Jeremiah 31:31-33 “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 — 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. 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.
As I traveled across the U.S., I occasionally came across individuals who didn’t believe that Israel and the Jewish people were relevant to God’s redemptive plan. Amazed, I would show them this passage in Jeremiah foretelling how God would make a ‘New Covenant’ with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah! This scripture, an Old Testament foundation for our entire New Testament, was addressed to the two houses of Israel, yet its fulfillment in the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) was received by only a (significant) remnant of them, at His first coming.
The apostle Paul, however, unequivocally affirms that this initial remnant of saved Israel carried the Messianic revelation to the entire world and that revelation would eventually be returned to the Jewish people in full measure;
For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” [Romans 11:25-27]
And interestingly, Israel’s future inheritance in the New Covenant is highlighted as well by ancient rabbinical commentary on Jeremiah 31:31-32;
“When the time of the advent of the Messiah will be near, then the blessed God will say to him: ‘With him I will make a new covenant. And this is the time I will acknowledge Him as my son, saying ‘This day have I begotten thee.’ [Midrash Tehelim, 3:4]
Indeed ancient rabbis saw in this scripture that the new covenant was connected to Psalm 2 and would be ushered in by the Messiah, who would be God’s own son…..hmmm.
Another ancient rabbinical commentary on Jeremiah 31:31,32 says, “He will sit and expound the new Torah (teaching or instruction) which He will give through the Messiah.” [Midrash Talpiot 58a]
So the testimony of Yeshua, the Son of God, came through the Tenach (Old Testament), Moses, the Prophets and Psalms, which are the scriptures of the Jewish people, and is even supported by rabbinical commentaries. In addition, the entire New Testament (with the possible exception of Luke) was written by Jews. This people, blessed of God in so many ways, and chastened accordingly for their disobedience, is still quite relevant to God’s plans. His “gifts and callings are irrevocable” [Romans 11:29].
God is not finished with Israel or the Jewish people. And thank and praise Him for the faithfulness of that promise, because if He remains faithful to such a disobedient nation, He will also remain faithful to all those called and chosen through the revelation of Israel’s Messiah…you and me.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]When we study a translation of a Scripture passage we often miss out on the nuances hidden in the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament). Often, it’s not that a word is mistranslated, but that rendering the meaning in one English word is difficult if not impossible.
Knowing He was about to depart, Yeshua (Jesus) left His disciples with a final command: stay in Jerusalem, and wait…for the promise. Of the thousands who had witnessed His miraculous ministry and heard His amazing teaching, and the hundreds that had actually seen Him after the resurrection, we read in Acts that only 120 stayed and tarried until the promise arrived. But these 120 were steadfast. They waited the full term…
In this world we will face all kinds of obstacles, trials and tribulations and we should be wary of any doctrines or teachings that say we shouldn’t have to face these things. Why? Because the Lord said we will have tribulations. So the encouragement He is giving is simply this: You’re going to face trials, but GOD is greater than any problem you will face in this world!
Over the past month, it seems that we’ve been dealing with different internet issues … and hopefully, these issues will be resolved sooner rather than later. Being that the bulk of our ministry is based upon the internet, it can be problematic at times, especially when you’re suddenly disconnected from the web!
As we continue into the historical and prophetic significance of the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, I take you back to 1948. Professor Eleazar Sukenik discovered that Mar Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, the Syrian Orthodox Archbishop of Jerusalem purchased several of the Dead Sea scrolls. So Professor Sukenik visited the archbishop and took several photos of the scrolls which were then sent to William Albright, a Biblical archaeologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
As we continue this study of the Dead Sea Scrolls we jump to 1963 and the unearthing of Masada.
Flavius Josephus the Jewish historian recorded the tragic events at Masada in “The Jewish Wars.” Masada was ignored for years as it reminded the Rabbis of the failures of the many false messiahs that appeared after Yeshua (Jesus).
As we continue this study of the Dead Sea scrolls, authorities announced the discovery of several more scrolls as their extensive search for more hidden caves and treasures continues. Given the “coincidence” of the events described in previous devotionals, God’s providential involvement in these developments becomes clear. His Word tells us what is about to happen, and new discoveries of Biblical texts seem to be directly related to modern prophetic fulfillments.