Compelling Love

Mercy and truth have met together in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, for all who believe in him:

Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.
Mercy and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed. – Psalm 85:9-10 (NKJV)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. – John 3:16

Psalm 115 speaks about eternal life for the righteous, through God’s mercy and truth, revealed in Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ:

Psalm 115 (NKJV)
¹ Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.

¹⁷ The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor any who go down into silence.
¹⁸ But we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!

Jesus gave this guideline for setting our priorities for righteous living:

“… seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).

In his conversation with the disciples in Acts 1, he gave three specific priorities. Just before ascending to heaven, he said they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and would be witnesses to him. Thirdly, he promised the restoration of the kingdom to Israel in the times and seasons set by the Father. This baptism, commission and restoration are key priorities for believers today.

⁴ And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; ⁵ for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ⁶ Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. ⁸ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:4-8 (NKJV)

The baptism in the Holy Spirit came ten days later at Pentecost, after which his followers became witnesses to him in power “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Down through the centuries wherever believers have received these promises with faith, they have continued to bear glorious fruit for God’s kingdom. Today the third priority, the promised “restoral of the kingdom to Israel” has clearly begun, and requires our participation.

A brief look at some events in the history of Israel may be helpful to understand the meaning of this third priority. The Bible records that soon after the death of King Solomon (in 931 BC), the northern ten tribes rebelled and Israel became divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom called itself the “house of Israel” or the “house of Ephraim” (its leading tribe), and the southern kingdom (including Jerusalem) became known as the “house of Judah”. Two centuries later, because of idolatry, God allowed the northern kingdom to be conquered and scattered by the Assyrians (in 722 BC). Then in 586 BC, again because of idolatry, God allowed the Babylonians to overrun the southern kingdom, destroy the temple, and exile thousands of its leaders to Babylon.

Seventy years later God moved upon the Persian king Cyrus to enable Jewish exiles in Babylon to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. So the house of Judah was reestablished in the land, but the house of Israel (Ephraim) remained scattered throughout the nations. Most of their descendants lost track of their ancestry, and they became known as the “ten lost tribes”. However, though most of the descendants of the house of Ephraim do not remember who they are as a nation, God still remembers them. He is awakening them and calling them to be part of the promised restoration of the two houses of Israel (Ephraim and Judah) into a single nation once again. It is very likely that many Christians, who serve the God and Messiah of Israel, are descendants of the ten lost tribes. In any case, believers in the God of Israel and His Son Jesus Christ are honorary citizens of Israel and called to participate in this great reunion (Psalm 87, Ephesians 2:11f).

Angus Wootten writes, in his book, “Restoring Israel’s Kingdom”, p. 211-121, “Full restoration of all Israel calls for the reunion of the house of Ephraim and the house of Judah. Likewise, the Jewish concept of a “national relationship” with the God of Israel, needs to be married with the Christian concept of an individual relationship with the God of Israel. For, those who ultimately dwell in Israel’s restored Kingdom will have necessarily experienced both individual and national salvation!

“The Shepherd God is giving those of Messianic Israel the opportunity to help gather His lost sheep, that He might have His heart’s desire – which is to have a people for His own possession. The end-time remnant is now being gathered as foretold by Jeremiah:”

³ “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. ⁴ I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.
⁵ “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
⁶ In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
⁷ “Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ ⁸ but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.”
– Jeremiah 23:3-8 (NKJV)

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, https://compellinglove.net/