190707 Israel’s Advantages (3)

Romans 9:4-5 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

In the very beginning of this letter to the Romans Paul spoke about the advantages enjoyed by the Jewish nation. Romans 3:1-2 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ² Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.

What belongs to Israel? This is the question that we come back to today. A question that can only be answered by looking at the advantages granted to the Jews. I include Paul’s statement in Romans 3:9. Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin”.

Our chosen text (Romans 9:5-6) points out that the Jews have the Adoption, the Glory, the Covenants, the Law, the Worship, and the Promises. The patriarchs belong to them and from their race came to Christ.

Throughout history, God has had people who worship him, before there was a Bible or any organized religion, men and women called on God (Genesis 4:25-26). The very first thing that Noah did, as his family left the ark following the flood, was to build an altar and worship God (Genesis 8:20). These are examples of individuals who worshiped God.

With Abram God chose to establish a people who would follow him. He adopted them and he describes the process in an allegory found in Ezekiel 16:2-5. “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, ³ and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. ⁴ And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. ⁵ No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.” A part of that adoption process was bringing the descendants of Abraham into Egypt for a 400-year education. During that time they grew from less than 100 individuals into a great nation. When their growing and developing came to an end and they grew tired of being slaves. Moses was chosen to lead them out of Egypt. In the process of leading them out of Egypt, he introduced them to God’s Glory. First, there was the cloud by day that became a pillar of fire at night. Second, the mountain where the law was given was covered by thick clouds with thunder and lightning. Then there was the dedication of the tabernacle. Exodus 40:34-35 tells us the story of the glory of God filling the tent – tabernacle in the wilderness. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

No nation had ever had that kind of manifestation of God. Moses described it this way: For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? ⁸ And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? Deuteronomy 4:7-8. To the Jews belonged the adoption and the glory. Consequently, beginning with Abraham God established a covenant relationship with Israel. That relationship was first described in Genesis 12:1-3. Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  This covenant relationship was repeated to Abram three times — recorded in Genesis 12; Genesis 15 and Genesis 17. God reaffirmed the covenant with each generation following Abraham. When God called Moses to leave Mount Sinai and take the nation of Israel towards the land of promise God told him that it was the land he had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. A part of the process of establishing the covenant included the giving of the Law.  God gave a spoken law even before the Ten Commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

A part of God’s promise to Isaac, Abraham’s son, included these words, “And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, ⁵ because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Genesis 26:4b-5. Abraham did not have, so far as we know, a written law. So we are told that he obeyed God’s voice. In the process, he followed the law that would later be given to Moses in written form. The stone tablets that contained the Ten Commandments were written by the hand of God himself. So that, with Moses, the adoption, the glory, and the covenants were strengthened by the written law. These advantages over other nations made Israel able to worship God.

Jesus, in his conversation with the woman at the well, spoke of the worship of Israel. That conversation can be found in John 4 let’s look at verses 19-24. The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” ²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. ²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The Jews not only had the advantages of the adoption, the glory, the covenants and the law of God but they also have…

The Promises. Deuteronomy 26:18-19 And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, ¹⁹ and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.”

Paul wrote to the Galatians about the promises. We can benefit greatly from what he had to say. In Galatians 3:13-14, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

And also in Galatians 3:16-18 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

The promises given to Abraham are passed on to every believer in Christ Jesus. Not by keeping the law but by faith in God’s word. Praise God, everyone is saved by the same process: by grace through faith and that not of ourselves it is God’s gift! Israel had the Adoption, the Glory, the Covenants, the Law, the Worship, and the Promises. Now let’s move on to 2 more advantages of the Jews. They also had the Patriarchs who represent the direct descendants of Abraham. Isaac and Jacob who carried on the covenant relationship. Even while they were in captivity in Egypt they maintained their heritage. 430 years passed, so far as we can tell, between Jacob and Moses. As they were preparing for the changeover from Moses to Joshua careful instructions were given to them. Obviously, we do not have time to look at all of those instructions. We find a sample in Deuteronomy 10:12-15. “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? ¹⁴ Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. ¹⁵ Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day.

When Joshua took over he led the people in a military campaign to take and hold the land God had given them. After a lifetime of service, Joshua called them together for a farewell speech. He challenges the people to serve God faithfully. As part of that challenge he said, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”.

Then they passed into a period of time lasting several hundred years during which they were ruled by judges. This remained their condition until finally, they asked Samuel to give them a king. Saul became king and ruled for about 40 years during which time the most famous human king of all, David the son of Jesse, grew to maturity and became the rightful heir to the messianic line.

For those of you who are impatient for his second coming, I would like to remind you that David’s crowning as king happened about a thousand years before the real King came on the scene. Don’t lose heart! Jesus is coming!

Israel had the Adoption, the Glory, the Covenants, the Law, the Worship, the Promises

And The Christ. Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Those words were written about 700 years before the event occurred. What advantage did Israel have? The oracles of God — the Bible

God’s patience with humankind throughout history is remarkable. From Adam and Eve to Jesus marks a period of thousands of years. God was patient with the men and women who existed before the flood until they were sufficiently evil and needed to be eradicated. He provided salvation for the race in Noah and his family. After that God promised he would never again destroy the world in a flood. Then, after the passage of time, he selected a man who would believe him and obey him. That man we know of as Abraham. Abraham was a friend of God. Abraham fathered Isaac when he was 100 years old. Isaac fathered Esau and Jacob and chose Jacob to carry on the line. Jacob came to be named Israel because he struggled with God. Israel fathered 12 sons who became the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel. For their descendants, Paul had great sorrow and unceasing anguish because they were lost and separated from God. Paul would have been willing to go to hell himself if it were possible in order for Israel to be saved.

We have friends and family who are lost without Christ. We feel for them much like Paul did his relatives. We pray for them and, when given the opportunity, share the gospel with them. The least they need is a consistent witness growing out of our lifestyle. They need to be reminded that all have sinned and the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Our lost loved ones need to be encouraged towards faith. They need to know that God showed his love for us in Christ on the cross. They need to know that if they will confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord believing in the heart that God raised him from the dead they will be saved! But it is essential that we bathe them in prayer! Do you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? If you sense God pulling you don’t resist it! Today could be your day of salvation.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton, Ill, Standard Bible Society.