Jonah Becomes Committed

 Jonah The Committed Prophet

 Book of Jonah Chapters 3-4

 

 Jonah the Rebellious prophet became Jonah the committed prophet, but Jonah still had a lot of hatred in him.

 Jonah gets a second chance to go where God wanted him to go and do what God wanted him to do.

 We may think it strange, but Jonah did not want to preach to the Ninevites because Jonah knew and understood the grace and mercy of the Lord, and he knew that many of them would probably be saved.

 Jonah did not want any of them to get saved because Jonah hated the Ninevites, because they were such a cruel and wicked people, and had become a thorn in the flesh of Israel.

 Jonah was a typical Jew who felt that the Jews were better than all other peoples.

 The important word we should understand in this Book of Jonah is the word "repentance".

 Jonah had to repent of his own sin to understand the meaning of repentance, to preach a message of repentance to the people of Nineveh.

 God often gives us a second chance and to some even a third chance or more, but we should also understand that He does not always do this because He can see into our heart.

 Sometimes disobedience is of such a character that God cannot go on with such a servant.

 1Ki 13:21  And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, 

1Ki 13:22  But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. 

1Ki 13:23  And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. 

1Ki 13:24  And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. 

1Ki 13:25  And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. 

1Ki 13:26  And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him. 

 It is always better to be obedient to the Word of God.

 *****Jon 3:1  And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, 

Jon 3:2  Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. 

Jon 3:3  So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. 

 Jonah gets the same command for the second time, and this time Jonah does not flee; he goes to Nineveh and preaches the sermon God told him to preach.

Every preacher is given a message he is to preach to those who gather with him!

Those who are not given a message from the Holy Spirit are not God-called, or they could have unrepentant sin in their lives.

 God had accepted Jonah's repentance and restored his ministry.

 A great city would be a fortified city, and probably was a walled city, and probably had experienced war. 

Most anything else would be a town, and that city in that area would be like a mother to those towns.

 Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, which had begun to emerge as a regional power.

 It was probably a saying that Jonah that he had been spat out of a fish's mouth because he had rebelled against God.

 We should understand that the Philistines worshipped a god named Dagon, and Dagon was known as the fish god. Half man and half fish.

 The Ninevites would have also considered Dagon as a god.

 To the Jews, Nineveh was the land of Nimrod.

Nineveh was up to 700 miles from Joppa, so it would take a while for Jonah to get there, much more than three days.

 When Jonah entered the city, he began preaching the message God had given him.

 Nineveh was such a great city that it would take three days to walk around the walls of that city, if you could walk 20 miles a day.

Certainly, Jonah could not walk and preach at that pace, so this statement is tied to that phrase "such a great city" to tell us just how large the city of Nineveh was.

 *****Jon 3:4  And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 

Jon 3:5  So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. 

Jon 3:6  For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 

 Jonah had become a sign to the Ninevites: Luk 11:29  And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. 

Luk 11:30  For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. 

 The Ninevites had heard about this man Jonah, how he spent three days and three nights in the belly of a fish.

 Now we do not know if the false god Dagon influenced these Ninevites or not, but we do know that the Ninevites believed that only a true God could have saved any man from such a catastrophe.

The sign to the Church is that God can bring new life to those who are judged dead in sin.

 This king and these people believed in the story of Jonah, and we have no right to not consider it to be true today.

If God said Jonah was swallowed by a fish that He had prepared to swallow Jonah, then it has to be true!

 The effect of Jonah's preaching was spontaneous, and the people put on sackcloth and proclaimed a fast.

 From the poor to the rich, they believed in the message of Jonah, which reached into the king's palace, and this king caused a fast to be proclaimed in all of Nineveh.

 Jon 3:7  And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: 

Jon 3:8  But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 

 The whole city believed the God of the Jews could have the power to destroy them if He chose to do so, and we know He had that power; He is all-powerful.

This city believed this because they believed the story of Jonah being swallowed by a large fish.

 Notice how God sends a warning with a chance to repent before He would bring judgment.

We are to pass this warning to those we witness to today.

 *****Jon 3:9  Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 

 All those people who sacrificed to idols and false gods had heard about the goodness of the God of the Jews, and they understood the message of Jonah and realized they had only one option to avoid perishing.

 Notice they demanded no forgiveness.

They did not ask for mercy.

In their confession, there was no sacrifice.

They offered no promise to appease God.

 Just as we know today, their fast and humility came by faith in the truth of God.

 Our salvation is based on faith in the work that Jesus Christ has done for our salvation, and it is in this faith that God will receive us into His family and not by these other things.

 Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

 This is the work that God has required!

 This is the reason Jonah did not want to preach this message, because Jonah understood the grace and mercy of God.

 *****Jon 3:10  And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. 

 God had seen the wickedness of Nineveh, and now God saw their repentance.

 God heard them call out to Him.

God saw the change in them, their repentance.

 What had they done? They had produced fruit worthy of repentance.

 Mat 3:8  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 

Mat 3:9  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise children unto Abraham. 

 That fruit was that they had turned from their wicked ways.

 They did not need to sacrifice some animal, for that would have been little proof.

 They sacrificed a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

 Psa 51:14  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 

Psa 51:15  O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 

Psa 51:16  For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 

Psa 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 

 Not only had Jonah preached the message God gave him, but Jonah had learned a lesson he would take back to the Jews and to the Northern Tribes.

 God does not need an animal sacrifice to forgive sin.

 These Ninevites were not confused about Dagon because they had now met Yahweh, Jehovah, our Lord Jesus Christ.

 This is what Jonah knew would happen, and Jonah did not want any of the Ninevites to come to know the true God of Creation.

Jonah had some understanding of the power of the Holy Spirit, and Jonah did not want it to happen.

 *****Jon 4:1  But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. 

Jon 4:2  And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. 

The Jews, they felt that the God of the Jews was just that. The God of the Jews and not God to any other people.

There are Christians today who feel that some people are just too wicked for God to save them.

There may be, but only God can know these things!

We are never to be hesitant to reach out to others, and if the Holy Spirit encourages us to reach out to certain individuals and we refuse, then we will be held accountable for the blood of that person if they never accept the truth of the Gospel.

God desires to have mercy upon every individual!

The Lord Jesus Christ paid the sin debt for every individual.

It is not up to us to judge if any person can accept the truth of God; this is God's business, and God is in the saving business.

To be more like Jesus Christ, we must also be in the saving business!

God's mercy can reach the lowest of the lowest, the highest of the highest, and all those in between.

God can save anybody, anytime, in any place!

Jonah understood this, but Jonah was not pleased with it.

Jonah understood God's goodness and was not pleased with it.

Jonah explained to God that this was why he fled to keep this from happening, and he knew this was a great sin, and Jonah said to Jehovah, "Just take my life from me".

Jonah discussed his anger with the Lord.

*****Jon 4:3  Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. 

Even while he was angry at God, this is proof that Jonah did not water down the truth of God, but preached the truth straight from the Word of God.

Jonah did not keep his anger stored up in his heart, and this is a great example for all of us.

We will never understand everything that God does!

We will never understand the death of a child or why so many die in some catastrophe.

We may never understand why God did not answer our prayer or answer it in a way that we did not want Him to answer it.

Jonah knew God was gracious and merciful.

Jonah knew God was slow to anger and abounding in love.

Jonah knew God was willing to turn away from executing His judgment if His conditions were met.

It is very important that we all understand the character of God, and it is our goal to be more like Him.

What Jonah went through during this time in his life is a great lesson for us all.

Anytime we get to see how God does things is a place we can learn from Him!

It is very possible that Jonah became an enemy to his own people after leading these Ninevites to the Lord.

All the Jews hated the Ninevites.

Jonah may not have been able to witness to the Jews anymore.

Life did not make sense to Jonah any longer.

And God said to Jonah: Jon 4:4  Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?

What do we know about anger? Anger is very ugly if it is allowed to simmer in our heart for a long period of time.

Jonah traveled a short distance from Nineveh and made himself a booth to sit under while he was trying to get over his anger.

God does not speak a word of reproach to Jonah, but God will teach Jonah a great lesson.

*****Jon 4:6  And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. 

When we are talking to God, it is always best just to stop what we are doing and sit down with Him.

If the Almighty God wants to discuss what has just happened and He takes the time to sit down with one of His children, then it is a great honor to hear what He has to say.

God does want us to understand the things we do not understand, but we must understand that it is because of the great love that He does most things.

Remember how God had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah; now God has prepared a plant, a gourd, to come up and shade Jonah and allow Jonah some relief from the blistering sun.

Jonah was really happy with the shade this plant provided for him, but this relief would not last very long.

*****Jon 4:7  But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

If you fool with plants, then you know we can go to bed with our plants looking beautiful and wake up and find that insects during the night have tried to destroy our beautiful plants.

The same God who prepared the gourd to shade Jonah also prepared the worm that destroyed that gourd overnight.

Then God prepared a vehement east wind, and it caused Jonah to be in misery.

That word vehement means a very hot east wind, a scorching, burning wind.

Jonah fainted from the heat, and he again wished for God to take his life.

All Jonah could think about was that gourd that had provided him with some relief the previous day.

Jonah became angry that the gourd had withered and died so soon.

Again, God told Jonah that it did him well to be angry at the gourd.

Then God said: "Here is the lesson for you to learn, Jonah".

*****Jon 4:10  Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 

Jon 4:11  And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? 

Here it becomes clear why God has created such a fast-growing plant. 

If it had been a slow-growing plant, Jonah should have cared for it and watered it, but Jonah did not have to make any effort for the growth of the plant. 

Jonah had no personal relationship with it.

We should understand that God is our Creator, and He has that special love for all His created beings, and this includes such cruel and wicked people as the Ninevites were at this time of Jonah.

God made the sun to rise over Nineveh as well as provide rain.

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 

Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 

Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 

Mat 5:46  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 

Mat 5:47  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 

God told Jonah that more than one hundred twenty thousand people were living in Nineveh that could not discern their right hand from their left hand; should He not offer them a chance to be saved from Hell?

This is a trait of God's character that we cannot overlook: Mat 9:36  But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 

Mat 9:37  Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 

Mat 9:38  Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. 

Should God not heal them? Mat 14:14  And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. 

Even the disciples did not understand these things.

Would Jonah understand God's feelings for Jerusalem? Do we? 

Luk 19:41  And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 

Luk 19:42  Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

Even the animals were dear to God that were in Nineveh, so we must never think that God does not love His creation.

We do not get to read Jonah's response, and the Book of Jonah comes to an abrupt end, so we know for sure that God always has the last words, and we need to grow in Christ to better understand the ways of God!

Amen

The Resurrection to New Life

Dry Bones Are Given New Life

Book of Ezekiel Chapter 37

As Christians we already know that Christ Jesus is the only hope for this wicked and evil world.

Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Gal 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

The three Christian statements of our "faith" are built upon "our faith", "our hope", "and our love" in all the promises of Jehovah God.

1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Why is the greatest of these, charity? What did Jesus say to us?

Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Mar 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

To many people, these are hard lessons. To the Church, we know these words as the truth of God.

These things are the difference between life and death!

The Christians will certainly die, but this death is the doorway to eternal glory!

The lost world will certainly die, but this death is followed with eternal death. A death of eternal torment!

In our lesson today we can see the power of the Almighty God in the valley of dry bones.

*****Eze 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

Eze 37:2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

This valley of dry bones represents a place of death and destruction. A place where two great armies had met and death and destruction followed, their bodies left on the battlefield and never buried. Their bones so dry that they were brittle and broken easily.

In reality this passage represents the resurrection of the dead when the Lord returns with the souls that are in Heaven.

1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, "even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him".

1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

The power of Jehovah God is unlimited, and He has given all His power to His Son, Jesus Christ!

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

We have the example of the resurrection:

Joh 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

If there is a resurrection of those when the Lord meets the Church in the air, then there is another resurrection of the dead to new life after the Church for those who are martyrs during the tribulation years, and then an end time resurrect for all those who will face the Lord Jesus at the White Throne of Judgment..

Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

As Christians we now have that hope of eternal glory but to the lost, they live in hopelessness.

Rev 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Rev 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them "that were slain for the word of God", and for the testimony which they held:

Rev 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

All those who know the Lord will be raised to new life!

All those who reject the Lord will be raised to eternal damnation, a terrible, terrible, terrible thing that should cause us to reach out not only to our loved ones but to all that do not know the Lord in a personal relationship!

As we go along, we will see that this valley of dry bones represents the nation of Israel, who are dead to the truth of God, and dead to the reality of salvation by Jesus Christ.

So in this case, this passage represents a revival of the people of Israel that has not taken place as of yet!

*****Eze 37:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.

Today there is more than half our world that do not believe in the resurrection of the body, because they reject the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the time of Christ there were influential, but very lost men known as Sadducee.

Mat 22:23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

Jesus said stay away from all who teach the sinful doctrine of the Sadducees and there are many of these unbelievers around today!

Mat 16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

For Ezekiel. either by vision or some other method, he would witness what the Lord calls the resurrection of those who sleep in Jesus, but also all those who will be resurrected from the dead to go to the White Throne Judgment.

Ezekiel replied, yes Lord you are powerful enough to do anything you choose to do!

The Lord also has the power to bring revival to a nation as we will witness in this passage, but a revival that has not yet taken place.

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

We have to accept the fact that Judah was a captured nation and had lost all hope, but by Jeremiah they should have known that this captivity would only last 70 years and the Almighty God would change the power structure of this world once again, which He always has the power to do even in our day.

They should never have been hopeless, but we know they are still blind to the truth.

*****Eze 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

The house of Israel had been taken captive, and were being forced marched to Babylon to be scattered all over the lands under the domain of the Babylon Empire.

They certainly thought they would never see their homeland again and were aware that they could lose their own lives at any moment.

These things took place because they had forsaken Jehovah and lived any way they wanted to.

They had forsaken the Laws of Moses and the statutes of God.

They had worshiped false gods and they were seeing the results of their sin.

The Lord God Jehovah showed Ezekiel in a vision or some other way, that restoring Israel to a godly nation is always within His powers in that day and today and at any time in the future as long as time last!

Hos 1:11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Rom 11:28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.

Rom 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

As a child of Jehovah God there is never a time, I should feel hopeless!

There is never a time I should worry about my future because the promises of God are real.

There is never a time I should be afraid of what this world can do to me.

There is never a time I should sink into depression because my God is all powerful.

Even when my bones are lying in a grave or burnt to ashes while my soul is in Heaven, that body of flesh can be restored, except this time it will be made perfect and it will be a glorified body.

What did Ezekiel witness?

*****Eze 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

This is a resurrection!

Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

Job 19:26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Job 19:27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

This is the great revival of the House of Israel!

Rom 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

What did Israel need to know on that miserable day? There was a promise of new life!

What should every lost soul know about the "Gospel"? There is a promise of new life and it is eternal!

I just wonder sometimes when our Pastor is behind his pulpit, if he ever feels like he is preaching to a valley of dry bones.

Ezekiel preached the words God that gave him and all of a sudden, those old dry bones began to come to life.

You see in the eyes of God, we will never be in a situation of hopelessness, because the worst thing that can happen is that we will go on home.

This place of earth is not our home and we should never forget that we are just strangers passing through this wicked and corrupt and evil place.

What is so great about have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ?

*****Eze 37:14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

We must never forget it is the Spirit of Jehovah that gives life!

Psa 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

Psa 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

Psa 104:31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.

Our Holy God has the power to conquer death and the proof to the Church is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

What had Moses preached to the House of Israel?

Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

To be honest, when we choose to live a life of death, how can we complain when that time comes, yet we have a merciful God who will even allow a death bed confession.

As long as there is life in our bodies and have not rejected the Holy Spirit to a point that He will not convict us of our wrong, then we can still be gloriously saved, but it is a foolish thing to test God because He will not be tested. In fact today is the day of salvation for everyone because tomorrow my not come to the wicked!

Pro 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

2Co 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

There is an accepted time for each of us to ask the Lord to forgive us our sins and come into our hearts and save us!

The Lord will never forget those who love Him, and the Lord will never forget His chosen people Israel.

For who is a true Jew?

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

God will bring every child of Israel back home who wants to be there, for even they will have to choose Jesus!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

This truth is the same for all people!

*****Eze 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

Eze 37:22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:

Eze 37:23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

When Israel returned after the Babylon captivity, they did not come back perfect, but they were no longer idol worshipers!

They knew it was Jehovah who had rescued them just as He had from Egypt!

They had spent 70 years in captivity and all those who worshiped idols just as in the 40 years in the wilderness, where those who doubted the truth of God had died off.

In the time of Jesus they again rebelled against the truth of God and that whole generation was destroyed by Titus in 70 AD and Israel again has been scattered throughout this world but again they are making their way back home and one day soon their eyes will be opened to the truth of the Messiah!

The words of Jesus:

Luk_11:50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

Today Israel's population is nearly 10 million people and they are growing by 10,000 each year since 1948.

We must remember the nation of Israel is home to all sorts of people and then there are the legitimate children of Israel.

God loves this nation He has delivered them from idolatry.

He has delivered them from false worship.

He has delivered them from wicked behavior.

God is striving for a personal relationship with these people just as He does with all unbelievers!

Jehovah loves personal relationships!

Jehovah has been dealing with Israel as a nation, but His intention now, is to get to know each of them in a personal relationship!

Just as He did with David, and Moses, and Abraham, and Sarah, and all His prophets in the Old Testament. Just as He did Adam and Eve who He walked with in the cool of the day.

Jer 30:24 The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.

Jer 31:1 At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

Jer 32:37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:

Jer 32:38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:

Zec 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

Psa 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

Psa 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

Psa 68:20 He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.

Now remember our study of Chapter 34 of David.

Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

David will certainly be resurrected as will all the children of God who are asleep in Jesus, but he will not be king because we have only one king and that is King Jesus!

*****Eze 37:24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.

Eze 37:25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.

All the covenants of Jehovah are everlasting covenants, but they all have a fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. When King Jesus sits upon the throne as absolute King and Ruler of Israel, He will also be the absolute King and Ruler of this entire planet because He already is. It will be at this time that the entire world will recognize our Lord as the Master of the Universe, in fact Master of the Cosmos!

King Jesus will also be that Great Shepherd of the souls of all His people.

1Pe 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

These things will be eternal when we reach the New Jerusalem!

As one bone is connected to the next bone all the children of Israel will come to their respective families and respective tribes just 7 or more years after the Church is taken out of this world and is in Heaven.

True peace will come to this world and to Jerusalem the city of peace that has never before seen peace!

*****Eze 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.

What are the steps of this great event?

The people of Israel will be gathered.

All the tribes of Israel will be united.

All of Israel will be purified.

The nation of Israel will be established under the rule of the Messiah.

Jehovah will make a covenant of "Grace" with the "Apple of His eye".

This will be and everlasting, eternal covenant.

The Lord will place them and give them to the land He promised to Abraham.

The Lord will multiply them.

The Lord will set His sanctuary in the midst of them.

Where is God's sanctuary?

Psa 102:19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;

Psa 102:20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;

Psa 102:21 To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;

Psa 102:22 When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

Remember the Church is with the Lord during all these things and the Church and the saved Israel, will be with the Lord throughout eternity!

*****Eze 37:27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Eze 37:28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

The fathers of the nation of Israel had a tabernacle built after they escaped from Egypt (type of the world of sin) a place of worship that they carried with them as they traveled in this wilderness of sin, but our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ has brought with Him a better tabernacle, a Spiritual tabernacle, and a heavenly tabernacle so they can leave a world of sin and become holy, a people serving a holy God, and they will come to know the Joy of the Lord and become a blessed people forever!

Today the heathen are still mocking God because they have no fear of Him, but when our Savior appears in that Heavenly Sky returning to this earth in full view, they will see how foolish they have been and they will first try to destroy Him and next they will try to hide from Him and both these things are impossible.

Rev 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

We live in a foolish world that keeps denying our Creator, but on this day, they will not be able to deny Him!

The nation of Israel shall feel the full force of the Holy Spirit, and they will accept all the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and will be sanctified to serve our Holy God just as the Church!

1Jn 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

This lost world will feel the wrath of our Heavenly Father, when they did not have to!

Amen

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