21
`And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised thee ... and to make
thee high above all the nations which He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest
be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as He hath spoken' (Deut. 26:18,19).
`And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God ... that the LORD
thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth ... ' (Deut. 28:1).
`And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be
beneath ... ' (Deut. 28:13).
There can therefore be no doubt that God's choice of this people was for one great object - to represent Him and His
truth and to be His mediators for bringing in His kingdom upon earth, in which righteousness and justice would
reign supreme and peace, abiding joy and satisfaction would abound. This also explains why the Jew was first in the
New Testament both for the gospel and for judgment (Rom. 1:16; 2:9). Because of their unique position in God's
sight, in addition to their many blessings, God entrusted to them the holy Scriptures:
`What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? much every way: chiefly, because
that unto them were committed the oracles of God' (Rom. 3:1,2),
and Paul sums up their unique privileges in Romans 9:3-5:
`... my kinsmen according to the flesh: who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption (sonship), and the
glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the
fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, Who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen'.
The Psalmist in Psalm 147:19,20 concurs:
`He sheweth His Word unto Jacob, His statutes and His judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any
nation: and as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD'.
We have seen that Israel can never realise their divine goal by their own works or merit. They stand as law-breakers
in God's sight. But under the New Covenant of grace, ratified by the Lord Jesus on the Cross, they will attain to all
that God intends for them at His Second Coming:
`And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob (Israel): For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As
concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the
fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (change of mind on His part)' (Rom.
11:26-29).
The Kingdom shown forth prophetically in the Feasts of the Lord
The seven feasts of Jehovah detailed in Leviticus 23 give a wonderful foreview of the kingdom of God as it
affects the earth with Israel as its centre, and the Lord ruling in and through them. Their order is as follows:
(1) The Sabbath
(2) The Passover
50 days
(3) Unleavened Bread
(4) Pentecost
Interval
The
(5) Trumpets - the first day
seventh
(6) Atonement - the tenth day
month
(7) Tabernacles - the fifteenth day
Israel's religious year spread over the first seven months commencing with Abib (April). It is noteworthy how
the number seven is stamped upon the Lord's dealings with His earthly people. That this number has a special
significance in the Bible cannot be doubted. It is the number of spiritual perfection and completion and is connected