended Israel to serve as a priest among the nations, to testify to the other nations this truth:
Deuteronomy 4:35 ESV
35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him.
Deuteronomy 4:39 ESV
39 know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.
Did Israel accomplish this priestly task? What went wrong? What was the biggest problem that prevented Israel from mediating between God and the other nations?
Exodus 19:5 ESV
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
Israel failed to meet God’s conditions. Israel did not obey God’s voice nor keep His covenant. Because of her disobedience she forfeited much of her ability to serve as a testimony of God’s greatness to the Gentiles. Does that though have any relevance on us today?
Why did Israel disobey God? There are many passages in the OT that affirm Israel’s intention to obey God.
Exodus 19:8 ESV
8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.
Deuteronomy 5:27 ESV
27 Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say, and speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’
Joshua 24:24 ESV
24 And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”
Scripture does not leave us guessing as to why Israel disobeyed however.
“The root of Israel’s disobedience was not disaffection with God; it was affection for the ways of the nations. Israel did not wake up one morning with a sudden resentment against God; rather, she increasingly pursued her appetite for the fleshly ways of her pagan neighbors.” — Randy Leedy (24)
This appetite for the ways of the nations afflicted the family of Abraham from the beginning.
Lot was the first example
Jacob’s sons were no shinning testimony or righteousness other than Joseph.
What was the attitude of the nation of Israel just a few weeks after they were delivered from Egyptian captivity?
Exodus 16:2–3 ESV
2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
What happened to the nation of Israel when Moses and Aaron were on Sinai receiving the law?
Exodus 32:4–7 ESV
4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. 7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.
Listen to Stephen’s sermon in Acts 7 when he describes this event,
Acts 7:39 ESV
39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt,
An appetite for the ways of the nations plagued Isreal when she entered into the promised land under Joshua’s leadership.
Joshua 24:14 ESV
14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
Joshua 24:23 ESV
23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
“The thunderings at Sinai compelled from Israel an intent to obey, but the attractions offered by the nations were simply too much for her to resist.” — Randy Leedy (25)
The fact that Israel had a heart inclination to be like the other nations did not take God by surprise.
Deuteronomy 17:14 ESV
14 “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’
God goes on to list the warnings that setting up a king like all the nations would inflict upon the people in vv. 15-20.
And yet what did the people do?
1 Samuel 8:4–5 ESV
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
God did not just warn Israel about setting up a king over her like the other nations.
Deuteronomy 18:9 ESV
9 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations.
God told his people over and over again, do not behave like the nations, especially to serve their gods, because that would bring judgement.
Deuteronomy 8:19–20 ESV
19 And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20 Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.
But, despite God’s warnings, this is exactly what happened to Israel.
Key Dates:
722 BC?
586 BC?
God leaves no doubt as to why these captivities took place.
2 Kings 17 gives us the reasons why God judged the Northern Kingdom of Israel:
2 Kings 17:7–8 ESV
7 And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced.
2 Kings 17:11 ESV
11 and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the Lord carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger,
2 Kings 17:15 ESV
15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.
The Southern Kingdom suffered the same fate for the same reason:
2 Chronicles 36:14–16 ESV
14 All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem. 15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.
What was the primary reason then for Israel’s downfall? She had an appetite to live like the nations.
And what was the worst part of such an appetite? Israel’s appetite to live like the nations cased her to worship false gods- a very serious breach in God’s covenant.
Exodus 20:2 ESV
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Exodus 20:5 ESV
5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
Exodus 19:4 ESV
4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
Over and over again God proclaims that He is their God and they belong to Him. So to violate that relationship is an extreme betrayal.
In fact God most often likens the sin of idolatry to what sin? Adultery.
Isaiah 1:3–4 ESV
3 The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” 4 Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.
Isaiah 1:21 ESV
21 How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.
The entire book of Hosea hinges upon the prophet marrying an adulterous.
Ezekiel 16:33 ESV
33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings.
In fact, God denounces Israel by saying that her sins even outdid the sins of the heathen nations themselves.
Ezekiel 16:48 ESV
48 As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.
Ezekiel 16:51 ESV
51 Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed.
2 Kings 21:9 ESV
9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.
And because of her appetite for the to live like the nations how did God respond?
Lamentations 3:45 ESV
45 You have made us scum and garbage among the peoples.
Psalm 44:14 ESV
14 You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
Ezekiel 36:20 ESV
20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’
What then is the ultimate fate of Israel? What will God do about her insatiable lusts for being like the nations?
In Ezekiel 20 God gives a startling answer to that question. In the chapter God first recounts the rebellion of the nation of Israel in the past.
Ezekiel 20:4–13 ESV
4 Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers, 5 and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. 6 On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. 7 And I said to them, ‘Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.’ 8 But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. “Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live. 12 Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. 13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned. “Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them.
Over and over again, when Israel deserved God’s destruction, instead he saved them for the sake of His name.
Ezekiel 20:14 ESV
14 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.
Ezekiel 20:22 ESV
22 But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.
Then God confronts Israel on her rebellion in the present.
Ezekiel 20:30–31 ESV
30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go whoring after their detestable things? 31 When you present your gifts and offer up your children in fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.
Then God says something very striking!
Ezekiel 20:32 ESV
32 “What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.’
No matter how much Israel wanted to be like the nations, God said, “It ain’t never going to happen!”
It would be a very painful process, but God had a plan for His people. Breaking Israel’s desire to be like the nations would require some stern measures and a whole lot of grace, but God will faithfully do just that.
Notice how God begins his solution with wrath, but then ends with a tender note of grace.
Ezekiel 20:33–34 ESV
33 “As I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out I will be king over you. 34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out.
Ezekiel 20:41–44 ESV
41 As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers. 43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. 44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”
Praise God, the bottom line is that Israel’s desire to be like the world is only temporary. Ultimately God will graciously resolve this heart issue. It will be a long hard road, but in the end Israel will not have even the slightest temptation to credit herself for her well-being. All glory will belong to our all-glorious God.

Summary

The OT theme of the nations reveals that the godless world in the current age is destined for destruction.
Out of this godless world, God has called into being a people of His own choosing. He promised to bless them and to make them great. He promised to use them to be a channel of blessing to the rest of the nations of the earth. This will ultimately be fulfilled during the millennial age to come.
God’s own people, even with their very best intentions, are overcome by the powerful urges of their flesh to pattern themselves after the surrounding pagan nations. It does not seem to matter that God clearly warns and shows his people the devastation of such a desire. The urges of the flesh are not to be denied, and Israel will be like the nations, no matter the cost.
Israel’s Redeemer lets His people go their own way far enough to taste the bitterness of being like the world. Ultimately, God in His grace, insists that Israel will not be like the nations. He Deliverer will turn her once and for all from her sins to Himself, and then will turn the rest of the nations to Himself as well.
And Lord Haste the day when the faith shall be sight!
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