... on the changes incidental to the recognition of a King; and on the term "Lo Ammi."
I desire to make a few remarks upon the Priesthood—as center of unity to Israel,—and upon the change which took place at the time of the establishment of Royalty. That a remarkable change then took place cannot be questioned. Ichabod had been written upon Israel, and every ordinary relationship with God had been broken, for the Ark of the Covenant had been taken. Hannah, in the song in which she celebrates, before this disaster, the goodness of God toward herself, had proclaimed that He would give power to His king, and would exalt the horn of His anointed.
The kingly rule is established, but, at first, not such as was according to the will of God, but, in truth, by the great sin of the people, who, in making a king, rejected God, who was their King. And from that time the Ark was never restored to its place in the Tabernacle, but David removed it to the Mount Zion; and having established all the order of the house of God upon a new footing, he had to leave to his successor (Solomon) the execution of all that which he had received by inspiration, as well as the installment of the Priests in the temple. The order established by David was communicated to him by revelation, just as much as that of the Tabernacle had been to Moses. Everything was arranged afresh, although there were elements common to both. It was, then, the epoch of a great change, when grace, acting by means of David, placed the blessing of the people upon a new footing, at a time when all had been lost. The prophet comes in between the two states referred to, it is true, as a sort of mediator, in the person of Samuel; but we will leave this for the present. His office was the sovereign means, employed by God, to maintain His relationship with the people, when it was unfaithful and fallen into decay. That I have rightly estimated this standing of the kingly authority of David, is proved by the close of the 78 Psalm, where it is said:-
When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel: so that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men; and delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand. He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance. The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage. Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation. Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach. Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim: but chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved. And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established forever. He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.
Here we see the sovereign grace and election of God, who raises up David, as an instrument to lift up the people, when God had forsaken His tabernacle, and delivered up His people to the sword. This passage is very important, as portraying the true royalty willed by God; but our subject now is the priesthood.
But before giving power to His king, and lifting up the horn of His Anointed,-of whom the True Anointed was to be the descendant, and who bore, indeed, prophetically, his name of "Beloved " (David, see Ezekiel) before the existence of that kingly authority, what was the link between God and the people? What, I say, was the link when there was no king? For some link there must have been. He who is ever so little acquainted with the ways of God in the Old Testament, will at once answer, "It was the high priest.".For after Moses (who was king in Jeshurun), who else could be the link? The only person who could have been so, was Joshua; but in the very times of Joshua it was the high priest rather who was so. Let us cite the passages which speak of this. Take Num. 27:15-2315And Moses spake unto the Lord, saying, 16Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd. 18And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; 19And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. 20And thou shalt put some of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the Lord: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation. 22And Moses did as the Lord commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation: 23And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses. (Numbers 27:15‑23).; there we see Joshua, who was to command, placed before Eleazar and the congregation; and when a portion of the honor of Moses has been conferred upon him, in order that the people might obey him, he must needs remain before Eleazar the priest, who inquired of the Lord by Urim and Thummim. At his word (the word of Eleazar) was to be the coming in and at his word was to be the going out of him (Joshua) and of the children of Israel with him, and of all the congregation. Indeed, if God was King in the midst of His people, His high priest, who drew near to him, was, of necessity, the center of unity. It was he (the high priest) who bore the names of the twelve tribes upon his breast, before the Lord,-and their judgment- continually, having the Urim and Thummim, sole true center of unity. On the other hand, when even it was Joshua who directed them, who communicated to them the will of the Lord, it was, nevertheless, always at the word of Eleazar, that they were to come in; and at the word of Eleazar, that they were to go out. That Israel was unfaithful to this, in the times of the Judges, is true; but what was the consequence thereof?
God adds a sad history at the end of this book (but it is a history of facts which happened about the commencement of this period, for Phinehas was high priest) in order to give us an idea of the state of things within the country (for almost all the book is occupied with what passed between the people and their enemies), and therein we see that in their affliction, it was the priesthood which was their resource and common center, Judg. 18:26-2826And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house. 27And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire. 28And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein. (Judges 18:26‑28). It is the same in the division of the land, as also in all else, Num. 14:1717And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, (Numbers 14:17); Josh. 14:11And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them. (Joshua 14:1)., Eleazar is always placed at the head. This had never been the case in the time of Moses. And I ask any attentive reader of the Bible whether such was the place of the high priest in the times of the kings. I am aware it may be replied: " He always bore the breastplate with the names of the tribes." Be it so. But it is forgotten that God had already abandoned the people, upon that footing; that the Ark had been delivered up to the Philistines, and that the king chosen of God, inspired by God, savior of His people through grace, had taken possession of it, and re-settled all upon a new footing, as type and representative of the Anointed of the Lord, of Christ the King of Israel, of the King who should establish the kingdom of God, and govern all as such. From that time all hangs upon the conduct of the king. When the kingly office failed, the priesthood could preserve naught. Now the character of Christ in Israel, at that time, will be that of King, and, consequently, it is under that same character that His type and precursor has appeared. Although He be a Priest, yet is it as Melchisedec (a Priest upon his throne) and not as Aaron, entering into the Holy place, that he will act in that day. Aaron is the type of that which he is now; and, therefore, in the epistle to the Hebrews, in the very act of showing that Christ is personally after the order of Melchisedec, the Apostle, so soon as he speaks of His present services, uses the type of Aaron. On the other hand, when the temple is dedicated, the Priests cannot abide there by reason of the glory, and it is Solomon,-a remarkable type of a kingly priest who acts. He blesses Israel, and blesses the Lord, as Melchisedec had done when Abraham was returning from the conquest of the kings. David the Deliverer, and Solomon established in glory, types of the Lord Jesus, the Anointed King in Israel, necessarily take the prominent place, and all hangs on them. For instance, when Solomon sins, ten tribes are rent from his family and from the temple. The fate of the people hangs upon the conduct of the king as leader of the people (2 Chron. 7:17-2017And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments; 18Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. 19But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; 20Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. (2 Chronicles 7:17‑20)). The history of the kings, from Rehoboam to Zedekiah, shows us that it was thus; and -as to the fact, it was the sin of Manasseh, brought, at length, entire ruin on the people and the house of God (2 Kings 21:11-1411Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: 12Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. 13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. 14And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; (2 Kings 21:11‑14)).
The examination of the character of Christ, as Melchizedek, puts the change which took place as to the
Priesthood, in so clear a light, that it is impossible that a Christian instructed in the word should mistake, or say that the sacrificial pre-eminence of the family of Aaron held the same place in the ways of God, subsequent to the establishment of royalty, as it did before. Moreover, we have seen, in detail, proofs to the contrary. In like manner, Solomon sends back Abiathar to his own house, and when David, without troubling himself about the priesthood, places the ark in Sion,-an all-important change-he places the Priests in Gibeon before the altar; and there were none before the ark (see 1 Chron. 16:37,37So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required: (1 Chronicles 16:37) to the end of the chapter). We find also (2 Sam. 6:17,1817And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. (2 Samuel 6:17‑18)), this character of Melchizedek showing itself in measure in David. If we closely examine the change, we shall see how vast was its import. The expression (1 Sam. 2:3535And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. (1 Samuel 2:35)), " He shall stand, or shall walk before His Anointed," has already revealed this. The ark taken captive-where is the glory? Ichabod being the state of Israel, in such sort that the Priesthood was a nullity, as to its original exercise; for without the ark there was no day of atonement for Israel—God interposes in an extraordinary manner by means of prophecy, which was a sovereign means on His part, and announces to the afflicted and downcast people, in the person, and by the mouth, of Hannah, that there was a new means of blessing; that He
The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his King, and exalt the horn of his Anointed.
Here, in the presence of the priesthood, and on the eve of the capture of the ark, a new character, that of the Anointed, is introduced. The anointing had before been distinctively attached to the priesthood. The high priest had been the Anointed. Now it is another
who is distinctively the anointed, it is the king; and this connects itself with the character in which the Christ was to appear. The king being thus distinctively the anointed, the high priest, who had been so previously, walks before Him. He (the priest) is still in office, but He is no longer the center of the system. The king, type of Christ, has taken his place.
Let us examine this in another point of view. It is certain that God, in His determinate counsel, designed to glorify His Son, even in the kingdom of Israel, and in that of the world. But on the other hand, the people ought to have remained before God, by the means of the high priest, without a king being needed for the maintenance of its order. The Lord was their King. Consequently God permitted the sin of the people to ripen, ere he established His anointed. Now the priesthood, as we have seen, and as all the Levitical system testifies, was the center of all the relationships of the people with God-the link of the chain which was near the throne of the Lord. The Lord was Himself King in Israel; but Israel needed to see a king, to be like the nations. The notion that the sin was simply in desiring a king like the nations, and that the thing was not evil, because it was foreknown of God, cannot be admitted for a moment: " And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them" (1 Sam. 8:77And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. (1 Samuel 8:7)).
At the same time, God presents before the people what will be the consequences; but the people say, " Nay, but a king shall reign over us:" "Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations" (1 Sam. 8:5,5And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. (1 Samuel 8:5) comp. with 12:12).
Now, already, before this request, the high priest had, if one may so say, disappeared. Samuel offered sacrifices here and there; but at length God established His king, His anointed, as we have seen, and in such a position (for he was the type of Christ) that it is said by the Holy Spirit, " Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king" (1 Chron. 29:2323Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. (1 Chronicles 29:23)).
We see here, the anointed of the Lord seated upon the throne of the Lord. The high priest walks before him. This it is which will take place when the Kingdom shall be established. Without the least doubt Christ will be the Head and Center of it. The question here, is not of the high priest, type of the Heavenly Priesthood (a thought which properly applies only to the tabernacle, as we see in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where the Apostle speaks only of the tabernacle), but of the position of the high priest in the presence of the king. Christ must have that place of king. David and Solomon are the types of this-in suffering, in victory, and in glory -sitting upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel (1 Chron. 28:55And of all my sons, (for the Lord hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. (1 Chronicles 28:5)). Now, previously, the Lord had been Himself their King, and the high priest abode before Him. The people rejected God, that He should not reign over them. Their iniquity gave occasion for the accomplishment of His designs in grace, even as it befalls us. But before this act of the people, the high priesthood itself had failed, and all the order to which it pertains was dissolved. The ark was taken, and consequently, the relations of God with the people broken, so far as that depended upon their faithfulness. That order, such as it had been, was not restored. The tabernacle never received the ark. The king became the anointed; and he it is who arranges as to the ark, and the high priest must walk before him. Now, to say, in the face of changes of such a kind as this, that external splendor placed the high priest in more glorious position, deserves no reply. It was worth while developing these things by reason of their intrinsic value.
These remarks will already have enabled us to understand what was the royal authority truly willed of God, and what was the royal authority, which was chosen by man; but we will cite some passages to make it perfectly obvious.
First, I do not see exactly that royalty was in failure during the reign of Saul. The King fell by the hands of the Philistines, but Saul was no more an unbeliever at the close than at the commencement; sin came to its maturity in him; his heart hardened itself: alas.! this is the history of man. But Saul never stood by faith; and the royal authority was not in worse plight at the close than at the commencement. He was disobedient, and God withdrew His favor from him as an individual, but I see not in what the royal authority, as such, failed. It is true, indeed, that the judgment which we have to form upon this, in measure, depends upon the principal question, viz. that of the Character of the royal authority of Saul, and to what point we can call it the royal authority willed of God. This we will now examine.
Samuel sees so distinctively the will of the people in this matter, that he says (in substance in the terms of which I have made use), "Now, therefore, behold the king whom ye have chosen" (1 Sam. 12:1313Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the Lord hath set a king over you. (1 Samuel 12:13)). This royal authority-was it that which was willed of God? The Spirit of God by Moses had anticipated the occasion in which the people of God would ask for a king, and had given rules to be observed when the occasion occurred—-but the will of God is not found there (Deut. 17:14-29, etc.).
It is clear that nothing can happen without the will of God. But it is certain that the establishment of Saul was not, morally, according to the Divine will. Several passages in the Book of Samuel furnish unanswerable proofs of this. " The thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. Now therefore hearken unto their voice; howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them "(1 Sam. 8:6, 7, 96But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. 7And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. (1 Samuel 8:6‑7)
9Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. (1 Samuel 8:9)).
We see here passages which show, with the most entire evidence, that unless the Lord willed that the people should reject Himself; unless, which is impossible, that He willed a great sin (see 1 Sam. 12:17,1917Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking you a king. (1 Samuel 12:17)
19And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. (1 Samuel 12:19)), that it is not possible that God. willed the royalty of Saul. There is a collateral proof that this was not the royalty willed of God, viz., in that the entire responsibility of maintaining its relationship with God is left to the people (see end of chap. 12). But the people having shown that they could not do without that intermediate power could not walk with God in direct relationship; and God having also manifested the evil-the door opens for the accomplishment of his counsels in Christ: for there was a royalty which had its place in the counsels of God,-even that of Christ,-whose forerunner and type the Lord Himself raises up, without the will or thought of the people finding any entrance whatsoever. We have already seen the manner in. which God (in Psa. 68) passes from his judgment upon Shiloh, by the which he had abandoned the tabernacle forever, to his own choice, viz. to David and to the place of his throne in the midst of his people-the place chosen for his abode; comp. Psa. 132:17,17There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. (Psalm 132:17) where it is written " There will I make the house of David to bud; I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed."
Such was the royalty willed of God. " The Lord hath sought Him a man after His own heart, and the Lord commanded Him to be captain over His people" (1 Sam. 13:1414But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. (1 Samuel 13:14)), and again (16:1), " Fill thine horn with oil, and go; I will send thee to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, for I have provided me a king among his sons." Having anointed him, it is David who is the true chief and leader of Israel, even during the reign of Saul. The Lord also said to him, speaking of Solomon, " I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee" (1 Chron. 17:1313I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: (1 Chronicles 17:13)). And in Psa. 89, where the bounties of God concentrate upon David, type of the true well-beloved.
Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: with whom my hand shall be established; mine arm also shall strengthen him.
And in 2 Sam. 7 (of which we have cited one verse) we find all the blessing of the people connected with the house of David. Moreover, his relation with Christ considered, this could not be otherwise. I would quote Hos. 13:11,11I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath. (Hosea 13:11) but its application to Saul may be questioned. I have quoted passages in direct proof that the existence of the royal authority of Saul was by an act of sin; and that it was not what God willed to maintain as that which He had established according to His will; and that the royal authority of David was established by the very act and by the will of God, during the very existence of the other. But, in fact, the manner in which the Word expresses itself, as to the relationship between the royalty of David and that of Christ, the allusions of the Prophets to Christ under this very name, the manner in which the Psalms speak, the history of David, its analogy with that of Christ, the bearing of all that is said, and the very history, all these things are (for him who takes notice of the ways of God) what manifest the divine thought as to His counsels in Christ; and they are evidence far more powerful than isolated texts, in proof that the royalty of David was that willed by God, and that the royal authority of Saul (fruit of the will of the people, who in desiring him rejected God) was not so; although, in a certain sense, all things are according to His sovereign will. It is, consequently, in the royalty of David that the failure of this means of relationship with God is in question, and not in that which took place by the sin of the people, who, in establishing it, rejected God. When we speak of failure, we take for granted there was a state in which God had established man, or, indeed, angels, in blessing; but in blessing lost through the failure, so far as the responsibility of him who was placed in it goes, the sovereign grace of God alone remaining, and capable of reestablishing it according to His counsels of peace. And this proves, in an unquestionable manner, that God never re-establishes, in its primitive state, a thing entrusted to man and placed under responsibility; because, as to that which regards man, all these things are but figures of some part of the glory of Christ, who alone can uphold them. Thus Adam himself was the pattern of Him that was to come; and the blessings of an earthly paradise must needs be replaced in Christ by far better mercies, but could not be so out of Him. So the priesthood, the royal authority, and every other form of blessing whatsoever, can only be realized in Christ. Nevertheless, God places man in positions which correspond to all these blessings, and man has always failed therein. The patience of God has been great, as is expressed as to the royal authority, " till there was no remedy" (2 Chron. 36:1616But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy. (2 Chronicles 36:16)). Then man is judged in the failed thing, and it is in Christ alone that the thing is established-in Him who alone maintains, and is able to maintain, all the glory of God and the blessing of man in these things. " And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons" (Isa. 22:2424And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. (Isaiah 22:24)).
As to the question of "Lo Ammi" a few words:-
The rejection of Judah, at the time of the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and, consequently, the cessation of the application of the title "Ammi" to the whole people, has been the universal conviction of those Christians who have studied these subjects; and this for very simple reasons. One may be astonished that any one should call it in question, but I will briefly here present some of the proofs. To give them in full and in order, it would be needful to transcribe the greater part of the books of Jeremiah and of Ezekiel. Before producing some of these, it is well to recall the fact, that Israel is always the people of God; and if the affections of the heart and of the faith of a Daniel and a Nehemiah have called them so, nothing is proved thereby. Israel cannot cease to be the people of God. "The gifts and calling of God are without repentance," and it is of Israel that this is said. God never ceases to consider Israel as His people; but He has ceased to govern them as His people, and to have His throne in the midst of them upon the earth. St. Paul insists, in the 11Th of Romans, upon this point after their rejection of Christ- "I say, then, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid" (ver. 1).
So that Israel may now be called the people of God; and ought to be so, as beloved for the fathers' sakes, respect being had to the election. So that that is not the question. If Zechariah (Luke 1) says He has visited and redeemed His people, this is still less difficult to understand, because he speaks of the coming of Jesus, who was, in truth, to establish the people in the enjoyment of all its privileges as the people of God. This, then, proves nothing; because, if this proves that " Lo Ammi' was not applicable, because Israel remains the people of God, it is evident that it never will be " Lo Ammi," because it is always the people of God.
It might be said, perhaps, "But this is because Judah always remained the people of God," one could hardly venture to say so after the death of Jesus. But the fact is, that the apostle takes no notice of the distinction between Judah and the ten tribes. He speaks of all Israel, and shows that it is beloved for the fathers' sakes-that God has not cast off the people whom He had foreknown. Now this, evidently, does not apply only to Judah, but to all Israel, as the apostle expresses himself; and the distinction which he draws is between all Israel and the election according to grace. This will suffice for the moment; we shall see positive proofs of it farther on. Here I seek only to show that the recognition of the people, as people, applies to all Israel, and that it is entirely to misapprehend the force of the passages, and to mistake as to the whole question, to suppose that the faithfulness of God to His predeterminate counsel, and the precious faith of them that are His in that unchangeable faithfulness,-according to which the title of His people is given to Israel, touches the question of the judgment of "Lo Ammi". It is to confound the counsels of God with His government. In all times, Israel is His people, according to His counsels, and the thoughts of His love. This do snot prevent their being called "Lo Ammi" (not my people) as to the government of God. Consequently, the fact that Israel has been called " His people," at any given epoch, leaves the question entirely unanswered of " When was the sentence of Lo Ammi' pronounced?" Only we have made a step in our research after truth, to wit, in that we have found that this concerns the government of God. For " Lo Ammi " certainly applies, as to the government of God, to all Israel, and to the ten tribes, at one epoch or another. And as to the sovereign love, and the counsels of God, Israel as a whole is always His people. The question then is of His government, and we can now ask: "When is it that God, in his government of the people Israel, executes upon that people the sentence of "Lo Ammi'?" I am about to show my reader that it was at the time of the captivity of Babylon.
It is certain that the ten tribes bore the name of Israel after their separation from the other two, and that they are presented in general, as having the right to the title, the other two being rather an appendage to the family of David, whom God would not utterly forsake. Yet the fate of the whole people hung upon that family, on account of the Messiah, who was to be of it, and of the temple, which was at Jerusalem. The perusal of the Book of Kings will show that the ten tribes held the place I refer to; the Book of Chronicles shows the importance of the family of David. The last chapter of the 2nd of Chronicles shows us that the God of Israel was thoughtful of His house and of His people, until there was no remedy. Lastly, the 23rd chapter of the 2nd of Kings shows us that the sin of Manasseh was the cause of the Lord's saying-" I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem, which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there."
As Jeremiah had said-
Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest? Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.
Now, Hosea handles the case of Israel and of Judah, and his prophecy bears date of the reign of the various kings of both countries, who reigned in his time. The ten tribes are principally the objects, inasmuch as they formed the main body of the people, and as their dispersion was nearer at hand; but the judgment of Judah is also proclaimed, and the prophet, at times, speaks of the whole together under the titles of " the Children of Israel," and "My people." Especially (chap. 4) as being the priesthood of God; while, at the same time, he speaks of the priests separately. The general application, here, of the expression " Children of Israel" is explained clearly by its use in ver. 5, of chap. 3. The judgment on Judah is announced in chap. 5:5, and 10-15; 6:4-11; that of the house of the Lord, chap. 8:1; that of Judah, again, ver. 14; of Ephraim, Judah, and all Jacob, 10:11; of Judah and Jacob, 12:2. The sum of these passages shows plainly enough the object of the prophecy of Hosea; it applies to the whole of the land and of the people, to Judah as well as to Israel; but the ten, tribes are chiefly in view. The expression, the mother, includes both, and the restoration of the whole people is announced, chap. 2, when God will again become their husband. The point which is not treated by Hosea is the family of David, if not in chap. 3:4, 5, in which the subject is, the people as a whole, under the title of " children of Israel," and their history in a few striking words up to the time of their millennial restoration.
The expression, "Lo Ammi" necessarily applies to all the people, and, consequently, could not be announced ere the captivity of Babylon, although great progress may have been made towards its fulfillment, by the captivity of the ten tribes. The conduct' of the king had, from the days of David and Solomon, been the question with God, in his dealings with His people, who were finally rejected on account of the sin of Manasseh. The impiety of Solomon had already been the cause of the separation often tribes from the throne of his family, and then the peculiar iniquity of these ten tribes had finally caused them to be delivered over into the hands of the Gentiles. Still, the house of God, the family of David, the priesthood of Aaron, the ark of the covenant, continued surrounded by two tribes and some other Israelites, in such sort that one could not say absolutely,-there is no longer a people. Yet the arm of the Lord was already lifted up to smite Judah. One has only to consult Isaiah (who prophesied at the same time as Hosea), the declarations of the first four chapters, and the magnificent and touching appeal of the fifth chapter of his prophecy, to see what was the judgment which God had formed upon the state of Judah.
In the midst of these circumstances, Hosea announces, first of all, the judgment of the house of Jehu. Then, under the (symbolical) name of " Lo Ruhamah," he announces that the Lord will entirely remove the house of Israel, that is to say, the ten tribes. But he will yet have mercy upon Judah, and will deliver it, even as he did in the case of Sennacherib, successor of him who led captive Israel. Then he declares by another (symbolical) name, given to another child, that at length he will pronounce the sentence of "Lo Ammi"; for, said he, you are not my people. Having announced this judgment in an absolute manner, by a prophetic act, after the judgment executed upon Israel, by means of which it was already entirely cut off, and having declared, at the time of this cutting off, that Judah should be spared, the evidence is of the clearest kind, that it would be by the judgment executed upon Judah that this sentence would take effect. This is by so much the more evident in that " Lo Ammi," by the import of the term, applies to the whole people, which was the object of the prophecy of Hosea. Immediately afterward, the prophet, publishing the mercies of God, declares, first, that the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea-shore, and that, then, the children of Judah and the children of Israel,-here expressly distinguished the one from the other in order to establish their re-union in one,-shall be gathered together, and shall appoint to themselves a leader, etc.; we thus see clearly, that the answer and the deliverance embrace Judah as well as Israel, both of whom were included in " Lo Ammi," although the judgment pronounced
for the latter could not take effect until Judah also should
be rejected, and thus there should no longer be a people before God. That God (in the mean while) preserved a little remnant, which he brought back in order to present Christ to it is evident. The question which we have to solve is this-Did -God, as to his government, put in force this sentence of " Lo Ammi" at the time of the captivity of Babylon? For that sentence must needs at some time be put m force. Now let us bear in mind, that the question, as to this expression, is one of the relationship of God with His people,-already broken as to the ten tribes (whatsoever may have been the patience of God, and the messages which he sent to them) by the separation of Jeroboam. For the golden calves did not maintain the relationship of Israel with God. Now, Jerusalem was the place which He had chosen,-the temple the place where he had placed His name. The Ark of the Covenant of the God of the whole earth was there. The family of David, family chosen for the maintenance of His relationship with His people,-the Urim and the Thummim, means of receiving (by the intervention of the priesthood), light and direction from God were there. Now, not only had Judah sinned, but the family of David, upon the conduct of which all depended, had failed in fidelity. There was no remedy, (2 Chron.), and God must reject Judah as he had rejected Israel.
But in this case the act is more solemn, because the house of God, the throne of God (dwelling) between the cherubim, the royal authority, which was of God, which " sat on the throne of the Lord", 1 Chron. 29:23,23Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. (1 Chronicles 29:23) His Urim and His Thummim were in question. But how preserve them there in order to sanction the iniquity which existed? That would have been still worse, and God executes the judgment which He had pronounced upon His people. The house of God is destroyed, the family of David is led into captivity, and the times of the Gentiles commence. The scepter of the world is placed in the hands of the Gentiles, by the authority of the God of the heavens, an event of immense import, which exists even at this time, and which necessarily prevents the establishment of the earthly people of God, considered in the light of the government of God, because the reign of the Messiah cannot consist with such empire in the hands of the Gentiles. Now it is as clear as possible that the epoch of the restoration and blessing of Israel, when they will no longer be "Lo Ammi", will be that of the reign of the Messiah. For the time being the people of God is a heavenly people, subject to the powers which be, a people which has nothing to seek in the world but the glory of Him who has saved it in. order to introduce it into the heavens.
We see then, at the taking of Jerusalem, the judgment of God executed upon His people; the ark of the covenant taken; the house of God burnt; its royal authority taken from the family of David (and this until the coming of the true son of David); the Urim and Thummim of the priesthood lost; the throne of God removed from off the earth; and sovereign authority placed in the hands of the Gentiles. In a word, all that which, as institutions, formed the link between God and the people is set aside (observe it, reader) and by a means which renders the re-establishment of the people impossible, because the scepter and authority have been transferred by God to the hands of the Gentiles.
Under the old covenant, all was lost; under the new, under the Messiah, all is yet future for Israel; Christ manifested in flesh has not re-established the old covenant, and Israel has not been placed under the new. Christ was personally perfect under the old, and when He shed His blood-basis of the new covenant-the time was passed for Israel as a nation. If the grace of God proposed to this people, the return of Jesus (Acts 3) if they repented, the people in their blindness, stopped the mouths of those who made the declaration. This truth, that it is under the new covenant, and under the Messiah, that Israel will be recognized as a people, is of all importance in order to judge in these matters. We shall see that the prophets who announce the judgment by Nebuchadnezzar, pass directly from it to the coming of Christ. We shall see that, although God acted to bring matters to this point, by divers acts of Providence-Christ, when the blessing is established, is always in relationship with the people as a whole, and that the existence of two tribes without the ten, cannot accord with the accomplishment of the promises in Christ. He may come from heaven to destroy the wicked one; but once united to Israel, it is to all Israel, so that there should have been the re-establishment in the promised blessing at the time of the return from Babylon, is impossible, if in that view that event is considered as a continuation of Judah alone as the people of God.
We will now examine the passages which prove that which has just been stated. That the royal authority over all the earth was conferred on Nebuchadnezzar is most clearly stated by Dan. 2:37,3837Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. (Daniel 2:37‑38); and even that this should continue until the setting up of the kingdom of God (ver. 38-44); which renders it impossible that Judah, during that interval; should be the people of God, recognized by Him-His government being that which we have to consider. Israel is always " Lo Ammi" during this period.
I need not say that the royal authority was not renewed in the family of David. We no where find that the ark of the Covenant was made de novo; certainly it was not so by the command of God-and, sure it is, they could not make the tables of the law having the writing of God, which rendered the ark, the Ark of the Testimony. We have, further, the assurance that no manifestation of the glory of God, sign of his presence, took place at the time of the dedication of the second temple, as happened when the tabernacle was set up, and when the ark was introduced into the Temple of Solomon, and they sounded with the trumpets. So that the testimony and the glory of the presence of God were wanting to the ark, if so be they made one. The absence of these two things made the existence of an ark the plain proof that all that which could have given to it importance was wanting. That there was neither Urim nor Thummim is a fact also admitted by the Jews, and proved by Neh. 7:6565And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim. (Nehemiah 7:65).
The absence of this mysterious token was a fact of the most serious kind, for it was thus that the High Priest bore the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before-the Lord continually; that is to say, all that which symbolized the presence of God, and all the links established of old and which maintained the relation of the people with God were wanting, while the people themselves were subjected to the Gentiles by reason of their sin. God might come in in grace, He might send messengers to the little off-shoot of His people which found itself at Jerusalem, He might bear with the mutilated state of institutions, the exterior appearance of which was reestablished,-He might, further, send His Son,-all this He did; but He never canceled the decree of "Lo Ammi." He could not do so, save by Jesus and the New Covenant, when the links of the First Covenant were broken, and Israel subjected to the Gentiles. He presented Jesus-the people would not have Him. He presented Him in the faithfulness of His promise, and it is evident that it was not according to the Old Covenant, under which Israel had been in relationship with God as a people; all was lost according to that Covenant. The New could not be established with a people who rejected its Mediator in Jesus.
There remain three things for us to consider. That which the prophets said after the captivity and that which they said before, as to the means which God would employ in order that Israel might be His people, and, then, the manner in which the New Testament presents this point: I put in the fore-front the prophets after the captivity, because we find there all that the Spirit of God could say of the strongest kind to encourage the people on their return. If in examining these passages we find that the remnant which returned from the captivity is not in them called the people of God, we shall, also understand that the other prophets and the New Testament confirm this testimony.
Let us examine Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Never once is the people returned from the captivity called, by any one of these prophets, the people of God: contrariwise, in the occasions in which one would have supposed this inevitable, this expression is not found, but they say, that they will be His people in the last days. But, in these occasions, it is Israel and Judah. Proof manifest that they were not recognized by God then as His people. Never do these prophets say on behalf of God, "My people." Their prophecies are full of remarkable revelations on the subject of times yet to come, as also with regard to the first coming of Jesus; and they connect the blessings which are to come with the encouragements which they give for the time, present; but never at the time, nor in reference to the first coming of Jesus, is the people called the people of God. While Zechariah is very plain in declaring that it will be so in the latter days, never is it said that God should dwell in the temple then, but He promises to abide there in the days yet to come. But it is after the glory that the prophet is sent to the nations who have robbed Israel: then it is said, "I will dwell in the midst of thee" (compare Zech. 2:8-108For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. 9For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me. 10Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. (Zechariah 2:8‑10)).
It is said, " I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; my house shall be built in it" (Zech. 1:1616Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. (Zechariah 1:16)); but the promise of abiding there is reserved for another time, when the four carpenters shall have " frayed away," and "cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up (their) horn over the land of Judah to scatter it" (ver. 21).
Again, in chap. 8, it is said, " I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem" (ver. 3); but, forthwith, we find the times yet to come in which God will cause His people to come from the east and from the west, and when He will be their God. For the time present, he says, " so again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah: fear ye not" (ver. 15).
Precious encouragement! Yet leaving the abiding of
God and the title "of his people," as a hope for days to come, when (chap. 6:12) "Behold the man whose name is the Branch; shall grow up out of his place;" and (9:13) Ephraim and Judah shall be united as the bow and the arrow of the Lord.
The promises in Haggai are temporal, and the presence of the messenger of the covenant is promised for the house, but for a time yet to come, for it is when GOD shall have shaken all nations, the heavens and the earth; a declaration which (Heb. 12:2626Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. (Hebrews 12:26)) makes us understand is not yet accomplished. The attentive reader of the Bible will not have Med to observe, that God constantly addresses himself to Judah or to the whole nation as to His people, by the prophets who spake to them before the captivity.. Stronger proof one can scarcely have' that God no longer recognized Judah as His people after the captivity of Babylon, while, at the same time, he was vouchsafing to them the promise that, together with Israel, they should be His people, when He should re-establish them by means of Christ under the New Covenant. I will now examine what is the light which the prophets, who announced the judgment executed upon Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, furnish, and what is the epoch at which they declare that Israel will anew be called the people of God. They are the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. We have already seen that the Lord, weary of repenting, would reject Judah as he had rejected Israel, and that He would execute, without longer deferring (Ezek. 19:21-28) the judgment announced. We shall, then, now see at what epoch, the prophets place the re-establishment of Judah in the enjoyment of the privilege of being the people of God.
Before clearing up this point, and examining at what moment the name of " my people" is given to Israel (I say to Israel, because the two families are always united in this blessing), I will draw the attention of my reader to the solemn judgment which took place at the time of the taking of Jerusalem, which stamps its true character upon this, and gives the true force of the term "Lo Ammi," placed on the forehead of Judah, as well as of the whole nation, when it was led captive to Babylon, and on the import of the transfer of the throne to the midst of the Gentiles. The throne of God shows itself, and the cherubim of glory, with the wheels, the rings of which were so high, that they were dreadful to the spirit of the prophet. These wheels which were as a wheel within a wheel. The cherubim running to and fro, according to the appearance of lightning, and the wheels in the rings were full of eyes round about.
There was the likeness of a man sitting upon a throne. This was the vision of the glory of the Lord. Then he declares to the prophet the end, " An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezek. 7:2-42Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. 3Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations. 4And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 7:2‑4)).
Then having set a mark upon those that sighed and cried by reason of all these abominations, he visits and smites the wicked according to the glory of His throne, beginning at His house. But a judgment yet more solemn, announced by the most significant action, awaited the rebellious city. The throne of glory, the Cherubim which the prophet had seen at Chebar appeared anew at the side of the house of the Lord, whither the prophet had been carried. " Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory" (Ezek. 10:44Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory. (Ezekiel 10:4)).
Wherefore this solemn visit of the Lord to His house full of imagery and corruption? Wherefore this un- wonted glory? Alas! the reason was but too soon evident. Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the house and mounted up above the cherubim. The temple is void; the glory has departed from it! In vain the cherubim of gold stretched forth their wings over a forsaken mercy-seat, and over a broken law—He who, till within a while, filled that throne of glory had quitted it. Nebuchadnezzar might take possession of the temple as of a corpse. The God of heaven had entrusted him with a kingdom. The glory of the Lord had forsaken His throne upon the earth. " Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city" (Ezek. 11:22,2322Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 23And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. (Ezekiel 11:22‑23)).
The Lord had quitted Jerusalem; the throne on earth is given to the Gentiles. Has the Lord returned to Jerusalem to hold His throne in subjection to that of a Persian or a Greek? We have seen that, whatever may have been His compassion for His people, His presence has not returned to fill with His glory the new building. If God is not there, what meaning in the title, "The people of God"? And when is it that this poor, but ever-loved, people will find again its blessedness? When will "Lo Ammi" be forever effaced from its forehead, to make way for that precious title "Ammi." God had already accomplished His Word: "And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies" (2 Kings 21:13,1413And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. 14And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; (2 Kings 21:13‑14)). As it is said in Jer. 12:7,7I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. (Jeremiah 12:7) "I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies." Already, at the moment of quitting Jerusalem, as He did before driving our first parents from Eden, he announced the deliverance and the blessing. "I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel" (Ezek. 11:1717Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. (Ezekiel 11:17)).
But one sees at once that it is not of the return from Babylon that the prophet speaks, for it is added, " And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh" (ver. 19).
Now, we know, with the most perfect certainty, that this did not take place at the return from Babylon; nor, certainly, since the first coming of Jesus. The prophet passes to the latest days, in order that the people may be blessed. Let us again turn to Jeremiah, who announced and saw the taking of Jerusalem, of which we speak. He declares in chap. 30, that God will bring back the captives of Israel and of Judah, and that they shall possess the land given to their fathers. David their king shall be raised up, " and their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them " (ver. 21); and, adds the Lord, " You shall be my people, and I will be your God" (ver. 22). In chap. 31:31, we have the New Covenant: there is also the question of Israel and Judah, verse 27.
In chap. 32 Judah is again restored by an everlasting covenant; they shall no more draw back from God, they shall be His people, and the Lord will be their God (see ver. 38, 39, 40). Again, in chap. 33:7. God will bring back again Israel and Judah. " In those days, and at that time, will I cause the branch of righteousness to grow up unto David" (ver. 16).
In Ezekiel, 34 David shall be prince (ver. 24). " They shall be my people", saith the Lord God (ver. 30). In chap. 36 we have the remarkable promise to which above all others the Lord Jesus made allusion in His conversation with Nicodemus, and which declares the necessity of that work in order that Israel may enjoy its privilege even in the land, and that it may be at the same time "Ammi," the people of God, and that God may be its God. We have also here the proof that this work (which shows that the people was not recognized as the people of God) is applicable to the people, such as it was at the return from Babylon, since the Lord so applies it, and that the promise of being the people of God cannot be fulfilled without this work of grace being made good; a work which was not made good in the days of the Lord, and which is not yet either, as to the restoration of the nation. In chap. 37, we see Judah and Israel reunited in a striking manner-the people of God "Ammi," and God their God-twice repeated and David king over them. They shall walk in the judgments and statutes of the Lord, David being their prince, in their own land forever. Upon these points chapters 38 and 39 may also be consulted. These passages show, in a way not to be disputed, that the epoch at which Israel should become " Ammi" (that is to say should no longer be " Lo Ammi," for " Lo" is but a negation) were not to be realized until the last days, when Christ will be their king; that this was to have its accomplishment by that grace which will write the law in their hearts, when God gives them a new heart according to the new covenant, and all Israel will be there. Judah and the ten tribes will form but one nation, which will never be divided nor driven from the land, over which Christ will reign forever. And all this is said on the occasion of the captivity of Babylon, in which God rejected Judah as he had rejected Israel; as also that the promise of the return from the captivity which would cause "Ammi" to be named upon Israel should be when all these things therein recited should be accomplished; so that the period during which "Lo Ammi" is the name of Israel was to last from the captivity of Babylon until the return of the Lord.
Lastly, to remove all possibility of question, I add, that the judgment of " Lo Ammi" was not executed before the captivity of Judah, for in the second chapter of Jeremiah, God still calls them His people; and to show that this was not because the term " Lo Ammi" could not apply but to Israel, I quote the fourth verse " Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel." On the other hand, the new Testament shows us, that then also all Israel was thought of, and that God considered it as not his people, making an allusion to Hosea. We have seen the Lord showing that the kingdom of God, under which the people would be the people of God, could not come but by the fulfillment of the promises of the new covenant. And the Apostle Paul says (Acts 26) "Unto which [promise] our twelve tribes instantly serving God day and night;" so also James, " To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad."
We have already seen that (Rom. 11) St. Paul only distinguishes between the Election and Israel; the latter, in the last days, when a Deliverer should come out of Zion. And the distinction was so lost at that time, that (in Acts 26) the expression of the twelve tribes is a neuter in the singular (το δωδεκαφυλον). So, in citing the passage which speaks of " Lo Ammi," Paul applies it to the state of the Jews, before being called by the revelation of Jesus as Savior without distinguishing " Lo Ruhamah" and " Lo Ammi." Peter is still more positive in his manner of expressing himself, and tells us in just so many words, that the term " Lo Ammi" applies to the state of the people before the Revelation of Christ, while those who received him quitted that position. I say " people," for it is without controversy that the expression " strangers scattered abroad" (παρεπιδημοις διασπορᾶς) belongs to Israel, while at the same time it restricts itself to such among them as believed. So that we have a direct revelation that the state of the people, after Babylon, was the state of " Lo Ammi" (see 1 Peter 2:1010Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:10)).
I believed it might be useful to present this point clearly for brethren who are interested in it. It treats not of the question of the Church, save so far as all truths are linked together; but it treats of an epoch, singularly important, as to the government of God, because God ceased to dwell upon the throne of the earth between the Cherubim, and entrusted sovereign power to a chief raised up among the Gentiles-a state of things which is to continue under one form or other until the judgment of the world.
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this s call be covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."-Jer. 31:31-3431Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: 33But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:31‑34).