“This house, now so exalted — everyone passing by will gasp in shock at the sight of it and will ask, ‘Why has Adonai done this to this land and to this house?’“-1 Kings 9:8
One day, when I was working in the Financial District of San Francisco so many years ago, I remember I was having a conversation about the Jewish people with a co-worker.
I had been attending a Messianic Congregation for quite some time by then and well understood that God’s covenant with His People was an eternal, unbreakable thing.
My colleague, on the other hand, was a typical secular Gentile who had about as much knowledge about Israel, their covenants, and Scripture as the cockroach I killed in my kitchen the other day.
One thing she said I’ve never forgotten.
“If the Jewish people are God’s chosen people, why have they been cursed and suffered so much persecution throughout their history?”
Her point was that their persecution was evidence that they were NOT chosen by God.
Of course, I had to tell her she had her marbles all scrambled and that it was actually the exact opposite.
Their persecution was not evidence that the Lord had forgotten His people.
Quite the opposite, actually.
Scripture shows that God’s covenant with Israel includes both blessing and discipline.
Look at verses 4 through 9 in 1st Kings Chapter 9.
They make it clear that Israel’s continued blessing and security in the land were conditional upon covenant faithfulness.
That faithfulness began with Israel’s king.
They depended upon Israel remaining faithful to the covenant, beginning with its king.
If the Lord abandons the Temple, then it becomes an empty shell.
The verses go on to explain that what was once considered a glorious monument to HaShem will almost overnight be looked upon with horror and pity.
And that many will smirk and take a perverse pleasure in the Temple and Israel’s destruction.
Can you see how there will be two different reactions to the Lord executing His ferocious judgments against His people?
Some will say, as I do, that this proves the Lord exists and is disciplining His people.
Others will laugh at Israel’s demise and declare that Adonai has abandoned His people…as a good portion of anti-Semitic Christianity has done.
Of course, those who make the latter declaration are theological idiots who obviously don’t possess a proper understanding of the Lord and the eternal nature of His covenants.
Just yesterday, I was having a discussion about Islam and Israel with a friend, and he said:
“What’s difficult about this is that sharia is close to Torah,
whereas most secular Israelis disregard Torah.**”
The problem is he used the term “secular Israeli.”
I propose to you there ain’t no such thing as a “secular Israeli” when we’re talking about covenant identity, homie.
Every Jew, regardless of how religious or secular they may be, remains part of the people with whom God established His covenants.
It doesn’t matter if the Jew or Hebrew in question is “secular,” an “atheist,” a “communist,” a “Gentile-church attending Christian,” or whatever.
He or she remains part of the covenant people with whom Adonai established His covenant relationship.
Therefore, I submit to you that when it comes to covenant obedience, there are only two categories:
A Hebrew or Jew who is living in obedience to the Lord’s commands.
Or a Hebrew or Jew who is NOT living in obedience to the Lord’s commands.
And that’s it.
Right here in 1st Kings 9, we’re told if the King of Israel disobeys and elects to follow after the gods of the goyim…
The Lord will view such behavior as high rebellion against Him by the whole group…not just the one leader.
Of course, it cuts both ways.
This Torah principle applies at both the national and individual levels, for BOTH curses and blessings.
And this is where we need to make an important distinction.
Being chosen by God doesn’t mean being exempt from His discipline.
Quite the opposite.
The covenant relationship is precisely why obedience matters so much.
But there’s another question we need to ask.
Does our failure to perfectly obey God’s commands mean we are cut off from God altogether?
That’s where Yeshua HaMashiach enters the picture.
Our standing before God isn’t based on our ability to achieve perfect obedience.
It rests on the righteousness of Yeshua.
That doesn’t mean obedience suddenly becomes irrelevant.
It means our relationship with God isn’t built on the fantasy that we can somehow make ourselves perfect.
We are still called to obey.
We’re still accountable for what we do.
But our hope isn’t in our own perfection.
Our hope is in the righteousness of the one who actually is perfect.
Alrighty, I’ll leave it at that for today.
If israel is nolonger Gods chosen, then God is a covenant breaker, scriptures says, that God does not violate his covenant, nor alter the utterance of his lips.
Great point, Luis!
Be blessed!