The Bible,        A Unification Perspective

 Israel,  Prophesy and the Law Covenant

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  Many view prophesy as simply - God foretelling the future - and of course, in faith,  consider a promise from God is the next best thing there is to an established fact.  The course of human history as we have known it thus far , however, constitutes a long and painful detour of our own making. We can't ignore the realities inherent in man's portion of responsibility,  and how that effects any future envisioned by God or Man.

  Salvation and Restoration only became necessary as a result of the Fall of Man.

  From God's point of view, Man's actions in faith or unfaith will play a crucial part in the course of human history.  

  So when we see God begin to work with and through Abraham, Moses and the Israelites, the dynamics of our relationship to God and His principles don't change.

Exodus 19:3-6

 3. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4. Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
5. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

   Through this and other scripture it's clear that God intended to bless Israel, and that they would be a special nation existing within God's  grace and attention relative to the rest of the world. 

Isaiah 61:5-6 & 9   

5. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

  9. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.

  11. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

 These words are so aglow with hope and expectation that many have come to believe them as prophecy,,  and that certainly God's intended blessing must be realized is Israel.

  However a "Covenant" is a binding agreement that is to be upheld by both sides.  God says that He will bless Israel,, "if you will indeed obey my voice,,".

The "if" in "if you" is by far the weightiest two letter word in the whole of the Bible, because it points to the reality of Israel's position who, like Adam, are standing on the precipice of life and death. They have an unavoidable portion of responsibility in the providential picture and a key element in the equation which is the Law Covenant.

2 Chronicles 7:14

  14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

  The most fearful side of the Covenant was the "Curse in the Law", and it was a warning to what might happen if Israel were to turn away from God and into disobedience.

2 Chronicles 7:19

19. But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;
20. Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.

This state of the Law Covenant and conditional blessing is repeated throughout the Old Testament.  

  Deut 30:19

  19. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

 Other examples,,  Jer 11:1-14, Jer 18:8, Jer 22:1-5, Ezek 33:11, Deut 28:1:19, 
Lev 26:14-38.  

   This was so much the case,, that God emphasized the point by having his prophets distinguish between blessings and curses by proclaiming their message from two different mountains,,  one for blessings,, Mt. Gerizim and one for curses,, Mt Ebal.  Deut 27:12-13

The Prophets

  It's also important to note and highlight the significant role of the Prophets as God's messengers and central figures in this process. They were sent to proclaim the promise, and issue the warning,,  to sound the alarm when Israel was in danger of falling away.  So then by heeding the words of God through the Prophets, the chosen people might avert disaster because the life and status of the Covenant ( broken or unbroken ) was often decided by how the people received the Prophet and his message as their portion of responsibility.

Jeremiah 26

1. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the Lord, saying,
2. Thus saith the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:
3. If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
4. And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
5. To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
6. Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.

  It's also important to understand that the role of the Prophet was also that of a forerunner,  a herald to announce the coming of, and to prepare the way for the Messiah.  John the Baptist simply being the last before the appearance of Jesus.  Ultimately the Covenant was established as a vital tradition of faith to prepare the people to receive the coming Messiah, and that upon his arrival they would then understand and fulfill God's hope for universal salvation. 

Isaiah 49:6

  6. And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

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