The passages quoted in the last chapter prove that Christ returns to reign in righteousness, executing judgment on His enemies, and setting up His throne in Zion. But the very first text at which we glanced showed that in connection with this enduring and glorious reign of the Seed of David, the people of Israel are to be securely planted, “in a place of their own,” where the children of wickedness shall afflict them no more. Let us look, then, at the teaching of Scripture on this point. We shall see how fully it confirms the literal interpretation of the passages describing the Messianic reign.
God's covenant with Abraham was — “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen. 15:18). Again, God said to Abraham, “I will establish My covenant between Me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession” (Gen. 17:7,8). When the Israelites entered into the land, it was not in virtue of this covenant, but by another covenant, according to which their possession, instead of depending on God's unconditional promise, was made to hinge on their own obedience. This was not a fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham, and we shall see that God, instead of regarding it as such, carefully reserves His covenant with the fathers, even while distinctly foretelling the failure and dispersion of the nation under the subsequent covenant made at Mount Sinai.
Lev. 26 shows the results of Israel's disobedience, bringing out all their melancholy history until they “perish among the heathen” (ver. 38). But it adds that if, in their dispersion, they shall confess their sins, “If then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity, then will I remember “—what? My covenant at Mount Sinai?—No, but “My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember, and I will remember the land” (ver. 41, 42). Restoration, then, will be on the ground of the yet unfulfilled covenant with the fathers. But it may be objected that even here the restoration is only conditional on national repentance. This is true, but in the promise to David, long afterward, God declares that the nation shall be planted. This implies an undertaking on God's part that the condition shall be fulfilled.
We shall see presently that God Himself promises to bring them to the state of soul necessary for their national restoration and blessing.
In Deut. 30 the repentance of Israel is stated, not only as a condition of restoration, but as a fact. “It shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither Jehovah thy God hath driven thee, and shalt return unto Jehovah thy God, and shalt obey His voice according to all that I command thee this day.... that then Jehovah thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations.... And Jehovah thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love Jehovah thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. And Jehovah thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee. And thou shalt return and obey the voice of Jehovah, and do all His commandments which I command thee this day. And Jehovah thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good; for Jehovah will again rejoice over thee for good, as He rejoiced over thy fathers” (ver. 1-9.)
These words were spoken to Israel as a nation, and can only be fulfilled to Israel as a nation. It is the same people who are cast out that are to be brought back, to have their hearts circumcised, and to be again rejoiced over by the Lord for good (ver. 6-9). Such is God's distinct undertaking, not yet fulfilled, concerning Israel. Does He ever recede from it? Or does He, on the contrary, again and again, in various places and at various times, reiterate and intensify these glorious promises?
In the second Psalm, Zion is named as the place where Christ's throne will be established. In Psa. 9 and 10. we behold Israel groaning under grievous oppressions, and praise offered to the Lord for deliverance. “Jehovah is king forever and ever; the Gentiles are perished out of His land. Jehovah, Thou halt heard the desire of the humble; Thou wilt prepare their heart, Thou wilt cause Thine ear to hear” (10: 16, 17). What other country is ever spoken of as Jehovah's land but Palestine, Israel's portion? This passage then shows the Lord's perpetual kingdom, accompanied by the deliverance of the land of Israel from Gentile rule, the humbling of the people before God and His preparation of their heart.
Psa. 14 anticipates the time of Israel's final liberation- “Oh, that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When Jehovah bringeth back the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad.” Such language is extravagant if applied to the feeble remnant who returned from Babylon, and is wholly irrelevant if used about the Church. It alludes to the time concerning which all the prophets speak, of Messiah's reign and Israel's glory.
Psa. 46 describes the hour of Israel's trouble, the waters roaring, the mountains shaking, the heathen raging, and the kingdoms in commotion. Still they can exclaim- “Jehovah of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of Jehovah, what desolations He hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the ends of the earth; He breaketh the bow and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariot in the fire.” Here the God of Jacob, a national name, is with “us “— Israel —bringing the wars and commotions of the heathen to an end by desolating judgments and establishing peace on the earth. “Be still,” He adds, “and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” And once again exultant Israel replies — “Jehovah of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”
But the song of triumph swells again, and in the beginning of Psa. 47, the result of God's intervention is celebrated. “Oh clap your hands, all ye people, shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For Jehovah most high is terrible; He is a great King over all the earth. He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom He loved.” And again, in the following Psalm — “Let Mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad because of Thy judgments. Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generation following.” Here, then, we have Israel's latter history. First, she is seen in terrible affliction and oppression, but looking to God as her refuge. He comes in and stays the turmoil of the peoples by judgment, subduing them under her, establishing His own dominion, and exalting Zion and Jerusalem.
Psa. 68 recounts the Lord's doings with Israel after their dispersion and national destruction. “I
will bring again from Bashan: I will bring My people again from the depths of the sea: that thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.” Is this the Church? Did any such restoration ever take place in Israel's past history? Benjamin and Judah, Zabulon and Naphtali, are all included in this national re-establishment. “Because of Thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto.... Thee Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto
God Ascribe ye strength unto God: His excellency is over Israel, and His strength is in the clouds. O God, Thou art terrible out of Thy holy places: the God of Israel is He that giveth strength and power unto His people. Blessed be God” (ver. 22-35).
At the close of the following Psalm, it is said” For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah; that they may dwell there and have it in possession. The seed also of His servants shall inherit it, and they that love His name shall dwell therein “
(Psa. 69:35, 36). Is this Israel's past history? Or what has it to do with the Church? That it is Israel's future history God's Word and faithfulness require us to believe.
So, too, — “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come. For Thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof. So the Gentiles shall fear the name of Jehovah, and all the kings of the earth Thy glory. When Jehovah shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory” (Psa. 102:13-16). What events in the history of Israel or of the Church are described here? The spiritualizing alchemy of Romish theology, borrowed by modern evangelicalism, can transmute anything into anything else. But if we are to believe what God says, instead of converting it into what we think He ought to say, this passage means that Zion will be restored, that God's glory will then be manifested, and that so the nations and kings of the earth will fear Jehovah.
The joy of Israel when this happens is told in Psa. 126 “When Jehovah turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing; then said they among the Gentiles, Jehovah hath done great things for them. Jehovah hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad” (ver. 1-3). Then the people, favored by Jehovah, are multiplied (Psa. 127); those that fear Him are blessed “out of Zion,” “see the good of Jerusalem all the days of their life,” behold their “children's children and peace upon Israel” (Psa. 128). Has this time come? or has it yet to be brought in by the power and faithfulness of God?
What language, again, can be clearer than this? “Jehovah hath chosen Zion: He hath desired it for His habitation. This is My rest Forever; here will I dwell; for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision, I will satisfy her poor with bread. I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for Mine Anointed: His enemies will I clothe with shame; but upon Himself shall His crown flourish” (Psa. 132:13—18). What could any godly Jew of David's time have understood by this prophecy? If it did not predict national blessing and glory under David's seed, what promise of God is worth possessing, or what word of God is capable of being understood?
Once more — “Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him; let the children of Zion be joyful in their KING. Let them praise His name in the dance; let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp. For Jehovah taketh pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meek with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance upon the Gentiles, and punishments upon the people; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written. This honor have all His saints. Praise ye the Lord” (Psa. 149:2—9). These saints are evidently a people on earth. Are they the Church? Are believers now “to execute vengeance upon the Gentiles?” On the contrary, the word now is” Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.” Instead of inflicting “punishments upon the people,” the servants are forbidden to pull up the tares, and commanded to let them grow till the harvest. The binding of kings and nobles is appropriate for a nation called to execute God's righteous judgments; utterly foreign to the ways of those who are to follow in the footsteps of Christ-the meek and lowly One who “when He was reviled, reviled not again.”
This may suffice for extracts from the Psalms. But no extracts can show the place which the purposes of God concerning Israel occupy in these poems. It is the object of their prayers, the spring of their hopes, the fountain of their praise. The whole book is the voice of the godly remnant of Israel heard in confession, in entreaty, in denunciation, in rejoicing, often in language most discordant with that in which the Spirit would lead the prayers and praises of the Church, but exquisitely chiming in with the sketches elsewhere furnished of God's gracious purposes towards His forsaken, but not forgotten—His blinded, but still chosen—people.
Let us now, however, turn to the words of the prophets. Isaiah's vision was “concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” He is told to “make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes” (Isa. 6:10). He inquires “Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and Jehovah have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten; as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof” (ver. 11-13). Here, then, is a prophecy which only receives its full accomplishment after Christ's rejection by the Jews. It foretells the total desolation of the land, the scattering and destruction of the people. But still a remnant is left, who shall return, and be the “holy seed,” the real pith and substance of the nation.
About this remnant and its restoration the prophet gives us farther particulars, coupling the time of its blessing with the reign of Christ. “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people: to it shall the Gentiles seek, and His rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim; but they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon shall obey them” (Isa. 11:10-14). Nobody will contend that this prophecy has been fulfilled in Israel's history; and to apply it to the Church is to subject it to an amount of violence which would render all prophecy deceptive. But apply it to the future of Israel, and we find the exact counterpart of the promises and prophecies we have already seen. “The root of Jesse,” the Jewish title of Christ, comes in; and in connection with His appearance the remnant, which we saw was to be preserved after the desolation of the land, is gathered back to Jerusalem and Palestine; the divisions of the people, brought in by idolatry, are healed; and the neighboring nations, who have oppressed and despised them, are overthrown. We have all along seen that while the first man would fail, the full blessings promised to Israel would be accomplished by the coming in of the Second Man, the true Seed of David; and now we observe how His appearance at once accomplishes the ancient promises of God concerning this people.
But we have also seen that Israel's restoration is to be accompanied with a mighty moral change. Here, then, is what the Lord tells us about the condition of the people once more gathered back. “Therefore, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of Mine adversaries, and avenge Me of mine enemies: and I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin; and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called The city of righteousness, the faithful city” (Isa. 1:24-26). Here we see that the judgments of God are to visit the people, that the dross of the nation is to be removed, that the rest are to learn righteousness, and that then Jerusalem is to become what God designed that it should be, as the center of righteous government in the earth. If this portion is to be understood in its natural sense, it is plain that the spiritualizing interpretation usually applied to the prophecies of Isaiah cannot stand. Is it, then, so to be understood? In the first place, the prophecy in which it occurs is expressly declared to be “concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” In the next place, everybody admits that the woes and judgments denounced in this same chapter refer to the real Judah and Jerusalem. How, then, can we say that the promises immediately following and closely connected refer to an allegorical Judah and Jerusalem?
Again, the titles of God used here are the titles by which He specially makes Himself known to Israel, not the titles He assumes towards the Church. Lastly, what have righteous judges and counselors to do with the Church? Whereas the unrighteousness of these officers was one great crime laid to the charge of Jerusalem, while their purity is an essential condition to the carrying out of God's purposes of earthly government, of which Zion is the chosen center.
There is another thing to notice here. The purification of Jerusalem is brought about, not by grace but by power. Where is there a New Testament prophecy intimating that after the corruption of the professing Church, God would come in and restore purity by the unsparing judgments referred to in these verses? Christianity is the period of God's forbearance and long-suffering, the period when Christ is waiting at God's right hand for His foes to be made His footstool. Judgment is what characterizes God's dealings with the earth. Nothing is more suitable than such language as we have quoted when bringing back His earthly people, and re-establishing His scheme of earthly government; nothing more inconsistent with the whole spirit in which He is now acting.
This distinction is clearly shown in the Psalms. There we have Christ's present attitude thus described: “Jehovah said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool” (Psa. 110:1). Then follows God's principle of action when this season of expectation is closed. “Jehovah shall send the rod of Thy strength out of Zion; rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power” (ver. 2, 3). How exactly this agrees with what we have seen. During the day of God's grace, “Thy people,” the Jews, are enemies. But when the day of Christ's power comes, when the rod of His strength goes out of Zion, His people are willing, and a remnant is gathered in righteousness.
But this period of Jerusalem's prosperity and righteousness under the scepter of the Root of Jesse, is accompanied with blessing to the nations. Hear “the word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the bills; and all nations shall flow into it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa. 2:2-4). This passage is expressly written concerning Judah and Jerusalem; it presents Christ, not pleading with the nations to be reconciled to Him, but judging and rebuking them; it foretells the blessings that will follow an earthily reign of peace and righteousness—blessings which are never in the New Testament predicted as about to flow from the spread of the gospel or Christianity; and it speaks, as I have before pointed out, of “last days” as different from the “last days” predicted for the professing Church as light from darkness. It refers, therefore, to the literal nation of Israel, and the literal city of Jerusalem, and declares that when the scepter of Christ's strength has gone out of Zion, not merely shall the nation be exalted above all others, but general blessing, and peace, and acknowledgment of God, shall prevail in the earth.
The rest of the chapter goes on to show how this period of blessing will be brought in. Is it by grace proclaimed? No, but by fearful judgments executed. “The day of Jehovah” comes, destroying the pride of man, causing him to throw his idols to the moles and the bats, and to “go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of Jehovah, and for the glory of His majesty.” The consequence of this terrible shaking of the earth, and bringing down the pride of man, is, that “Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day” (Isa. 2:12-22).
Isa. 14:1, 2, foretells that “Jehovah will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the strangers shall be joined with them.... and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.”
Again — “Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins. The voice of Him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it” (Isa. 40:1-5). It is true that the cry here mentioned was raised by John the Baptist, who preceded Christ's first appearance. But John's testimony was to the kingdom, not to the Church, to the One who was to lay the ax to the root of the tree, the One who was to burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. He called upon the people to fulfill that condition of national repentance which, as shown in Leviticus, was to precede national restoration. This appeal was refused, the forerunner beheaded, the Messiah crucified. The kingdom glory and the restoration of Israel were therefore postponed, and the land left desolate. But this only delays the accomplishment of the purpose. The time will come when the voice raised in the wilderness will be listened to, when God will again comfort His people, when He will be satisfied with the punishment He has laid upon them for their sins, and at that time His glory “shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”
In like manner — “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel: I will help thee, saith Jehovah, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument, having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff” (Isa. 41:14,15). And so too — “Thus saith Jehovah that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel—Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior; I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou halt been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Keep not back; bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth (Isa. 1-6). And once more” Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art My servant: I have formed thee; thou art My servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of Me. I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins: return unto Me, for I have redeemed thee” (Isa. 44:21,22).
In the last foregoing passages, God, speaking by the national name of Jehovah, has said thrice over concerning Israel as a nation that He has redeemed it. Yet the accredited interpretation is, that He has deceived Israel with false hopes, and that when He spoke of Israel, He really meant something entirely different! Is it credible that Christians should dare to impute such deception to the One “who cannot lie”? If God could so cruelly deceive Israel, what reason have we to believe He is not equally deceiving us? The bare suggestion is shocking, and yet it is the inevitable inference arising out of the Romish and evangelical interpretation. But again, in one of these passages God speaks of making Israel a sharp threshing instrument, in another of gathering her sons and daughters from the ends of the earth, and in the third of her return to Him with her transgressions forgiven. All this exactly befits Israel's state. But is the Church a sharp threshing instrument? Has the Church ever been scattered to the ends of the earth? Or is the Church ever spoken of as having been estranged from God and coming back forgiven? Such are the contradictions involved in the ordinary interpretation.
Quotations might be multiplied without end, but I select a few only. “The redeemed of Jehovah shall return and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away” (Isa. 51:11). When will the Church come to Zion? Or if Zion be spiritualized into heaven, how can the Church “return” where it has never been? “Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk of the hand of Jehovah, the cup of His fury” (ver. 17). Israel has drunk the cup of Jehovah's fury, but when has the Church done so? “Thus saith thy Lord, Jehovah, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of His people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of My fury; thou shalt no more drink it again. But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee” (ver. 22, 23). Applied to Israel, this is beautiful, consistent with other scripture, and adapted to her circumstances. Applied to the Church, the passage is absolutely without meaning.
How exquisite, also, when addressed to Israel, but how false and preposterous, if referred to the Church, is the following promise: “Thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine husband, Jehovah of hosts is His name, and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel.... For a small moment have I forsaken thee” [for what “small moment” has Christ forsaken the Church?]; “but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid My face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee (Isa. 54:4-8).
How sweet, too, the words of comfort directed to' Israel in this passage. “Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but Jehovah shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.... Thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side The sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee.... Thy gates shall be open continually, they shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish.... The sons also of them that/ afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee, and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of Jehovah, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations” (Isa. 60:1-15).
The last portion of this prophet is so full of the theme that selection is almost impossible, but the above extracts, voluminous in themselves, though scanty in proportion to the matter out of which they are taken, will suffice to show the teaching of God's Word as delivered by this inspired teacher. Let us look, then, very briefly, at the words of the other prophets. I begin with those who wrote before the fall of Jerusalem.
Hosea, after foretelling Israel's rejection under the parable of Lo-ammi, not My people, adds — “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered “—the very promise given to Abraham; “and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God” (Hos. 1:9,10). And in the closing chapter of his prophecy, he thus writes — “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for Mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return: they shall revive as the corn and grow as the vine; the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon” (Hos. 14:4-7).
Joel describes the time when the Lord will sit to judge all the heathen round about. Then “Jehovah also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but Jehovah will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am Jehovah your God dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. Then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no stranger pass through her any more” (Joel 3:16,17).
Amos foretells that Jehovah “will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” The sinners shall die, but God “will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the nations.” Moreover, “I will bring again the captivity of My people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith Jehovah thy God” (Amos 9:9-15).
Obadiah foretells the judgment awaiting Edom “But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions; “and the captivity of Israel” shall possess the cities of the south. And saviors shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be Jehovah's” (Obad. 1:17-21).
Micah repeats the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the “last days,” adding- “In that day, saith Jehovah, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; and I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation; and Jehovah shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, even forever. And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem” (Mic. 4:6-8).
Zephaniah bids Israel wait till the Lord rises up to vengeance on her enemies, “for then will I turn to the people a pure language.” Then they shall be gathered from Ethiopia, and “the remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity.” “Sing, O daughter of Zion,” he adds; “shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, He hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more” (Zeph. 8-15).
The prophets of the captivity write in the same strain. “ Turn, O backsliding children, saith
Jehovah; for I am married unto you; and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion; and I will give you pastors according to Mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding..... At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah, and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers” (Jer. 3:18).
Ezekiel writes — “I will take you from among the Gentiles, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you” (Ezek. 36:24, 25). The next chapter describes the vision of the dry bones, concerning which the prophet is told that “these bones are the whole house of Israel.” But the Lord says—”Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah” (ver. 11-13). Then follows the vision signifying the union of Judah and Israel, which is thus explained — “I will take the children of Israel from among the Gentiles, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land; 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” (ver. 21, 22).
Daniel foretells the course of Gentile monarchy, ending with the complete destruction of their power, and the setting up of the kingdom of the Son of Man; when “the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High “
(Dan. 7:27). These are persons on earth, for they are described two verses before as persecuted by the power symbolized in the “little horn.” From this persecution they are saved by the judgment of this blasphemer, and the establishment of Messiah's kingdom. This fearful trial and deliverance are described further on. “There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book” (Dan. 12:1).
There are three still later prophets, whose writings date from after the partial restoration of the Jews under Zerubbabel. Of these, Haggai's short prophecy is more occupied with the present than the future. But he foretells a mighty event. “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Yet once, a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory” (Hag. 2:6,7). There was no such shaking at Christ's first coming, and on His coming at the end of the world, the temple at Jerusalem will not be filled with His glory. At His second coming we have seen that there will be a mighty shaking, fearful judgments, and a display in and from Jerusalem of His kingdom glory.
Zechariah is more occupied with the future. He writes — “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: for I, saith Jehovah, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith Jehovah; and many nations shall be joined to Jehovah in that day.... and Jehovah shall inherit Judah His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again” (Zech. 2:4-12). So also — “I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them; and they shall be as though I had not cast them off; for I am Jehovah their God, and will hear them” (Zech. 10:6).
Malachi predicts, as we have seen, the Lord's appearing, “like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap,” so terrible that he asks — “Who may abide the day of His coming?” The effect of His return is that He purifies the house of Levi, so that they “offer unto Jehovah an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto Jehovah, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
And I will come near to you to judgment....For I am Jehovah, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Mal. 3:3-6).
Such is the unvarying testimony of the Hebrew prophets. Did God mean those to whom it was given to understand it in its natural sense, or not to understand it at all? Would it have been possible for any Jew to have understood it in any other sense than as a magnificent series of prophecies concerning his own nation? And is it credible that any believer in the Lord Jesus can maintain, that when God used language which could only arouse such hopes, He was mocking them with hollow and delusive expectations?