there was no question of the possibility of Gentiles blessed apart from the people of

Israel. They could come in and share Israel's blessings if they came in as proselytes; or,

at this point they could come and be partakers of Israel's spiritual things through

salvation; but to get this apart from the Jew--no! That is not possible yet; so let us

always think of the Gentile who was saved in the Acts as linked to the people of Israel

with the idea of stirring them up spiritually, remembering, of course, the Jew's narrow

conceptions that God was only going to use them; that He shared and kept all His light

and blessing for them and them only. How erroneous, how absolutely wrong! Now the

purpose is widening; the Gentile is being brought in, just a representative number, to

provoke Israel to emulation, to prevent, if humanly possible their sinking into complete

unbelief and spiritual death. This, said James, is in harmony with the O.T.: "And to this

agree the words of the prophets."

The word "agree" in verse 15 is the word `harmonize'. You will note that he does not

say this completely fulfils what the O.T. predicted, but it is going along in harmony with

it. There was nothing secret about God's intention to bless the Gentile world! That had

been clearly revealed in the O.T. Scriptures. It was part of the glorious part that we have

been considering so much. So James quotes from the prophet Amos, chapter 9: 11, "In

that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen and close up the breaches

thereof, and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old". Now what

is this but restoration? God says I am going to build again, I am going to restore: and we

have just seen in the previous study that the tabernacle of David and the throne of David

are very vital things at this point in God's purpose. Christ was raised from the dead to

occupy that very throne, and God had made a promise, a covenant to David that He

would not break it. And although things had gone badly in Israel's history because of

their transgression, God declares there is coming a time when He will restore all that

pertains to David's throne. This word `restore' was a Key-word at the beginning of the

Acts: "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (1: 6). And then

in chapter 3: of the Acts, the times of restoration (R.V.) are promised by God upon the

repentance and conversion of the Jewish nation (3: 19-26). This restoration of the

earthly kingdom is part of O.T. prophecy and was no mystery, or secret such as is

connected with the Body of Christ. So you see its all of a piece, its all together.

We read a little further on in Amos, verse 13: of blessing when restoration comes.

The blessing on their land, material blessing, because they are an earthly people and have

earthly blessings to go with their earthly calling. "Behold the days come, saith the Lord,

that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth

seed: and the mountains shall drop sweet wine and all the hills shall melt, and I will

bring again the captivity of my people Israel". God is going to restore this people. He is

going to do away with their captivity "And they shall build the waste cities and inhabit

them; and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof. They shall also make

gardens and eat the fruit of them, and I will plant them upon their land and they shall no

more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them". Could you have plainer

words? The land--remember how He promised it to Abraham?--is going to be theirs

for ever and they will never be dispossessed. There was nothing in the Acts so far that