In my last post I dealt with the question of “what is the most awesome event in all of Scripture?“
And I ended up answering that question by affirming that Israel’s possession of the Promised Land hands down has got to be one of the greatest events in all of Bible history.
I finally concluded the article by stating there’s a connection between Israel possessing the land and the life journey of the modern believer.
Continuing on, today I want to take a look at the awesome parallels between this overarching theme of the Book of Numbers (possessing the land) and the believer’s walk today.
Let’s get started.
FIRST PARALLEL:
Just as Israel patiently waited for their covenant-based land inheritance to be given to them by the Lord, so too do Messianic believers today await the return of Yeshua and the establishment of his kingdom from Jerusalem.
SECOND PARALLEL:
Just as Abraham became locked into the blessings of the covenant when he accepted God’s invitation to forsake everything and follow him, likewise a person who accepts Yeshua as Savior is grafted into the covenants God has only made with Israel and is also expected to forsake everything for the Kingdom.
THIRD PARALLEL:
Just as God had to patiently shape and form Israel into His Image according to his Torah after He saved them from Pharaoh (remember,even though Israel had left Egypt, there was still a lot of Egypt left inside of them that needed to be wrenched out), so too after being saved does the believer have to be shaped and formed according to the ways of God and NOT the ways of the world.
And by the way, how is the believer today shaped according to God’s vision? By obeying His Divine Word, the TORAH man!!!
Remember it is the lawless who Yeshua said will be cursed.
FOURTH PARALLEL:
Although at this point in the Torah, Israel was living under the terms of the Abrahamic Covenant, they had not yet realized the end result of this covenant which was possession of ERETZ Israel (the “Land” of Israel). In the same way, although messianic believers today are living under the terms of the New Covenant, they have yet to realize the end result of that covenant, namely the establishment of a global Kingdom of God (a place where God’s Torah will be the official constitution for the whole planet and the Messiah will be ruling from Jerusalem. No wonder atheistic governments want to ban the Bible).
Now it is this last fourth point that I would like to expound on a bit.
As somebody who has been a believer for close to 20 years now, I can honestly say that I really feel like a stranger in a strange world.
Since the Torah-based value system I hold to is so at odds with the pagan culture I live in, I’ve always felt like a weirdo, like I really don’t belong, whether in America or Japan.
And the truth be told I really don’t want to belong to this sex-crazed, money-worshipping screwed up world.
I’m not comfortable here at all.
Fortunately, God’s Word reassures me that I shouldn’t be surprised I feel uncomfortable here.
God has already informed me and other believers that we do NOT belong here.
We may be IN the world, but we are not OF this world (which is controlled by the evil one).
Heck, I don’t even feel like I’m part of the family from which I was born.
I feel more like an orphan who all of a sudden realizes I’m not anything like my father or mother (who think I’m nuts because of my faith).
So if you’re a believer who feels estranged and at odds with society and the world in general, be of good cheer!
You are NOT alone!
Understand you have been grafted into the principles of the covenant Abraham was placed under.
A covenant that promises a land and a kingdom that will finally, finally operate the way it’s supposed to according to God’s Word with the government upon the shoulders of the Messiah.
If you are a believer, you have been redeemed.
You have been freed from bondage and have begun your Exodus!
You may not have arrived at the Promised Land yet.
But rest assured that just as God brought the faithful remnant of ancient Israel into His Kingdom, so too will He bring you into the complete fulfillment of the plans He has for your life.
If you keep the faith.
That’s right!
The believer today sits exactly where Moses and Israel were at this point in the Book of Numbers.
At this point in Numbers, the Israelites have reached a point where they can actually see their final destination.
Heck, they’re so darn close, they can practically smell the land “flowing with milk and honey“.
Literally, they’re only but a few days away from fulfilling a covenant over 400 years in the making.
Just before Israel finally enters into the Land, God is going to give them some important commands concerning how they are to properly live in the land.
Although the Promised Land was in sight, it was NOT the time for Israel to rest on their laurels.
The same principle applies to us.
Because the time is short, with all of the time and energy we have, we have to not only learn the ways of the Torah, WE HAVE TO PRACTICE THEM!
Next time, we’ll begin studying some of those instructions God gave to Israel prior to they’re entering the Land of Canaan.
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN NUMBERS CHAPTER 34
At the time the Messiah returns with His angels, the dead in Christ will be raised first and then the rest of the Believers who are still alive. After that, the earth will be laid bare and God will restore it, Rev 21. There will not be a reign from Jerusalem. That theory, the Dispensational construct, was conjured up by Darby in the mid-19th century, and it has infected the church ever since as it was propagated by the Scofield Bible. These books are a good beginning to learn the historical view of the end times before Darby devised his new idea:
The Christ of the Covenants by O. Palmer Robertson
Dispensationalism Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow by Curtis Crenshaw
Understanding Dispensationalists by Vern S. Poythress
Jesus and Israel: One Covenant or Two? by David E. Holwerda
You seem very Christian in your outlook.
I believe Jerusalem will be the central authority.