Giant Mysteries Series
“The Mystery of Israel’s Survival”
(Based upon Ron Philip’s book, Unexplained Mysteries of Heaven & Earth)
June 1, 2014 Chester’s FBC, Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
A In 1896, Mark Twain moved to Austria and witnessed government-sanctioned anti-Semitism spread from neighboring Czechoslovakia into Austria.
1 Witnessed Jews being the victim of state sanctioned attacks, violence.
a He wrote an article entitled “Stirring Times in Austria,” which was published in Harper’s Magazine in March, 1898.
aa The article caused a big response, got people talking.
bb Sometime later, an American lawyer (Jewish) wrote a letter that caught Twain’s attention: “Will you kindly tell me why, in your judgement, the Jews have thus ever been, and are even now, in these days of supposed intelligence, the butt of baseless, vicious animosities?”
b Twain’s response was as follows:
“If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blase of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of; but he is hear of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out proportion to the weakness of his numbers.
He has made a marvelous fight in the world, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain in himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished.
The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?”
2 What is their secret? Why have they outlasted EVERY one of their enemies? Overcame every adversity? (Hittites, Amorites, Jebusites, etc.)
a Even the Apostle Paul, a Jew himself, calls the purpose of God for Israel a mystery.
aa Romans 11:25 (NASB) 25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
bb Paul, as Jewish as they came, was broken hearted over Israel’s rejection of their Messiah to the point of even desiring to go to hell/forfeit his salvation if it meant his fellow Jews would receive/accept Christ.
cc Romans 9:1-4 (NASB) 1 I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises,
b There are Jews being saved all over the world, accepting Yeshua Ha’mashiah, but the majority are still in spiritual blindness/unbelief.
aa Nationally they are surrounded by nations that hate, despise them. (Syria, Iran are prepared to remove Israel from the globe.)
bb The Nazi movement is growing through out the European Union and even here in the U.S. there is steady rise in anti-Semitism. (Calling for America to de-invest in Israel, our strongest ally in that region.)
B Who can forget the Holocaust? (We remember photos & films of bodies piled up in concentration camps of Dachau, Buchenwald, Aushwitz, and many others.)
1 Today, there is an ever growing movement of holocaust deniers (Over 40% of Israeli Arabs deny that the Holocaust actually occured.)
a I’m a tremendous supporter of the Jewish state, but not simply because of the Holocaust.
aa “Zionism” is the belief that the natural land of Israel belongs to the Jews and they have the God-given right to posse the land for themselves.
bb Zionism WASN’T a by-product of WWII. (It was solidified because of the 6-9 million Jews killed in the Holocaust)
bb The Zionist movement was in full swing long before WWII!
b Although I am a proponent of Zionism, it really doesn’t have anything to do with the Holocaust.
aa God’s Word bears testimony to the fact that The Land belongs to the Jews.
bb In addition, the existence of the Jew & Israel is proof that God keeps His promises to His people. (I support the Jewish State of Israel because I love God.)
2 To wrap up the giant mysteries sermon series, and in anticipation of our guest speaker tonight (Jerry Koenig, a Holocaust survivor), I have chosen to explain the mystery of how Israel/Jews have survived/thrived for thousands of years against insurmountable odds.
I The Mysterious Past of Israel
A Long before they were called Jews/Israelites, they were referred to as Hebrews.
1 The term “Hebrews” comes from Shem, the son of Noah.
a Genesis 10:21 (NASB) 21 Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born.
aa Abraham was the great-great-great-great grandson of Eber, and even 4 generations removed, Eber lived for two hundred years after the birth of Abraham.
bb Abraham was only 69 years old when Noah died & Noah’s daddy had talked to Adam, and Abraham actually spoke to Noah.
b After the flood, Shem & his family settled in the area of modern day Iran & Iraq, at a place called Ur.
aa Ur is about 220 miles southeast of Baghdad & its ruins are still visible. (It was wealthy city, was the worship center of the god Ur.)
bb Worship of Ur was BIG BUSINESS & Abraham’s family was a big part of that business.
bb Gen. 12.1-3, God called Abraham to leave Ur, his family and move to a new land.
Genesis 12:1-3 (NASB) 1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
2 We’re not told why God chose this branch of the family to become “Hebrews.”
a Deuteronomy 7:7 (NASB) 7 "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
aa However, it’s clear & obvious that Abraham’s descendants were chosen as a special people in the earth above all people.
bb The Hebrews were not special because they were smarter, more industrious, largest group . . . but God’s choice made them special.
b They were to be a people through whom He would speak to His world, and through whom He would come into the world.
B He didn’t choose them because they were more righteous than any other people group.
1 Deuteronomy 9:6 (NASB) 6 "Know, then, it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stubborn people.
a It was God’s love/sovereign choice that gave the land the covenants to the people of Israel.
b We tend to think that God gave the Promised Land just after leaving their 40 years of wondering in the wilderness, however this thinking is flawed.
2 God had already promised the Promised Land to Abraham back in Genesis 15.18-21:
a Genesis 15:18-21 (NASB) 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite 20 and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim 21 and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite."
b Over 140 Old Testament passages confirm that The Land was given to the children of Abraham.
T.S.: God’s special choice of Israel granted them certain privileges, Paul in Romans 9.4-5 gave the privileges in detail:
Romans 9.4-5 (NASB) 4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, 5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. (EMPHASIS ADDED)
II The Privileged Child
A Paul’s list is pretty impressive pertaining to the promises God gave to Israel.
1 Promise #1: Adoption
a Our 21st century view of adoption is seen as a “good deed”, but in the first-century mind it was seen as something much more solemn than we, generally speaking, do.
aa An adopted child was not seen as inferior/different from a biological child of the family. (They had every right, privilege that his siblings did.)
bb There would often even be a special gift given to the adopted child out of the family inheritance!
cc If a biological child whose paternity was suspect, they might not have had these same privileges (IL. Lake/Ridge . . .I’m not sure if Ridge was mine, he might not have the same favor, blessing because I wasn’t sure I was the daddy.)
dd The adopted child, who I know wasn’t mine, was considered blood kin to the rest of the family!
b We can’t understand adoption until first know a little about grafting.
Romans 11:17 (NASB) 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,
aa Grafting is joining a desirable stem/bud of one plant (the scion) onto the less desirable but hardier stem of another (the stock).
bb This gives a stronger root system than the scion normally would have had.
cc When they are grafted together it almost impossible to determine where one begins and the other ends . . . so it is with physical adoption.
c Adoption, in the mind of God is not bringing a child into your home and taking care of it only.
aa Adoption is grafting in of one who is not your own into yourself in such a way that it becomes impossible to extricate the scion from the stock.
bb This privilege of adoption was given to Israel. (Called out of obscurity and given a special place among all the peoples of the world, and gifted with a special land for eternity)
2 Promise #2: Glory
a God’s Glory, The Shekinah, first came into the earth when it dwelt among the Israelites in the wilderness.
aa The Shekinah is real, literal presence of God.
bb Exodus 40:34-35 (NASB) 34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
b This wasn’t a good feeling/special understanding.
aa This Shekinah prefaced/foreshadowed the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives today.
bb God’s presence was a special gift that was first given to the Jewish people.
3 Promise #3: The Covenants
a Covenants always contain promises (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David.)
aa Some of the covenants were conditional, some were eternal & unconditional.
bb One of those eternal/unconditional covenants is found in Genesis 12 & 15, God’s promised of the Land to Abraham & his descendants without stipulation.
b We live under a new covenant, but the new covenant doesn’t simply do away with the older covenants.
aa In fact, every covenant in the Bible is built upon the foundation of the previous covenant.
bb Ultimately they all point back to the promise God made in the Garden of Eden and then to the covenant with Abraham, and they point toward the redemptive work of Jesus as the means of our salvation.
4 Promise #4: The Law
a The bedrock of human government, irregardless of what liberals/atheists say, is built upon the Law of God.
aa Paul clearly said in Rom. 2.15, “the law [is] written in [our] hearts, [our] conscience also bearing witness.”
Romans 2:15 (NASB) 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,
bb Yes, the law of God is written on our hearts, but the written law came through the Jewish people. . . FIRST.
b While we do not live under the Law of Moshe (Moses) insofar as the sacrificial system as a means of our salvation or right standing before God, we do observe the law as a divine standard.
aa The law points out our shortcomings and our need for a Savior.
bb David called the Law:
Psalm 119:105 (NASB) 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
5 Promise #5: Service
a Albert Eldershiem, wrote, “The Temple & Its Ministry”
aa He described the five basic types of offerings mentioned in the OT: burnt, grain, peace, sin, & trespass. (Each one had it’s own instructions.)
bb Within each of these types of offerings were three different participants: priest, offering, & offeror.
cc Also, each offering had its own purpose, who it was offered to (priest, God, offeror), and who got what portion. (ie., Passover, they took the lamb home)
b When we take the sum total of what the types of sacrifices were offered, who got them . . . we get a collective view of Christ’s coming, sacrifice.
aa Jesus occupied the place of priest, offering, and offeror.
bb Ezekiel 45.17, is a Messianic prophecy that says,
Ezekiel 45:17 (NASB) 17 "It shall be the prince's part to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the drink offerings, at the feasts, on the new moons and on the sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he shall provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel."
cc The law & the sacrificial system pointed to the total depravity of man and the impossibility of performing enough works to redeem ourselves.
dd Thank God Jesus did the service He did on Calvary.
6 Promise #6: Promises
a Earlier, I mentioned how covenants contained promises that God made.
aa The promises were always for “you and your descendants”.
Genesis 17:7 (NASB) 7 "I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
bb The Jewish people were the first inheritors of God’s promises.
cc Some of those promises were: 1. Great nation, 2. Receive perpetual ownership of the all the land from Egypt to the Euphrates, 3. They would be God’s “special possession” and a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
b The greatest promise was the hope of a coming Messiah and day when God Himself would rule as King over Israel.
c These promises have held together the Jewish people through trials, tribulation, persecution, and pain.
7 Promise #7: Christ
a Two of the Gospels establish the lineage of Christ: Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage from Abraham forward & Luke traces Jesus’ lineage all the way back to Adam.
aa All the power hitters are in Jesus’ family tree: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Boaz, David, Solomon, & Josiah.
bb Jesus was Jewish to His core!
b The Jews not only had the Messiah come through them but also that Messiah came to them.
aa John tells us that Messiah “came to His own,” but, unimaginable, “His own did not receive Him”.
John 1:11 (NASB) 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
bb He came to them first, but they did not embrace Him.
B Israel is a privileged child that enjoys . . .
1 Adoption, Glory, Covenants, The Law, Service, Promises, & Christ.
2 God chose them to be His particular people . . . isn’t that reason enough to love them?
T.S.: With their privilege also comes a tremendous burden, responsibility.
II The Unimaginable Burden
A Romans 11:1 (NKJV) 1 I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
1 Later in this passage, we do read a few verse that are some of the saddest words in the Bible.
a Romans 11:7-8 (NASB) 7 What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; 8 just as it is written, "GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY."
aa The centuries of waiting & pouring over the Torah, all the Rabbinic commentaries and the commentaries about the commentaries . . . looking for clues about their precious Messiah were lost on them. “They have not obtained what they seek,” says paul, but others have obtained it in their stead.
bb Paul even uses the words of Moses & King David by quoting Deut. 29.4, and their studies became a “snare and a trap, a stumbling block and recompense to the.”
Deuteronomy 29:4 (NASB) 4 "Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.
Romans 11:9 (NASB) 9 And David says, "LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM.
Psalm 69:22 (NASB) 22 May their table before them become a snare; And when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
b We are told Israel is a blind & deaf nation, except for a very small elect group . . . because they rejected their Messiah.
2 I suggest that even their “blind & deaf” condition is God’s sovereign purpose.
a I’ve heard people say that the church has replaced Israel as God’s chosen people or that the Jewish people are beyond hope . . . don’t dare believe a word of that!
aa Paul goes on to say, “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not!”
bb God does not leave His chosen ones without hope!
b Paul tells us that not only will Jews not fall away completely but also that by their sins salvation has come to the Gentiles.
Romans 11:11-12 (NASB) 11 I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. 12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!
aa Yep, you read it right! Their rejection is the means of the world’s reconciliation.
bb The Lord came to the Jew first, but what they rejected we scoop up! (The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!)
c The church needs to recognize that because the Jews rejected Jesus we got saved!
aa How much more their fulness (reward)?
bb The Word of God says their reward will be great, even in spite of them rejecting Messiah the first time around!
B Israel has been standing alone against annihilation & captivity from the Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans, Nazis, and Communists for thousands of years . . . and yet, they survive. Why?
1 Jeremiah 31:34-37 (NASB) 34 "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." 35 Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: 36 "If this fixed order departs From before Me," declares the LORD, "Then the offspring of Israel also will cease From being a nation before Me forever." 37 Thus says the LORD, "If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel For all that they have done," declares the LORD.
a God says the only way for the Jews to cease being not only a nation, but also His chosen people is if the sun goes dim, the stars fade, the ocean waves no longer billow, the heavens become measurable, and the earth literally burned away.
aa The secret to Israel’s survival is God!
bb His love for the people and the Land is an everlasting love!
b The God who loves them, loves us!
2 When the Arabs attacked the Jews in 1948, Secretary of State George Marshall said, “Within ten maximum fifteen days, not a single Jew will be alive in Palestine.” WRONG.
a In 1967 Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Sudan, and members of the PLO and Arab Expeditionary Forces attacked the Jewish state.
aa In 6 days, with Israel being outnumbered 10 to 1, won the war.
bb Israel lost less than 800 soldiers, while the opposing armies lost approximately 17,000.
b In 1973 Egypt attacked Israel across the Sinai Peninsula, and by the end of that conflict, the IDF had advanced within 60 miles of Cairo!
III There is a Future Hope
A Many accuse me of teaching too much on this subject, but I believe that is due to Anti-Semitism and anger to the Jews for rejecting Jesus, thus playing a major role in His crucifixion.
1 Read Paul’s words one more time,
Romans 11:25-26 (NASB) 25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."
a The fullness of the Gentiles is the Rapture!!!
aa After the Rapture, the scales will fall from the Jews eyes, in the middle of the great/final holocaust, Israel will receive her Messiah.
bb Zechariah (12.9-14.20) describes that day when Jesus will set foot on the Mount of Olives and break it in two.
cc Night will be like day and Jesus will utterly destroy the nations that attack Jerusalem, and afterwards He will pour out on the House of David and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace & supplication.
b They shall behold the One they pierced and will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child.
aa Zechariah describes it this way,
Zechariah 13:6 (NASB) 6 "And one will say to him, 'What are these wounds between your arms?' Then he will say, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'
bb They will see Him for who He is and they will worship Him.
2 The valley of dry bones shall come to life as a vast army of evangelist, with the mark of the cross on their foreheads, as a witness to the world.
a The nations who opposed them are destroyed.
b According to Matthew 25, then all the nations will be judged according to how they treated Israel.
c Yes, the children of Abraham will survive it all to welcome back Jesus as the Bridegroom of the Church and the Messiah of Israel.
B What does all these mean to the church? Christian?
1 If you are in Christ, all of the blessings apply to you.
a Just as God chose Israel, not based upon their works/righteousness/goodness, He didn’t chose you because you were good either.
aa You cannot earn God’s love by being good.
bb Furthermore, you cannot be so stubborn/stiff-necked to lose God’s love.
cc He sets His love on you for the sake of His Son.
b Just as the Land belonged to Israel before there was an “Israel”; your salvation didn’t come to you the moment you were “saved.”
aa You were saved from the foundation of the world.
bb Because of your acceptance of Christ, you have become an heir with Abraham. How?
2 ADOPTION!!!
a God has graphed you into His family!
aa You have received His presence (Glory), the Holy Spirit.
bb You are now partakers of the promises of His covenants.
cc This change makes you able to love His law, mimic the service shown to you by making yourself a living sacrifice so that you can receive not only the promises of the past but also those of the future as well.
b Just like Matthew didn’t hide the Gentiles & harlots who were in the lineage of Christ, you have been embraced by God.
aa You don’t have to hide who you are, for God has made you a new creation.
bb Who you were is not who you are!!
Conclusion:
A Israel’s survival is not just a mystery of a nation/people . . . it’s also a picture of Jesus in you.
1 Because He has chosen you . . . you too will live and not die!
a Your life has a purpose, meaning, significance.
b God made you, chose you for salvation from the foundation of the world, and no amount of persecution, tribulation, or trial will snatch you out of His hand.
2 In Christ you are a child of the King— princes and princesses, royal priests and heirs to all that God has given you. (Don’t forfeit your privileges!)
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Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
