Not My People
The Gift of God — The New Covenant • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Recap
Recap
We have since began this study understanding the first covenant and the very challenges that is associated with it.
Participation was possible without the right heart
Nothing was wrong with the covenant in itself, nor with the law
God has always wanted his law on their hearts
Let us study it together;
1 And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. 4 The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.
So, they all heard the words of the covenant, but they rightly rejected the voice of God.
This is quite profound to understand properly;
23 “So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. 24 And you said: ‘Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives. 25 Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, then we shall die. 26 For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? 27 You go near and hear all that the Lord our God may say, and tell us all that the Lord our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’
Everyone heard his voice, but they rejected God and his voice from heaven, they said, Moses you speak with us.
Now, God said to Moses, it is because they do not have the right heart.
28 “Then the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!
So, Whilst we will see fear, the true diagnoses of the people is that they do not have the right heart.
SIDE NOTE: You know it is possible to always give excuses for the things of God, prayer, you will say “oh busy”, “oh what will I say?”, the right diagnoses is “a heart thing”, but not my focus for today.
So, participation was possible in that first covenant without the right heart, and this leads to the curse of the law.
19 “Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel. 20 When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant. 21 Then it shall be, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for I know the inclination of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.”
So, before they got into the Land, the Lord, already said, they will break the covenant (i.e. the first covenant), why? Because the inclination of their behaviour has always been that way. To turn to other gods.
Hence, what was pretty clear was that Israel would choose death and they would experience exile.
Living in the Land
Living in the Land
1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years.
The one nation, has now become two due to Solomon’s sin, and we have “Kingdom of Israel” and the “Kingdom of Judah”.
Now, we studied what happened to the kingdom of Israel, that they experienced the curse of the law, and they “died”, why? Just like Moses said they would, they turned to other gods and worshiped them.
5 Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 7 For so it was that the children 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 they had feared other gods, 8 and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
So, the kingdom of Israel, went into exile in Assyria and seized to exist as a people, i.e. loss of identity, loss of a call as a people. You can see Hosea also talked about this (and many others)
1 When Ephraim spoke, trembling, He exalted himself in Israel; But when he offended through Baal worship, he died.
We will come back to this text soon.
Now, it wasn’t only the house of Israel that sinned, also the house of Judah did sinned.
13 Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.”
also;
19 Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
But we don’t see their own exile until much later.
1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 And the Lord sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servants the prophets. 3 Surely at the commandment of the Lord this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon.
So, both the house of Israel, and the house of Judah did experience what Moses said, that is, due to the inclination of your heart, they would turn to other gods, and shed innocent blood and practice abominable things.
Death is not The End
Death is not The End
But, Moses indeed spoke of a time, when God would do a work after these things, Israel would be restored.
1 “Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, 2 and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 5 Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 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.
The phrase “that you may live” we will explore very soon, someday. (So know that series B is coming).
Now, what will happen is “after the blessing and the curse”, what will happen is the restoration, from amongst the nations, irrespective of where you have been driven to, and God would “circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will Love the LORD your God with all your heart”
Looking at the Prophets
Looking at the Prophets
Let us understand Israel’s restoration abit more;
1 The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
Can these bones live?
If we look at verse 9-13;
9 Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves.
Look at what they said, “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!”. So, the dry bones themselves are the house of Israel, that have gone into exile, and have died. God is saying, their graves will be opened, brought up.
So Israel will experience the ressurection from the dead. From all the nations, God would gather them together.
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ ”
Notice, again, I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah… and cause them to return to the land.
This is the background for the New Covenant, in the restoration of Israel and Judah, God would make a new covenant.
31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Now, in the New Covenant, we see God would deal with the problem
First of all we see;
The problem is not with the law (same law, not a different one)
The problem is not with God
What is new about the New Covenant, is “the people”. Same law, now on their hearts.
Hence, we would have a kind of new people, that “Know the LORD”, why? His law is on their heart.
Yet, it would be within the restoration.
Notice what will happen in verse 33; “I will be their God, and they shall be My people”. This is quite profound.
What about Gentiles?
What about Gentiles?
If the New Covenant is contigent (founded) on the restoration of Israel, How come then, Gentiles can be within that very covenant? This was what Paul had to defend in many of his writings, (Romans & Galatians especially).
The key to understanding this, is found in the descriptions used for Israel when they sinned and went into exile.
Look at Hosea, who spoke to the House of Israel as a Prophet.
2 When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea: “Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And children of harlotry, For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the Lord.”
This is something we have studied, “Israel (Northern kingdom) departed from God”, then God would restore them. But look at the phrase used in describing Israel in their rejection.
6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him: “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, But I will utterly take them away. 7 Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, Will save them by the Lord their God, And will not save them by bow, Nor by sword or battle, By horses or horsemen.” 8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son.
I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, But I will utterly take them away, notice, Hosea spoke of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL.
Then in verse 9;
9 Then God said: “Call his name Lo-Ammi, For you are not My people, And I will not be your God.
“Notice the term, you are not my people”. So, the house of Israel, when they turned to other gods, were referred to as “Not my people”. Under the first covenant, out of all the nations, Israel became God’s people, but when Israel sinned, they became just like the other nations “Not my people”.
28 When I brought them into the land concerning which I had raised My hand in an oath to give them, and they saw all the high hills and all the thick trees, there they offered their sacrifices and provoked Me with their offerings. There they also sent up their sweet aroma and poured out their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them, ‘What is this high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.” ’ 30 Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Are you defiling yourselves in the manner of your fathers, and committing harlotry according to their abominations? 31 For when you offer your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will not be inquired of by you. 32 What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, ‘We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.’
It is the gentiles that offer to other gods, and not Yahweh’s people, and now the house of Israel have said “WE WILL BE LIKE THE GENTILES”.
So, the house of Israel in their harlotry, have become “JUST LIKE THE GENTILES”.
25 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised—26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.”
So, both the circumcised and the uncircumcised, are now treated as thesame, why? house of Israel also are uncircumcised in their heart.
So, by calling them “Not my people” what that means, is that the house of Israel has become like the gentiles.
So, why I say “Not my people” I could as well be referring to both the house of Israel and the gentiles.
Hence, if they are thesame already, in the restoration of the house of Israel, the gentiles can also partake of thesame restoration to become the people of God.
If descendants of Abraham (house of Israel) have become like the other nations, their restoration is also the restoration / welcoming of the other nations.
This is precisely what Paul did in Romans;
24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved.” 26 “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
Because we do not know who is who, Paul rightly when he said “from the gentiles” (or of the Gentiles), he rightly applied same text to all who are not “the people of God”.
God would have mercy on all.
Acts 15:13-19 also, made same point by James that is, “Amos spoke of gentiles called by my name” — Next week
Summary
Summary
The Gentiles can be restored because Israel’s exile placed them in the same condition as the nations—“not My people.”
So when God restores Israel, that same restoration embraces all nations.
Israel dies (exile).
Israel becomes like the nations (lost, mixed, “not My people”).
God restores Israel.
That restoration also restores the nations.
God’s mercy to Israel becomes the doorway of mercy to all the world.
Hence, we can also be found in the New Covenant, we can have God’s law on our heart.
What to seek to answer next week therefore is, how will the restoration happen? This is what leads to the actual place I have been trying to get to.
