 |  |
Paul's employment of Israel's history does not yield its peculiar purpose without some
close consideration. This, however, we hope to demonstrate. In Acts 13: 17-22 Paul
starting from the Exodus traverses Israel's history up to the time of David. And the
following will be clear to all:
Wilderness wandering about
40 years
Period of Judges until Samuel about
450 "
Reign of Saul
40 "
Reign of David (II Sam. 5: 4)
40 "
-------------
570 years
========
The total length covered by Paul's computation being 570 years. So far all is clear,
but if we compare this computation with that of I Kings 6: 1 we come against a
difficulty. From the Exodus to the third year of Solomon, according to this computation
is 480 years. We must add the 3 years of Solomon's reign to the 570 given above, to
bring both totals level, and this reveals a discrepancy of 93 years (480 from 573 = 93).
How is this to be accounted for? It is accounted for by the application of a principle, that
whenever Israel become Lo-ammi "not My people" the prophetic clock stops and time is
unrecorded. In the time of the Judges, Israel, for their sins were "sold" to outside nations,
and the number of years thus "lost" is exactly 93--thus:
Judges
3: 8
-
8 years
3: 14
-
18
4: 3
-
20
6: 1
-
7
13: 1
-
40 years
=
93 years lost.
Whether wittingly or unwittingly, Paul introduced into this great typical chapter of
Acts 13: the need to recognize that a tremendous dispensational change involving even
the computation of time, hinged upon Israel's lo-ammi state. That state was entered in
Acts 28: and since that day, from about the years 63-70A.D., prophetic time has
ceased to run, we live in a parenthesis, and a period of about 2,000 years, not merely 93,
drops out of the Divine calendar.
4: The basic doctrine of Justification by faith.
It is the testimony of the Prophets, that the redeemed must be covered with a robe of
righteousness (Isa. 61: 10) and that Israel's natural righteousness, or their attempt at
justification under the law, was an absolute failure (Isa. 64: 6). "The Lord our
Righteousness" of Jer. 23: 6 and 33: 16 is a clear anticipation of Justification by
grace. The work of Christ and the exposition of that work, but revealed what was
incipient in the law and the prophets (Rom. 3: 21, 22), and was the only ground for
the forgiveness of sins committed before Christ came and for all time subsequently
(Rom. 3: 25).