The Restoration and Conversion of Israel

By Rev. Geo. A.B. Chamberlain, M.A.

Vicar of Hook, Yorks.

Note: Robert E. Patenaude does not necessarily endorse every expression in this article.

FORWARD

It is a matter of congratulation that in dealing with the subject such as the above, there is no need, as far as the readers of Things to Come are concerned, to dwell upon the great importance of the prophetic Scriptures. In fact, no one would spend valuable time reading that excellent paper, did they not attach some importance, however little, to the prophetic parts of Holy Writ; where not only is it "A Journal of Biblical Literature" as the sub-title announces, but also of "Biblical Literature with special Reference to Prophetic Truth." So one feels on safe acceptable ground. It is, therefore, with confidence, and with humble reliance on the Divine guidance, that the writer would bring to the notice of readers the many prophecies of Scripture relating to this truly absorbing subject.

While fully knowing that, in the nature of things, the prophecies of God's future dealing with Israel have often been alluded to, and dwelt upon in Things to Come, yet the writer is not aware that these have appeared in a consecutive series of articles dealing exclusively with this subject; so he asks the readers to bear with him while he endeavors, with humble reliance on the Holy Spirit's teaching, to call attention to the numerous testimonies we have in the Word, of God's gracious intentions with regard to the chosen seed. And if these considerations were at all worthy of dedication, he would set them apart to the revered memory of that truly learned servant of God, Dr. Bollinger, the Founder of this journal; the profound student and erudite scholar in the deep things of God; to whom all readers of Things to Come owe so much light on the way of Life. In

THE SUBJECT PROPOSED

With regard to the title of these articles, a word or two may not be deemed a miss.

In the first place, the articles will deal with the Restoration, then Conversion, not Conversion and subsequent Restoration. We call particular attention to this, because in time past--we do not think it has many adherents now--some students of the Word, taking certain passages which seem to imply that Conversion will precede Restoration, insisted that such would be the order of events.

We do not wish to anticipate, by referring to the many Scriptures which assure us of Restoration quite prior to, if not apart from, Conversion, as such will be considered in their proper place.

In the second place, we're dealing with the Restoration and Conversion of Israel, all Israel, that is the whole Twelve Tribes, not only with the two, Judah and Benjamin--nor with the ten miscalled by some "the lost tribes"--but with Judah and Israel--the Twelve Tribes.

There is no need to take up time and referring in detail to the past history of the 10 Drives Tribes, or House of Israel. We all know that these tribes were carried away captive by a Shalmaneser King of Assyria: "Then the King of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the King of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and in Habor by the river of Gozan in the cities of the Medes" (2 Kgs. 17.5, 6). AND THEY HAVE NEVER RETURNED. When we say they have never returned, we mean, in any representative number.

THE TEN TRIBES

Now, the Ten Tribes were carried away in B.C. 611. But we must remember that, from the time of severance of the house of Israel from the house of Judah in the days of Rehoboam, not only "the priests and Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts" (2 Chronicles 11. 13), but "after them out of ALL the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel, came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers" (v. 16).

This would lead to the fraternizing of the members of the Ten Tribes of Israel with the Two Tribes of Judah; and so when the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were carried captive to Babylon in the years 489 and 477 B.C., such members of the Ten Tribes of Israel as have settled among the Two Tribes of Judah would share their fate. So likewise on the return of the representatives of the Two Tribes after the Babylonian captivity, some members of the Ten Tribes returned with them, but certainly not a representative number.

And though we read in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah the terms "People of Israel" (Ezra 2.2); "Israel" (Ezra 2.59, 3.11; Neh. 7.61, 10.10, 13.3); "all Israel" (Ezra 2.70, 10.5; Neh. 7.73): though 1 Chron. 9.2 speaks of "the Israelites" as "first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions, in their cities," that is, after the return from Babylon (see Note in loco in "Companion Bible," and particularly notice the statement "called 'Israel' although only the return of Judah and Benjamin"): though we read in verse 3 that members of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were among those who returned: and though it is true that about sixty-eight years after Zerubbabel's arrival in Judea, a small body of Israelites reached Jerusalem under Ezra: STILL we maintain that the Ten Tribes of Israel as distinct from Judah, have never returned to their land in any national or representative number.

Perhaps a reference to secular history in support of our contention may not be thought out of place, though we are reluctant to call in the "secular arm" when dealing with the truths of God's Word. Josephus, speaking of the supplementary return under Ezra, referred to above, says: "So Ezra read the epistle at Babylon to those Jews that were there; but he kept the epistle itself, and sent a copy of it to all those of his own nation that were in Media; and when these Jews had understood what piety King [Xerxes] had towards God, and what kindness he had for Esdras, they were all greatly pleased, nay, many of them took their effects with them and came to Babylon, as very desirous of going to Jerusalem; but then the entire body of that people remained in that country (Media); wherefore there are but two Tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the Ten Tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are in immense multitude, and not to be reckoned by numbers" (Antiq. B. 11, C5, sec. 2).

The fact that a representative number of the House of Israel did not return from Babylon with the representatives of the House of Judah has been insisted on at some length, because there have been, and doubtless are even now, those who would maintain that those Scriptures which prophesy of the Restoration and Conversion of the whole Twelve Tribes, found their fulfillment at the return from Babylon. But such, we trust to prove, is not the case; and that we look for the return of all the tribes of Israel to their own land in the future, and their subsequent conversion to Messiah "according to the Scriptures."

THREE QUESTIONS

Now there are three questions which naturally suggests themselves, when we treat of God's future dealings with Is chosen people Israel. They are:

(1) Did God promise to the fathers of the Israelites a land, and also this land to their descendents?

(2) If so, was this land to be held only for a time, or in perpetuity:

(3) What are the reasons for looking for a future restoration?

As regards the first (1) we would merely direct attention to the promise solemnly made by the Almighty to the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To Abraham (or Abram as he was then called) was the promise first made when he was in Canaan:

"Lift up now thine eye, and look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward, for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever . . . Arise, walk through the land in the length of it, and in the breadth of it; for I will give it under thee" (Gen. 13. 14, 15, 17).

And this promise was solemnly repeated as regards the patriarch himself: "I am JEHOVAH that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to GIVE thee this land to inherit" (ch. 15. 7). And also as regards his seed by covenant: "In the same day the Lord made a COVENANT with Abram, saying,' Unto thy seed have I given this land . . .'" (v. 18).

And yet a third time Jehovah assures Abram the He will give the land, not only to him but to his seed after him: "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession: and I will be their God" (Gen. 17.8).

This threefold promise to Abraham is confirmed to Isaac: "Sojourn in this land, and I will be with me, and will bless thee; were under the and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath (see chap. 15) which I swore unto Abraham thy father" (Gen. 26.3).

And also to Jacob: "I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac, the land whereon thou liest, to THEE will I give it and to THY SEED" (Genesis 28.13).

So we see the promise of the land was made for the three patriarchs, not only that they should possess it (this promise implies Resurrection for they have never yet held the land), but to their descendents also. And that not only for a time, but--as suggested by question (2)--for "an everlasting possession" (chap 17. 8), and "forever" (chap. 13.15). See also Gen. 48.4; Ex. 32.13; Josh. 14.9; Isa. 60.21; Jer. 7.7; 25. 5 in this connection.

If it be urged, as it might be by some, that the dispersion of the Israelites is a sign that the Almighty has abrogated His promise of everlasting possession, we would reply that not only has He not done so, but that the dispersion is in itself one of our most potent reasons for believing that there shall be a future restoration of His people; seeing that the "gifts and calling of God are without repentance"; seeing that the former tenure of the land was conditional on obedience (Deut. 28.1,15, 64, etc., among many other passages of Scripture); and seeing that that conditional tenure of the land had absolutely nothing to do with the promise of occupancy and possession of the land made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Such promises, as we have seen, were quite unconditional, dependent on no personal merit, but were of God's absolute graciousness and bounty. And this brings us to our other point:----

(3): What specific reasons have we for looking to a future restoration for Israel?

(One) The unconditional promises of God, already dwelt upon, and the fulfillment of many prophecies of Scripture. It is an axiom of prophetical interpretation that any foretold event or events not having already received fulfillment, must point to fulfillment in the future. And this axiom we shall apply when we consider the numerous prophecies dealing with Restoration

(Two) The occupancy of the land. Israel has never yet possessed, in its entirety, the land promised to Abraham in Gen. 15.18, namely, "from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the River Euphrates."

"The river of Egypt." We find this appellation seven times in the Old Testament----in Gen. 15.18; Num. 34. 5; Josh. 15.4, 47; 1 Kgs. 18.65; 2 Kgs. 24.7; and Isa. 27.12, "the stream of Egypt;" and in all these places the original word is nachal, a word which means a torrent or stream, a winter stream, if you like, flowing with some rapidity, but flowing only at seasons, in the rainy season, and dry at other times. Such, doubtless, was the stream at the extreme south of Palestine, dividing Egypt from Palestine, and entering the Mediterranean, or Great Sea at Rhinocorura. In fact, the Septuagint version renders "the stream of Egypt" in Isaiah 27.12, by Rhinocorura, a city of Palestine. Syria, build on the borders of the desert which separates that country from Egypt, it has been supposed to denote a stream or torrent near the city. (See Doyly & Mant, and published maps).

But this is not the river of Egypt of Gen. 15:18; the word is not nachal, a torrent, but nahar, a river, and undoubtedly refers to the Nile, which manifestly was and is the River of Egypt. See also note in Companion Bible on Numbers 34.5.

So taking the "River of Egypt," the Nile, as our South Western boundary, instead of a small stretch of land the size of Wales, or two or three English counties, we have a vast territory of some 300,000 square miles, a land fully answering the description of "a good land and large." Such is the futue possession of God's people Israel, solemnly secured to them by the oath of the Most High.

(3) A third reason for looking forward to a future ingathering of Israel is the description given us as to the location of the tribes in Ezekiel's forty-eighth chapter. Of course, we know that this chapter, as the seven previous chapters, are a description of millennial times; but they furnish a strong reason for expecting a future Restoration, for there must of necessity be a representative number of each tribe mentioned, in order to take up and occupy the portion of land assigned to them. The order of occupancy is quite different to that of the past, given for instance in Joshua (chs. 13---21), and has there has never, up to the present time, been such an allotment as the one described in Eze. 48, we confidently look forward to such taking place in the future.

(4) The union of the House of Judah with the House of Israel is another tangible proof for future Restoration. Since the days of Rehoboam son of Solomon, when Jeroboam the son of need that conspired, and through off allegiance to the Royal House of Judah, never have the two houses been united. That some pious members of the House of Israel, valuing the pure worship of Jehovah before earthly advantages, through in their lot the children of Judah and Benjamin, we have already seen. But this did not entail union of the two separated kingdoms, and we are assured, as we shall see in due course that this union must take place in the future.

(5) And lastly, before bringing this introductory article to a close, may not the "breadth and the length and depth and height" of the love of Jehovah for his people cause us to expect some grand and glorious things for them in the future? Well may the prophet, speaking of them exclusively exclaim: "For he that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of His eye" (Zech. 2. 8). Well may the Apostle ask "I say then, hath God cast away His people?" And reply to his own question, in effect, "Perish the thought!" (Rom. 11.1).

But how sure and full of love are the words of Jehovah? "Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands" (Isa. 49.16). And again "Thus saith Jehovah, Which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; Jehovah of Tsebahoth is His name: IF ('im, emphatic, to dispel all doubt) those ordinances depart from before Me saith Jehovah, then the seed of Israel shall cease from being a nation before Me forever. Thus saith Jehovah----IF ('im) heaven alone can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith Jehovah" (Jer. 31.35-37) and again, "Thus saith Jehovah----IF ('im) My Covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: FOR I WILL CAUSE THEIR CAPTIVITY TO RETURN, and have mercy on them" (Jer. 33.25, 26).

And yet again: "For this is as the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee" (Isa. 54.10).

Surely a people that has had such gracious and exceeding precious promises made to them, however sad their past and present state may be, have a glorious future before then, and from being "lo-ammi, not my people," shall be, "Israel my Glory," and "Sons of the Living God."

----------------------------------------------

So many are the "divers portions" in which "God in time past spake unto the fathers by the prophets" with regard to the future Restoration and Conversion of their descendents, that it is somewhat perplexing to know exactly where to begin our exploration of this rich treasure-house of God's revelation. Perhaps the best course would be to take the prophets in their chronological order, and see what each has to tell us in connection the future dealings with the chosen seed. So we begin with

I. THE TESTIMONY OF AMOS.

"The words . . . Which he saw concerning Israel" were given to him "in the days of Uzziah King of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash King of Israel, two years before the earthquake," B.C. 689-687. He is the earliest prophet, and the burden of his "words" is the unfaithfulness of the Ten Tribes of Israel. His book closes, however, with some gracious promises of Jehovah and we may take them as an introduction to the whole of our subject.

It may be as well here to draw the reader's attention to the fact that predictions do not always stand in the order of their fulfillment, and it is well to remember this when considering the various passages connected with our theme. At first glance, for instance, it would seem, from Amos 9.12, that spiritual privileges were to be restored to Israel before their return to their own land (v. 14); in other words, that Conversion is prior to, and introductory to Restoration. But we shall see from other Scriptures that this is not so, and verse 12 supports our claim that Restoration must precede, for it is assuredly obvious that "the captivity of My people of Israel" must have been "brought again" ere they can "possess the remnant of Edom and of all the heathen that are called by My Name" (v. 12).

Now if we turn to the passage, Amos 9.11-15, we have certain promises direct from God; and promises which have never yet received fulfillment; and therefore the fulfillment of which is to be still looked for.

(1) "And I will bring again the captivity of My people of Israel,

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" (v. 14).

(2) And not only is this gracious promise of restoration made to them, but the land is promised to them in perpetuity, for

"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,

saith the LORD thy God" (v. 15).

(3) And this, again, is followed by the promise of spiritual blessing in privileges:

"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:

"That [to the end that, with this object in view,] they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen which are called by My name,

saith the LORD that do at this" (vv. 11, 12).

Taking, therefore, the whole passage, we have promised:

(1) Restoration (v. 14),

(2) Perpetual tenure of the land (v. 15),

(3) The renewal of spiritual privileges (v. 11),

(4) The possession of Edom and the nations (v. 12),

(5) Great temporal blessings (v. 13).

And all this IN THE FUTURE.

We now pass on to

II. THE TESTIMONY OF HOSEA.

"The word of the Lord . . . came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, Kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, King of Israel" (ch. 1.1). He began to prophesy in B.C. 689, and was contemporary with Amos, Isaiah, and Micah. He was a prophet to the Ten Tribes; and it is important that we bear this in mind, for if we find certain prophecies in his book concerning the return and conversion of those tribes, and know, as we certainly do, that such return and conversion have never yet taken place, we have a sure and certain foundation for looking for those important events in the future. And such we have assuredly reason to anticipate.

At the outset, it is interesting to note how the two houses or kingdoms of Israel and Judah are regarded as distinct and separate. "Though about Israel play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend" (four. 15); "Therefore shall Israel and Jeffrey M fall in their iniquity: Judah also shall fall with them" (five. Five); (Whenever freedom saw his sickness, and Judah his wound" (five. 13); "0F freedom, what shall I do want to be? What shall I do under the?" (Six. For). See also five. 14; 10. 11; 11. 12; 12. To. And let us note also that F freedom is used synonymously for Israel (six. 10; 11. Eight); and Samaria synonymously for Israel or F freedom (7.1; 10.6, seven).

The Book itself deals at length with the backsliding step-nakedness of the Ten Tribes. "The prophet had warnings for Judah also, as well as promises of future blessings" ("C.B." page 1208).

It is the first three chapters to which we would particularly call attention. Before, however, we consider these, there are two passages in the latter portion of the book, at which we ought to look.

"Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for He hath torn, and He will heal us: He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; in the third day He will raise us up; and we will live in His sight" (6.1, 2).

We know from such passages as Daniel 12.1, 2 and Ezekiel 37, that resurrection and restoration are looked upon as closely connected; by some, as identical. The early fathers applied Ezekiel's 37th chapter to a literal resurrection it is also customary with the prophets thus to join together a figurative and a literal resurrection (Dan. 12.1, 2).

Assuredly in the latter of the verses quoted we have a wonderful prediction that the third day "He will raise us (i.e. Israel) up"; first, in the Restoration of Israel in the third of those thousand years (2 Peter 3.8), which have elapsed since their captivity, B.C. 611. Also there may be a reference to the resurrection of our Lord on the third day, which is nowhere else in the Old Testament expressly predicted. And the grand and glorious truth of the final victory over death and the grave is still further foretold in ch. 13.14: "I will ransom them from the power of the grave (sheol): I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues, Ò grave (sheol) I will be thy destruction."

It is certainly impossible in the face of this declaration to limit the passage to Restoration. The belief of the Israelites generally in the resurrection; the use made of the latter part of the verse by the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 15.55): "O death, where is thy sting? O grave (hades) where is thy victory?" preclude it. It is assuredly a great declaration of victory over death and gravedom, turned into a shout of triumph by the inspired apostle, and finding accomplishment when "death shall be swallowed up in victory"; when "death and hell (hades-sheol, the power of the grave) shall be cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20.14).

Let us now look at certain passages in the first three chapters. The terrible state of apostasy and departure from the living God is described by the "wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms" (1.2). Together they depict a truly awful state of affairs, "for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD" (1.2).

Gomer, the adulterous wife*, whom the prophet is commanded to marry (1.2) becomes the mother of Jezreel, a name having two meanings (1) May God scatter (Jer. 31.10); and (2) May God sow (Zech. 10.9). For historical reference to Jezreel----the place----see 1, 4, 2 Kings 9.22-37.

After Jezreel Gomer bears a daughter, 'Lo-ruhammah (not compassionated), so called by the direct command of God, for "I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, but I will utterly take them away" (1.6). Then a son is born. "Call his name Lo-ammi, for ye are not My people, and I will not be your God" (v. 9).

Taking the four names together, Gomer, Jezreel, Lo-ruhammah and Lo-ammi, we come to this point, "the measure of sin and apostasy is full; I will scatter them (the Ten Tribes); I will not have compassion on them, and they shall not be My people." And this exactly describes the state of Israel at the present time, whatever the declaration of 3.4, "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a King and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, without an image, and without ephod, and without a teraphim" may mean. It has been well said, "whatever may be the peculiar force of the several words here employed, the object of the prediction seems to be the utter dissolution of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah both ecclesiastically and politically."

But this state of things shall not always prevail, for "Afterward (no intimation of the length of time intervening) shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days;" from which we learn that not only shall the children of Israel, as a whole, RETURN, but they "shall seek the Lord their God," and this not only in penitence as described in Zechariah 12.10-14, but with acceptable worship. For all that is implied by the phrase, "seek the LORD their God," see Deut. 4.29; 1 Chronicles 16.10, 11; Psalms 105.3, 4; 2 Chronicles 12.14; 14.4; 15.12, 13, and many other passages.

They shall also seek "David their king." Jeremiah tells us the same thing; "they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them" (30.9). Ezekiel also tells us "I will set up one shepherd over them, My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd" (34.23). So in v. 24, "My servant David a prince among them," and 37.24, "And David My servant shall be king over them"; v. 25 . . . "And My servant David shall be their prince forever." From all which passages we gather that a certain one here named David shall rule over the restored and converted tribes.

Just as David, the son of Jesse, ruled in time past over the united Israel, so this David in like manner shall reign over the whole twelve tribes when they once more become united. Without questioning that David, Israel's former King, true type of Messiah, shall again be raised up, and may act as Messiah's vicegerent, have we not in these passages an assurance that the true David, the "Beloved" of God, "My beloved Son," shall in that day rule first and foremost over the united houses of Judah and Israel, according to the promise, Luke 1.32. "And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of His father David, and he shall rule over the house of Jacob forever (eis tous aionas) and of his kingdom there shall be no end"?

But we are further told that the children of Israel "shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days," a phrase which we may at once take as referring to the latter part of the Christian Dispensation. The expression "latter days" occurs 14 times in the Old Testament, Gen. 49.1. ("last days"); Num. 24.14; Deut. 4.30; 31.29; Isa. 2.2 ("last"); Jer. 23.20; 30.24; 8.47; 49.39; Ezek. 38.16; Dan. 2.38; 10.14; Hos. 3.5; Mic. 4.1 ("last"). "A study of them will show that the prophecy (Gen. 49.1), and "blessing" (Gen. 49.28), extends to, and embraces the days of Messiah, and His first and second advents" ("C. B." Notes on Gen. 49.1). The Septuagint rendering of this phrase connects it with (and shows it is synonymous with) the similar expressions in the New Testament, 1 Tim. 4.1; 2 Tim. 3.1; 1 Pet. 1.20; 2 Pet. 3.3; Jude 18; Heb. 1.2 and 1 Jn. 2.18. As all these referred to what is commonly designated the Christian Dispensation, and as regards the fulfillment of certain events connected with Israel to the latter part of that dispensation, we look for it as still future. So all that is told us in Hosea 3.5 has not yet taken place, and if we wish to know what events lead to the grand consummation of acceptance with God the Ten Tribes we must look carefully in Hosea 2. The first 13 versus speak of God's indignation with, and punishment of the Ten Tribes, for their unfaithfulness. But at verse 14 the prospect brightens. "Therefore" (rather ought this to be "nevertheless" or "not withstanding") "behold I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably under her." What wilderness? Ezekiel answers the query: "I will bring you into the wilderness of the people and there will I plead with you face-to-face" (20.35). Does this not infer that it is while she is in a state of dispersion as a nation that God will "' speak comfortably unto' and' plead face-to-face' with Israel"; that in the land or lands of dispersion she shall find place for repentance and "the valley of Achor for a door of hope," and then the "prisoners of Hope" shall turn to the stronghold (Zech. 9.12). (For reference to the valley of Achor as a locality see Joshua 7).

In verses 19 and 20 Hosea's manner of predicting the restoration and conversion of Israel is very remarkable. It is under the figure of betrothal: "I will betroth thee unto Me for ever, yea I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee undo Me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know the LORD." Now among the Hebrews a damsel betrothed and waiting for her husband was accounted as already a wife, and so Hosea depicts the Ten Tribes as set apart, abiding many days for Jehovah preparatory to being received into closer spiritual relationship. But after betrothal, marriage. "And it shall be at that day saith the Lord that thou shalt call me Ishi (my husband), and thou shall call me no more Baali (my Lord)."

Temporal blessings are connected with restoration and reconciliation, as we saw they were in Amos 7.13. Emphasizing the meaning of Jezreel as "whom God soweth," Jehovah goes on to say: "I will sow her unto Me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy, and I will say unto them which were not My people, "Thou art My people, and they shall say, Thou art my God." (See quotation of part of this verse by Paul in Romans 9.26 and by Peter in 1 Peter 2.10). Thus Lo-ruhammah (not pitied) becomes Ruhammah (pitied), and Lo-ammi (not My people) becomes Ammi (My people). A great and glorious consummation. The marriage of the Lamb is come, His wife hath made herself ready" (Revelation 19.7).

------------------------------------------------

Note on chapter 1.1 "I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, but will utterly take them away. But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God. A prediction having reference to Israel's first banishment which was final, while Judah was not, but he was to return from it, and undergo a second." The word od here translated "no more" is of limitable meaning; as if to say, "I will not continue to have mercy."

*Some students do not find in chapters 1 to 3 so many biographical particulars as this interpretation allows; while others suggest a figurative meaning for some of the critical passages.

------------------------------------------------

II. THE TESTIMONY OF HOSEA (continued).

Finally, let us glance at Hosea 1.10, 11. Here, after stating that Israel is not His people, God promises a future great increase of the nation, "yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea," in which we see a direct reference to the natural seed, for it will be remembered that the Almighty promised Abraham a double line of descendents, a natural seed is represented by the sand of the sea, and a spiritual seed represented by the stars of heaven (Genesis 22.17). Here we have to do with the natural seed. But not only is the multiplicity of posterity assured, it is still further asserted the place of their rejection shall at some future time be the scene of their acceptance. "In the place," pointing not to the substitution but to locality; not "instead of" but "in that very place---their---where you were rejected, you shall be received into favour." Out of some two dozen references given by Cruden under the heading "in the place" only one, namely, Genesis 50.19, "Joseph said, they are not, I am in the place of God," Ken this phrase be taken to mean "instead of." All the others refer to locality, and as regards this special reference, supports the view that as it was when Israel was still in the land they were rejected as the people of God, so in the future it will be in the same land that they will be fully received into favour.

Verse 13 goes still further. It tells us that "the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together" in public assembly, that the reason of this public concourse shall be to "appoint themselves and head." Who is this? Certainly it cannot refer to Zerubbabel, for he only led the representative children of Judah to their own land after the Babylonian captivity; for he was only a type by anticipation of the greater Leader, Messiah-Jesus, who in the future both Judah and Israel, as a united people, shall acclaim and proclaim as one and only Head---cp. Ezekiel 37.22; Zechariah 14.9. In order to do this, "they shall come up out of the land" not necessarily the land of their dispersion, but rather the land of their restoration.

Thus we have a picture of representatives of the tribes, all the tribes, going up out of the land to gathered together in one place, Jerusalem. For it is of Jerusalem in another place we read: "Wither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord," Psalm 122.4. Assuredly "great shall be the day of Jezreel." As Bishop Horsley remarks quote "Great and happy shall be the day when the holy seed of both branches of the natural Israel shall be publicly acknowledged of their God, united under one Head, there Team Messiah, and restored to the possession of the promised land, and to a situation of high pre-eminence among the kingdoms of the earth (Horsley: "Hosea," p. 4).*

*See note on p. 22, February number.

III. THE TESTIMONY OF ISAIAH

We should naturally expect that the "Evangelical Prophet," as he has been so happily styled, would be rich in predictions of Restoration and Conversion. And such we find to be the case; and not only so, for we have many prophecies and descriptions of the time when Jehovah Himself "judges among the nations," and when the glorious King "shall reign and Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously," over a renewed earth during a millennium of righteous rule, when there shall be universal peace among men and among beasts, when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." It is a grand and splendid Book, this of Isaiah. Well may Jerome have explained: "His book is not a prophecy but a Gospel," so full is it of Messianic hopes. And it is in connection with these that we find in this book so many Divine titles. By no means the least interesting is that of

BRANCH.

This title is given to Messiah into prophecies of Isaiah, two of Jeremiah, and to Zechariah, all connected with the "hope of Israel" in restoration. It is only with the two in Isaiah that we are immediately concerned, as the other four will, please God, he considered in their proper place. But quite independently of their special context, we see that four out of the six give us some aspect of Messiah's relationship to Jehovah as depicted in the For Gospels. Thus:

Jer. 23.5 speaks of Messiah as "a righteous Branch" and "a King that shall reign and prosper"; in this connecting Him with the Gospel of Matthew which is pre-eminently that of "the King of the Jews."

Zech. 3.8 says: "I will bring forth my Servant the Branch"; and Mark places the Lord Jesus before us as the ideal Servant.

Zech. 6.12 presents Jehovah's Man. "Behold the Man whose name is the Branch"; and Luke puts Him before us as the ideal Man.

Isaiah 4.2 declares: "in that day shall Jehovah is Branch be beautiful and glorious"; and it is John's Gospel that depicts our Blessed Lord as what He is, absolutely and intrinsically Divine.

We find all this brought out at greater length and in much fuller detail in the Companion Bible, page 1304. Before passing on, we would call attention to the word translated Branch. It is "Tsemach," occurring twelve times in the Old Testament, and in the passages here quoted referring especially to Messiah. It means a sprout from the root, not from a branch. "Tsemach is also the name of the brightest star in the Zodiac sign Virgo." (C.B., note Jeremiah 23.5). This is most interesting, and in this connection full of meaning, but see Dr. Bullinger's "Witness of the Stars" (pp. 31-34) for further details.

Now, before we look at any Restoration Scriptures in Isaiah, it is well to note when "the vision" and "word" of the Lord came to him, and concerning whom they came. His prophecy begins B.C. 649, and closes B.C. 588. He was partly contemporary with Hosea, with Micah, and with Nahum. As we have seen that Amos and Hosea spoke to the Ten Tribes of Israel, the northern kingdom, so Isaiah's "vision" and "word" was concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Here we have a prophet speaking to the Tribe of Judah (and by inference to Benjamin also), and speaking before the 70 years' captivity in Babylon of those tribes. And these two facts in some minds have raised the question whether the prophecies of restoration and future blessing were not fulfilled at the return from Babylon. Our answer is that never have the glorious things predicted by the prophet been fulfilled, that they certainly were not so at the return from Babylon (really much contrary to the case) and that this, together with the fact that the northern kingdom of Israel is mentioned in conjunction with Judah, points, as we show in our Introduction, to a future fulfillment.

We now turn to to the prophecies concerning God's future plan for Is chosen people Israel. They are both connected with the title of Branch.

"In that day shall the Branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious (margin: "beauty and glory").

And the fruit of the earth excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel" (4.2).

From which passage we learn that the Branch, i.e., the Messiah, shall be a glorious and beautiful site for Judah. "Thine eyes shall behold the King His beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off (lit., Far-stretching, not limited in space as now, but of greater extension). By this statement that in that day the Branch of the Lord shall be "beauty and glory," surely we are to understand that at the conversion of the returned Jews, Messiah will shine forth to them as one much desired: "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in Your salvation" (25.9). This will be "in that day," namely "when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion" (v. 12), and when He shall be Beauty and Glory to them who are escaped of Israel. Escaped from what? Doubtless from the Great Tribulation. This will be the time of "Jacob's trouble." This will be that fearful time of punishment and judgment of which the Master said: "For then shall be Great Tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matthew 24.21). But, we are assured, Jacob "shall be saved out of it"; his seed, the servants of God, shall be sealed in their foreheads, and after they have escaped shall doubtless join in that ascription of praise and glory: "Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God for ever and ever, Amen."

We turn now to Chapter 11. Like the last prophecy considered, this has to do with Branch. But here the original word is not Tsemach but Netser, meaning a shoot or scion. It is a declaration that Messiah is the offspring of Jesse by direct lineage, the He may be regarded as David in relation to His chosen Seed, "And there shall come forth a ROD out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." And then follows a beautiful description of the profound holiness of Messiah, and His justice and His judgment (vv. 2-5), immediately followed by a picture of peace in the animal world, anticipatory to what is told us in verses 11-16; another instance of the foretelling of events not standing in the same order as their fulfillment. Verse 10 speaks again of the Root of Jesse: "In that day there shall be a Root of Jesse which shall stand for an ensign of the people (peoples): two IT shall the Gentiles seek, and His rest shall be glorious." We see in this chapter, not only a prophecy of the restoration of Israel, but also allusion to the nations of the world. The nations are to be blessed with Israel and through Israel: "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed," was God's promise to Abraham, and so again and again in prophecy we find Israel and the nations connected and blessing. Especially is this so in Isaiah: "And it shall come to pass in that day" (i.e., the day of the Root of Jesse), that the Lord shall set His hand the second time to recover the remnant of His people which shall be left from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from and from the islands of the sea" (v. 11). In which verse we note the following particulars:

(1) the Lord shall set His hand the second time. Then there must have been a "first-time" recovery. And this "second" must refer either to the return from Babylon or a subsequent return. That it cannot refer to the "bringing again" of the Babylonish captivity is evident from the list of countries mentioned in the verse. That return was from Babylon, and did not include Assyria, to which country the Two Tribes were never carried. So this "second time," taking the first recovery to referred to deliverance from Egypt, must be subsequent to (and quite independent of) the return from Babylon. It is still in the future.

(2) then a word as to remnant. It is generally taken for granted it by the word remnant is meant few out of many. But if we take the Holy Scripture's explanation of the term, we see that it means, not the few but the national representation all the tribes gathered together to one nation from east and west and north and south to the glory of Messiah's kingdom. Micah tells us what is meant by remnant when he prophesies of Israel's restoration: "I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together is the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold; they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men" (2.12). So by "remnant" in this chapter of Isaiah we are to understand all included in the "outcasts of Israel" with the "dispersed of Judah."

As to the countries whence these recovered ones return, Assyria accounts no doubt for representatives of the Ten Tribes. Egypt contributes others; Pathros, a section of Egypt, returns others; Cush, either Arabia or Ethiopia adds some; nor are Elam (i.e. Persia) Shinar (Babylon Lowe's parentheses and Hamath without their contributions. So much for the East. But also from the "islands of the sea," from among the posterity of Japheth, who people the "islands of the Gentiles," from European countries, others find their way to the land which is theirs by promise.

Thus we see that from east to west, north and south, "the four corners of the earth," shall the "outcast" and "dispersed" return. All bitterness and envy and animosity shall be laid aside. An united loving peaceable people (v. 13) shall once more enter the land given them by God. Human agency shall help them (v. 14), miraculous intervention shall assist them (vv. 15, 16). It shall even be "like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt."

---------------------------------------------------

III. THE TESTIMONY OF ISAIAH (continued.)

In our last article we saw very plainly how Jehovah would "assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth" (Isa. 11.12). Also verse 11 tells us that the LORD will "recover the remnant of His people . . . from Assyria and from Egypt."

We follow the same line of thought in chap. 27.12, 13. "It shall come to pass in that day the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, all ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy Mount at Jerusalem." In witch the passage we note the blowing of the great trumpet. Compare Matt. 24.31, "And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet (lit.: "a trumpet, yea, a great sounding trumpet"); and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other"; "which place," says Lowth, "some understand of this very restoration of the Jews the prophet here speaks of." This may be so, but Ezekiel (37.9) certainly connects the four winds with the thought of restoration or, we might say, restoration in and by resurrection. "Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon the slain, that they may live." Certain it is that "the sound of the trumpet" is connected not only with ordinary restoration, but also with resurrection. For Paul in that wonderful 15th chapter of first Corinthians tells us, "the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible." And again the same fact is put before us in 1 Thess. 4.16. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first." We must bear in mind that both these passages were penned during the transitional period of the Pentecostal dispensation, when the promised return, parousia, of the Messiah, was the great hope of the election according to grace. How different in the later revelation of the "out-resurrection" and the "calling-on-high," the blessed hope of the Church of the Mystery. No trumpet is mentioned in that connection.

But before passing on, note how Assyria and Egypt are mentioned again and again in relation to Israel. In seven passages is this so, namely, Isa. 7.18; 11.11, 16; 19.23, 24, 25; 27.13. A reference to these passages will be found edifying, particularly chap. 19.23-25, which is a distinct prophecy of the blessing----the future blessing of Assyria, Egypt and Israel.

We now look at another prophecy in this truly wonderful book of Isaiah. And here we would say that space will not permit us to examine every passage, in this and other prophetical books, relating to the ingathering of God's people. Our purpose and object is, under the Divine blessing, to put before our readers the main and most prominent prophecies. Especially do we feel this laid upon us at this time when nation is rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and "men's hearts are failing them for fear, and for looking for those things which are coming on the earth" (Luke 21.26). The destiny of Palestine will be one of the absorbing topics of the near future. Who shall have Palestine? A simple question. The answer will be written in blood----Jerusalem as representing the whole land shall yet again become "a burdensome stone for all people" (Zech. 12.3).

But to proceed. Chapters 29 to 33 of Isaiah are looked upon by commentators as a continuous whole. "This and the four following chapters have an immediate aspect upon Sennacherib's invasion" (Lowth). It was only natural that the commentators should refer these chapters to this great event in Judah's history, as not only did Isaiah prophesy regarding the visit of Sennacherib's emissaries to King Hezekiah, but chapters 36 to 39 are practically identical with 2 Kings 18.13 to 20.18. Also in two prominent places in Isaiah (30.31 and 31.8) the Assyrian is mentioned; therefore again, naturally, we say, the thoughts of man turn to Assyria and Sennacherib. We shall, however, hope to show that this prophecy alludes to a yet future time, to the time when after a representative number of the Twelve Tribes has been brought back to their own land, trouble, and battle, and siege beset them, and they can be and are, only rescued by the strong arm of the Lord.

See chapter 29.1-8 "Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt" (v. 1). Who or what is Ariel? The answer can be but one, Jerusalem. This is "the city where David dwelt," this is where he ruled, for "seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem" (1 Kings 2.11). But why here styled Ariel? Ariel signifies either the Lion of God or the Altar-hearth of God, not a reference to the sacrifices which have been offered in the past to Jehovah, and shall be in the future (see Ezek. 43.15 (marg. Where "Ariel" again occurs), but rather because here at Jerusalem terrible destruction shall befall those who invest the land and the city with opposing armies. So in v. 2, "it shall be unto me as Ariel," i.e., it shall be unto me as the veritable Altar-hearth of destruction by God.

Verses 3 to 8 of this 29th chapter describe a state of siege against the city when it "shall be brought down, and shall speak out of the ground," and shall be utterly abased and humiliated. Yet at the critical time when destruction threatens the city, Jehovah Himself intervenes; for "the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of thy terrible ones (thy tyrants) shall be as chaff that passeth away, yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly" (v. 5). "Thunder, earthquake, great noise, storm and tempest, flame of devouring fire," these sweep away and destroy the enemy, suddenly, ruthlessly. It is Messiah interposing on behalf of His people till "the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her shall be as a dream of a night vision" (v. 7).

This cannot refer to the overthrow of Sennacherib's army in the time of Hezekiah, for (1) Sennacherib's army never invested Jerusalem. God's Word is certain as to that: "Therefore, thus saith the Lord, concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it would shield, nor cast a bank against it" (2 Kings 19.32).

(2) The destruction of Sennacherib's army took place at Libna, not Jerusalem, and was not with "great noise" or "storm and tempest," but in the silence of the night watches (v. 35).

We turn to the last few verses of Isaiah 30 for further details. Here again from v. 27 we have a description of the overthrow of Jerusalem's assailants. It is the same scene has given us in the previous chapter. "Behold, the name of the Lord, from far (the idea conveyed is the sudden appearance of the Lord, cp. v. 13, "suddenly, at an instant"), "burning with His anger, and the burden thereof is heavy; His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue as a devouring fire." . . . And the Lord shall cause His glorious voice (Heb. the glory His voice) to be heard, and shall show the lighting down the His arm, with the indignation of anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, scattering, and tempest, and hailstones" (vv. 27, 30).

The whole passage refers to the overthrow of Israel's enemies, and that not quietly, silently, when men slept, as was the case in the visitation on Sennacherib's army at Libna, but "in the battles of shaking will He (Jehovah) fight against them" (v. 32). How different it is with the Lord's own people Israel. "Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is (a reference to Passover night); the gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the Mighty One (the Rock) of Israel" (v. 29).

But verses 31 and 33 give us more details. Verse 31 speaks of "the Assyrian" which "smote with the rod." Who is this? The usual traditional answer is "Sennacharib." If, however, we connect these two verses, we are forced to admit that they cannot refer to Sennacharib, for his end was very different from the fate of "the Assyrian" described in verse 33. Sennacharib was slain by his two sons (2 Kings 19.37), "the Assyrian" meets his end in Tophet. "The Assyrian" is one of the twelve titles of Antichrist, who is the coming Prince, "the king of fierce countenance," the willful king. He it is who in the future----it may be the near future----will lead the besieging armies against Jerusalem. His end will be very terrible, for, while fire from above devours those who follow him, he is "cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Rev.19.20).

"For Tophet is ordained of old (Heb. from yesterday), yea, for the king it is prepared: he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood: the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it."

Tophet is situated in the Valley of Hinnom on the east of Jerusalem. Here it was that the idolatrous kings caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire of Molech. It was defiled by Josiah (2 Kings 23.10), and in our Lords time was used as a place of destruction for the city's garbage and refuse. Our blessed Lord spoke of it as a type of punishment. In the future the Valley of Hinnom will be the scene of a great burial of the hosts who invest Jerusalem (Jer. 7.32). But the particular spot named Tophet is reserved for the destruction of the Antichrist; here he meets his doom.

Chapter 31.4-9 gives us a further description of the scene. "Like as the lion, and the young lion roaring on his prey . . . so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for Mount Zion, and for the hill thereof."

"As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also He will deliver it; and passing over He will preserve it." "Passing over" (pasoch) the very word used of the "passing over" of Exod. 12.13, 23, 27, is a distinct reference to the Pentateuch, and emphasizes the fact that, just as the Passover in Egypt was at an exact and particular place, so, whenever "the Assyrian" shall be smitten, it shall be at an exact particular place. Mount Zion at Jerusalem is the very scene of this second Passover. Please God, we will enlarge upon this in future articles.

"The Assyrian" shall not fall by human hands. The sword, not of a mighty man, and the sword, not of mean man, shall devour him. His rock (i.e., confidence, or strength of war) shall pass away for fear, his princes shall be afraid of the ensign (the open triumphant manifestation of Messiah), saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and His furnace in Jerusalem" (31.9 marg.).

Surveying then those three passages of prophecy: 29.1-8; 30.27-33; 31.4-9, we have the following six results:----

1. Certain hostile peoples will come against Judah, after the Restoration.

2. Those nations will be frustrated in their purpose, "sifted in the sieve of vanity" (30.28).

3. Their overthrow will be by the immediate interposition of the LORD.

4. It will be unexpected and sudden.

5. It will be with fire, and battle, and "great noise."

6. It will be at Jerusalem, and their ringleader will be hurled into Tophet.

-----------------------------------------------------------

III. THE TESTIMONY OF ISAIAH (continued).

We concluded our last paper with Isaiah's description of the overthrow of Israel's enemies.

But what of Israel? We have seen and shall further see that deliverance from their oppressors by the interposition of Messiah ensures blessings, temporal and spiritual, and these blessings flow from their reception of Messiah as their Hope and Salvation. So in the passages here considered.

1. There shall be peaceful occupation of Jerusalem. "For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; When He shall hear it He will answer thee" (Isaiah 30.19).

2. Gladness of heart at the moment their enemies perish. "Ye shall have a song . . . and gladness of heart" (30.29).

3. Great spiritual blessings are shown in

"They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding (' know understanding,' marg.), and they that murmured shall learn doctrine" (29.24).

"Yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner anymore, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying,' This is the way, walk ye in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left'" (30.20, 21).

"Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: . . . thou shalt say unto it,' Get thee hence'" (30.22).

"Turn ye unto Him from Whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin" (31.6, 7).

"Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high" (32.15).

4. Also temporal blessings

"Then shall He give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures," etc. (30.23).

We can, though only dimly, picture the joy of the Israelites, when, saved by Messiah from all their enemies, and owning Him as their God and Saviour, they turn to Him with thankful and adoring hearts. Surely such words as those spoken by the Holy Ghost, in Isaiah 12.4-6, will express their heartfelt joy and gladness.

"Praise the LORD, call upon His Name;

Declare His doings among the people,

Make mention that His name is exalted.

Saying unto the LORD; for He has done excellent things:

this is known in all the earth.

Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion,

For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee."

IV. THE TESTIMONY OF MICAH.

Micah the Morashite prophesied "in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, Kings of Judah." He was contemporary with Isaiah, but spake not only "concerning Judah and Jerusalem," namely the southern kingdom, but also regarding Samaria as representing the northern kingdom; therefore he includes all the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

So in 2.12 we have the promise of Jehovah:----

"I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee;

I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;

I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah,

As a flock in the midst of their fold:

They shall make great noise by reason of (the multitude of) men."

And again in 4.6, 7:

"In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth,

And I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;

And I will make her that halted a remnant,

And her that was cast far off a strong nation;

And the LORD shall reign over them in Mount Zion

from henceforth, even forever" ('ad'olam).

From which passages we learned that the assembling of Jacob and gathering of Israel shall not be confined to a small, inconsiderable number, but shall be "all of thee."

And still further the promise of this is certain, steadfast, and sure, on the word of Jehovah,

"I will surely assemble thee, O Jacob.

I will surely and gather thee remnant of Israel."

And we would suggest that by the names Jacob and Israel the whole of the chosen people is included. Jacob, the natural seed, sunk it may be in infidelity, ignorance and indifference; and Israel, again the natural seed, but faithful, believing, expectant, like the "just and devout" Simeon, "waiting for the consolation of Israel," or like Anna "of great age" looking for redemption in Jerusalem.

Be this as it may, we know from the Word that it is God's purpose to gather together and assemble His nation, His chosen people, in their own land, and that Messiah, the Christ, shall there rule over them during a wonderful age of blessing and peace. But ere that glorious time comes, His people shall pass through a time of sore and grievous trouble, yea, it will be the time of "Jacob's trouble."

As in the past, so in the future.

"Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, let our eye look upon Zion" (4.11).

But this attitude of the nations arises from ignorance of God's purposes in regard to Israel. So ere against is born of this want of knowledge.

"But they know not the thoughts of the LORD,

Neither understand they His counsel;

For He shall gather them (in judgment)

As the sheaves of the floor" (4.12; read also next verse).

We shall find this in greater detail in chapter 5. The chapter begins, it will be seen, with that beautiful prophecy concerning the "coming forth" of Him that is "to be Ruler in Israel," the chosen of God, the anointed of the Father, "who's going forths (have been) from of old, from everlasting" (me'olam).

This, it will be remembered, was the prophecy pointed out to "Herod the king" by the chief priests and scribes, when he inquired of them "where Christ should be born" (Matthew 2.3-6).

How appalling to us at this day seems their stupendous blindness, in that they could point to the sure word of prophecy with respect to the place where Messiah should be born King of the Jews, and yet actually and willfully reject His claims to their loyalty.

Surely an object lesson, and warning to all of us in the present day, lest we also reject those truths which are revealed to us for faith-obedience. Even the most deeply taught of God, the most spiritually favoured child of God needs again and again to send up the heartfelt petition, "Open (unveil) Thou mine eyes, that I may behold (see clearly) wondrous things out of Thy Law" (Psalm 119.18).

Now this fifth chapter not only predicts the "coming forth" in Incarnation, but speaks also of the future beneficient reign of the Ruler in Israel.

"And He shall stand and feed (i.e., tend, or shepherd, as a flock) in the strength of the LORD, in the Majesty of the name of the LORD His God; and they (Israel, His flock) shall abide; for now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth" (5.4).

Another prophecy of the future glories of Messiah, and pointing again to the peaceful and righteous shepherding during millennial times.

Before this, however, comes that time of stress, anguish, and sorrow. "The Assyrian" shall come into the land, and tread down the palaces. When will this be? Even the commentators cannot reconcile the mention of the Assyrian in verse 5 as referring to the carrying away by Assyria of the Ten Tribes, which was then imminent, or the boastful threatenings of Sennacherib against Judah. And this for the simple reason that they cannot reconcile either event to what is told us in the immediate context, nay, in this very verse. For we read:----

"And this Man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land; and when he shall tread in our palaces . . . . thus shall He deliver us from the Assyrian" . . . . (vv. 5, 6).

We look in vain at the history of the chosen people for any fulfillment of this prophecy. It certainly did not take place at the taking into captivity of Israel, nor at the threatenings to Judah, nor at the "coming forth" of the Prince of Peace in incarnation. Therefore most unhesitatingly we look for it in the future. The whole passage compels us to do so. When we see, as we did when considering the somewhat similar passages in Isaiah 30.30-33, and 31.8, 9, that by the title "The Assyrian," cannot be understood Sennacherib, or any other king or leader of the Assyrian hosts, but that it is one of the names given to the Antichrist that shall arise in the future, all becomes plain, and fits in naturally with other passages of the prophetic word.

Who the "seven shepherds and eight principal men" that shall be raised up against the Antichrist may be, we know not. The time will show, and we must leave it. Certain it is, that Messiah-Jesus Himself will intervene and will vanquish all enemies. "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him" (Isa. 59.19).

And it is by the sudden appearance of Messiah, and the awful destruction of their enemies that Israel is turned to the LORD, and is received into the New Covenant. We shall, please God, see this well insisted on in passages still to be examined if the LORD will; and therefore we will not take up space by anticipating. If it be urged that we do not find such conversion absolutely stated in the book of Micah, we assuredly do find passages which strongly hint it, and one which definitely states that such conversion shall take place.

Look at the words full of trust and joyful anticipation of the lovingkindness of Jehovah:----

"Who is a God like unto the Thee, that pardoneth iniquity,

and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?

He retaineth not His anger forever, because He delighted in mercy.

He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us;

He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham,

Which Thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old" (7.18-20).

What can these words mean but that in the future the chosen people will again be reconciled to God? But assuredly the latter part of 4.5 places this beyond doubt. Whether we regard the first part of the verse, "For all people will walk every one in the name of his God," as a supposition or as a statement of fact, the latter part leaves no room for uncertainty. Israel, in time past unfaithful to God, worshipping them who be no gods, makes firm resolve,

"And we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever" (le'olam ve ad).

This, we urge, is no hint at conversion, but a firm resolution, a statement of fidelity to God, subsequent to reconciliation to Jehovah, as the passages already quoted fully show.

(To be continued).

--------------------------------------------------------

IV. THE TESTIMONY OF MICAH (continued).

But not only does Micah tell us of the events and happenings connected with the restoration and conversion of Israel, and the righteous rule of Messiah; he also takes us still further, and, if the interpretation of vv. 7, 8, following those in chapter 5, which we considered in our last article, be correct, gives us a glimpse of what that people shall become, and how they shall be regarded among the nations of the world, when the Lord shall have dealt graciously with them.

We commend the thought to our readers that v. 7 speaks of Israel as being a blessing to the families of the earth, and we suggest that, by becoming the glad messengers of God's goodness and mercy to the nations, "the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for men, nor waiteth for the sons of men." Dew and showers! Both emblems of the blessing of Jehovah. Says dear old Cruden, "Dew is a small rain, which, falling on the ground in the morning, doth keep it moist, and make it fruitful. In warm countries, and in places where it rains but seldom, the night dews supply in some sort the want of rain. And, therefore, the bestowing of it is a blessing from God."

It is a symbol of Divine goodness. Thus Gen. 27.28.

"Therefore may God give thee of the dew of heaven,

And of the fatness of the Earth,

And plenty of corn and wine."

Thus spake Isaac when blessing Jacob.

It was the dew which introduced, if we may so put it, the manna which God gave from heaven (Ex. 16.13, 14; Num. 11.9).

Moses, when pronouncing blessing on the tribe of Joseph, exclaimed,

"Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep the coucheth beneath" (Deut. 33.13).

Brotherly love and concord are compared to dew in Psalm 133.3. And so the LORD promises to bless Israel, "I will be as the dew unto Israel" (Hos. 14.5).

And "showers" are always associated with blessing; not devastating relentless torrents of deluging rain, but gentle, quiet, fructifying drops of water, moistening the earth, and causing it to bring forth and bud.

"Thou makest it (the earth) soft with showers,

Thou blessest the springing thereof" (Psalm 65.10).

So in the song of Moses (Deut. 32.2).

"My doctrine shall drop as the rain,

My speech shall distill as the dew,

As the small rain upon the tender herb,

And as showers upon the grass."

So of the King's Son, the true Solomon, the Prince of Peace, we read (Psalm 72.6),

"He shall come down as the rain upon the mown grass,

As showers that water the earth."

And so in the future restoration of Israel, "And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing;

And I will cause the shower to come down and is his season: There shall be showers of blessing" (Ezek. 34.26).

We conclude, therefore, that this seventh verse describes the holy people as they will then be, a blessing to the whole earth, in that it declares that "the remnant of Jacob shall be as dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men."

If verse 7 describes the peaceful mission of Israel among the nations, the eighth verse in no less manner pictures them as a power among the peoples of the world. It is the fulfillment of a prophecy of many centuries ago.

"And all the people of the earth shall see that thou are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of thee" (Deut. 28.10); "For the LORD thy God blesseth thee as He hath promised thee . . .

And thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee" (Deut. 15.6).

See also Isa. 49.23, and this eighth verse of Micah 5.

"And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people,

As a lion among the beasts of the forest,

As a young lion among the flocks of sheep;

Who, if he go through, both treadeth down,

And teareth in pieces, and none can deliver."

But the climax is reached in that wonderful description of the millennial condition of spiritual supremacy in chapter 4.1-3, and Isa. 2.1-4, both prophecies independent and supplementary. Both testified to

1. The supreme exultation of Messiah's rule (v. 1).

2. The great desire of all nations for instruction in the way of the LORD (v. 2).

3. The righteous judgment of the LORD, resulting in universal peace among nations (v. 3).

To which are added by the word of the LORD in Micah:

4. Peace and security to Israel (v. 4).

5. A walk in the true knowledge of God implying emphatically thereby precious conversion (v. 5).

"And we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever (le olam va ed).

¡¡

V. THE TESTIMONY OF JEREMIAH

We come now to the writings of Jeremiah of Anathoth, to whom the Word of the LORD came in some fifty-one prophetic portions. Jeremiah's prophecy is dated (1.2, 3) as being "in the days of Josiah . . . In the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah . . . unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah . . . unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month." The thirteenth year of Josiah was 518 B.C. The 11 year of Zedekiah was 477 B.C. therefore the whole period covered by Jeremiah was forty-one years." (See Companion Bible, Vol. IV., p. 1015).

He was the last prophet, therefore, preceding the carrying away into captivity to Babylon, by Nebuchadnezzar, of Judah and Jerusalem, 115 years after the Ten Tribes of the house of Israel had been carried away into Assyria by Shalmaneser. So Israel being quite out of the way, and only Judah and Benjamin remaining in their own land at the time of his prophecies, we should expect that Jeremiah would confine any predictions of a future restoration to those two tribes only. And yet we find that such is by no means the case; for not only does the prophet mention the Ten Tribes of the house of Israel, but he is most careful to distinguish between Israel and Judah in connection with future restoration. A fact which impresses upon our minds that such a combined restoration must be still future, seeing, as we endeavored to show in our Introduction, that the Ten Tribes of Israel were not included in a truly representative number in the return of Judah from Babylon.

We will now look at portions of two chapters, taking them together as they are connected by two references common to each. The first is to the glorious Person of BRANCH (23.5 and 33.15); the second to Justification, as we may term it, by BRANCH, "The LORD our Righteousness" (23.6 and 33.16), one of the most gracious of the ten Jehovah titles. But let us look at the chapters themselves.

Take 23.5-8, "Behold the days come, saith the LORD." An expression occurring six times in this book of Jeremiah and always with respect to a time that is still future even in our own day. Reference to them will show that they speak of

1. The future rule of a king (23.5).

2. Restoration from all countries (23.7).

3. The bringing again "the captivity of my people ISRAEL and JUDAH" (30.3).

4. The human and animal inhabiting of the land (31.27).

5. The New Covenant "with the house of ISRAEL and with the house of JUDAH" (31.31).

6. The building of the city from one definite point to another definite point (31.38).

All this we maintain is still future, and not dependent on the uncertain fallible word of man, but on the sure and certain promise of Jehovah. In each case the words are, "Thus saith the LORD."

I. Well, the first thing asserted in 23.5 is that the Lord will raise unto David a righteous ruler. "I will raise unto David a righteous Branch (Tsemach); and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth (eretz)."

What can this verse refer to other than the future rule of Messiah over the restored and forgiven people? We saw plainly in dealing with the to prophecies of Isaiah concerning BRANCH, that the reference can only be to our LORD Jesus Christ Himself, to whom the LORD God shall give "the throne of His father David." And so here He is raised "unto David."

The latter part of the verse also emphasizes the fact that His rule is first and foremost in connection with the land. For we venture to translate eretz (the word here) not "earth," but "land," and so bring it into conformity the parallel passage in 33.15, where the word is translated "land." For while not for one moment seeming to deny that in the future God's Anointed will reign over the whole earth (See Dan. 2.39; Zech. 14.9), still it is first and foremost He is presented to all mankind as the "Ruler in Israel" (Micah 2.2). And what can be more fitting and proper than that the seat of government should be among the chosen Race----Jerusalem the great metropolis of the earth, a joy and a rejoicing as the city of the great King.

II. The next particular given to us is that in that future time of blessing Judah and Israel, the two houses or kingdoms, the Twelve Tribes, shall be united again and share the same blessings.

"In His days (that is in the days of the BRANCH) Judah shall be saved,

And Israel shall dwell safely" (23.6).

Surely this scene depicts a restored and happy people, dwelling in tranquility and peace. All the past sufferings, many and poignant as they have been, forgotten in the joy of the present. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." And the the chosen people look back and rejoice in the LORD. Their prayer of sorrow and mourning has been heard: "Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south." And the gracious and loving God has turned again their captivity, and brought them back from their wanderings among the people of the earth. It is a great deliverance, a marvelous restoration. No wonder that the "Chosen Vessel" should exclaim, "What shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead" (Rom. 11.15)?

The two hundred and fifteen years of Egyptian bondage will seem almost as nothing when compared to hundreds of years of dispersion and wandering among the nations. Even the LORD regards it in this light. So we read, "Therefore, behold the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, the LORD liveth which brought up the children of Israel (twelve tribes) out of the land of Egypt; but

The Lord liveth which brought up the seed of the house of Israel (taken in the widest sense, i.e., the twelve tribes, all Israel), out of the north country, and from ALL countries wither I had driven them, and they shall dwell in their own land" (23.7, 8).

But what is the foundation of their joy and rejoicing? It cannot be the mere fact of their restoration, for that in itself, apart from the assurance of Jehovah, was no guarantee that they should not be dispersed again. Do we not rather find it in the latter part of the verse which speaks of the salvation of Judah and the safety of Israel?

"And this is His (BRANCH'S) name by which He shall be called THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." In Him is true Salvation, in Him is true safety! Assuredly the change which shall have come over Israel will be great, when they shall hail the LORD as their righteousness. These people who, in the past ages, down centuries of time, had boasted of their own righteousness, who had thousands of years before by the mouths of their ancestors declared their willingness to keep the Law ("All that the Lord hath spoken we will do"); Who, "being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness had not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God," are now brought to submission by the revelation of Messiah. Was ever such a wonderful case of true conversion to the LORD?

And in bringing this article to a close, let us note how in the person of the glorified LORD and Saviour the Jew and the Gentile meet.

The "LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" is the present joy and hope of His people among the Gentiles.

"But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom and RIGHTEOUSNESS, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Cor. 1.30).

The glory and rejoicing of His peculiar people will be when they shall be turned to the Lord, and be found in Him, not having their "own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." May God be praised that He is indeed

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS!

-------------------------------------------------------------

V. THE TESTIMONY OF JEREMIAH (continued).

Let us now turn to some passages in chapters 30-33, taking chapter 33 first, as this has something in common with chapter 23, which we examined in the preceding article. Again we have "the Branch" and "the LORD our RIGHTEOUSNESS" referred to.

"In those days, and at that time (i.e., the time at which Jehovah will perform the good things promised unto the house of Israel and under the house of Judah, the whole twelve tribes (v. 14), will I cause the BRANCH (Tsemach) of righteousness to grow up unto David, and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land" (v. 15). An almost similar passage to 23.5, but where we read "in the earth" instead of "in the land"; which expression we ventured to translate "in the land" as here, both being the equivalent of "ba-aretz" of the original.

"In those days Judah shall be saved,

And Jerusalem shall dwell safely."

Here we find Jerusalem once again the holy city, substituted for "Israel" of 23.6; and instead of the ending in 23.6, which attaches the title "the LORD our Righteousness" to the BRANCH of Jehovah, it is said of Jerusalem, "and this is the name by which she shall be for called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Though the authorized version, upon which Lowth remarks, "Nor is there any greater impropriety in giving the name of Jehovah to a city than to an altar, Jehovah-nissi (Ex. 17.15), and Jehovah-shalom (Judges 6.24), in token that the Lord was author of those mercies of which the said altars were designed to be monuments. So the servants of God are described in Revelation as having His name written on their forehead (Rev. 3.12; 14.1-11)."

In this connection, also, we refer to a similar prophecy in Eze. 48.35. "And the name of the city from that day shall be 'The Lord is there.'" Just in passing we would direct attention to Rotherham's translation, "And this is that which shall be proclaimed to her, Yahweh our righteousness," which has a great deal to be said in its favor.

But now looking carefully at this 33rd chapter it is remarkable with what progressive minuteness and emphasis Jeremiah declares the restoration of Israel.

1. "I will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth" (v. 6).

2. "I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them as at the first" (v. 7).

3. "For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD" (v. 11).

4. "Behold the days come, saith the LORD that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel, and to the house of Judah" (v. 14).

5. "For thus saith the LORD, David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel" (v. 17).

6. "The two families which the LORD hath chosen" (v. 24).

7. . . . "The seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them" (v. 26).

From which seven passages we gleaned the following facts: 1. That the captivity of Judah and Israel, which must include the twelve tribes, will return, for this is the good thing promised to both houses. 2. That the land shall revert to its former and lawful owners. 3. That a true descendent and representative of the Royal house of David shall sit upon the throne of Israel (cp. Luke 1.32, 33). 4. That both families, though it was tauntingly asserted that the Lord had cast them off, should certainly return from captivity; and this based on that sure and absolutely unconditional covenant which God made with day and night (vv. 20, 25), referring us to the assured promise of God to Noah, "While the earth remained, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and the summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease" (Gen. 8.22). 5. That the natural seed, the descendents of those three great progenitors of the Israelitish race, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, should return, a passage surely which precludes even the remotest idea that the spiritual seed are intended. 6. And finally that the Lord will reveal unto all the tribes the abundance of peace and truth, in other words Messiah shall be to them the Prince of Peace, and the manifestation of Truth in their conversion.

We will now look at chaps. 30 and 31. And we may observe upon these, as upon chap. 33 that the various ways in which Jeremiah notifies the persons to whom his prophecy is addressed leave no room to doubt to what people they must be specifically applied. Chap. 30: "I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel and Judah" (v. 3). "These are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah" (v. 4). "Therefore fear not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD, neither be dismayed, O Israel" (v. 10). "I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents" (v. 18). "This is Zion whom no man seeketh after" (v. 17).

And in chap. 31. "All the families of Israel" (v. 1). "Behold the days come, saith the LORD, but I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beasts" (v. 27). "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah" (v. 31). All which passages most definitely assure us that God will in the future, for there has been no such fulfillment in the past, restore all the twelve tribes included in the two separate houses of Israel and Judah to their own land and will there deal very graciously with them.

And the prophet is very exact as to when certain events predicted in these chaps. 30 and 31 shall take place. "The days come" (30.3; 31.27; 31.38). "It shall come to pass in that day" (30.8). "At the same time" (31.1). "In those days" (31.29). All which marks of time are bound together by the time-expression of "the latter days," which we have already seen refer particularly and exclusively to the Christian dispensation, especially in its closing portion.

Beside the reiterated promise of restoration given in these chapters we have also the following important details mentioned.

1. JERUSALEM IS TO BE REBUILT, and that upon her ancient foundations.

"For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy upon his dwelling places; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof" (30.18). To the word "heap" the a A.V. gives a marginal note of alternate reading "little hill," and the R.V. "mound," and immediately our thoughts turn to that part of Jerusalem called Mount Zion. "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, Mount Zion, in the sides of the North, the city of the great King." (Ps. 48.2). But why limit our thoughts to only one part of the city? Why not refer it to the whole city, all Jerusalem. And further, though tel certainly means a hill or mound, it also means, as one lexicon has it, "a heap, peculiar of ruins," and another lexicon, "commonly a heap of rubbish," both giving as reference Deut. 13.17; Josh. 8.28. So, then, shall we not be safe in taking this verse to mean that in the future as regards the time of the prophecy the city Jerusalem shall be rebuilt, even upon the site of her ruins, all of it, including Mount Zion and the palace thereof? And this view is particularly supported by the words of chapter 31.38, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner, and the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath."

Nor is this, at the present time, a mere empty dream of the future, for already quite a new city of Jerusalem has arisen on the heap of ruins of the old, a modern city in the fullest sense of the word; building has for some time past been going on extensively, and everything points to the fact that ere long the city shall become a most important metropolis. But a terrible time of stress awaits the true and lawful inhabitants of the city and land. It is

2. THE TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE. We hope, God willing, in the next article, bring forth the testimony of Daniel which deals in great measure with the time of Antichrist, and particularly of "Jacob's trouble," and therefore here will only put forward what is told us in the 30th chapter, and also mention the fact that by the expression "time of Jacob's trouble" is meant that fearful test of Israel spoken of by Daniel the prophet as "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to the same time" (12.1); referred to by our Lord as "the great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24.21); and described by John in Revelation chaps. 13 and 17. And so the prophet Jeremiah here when speaking of it says, "Alas! For the day is great, so that none is like it, it is even the time of Jacob's trouble" (v. 7).

But awful and terrible as that day is, Jacob shall be brought through.

3. "BUT HE SHALL BE SAVED OUT OF IT, for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst by bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him" (v. 8).

And again in verses 23 and 24.

"Behold the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with furry, a continuing (or cutting) whirlwind; it shall fall upon the head of the wicked. And the fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until He have done it, and until He have performed the intents His heart: and in the latter days ye shall consider it."

All over-ruled by God in His loving mercy. Even the awful time of "Jacob's trouble." "I will correct them in measure and I will not leave thee altogether unpunished" (v. 11). "I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity, because thy sins were increased" (v. 14). "Because thy sins were increased I have done these things unto thee" (v. 15). And the punishment of their enemies. "I will punish all that oppress them" (v. 20).

And after the Tribulation of that time, and the mighty deliverance by Messiah, a day of brightness dawns growing more and more brilliant with the glorious things which Jehovah will do for them.

Space will not allow us to quoted at length. We would call attention to the twenty-six "I wills" of gracious promise contained in these two chapters. Particularly read 30.8-14, with its grand refrain of joy and rejoicing. "Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord" . . . It all points to the true conversion of Israel to God, summed up in the words, so emphasized in Hosea, "And ye shall be My people and I will be your God" (30.22).

4. THE NEW COVENANT. This is the climax of God's dealings with Israel. All leads up to this, the ingathering, the fatherly correction, the chastisement of enemies, the rescue of the chosen people from their oppressors, all culminates in, and leads to this.

"Behold the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make A NEW COVENANT with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (v. 31).

And this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel.

After those days saith the LORD,

I will put My law in their inward parts,

And righted in their hearts,

And I will be their God,

And they shall be My people (v. 33).

Such is the New Covenant which God shall make with His people Israel. It will be absolutely unconditional, as unconditional as the covenant He made with Noah concerning the earth (Gen. 8.20), and with Abram concerning the land (Gen. 15), and with David concerning the throne (2 Sam. 7.16). Man is not a partner in it as He was at Sinai (Jer. 31.31). It is all on God's part, God's side, "I WILL." It is ratified in the Blood of God's dear Son. "And He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all from it: for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matt. 26.27, 28).

We have another reference to this covenant in Jeremiah 32.40, where the word olam translated "everlasting" in this and the eleven other places in the Old Testament should be "age-lasting" or age-abiding. That it is the same Covenant as the one referred to as New in chap. 31.31 is undeniable, for the context (vv. 37-44) assures us that God promises the same things to Israel as He does in relation to the New Covenant; to gather them out of all countries, to be their God, to give them one heart and one way, to put His fear into their hearts that they shall not depart from Him. One verse we must quote for it is so pertinent to our subject, "Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land ASSUREDLY WITH MY WHOLE HEART AND WITH MY WHOLE SOUL" (v. 41)

Summarizing, therefore, what we find in the prophecy of Jeremiah just considered, we learn:

1. That the prophecy can not be referred to the Babylonian restoration.

2. Its times are the times of the BRANCH.

3. That they are termed "the latter days."

4. That Jerusalem shall be rebuilt.

5. That there shall be a great tribulation----the time of Jacob's trouble.

6. That he shall be delivered by the mercy of God.

7. That Jehovah shall make a New Covenant with His people. (See also Heb. 8.8-13, 13.20).

(To be continued)

-----------------------------------------------------

¡¡

V. THE TESTIMONY OF JEREMIAH (continued).

Let us now turn to some passages in chapters 30-33, taking chapter 33 first, as this has something in common with chapter 23, which we examined in the preceding article. Again we have "the Branch" and "the LORD our RIGHTEOUSNESS" referred to.

"In those days, and at that time (i.e., the time at which Jehovah will perform the good things promised unto the house of Israel and under the house of Judah, the whole 12 tribes, verse 14), will I cause the BRANCH (Tsemach) of righteousness to grow up under David, and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land Lowe's quote (verse 15). And almost similar passage to 23.5, but where we read "in the Earth" instead of "in the land"; which expression we ventured to translate "in the land" as here, both being the equivalent of "ba-aretz" of the original.

"In those days Judah shall be saved,

And Jerusalem shall dwell safely."

Here we find Jerusalem once again the holy city, substituted for "Israel" of 23.6; and instead of the ending in 23.6, which attaches the title "the LORD our Righteousness" to the BRANCH of Jehovah, it is said of Jerusalem, "and this is the name by which she shall be for called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Those the authorized version, upon which Lowth remarks, "Nor is there any greater impropriety in giving the name of Jehovah to a city than to an altar, Jehovah-nissi "Exodus 17.15", and Jehovah-shalom (Judges 6.24), in token that the Lord was author of those mercies of which the said altars were designed to be monuments. So the servants of God are described in Revelation as having His name written on there forehead (revelation 3.12; 14.1-11)."

In this connection, also, we refer to a similar prophecy in Ezekiel 48.35. "And the name of the city from that day shall be 'The Lord is there.'" Justin passing we would direct attention to Rotherham's translation, "And this is that which shall be proclaimed to her, Yahweh our righteousness," which has a great deal to be said in its favor.

But now looking carefully at this 33rd chapter is remarkable with what progressive minuteness and emphasis Jeremiah declares the restoration of Israel.

1. "I will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth" (v. 6).

2. "I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them as at the first Lowe's quote (verse seven).

3. "For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as of the first, saith the LORD" (v. 11).

4. "Behold the days come, saith the LORD that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel, and to the house of Judah" (v. 14).

5. "For thus saith the LORD, David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel" (v. 17).

6. "The two families which the LORD hath chosen" (v. 24).

7. . . . "The seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them" (v. 26).

From which seven passages we gleaned the following facts: 1. That the captivity of Judah and Israel, which must include the twelve tribes, will return, for this is the good thing promised to both houses. 2. That the land shall revert to its former and lawful owners. 3. That a true descendent and representative of the Royal house of David shall sit upon the throne of Israel (cp. Luke 1.32, 33). 4. That both families, though it was tauntingly asserted that the Lord had cast them off, should certainly return from captivity; and this based on that sure and absolutely unconditional covenant which God made with day and night (vv. 20, 25), referring us to the assured promise of God to Noah, "While the earth remained if, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and the summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease" (Gen. 8.22). 5. That the natural seed, the descendents of those three great progenitors of the Israelitish race, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, should return, a passage surely which precludes even the remotest idea that the spiritual seed are intended. 6. And finally that the Lord will reveal unto all the tribes the abundance of peace and truth, in other words Messiah shall be to them the Prince of Peace, and the manifestation of Truth in their conversion.

We will now look at chaps. 30 and 31. And we may observe upon these, as upon chap. 33 that the various ways in which Jeremiah notifies the persons to whom his prophecy is addressed leave no room to doubt to what people they must be specifically applied. Chap. 30: "I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel and Judah" (v. 3). "These are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah" (v. 4). "Therefore fear not, oh my servant Jacob, saith the LORD, neither be dismayed, O Israel" (v. 10). "I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents" (v. 18). "This is Zion whom no man seek up after" (v. 17).

And in chap. 31. "All the families of Israel" (v. 1). "Behold the days come, saith the LORD, but I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed beast" (v. 27). "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah" (v. 31). All which passages most definitely assure us that God will in the future, for there has been no such fulfillment in the past, restore all the twelve tribes included in the two separate houses of Israel and Judah to their own land and will there deal very graciously with them.

And the prophet is very exact as to when certain events predicted in these chaps. 30 and 31 shall take place. "The days come" (30.3; 31.27; 31.38). "It shall come to pass in that day" (30.8). "At the same time" (31.1). "In those days" (31.29). All which marks of time are bound together by the time-expression of "the latter days," which we have already seen refer particularly and exclusively to the Christian dispensation, especially in its closing portion.

Beside the reiterated promise of restoration given in these chapters we have also the following important details mentioned.

1. JERUSALEM IS TO BE REBUILT, and that upon her ancient foundations.

"For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy upon his dwelling places; and the city shall be build it upon her own heap and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof" (30.18). To the word "heap" the a A.V. gives a marginal note of alternate reading "little hill," and the R.V. "mound," and immediately our thoughts turn to that part of Jerusalem called Mount Zion. "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, Mount Zion, the sides of the North, the city of the great King." (Ps. 48.2). But why limit our thoughts to only one part of the city? Why not refer it to the whole city, all Jerusalem. And further, though tel certainly means a hill or mound, it also means, as one lexicon has it, "a heap, peculiar of ruins," and another lexicon, "commonly a heap of rubbish," both giving as reference Deut. 13.17; Josh. 8.28. So, then, shall we not be saved been taking this verse to me that in the future as regards the time of the prophecy the city Jerusalem shall be rebuilt, even upon the site of her ruins, all of it, including Mount Zion and the palace thereof? And this view is particularly supported by the words of chapter 31.38, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be build to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner, and the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath."

Nor is this, at the present time, a mere empty dream of the future, for already quite a new city of Jerusalem has arisen on the heap of ruins of the old, a modern city in the fullest sense of the word; building has for some time past being going on extensively, and everything points to the fact that ere long the city shall become a most important metropolis. But it terrible time of stress awaits the true and lawful inhabitants of the city and land. It is

2. THE TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE. We hope, God willing, in the next article, bring forth the testimony of Daniel which deals in great measure with the time of Antichrist, and particularly of "Jacob's trouble," and therefore here will only put forward what is told us in the 30th chapter, and also mention the fact that by the expression "time of Jacob's trouble" is meant that fearful test of Israel spoken of by Daniel the prophet as "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to the same time" (12.1); referred to by our Lord as "the great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matthew 24.21); and described by John in Revelation chaps. 13 and 17. And so the prophet Jeremiah here when speaking of it says, "Alas! For the day is great, so that none is like it, it is even the time of Jacob's trouble" (v. 7).

But awful and terrible as that day is, Jacob shall be brought through.

3. "BUT HE SHALL BE SAVED OUT OF IT, "for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst by bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him" (v. 8).

And again in verses 23 and 24.

"Behold the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with furry, a continuing (or cutting) whirlwind; it shall fall upon the head of the wicked. And the fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until He have done it, and until He have performed the intents His heart: and in the latter days ye shall consider it."

All over-ruled by God in His loving mercy. Even the awful time of "Jacob's trouble." "I will correct them in measure and I will not leave thee altogether unpunished" (v. 11). "I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity, because thy sins were increased" (v. 14). "Because thy sins were increased I have done these things unto thee" (v. 15). And the punishment of their enemies. "I will punish all that oppress them" (v. 20).

And after the Tribulation of that time, and the mighty deliverance by Messiah, a day of brightness dawns growing more and more brilliant with the glorious things which Jehovah will do for them.

Space will not allow us to quoted at length. We would call attention to the twent-six "I wills" of gracious promise contained in these two chapters. Particularly read 30.8-14, with its grand refrain of joy and rejoicing. "Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord" . . . It all points to the true conversion of Israel to God, summed up in the words, so emphasized in Hosea, "And ye shall be My people and I will be your God" (30.22).

4. THE NEW COVENANT. This is the climax of God's dealings with Israel. All leads up to this, the ingathering, the fatherly correction, the chastisement of enemies, the rescue of the chosen people from their oppressors, all culminates in, and leads to this.

"Behold the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make A NEW COVENANT with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (v. 31).

And this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel.

After those days saith the LORD,

I will put My law in their inward parts,

And righted in their hearts,

And I will be their God,

And they shall be My people (v. 33).

Such is the New Covenant which God shall make with His people Israel. It will be absolutely unconditional, as unconditional as the covenant He made with Noah concerning the earth (Gen. 8.20), and with Abram concerning the land (Gen. 15), and with David concerning the throne (2 Sam. 7.16). Man is not a partner in it as He was at Sinai (Jer. 31.31). It is all on God's part, God's side, "I WILL." It is ratified in the Blood of God's dear Son. "And He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all from it: for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matt. 26.27, 28).

We have another reference to this covenant in Jeremiah 32.40, where the word olam translated "everlasting" in this and the eleven other places in the Old Testament should be "age-lasting" or age-abiding. That it is the same Covenant as the one referred to as New in chap. 31.31 is undeniable, for the context (vv. 37-44) assures us that God promises the same things to Israel as He does in relation to the New Covenant; to gather them out of all countries, to be their God, to give them one heart and one way, to put His fear into their hearts that they shall not depart from Him. One verse we must quote for it is so pertinent to our subject, "Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land ASSUREDLY WITH MY WHOLE HEART AND WITH MY WHOLE SOUL" (v. 41)

Summarizing, therefore, what we find in the prophecy of Jeremiah just considered, we learn:

1. That the prophecy can not be referred to the Babylonian restoration.

2. Its times are the times of the BRANCH.

3. That they are termed "the latter days."

4. That Jerusalem shall be rebuilt.

5. That there shall be a great tribulation----the time of Jacob's trouble.

6. That he shall be delivered by the mercy of God.

7. That Jehovah shall make a New Covenant with His people. (See also Heb. 8.8-13, 13.20).

(To be continued)

-----------------------------------------------------