Jul-Aug 2005

1. A Great White Throne: Symbolic Shaking of Earth’s Society
2. His Rod and Staff
3. Items of Interest
4. One Lawgiver and Judge
5. Israel’s Experiences Typical
6. Israel’s Hope Realized
7. Bible Question Box: Israel’s Return • Jesus’ Throne—Apostles • King Og • Noah Leaving The Ark
8. Features: Mail Box • Announcements

ISRAEL’S EXPERIENCES TYPICAL

TODAY’S STUDY tells us of the death of Joshua, who became the leader of the Israelites at the death of Moses. He was a worthy example of faithfulness to God among the Jewish people. Under Divine direction he divided the land of Palestine among the twelve tribes of Israel, giving each one their portion with the understanding that their portion was a gift of Jehovah, and that the more obedience observed the more quickly would the tribe enter into its inheritance.

The Israelites were admonished by the Lord through an angel, especially sent as God’s representative, that they should speedily take possession of the land, driving out their enemies, destroying their idols and altars of worship, and thus conquering the entire country for themselves as God’s people and ridding themselves and their children of all idolatrous and immoral worship. But instead of doing this to completion, they made leagues with the various heathen peoples that inhabited the land, and brought themselves into a fraternizing relationship. This disobedience to Divine command proved to be a serious snare.

In studying the history of Israel, we are to remember that the Apostle tells us those things were allegorical (1 Corinthians 10: 11). They were true, they were real occurrences for Israel of the Jewish Age; but their chief object and purpose, from God’s standpoint, was to illustrate certain great truths for God’s people of the Gospel and Millennial Ages “they are written for our admonition.” These truths have been fulfilled in the Gospel Church primarily but also for others of the consecrated to the present. Therefore, when we accept Jesus as our personal Savior and consecrate, we enter upon a new life which from then on is under the controllership of our New Heart, Mind and Will, preparing ourselves for our place in the Kingdom. This corresponds to the Israelites crossing the Jordan River — dying to old aims and interests and entering into the new promised inheritance (Canaan). Under the leadership of Jesus, our Joshua, we have entered into this new life as a Christian.

We then learn as God’s people to conquer the perverted appetites of our minds and bodies, which correspond to the idolatrous peoples who resided in Canaan. So it is the duty of the “new man” to drive out the sinful hopes, ambitions, weaknesses, perversions, and all oppositions to the Lord and His righteousness. If the work of extermination is carried out thoroughly, the result will be a well developed character, strong in the Lord, full of faith, obedience, joy, peace and blessing.

However, like the Israelites of old, the tendency of the Lord’s people is to make a truce with their own improper developments and fleshly weaknesses. We through lack of perseverance in well doing are unsuccessful in our attempts to drive these out, and fail to overthrow the altars of degraded passion, avarice, etc. These weaknesses and depravities of the flesh for a time cower before the Christian, entreating mercy, patience and a measure of gratification. But so surely as these are granted, the result is that the passions and weaknesses become thoroughly entrenched and we as children of God are often worsted in the conflict, and then must cry to the Lord for deliverance, lest we perish before the onslaught of our own mis-development of character. In this way, the lives of many Christians are a succession of conflicts and defeats—captivities. The battle should have been fought out at first. The will should have been fixed firmly on the side of righteousness, truth, and obedience to God.

It is difficult to determine how many of the Lord’s people suffer as a result of not being firm enough, and rigorous enough in their dealings with their own flesh, especially at the beginning of their Christian experiences. The only remedy is to cry unto the Lord as the Israelites did when they found themselves hard pressed. As the Lord delivered them, so He is willing to deliver all of His Spiritual Israelites.

It is certainly a shame for Christians that their defeats are so numerous, as it was a shame to the Israelites that, during the period of the Judges, they were eighteen times oppressed by their enemies— slaves when they should have been in control. The one great lesson of all this to the Jews and to Christian people is the lesson of God’s mercy, as expressed in our text. The Lord is very gracious, willing to forgive our trespasses and to assist us when we realize our wrong condition and appeal for help. “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely.”

JOSHUA’S WISE EXHORTATION

The Book of Joshua closes with the account of his death, and the Book of Judges begins with incidents covering the same period. When Joshua realized that his work was done and that he was about to be gathered to his fathers — to sleep with his fathers in death — he called the Israelites together, and reminded them of the Lord’s mercies and manifest favors in bringing them this far and finally giving to each tribe the allotment of its inheritance in the Promised Land. Then he warned them respecting the dangers of the situation, the necessity for being separate from the people of the land—Gentiles; otherwise the tendency would be toward idolatry. He urged upon all a full settlement of the mind, the will, on the side of the Lord and against all the heathen religious influence. It was then that he took his stand and announced, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24: 15). The others joined with him in the same resolve.

Our lesson tells us that all the days of Joshua, and the days of the others of the judges, who outlived Joshua, things went well with the Israelites. They had the Lord’s blessing and were prosperous. These leaders had in mind the Lord’s wonderful dealings, and realized the importance of being on the Lord’s side, if they would have His blessing. The idolatries that came in were subsequent.

HEATHEN INFLUENCE

The true God has always prohibited idols, while the false gods have usually been represented by idols. The idols, according to faulty human reasoning, would appear to be a way of keeping religion before the mind; but it was not God’s way, and hence was not acceptable. As the Israelites noted the idolatrous worship of their neighbors, they doubtless felt that the latter were religious, because of this outward demonstration.

Moreover, these heathen forms of worship contained various licentious practices, which influenced the Israelites to do evil through the weaknesses of their flesh. The true God, on the contrary, had instituted for them a worship which was pure in itself, in every way condemning sin, pointing out the necessity for its cancellation and the need for drawing near to God in the way of His appointment. In a word, the true religion appealed to the highest and noblest sentiments, while the false religions of the Canaanites appealed to the baser passions, combining a form of godliness with gratification of the sinful flesh, such as suggestive and sensual dancing and immoral conduct.

But as for the Christian who condemns the Israelites very severely for wandering off, time and again, into the idolatries of their heathen neighbors and requiring to be punished by the Lord that they might turn again and seek the Lord in the right way— let us as Christians remember the antitype—how various forms of godlessness are inclined to take the place of true heart-worship, and reverence; and how some are inclined to justify themselves and attempt to appear to be in accordance with the Divine will through sin. We notice that many today worship the “golden calf” more than they worship God. Fornication, homosexuality, adultery and like sins bring a falling from grace and requiring chastisements time and again to correct them, to awaken them to their real condition (Rom. 1: 24-32). Let them remember, too, that so-called Christians have made idols equally as hideous as any made by the heathen — not idols of stone or wood or bronze, but abominable misrepresentations of the Divine character — the printed creeds inspired by dark age errors that dishonor God’s character claiming that He is the Author of eternal torment, immortality of the soul, and consciousness of the dead, etc.

Judges 2: 16-20 and its connections seem to indicate that the record of our lesson covers a long period of centuries of Israel’s experiences, under many judges. When they repented, the Lord raised up judges, or, as we say, deliverers, through whom their adversities would be corrected. Yet even these repeated experiences did not deeply enough impress the great lesson, so that they needed to learn their lessons over and over. When the judge would bring them back from their adversities, and they would have rest for some years during his lifetime, it was merely to fall away after his death. Nevertheless, the Lord’s Covenant was with the nation. The centuries since have shown the persistency of God’s mercy.

GOD’S FAVOR RETURNING TO ISRAEL

As we have previously pointed out, the Bible indicates clearly that Israel’s lessons of oppression were while they were under the rule of the Gentile nations. This was especially so in Europe during the periods of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. The period of chastisement, twenty-five hundred and twenty years long, began where the crown was taken from King Zedekiah, B.C. 607 (Ezekiel 21:25-27). They were not an independent nation in all those twenty five hundred and twenty years and did not assume national status until May 14, 1948. As the Lord declared, Zedekiah was the last of the line of David who should reign until Messiah’s Kingdom would be established. The end of Gentile Times, then, indicates that Messiah’s Kingdom is already in progress. Everywhere we see manifestations that He as the great Judge is taking over the affairs of the world, and that Israel’s final deliverance is at hand, although there has been much chastisement on Israel and much more is in the offing in “Jacob’s Trouble.”

Spiritual Israel (the Church) has been the first to be delivered by the glorious “change” in the First Resurrection. Thus God’s Spiritual Empire has been established with the addition of the Great Multitude (Rev. 7: 9-17). This great event and the incidental Time of Trouble, now in progress, will be the introduction and the exaltation of the leaders of Natural Israel to be the earthly rulers of the Kingdom. These will be the Ancient Worthies from among the Hebrew people — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the Prophets. Israel as a nation, delivered from Gentile domination, will nevertheless get their blessing through their acceptance of the Kingdom arrangements, which includes the thought that their eyes of understanding will open and that they will recognize their Messiah as the great King.

Therefore, it is written that they that pierced Him shall look upon Him and mourn because of a realization that they crucified the Prince of Life (Zech. 12: 10). Nevertheless they will have a great blessing, in proportion as they seek conscientiously to serve God and the principles of His righteousness. Then the Lord will pour upon them the spirit of prayer and supplication, in connection with which they will have so great a blessing (Zechariah 12:10). And this blessing of the Lord, coming upon Israel first, means also the eventually blessing through them of the entire world.

All who realize that the Times of the Gentiles have ended, should be looking for and cooperating with the further steps of the Divine Plan. One of these is Israel’s possession and the control of Palestine. The time is ripe; Israel since 1948 has been recognized as a nation in a small portion of Palestine. Through God’s overruling providences all of Palestine will eventually pass into the possession of the Jews.