Do you want to know which truth the gentile church has had difficulty accepting since literally its inception?
The church has always struggled with the idea that the salvation of the gentile is dependent on the Hebrew world.
They need to realize that redemption is organically connected to the Hebrews!
I mentioned this before and I’ll say it again.
There is no such thing as a Biblical gentile covenant.
Beginning with Abraham, every covenant made was between YHWH and the Hebrews.
But having said that, from the beginning, a way was always prepared that would allow gentiles to share in the Hebrew covenants that God began with Abraham.
Remember God told Abraham “all the nations of the world will be blessed by and through you“.
This obviously means that somehow in someway in God’s perfect timing, gentiles would have the chance to participate in Israel’s blessings.
But these blessings always came with the caveat that they come only by means of Abraham and his offspring, the Hebrews.
It’s interesting to see how the process of a gentile being grafted into Israel evolved over time.
During OT Biblical times, any foreigner who wanted to join Israel had to renounce all of his gods and accept ONLY YHWH.
In addition, he had to live according to the rulings and regulations of the Torah.
Fast forward a couple of hundred years to Mount Sinai and we find the ritual of male circumcision being added as a requirement.
What we can gather from this is that foreigner, upon being circumcised, was no longer considered a foreigner.
He became a full-fledged Israelite and thus became subject to the blessings and curses of the covenants YHWH made with Israel.
The label of “foreigner” or “gentile” no longer applied.
Now here’s the thing.
Paul in chapter 11 of his letter to the Romans asserts that the same principle still holds under the Messianic Covenant of Yeshua.
Just as male circumcision was a physical requirement at Mount Sinai in order to be grafted into Israel, now it is faith and trust in Yeshua, the Hebrew messiah that grafts one in to the covenants YHWH made with Israel.
Don’t misunderstand and think that circumcision is no longer a requirement.
Circumcision is required but ultimately it is CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART via faith in Messiah that saves.
Remember that ultimately physical circumcision is an action that is supposed to reflect the redemption that has occurred in one’s heart and the Apostle Paul said just as much.
He said what good is a mere operation on the flesh if one’s heart is still unredeemed or uncircumcised.
Recall the AS-IN-HEAVEN-SO-ON-EARTH principle I’ve spoken about.
With the coming of Messiah, YHWH’s elect people are to embody a higher and fuller spiritual essence of the TORAH principles we are studying, which is kinda what Yeshua did if you think about it.
Through his life and ministry, he indeed did become the TORAH in human flesh, which is what we are also commanded to do.
We can now see the prophetic blessing that was first presented as a promise to Abraham being fulfilled in nations all around the world.
But understand that this prophetic blessing takes place ONLY under the provisions of the covenants God made with Israel, NOT outside of these covenants.
Yeshua did NOT reverse the TORAH provisions of the Hebrew kinsman redeemer.
In other words, he did NOT leave his Israelite roots behind, go outside the covenants YHWH made with Israel and then in some bizarre fashion create new rules and become a gentile kinsman redeemer with Israel no longer being his kinsmen.
Hell no did he do something like that!
What Yeshua did do was satisfy all of the Torah provisions to the dot by remaining the Jew he was and in the process also made a way for the gentile to become grafted in to his Israelite family, so he could also redeem them.
We (gentiles) must join Yeshua’s family, NOT vice versa.
Finally, understand that this conversion is SPIRITUAL, not physical!
Gentiles don’t somehow change their DNA and suddenly become physical Jews once they accept Yeshua.
And vice versa, Jews don’t lose their ethnic Jewishness when they accept Yeshua.
Whether a gentile believer realizes it or not, when he or she has trusted in Yeshua for salvation, that person has been grafted into those covenants that YHWH has ONLY made with the people of Israel.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain,
and you people say that in Jerusalem is
the place where men ought to worship.”
Jesus said to her,
“Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming
when neither in this mountain,
nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father.
“You worship that which you do not know;
we worship that which we know,
for salvation is from the Jews.“
-John 4:19-22
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN LEVITICUS CHAPTER 26
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