Israel Planted, Never Uprooted

We’re in the midst of Passover, a time when the Jewish people remember that God set them apart.  I don’t know why people fail to understand that this wasn’t just until Jesus came, as preeminently important as that was. 

I am astonished, and not in a good way, at what’s happening with antisemitism on college campuses.  It’s shocking.  It’s almost like a resurgence of Hitler youth training camps. The students are all passion, no truth, and in some cases total blindness since some have gone on record stating they don’t even know why they’re protesting.

My passion for the nation of Israel stems from Scripture…which is the very definition of truth. So, I can admit what God has stated: there is a sinful group within the larger nation of Israel…

Amos 9:7 “’Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites?’ declares the LORD. “Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir? 8 ‘Surely the eyes of the Sovereign LORD are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth.’”

Sinners are sinners,
one and the same in the eyes of God. 
They’re all going down… apart from the blood of Christ
and their ultimate Passover in Him.

The sinful nation will be destroyed, but there will be a remnant:  Amos 9:8 “Yet I will not totally destroy the descendants of Jacob,” declares the LORD.  9 ‘For I will give the command, and I will shake the people of Israel among all the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, and not a pebble will reach the ground.   10 All the sinners among my people will die by the sword, all those who say, ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’”

Here’s what people fail to understand:  God will restore Jacob.  He will do it for the sake of the covenant and all people who would believe upon Jesus Christ from every nation.  We are heirs together.

Amos 9:11 “In that day ‘I will restore David’s fallen shelter– I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins– and will rebuild it as it used to be, 12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,’ declares the LORD, who will do these things.”

Just as the predicted exile ended… Amos 9:13 “’The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills, 14 and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.’”

The reestablishment of Israel is certain because God said so:

Amos 9:15 I will plant Israel in their own land,
never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,”
says the LORD your God.”

Questions to ponder:

Why do people not want to believe Amos 9:15? 
In what way are phrases like “never again” and “I [God] have given them” absolutes?
Given Amos 9:15, when people protest and want to abolish Israel, who are they really against?
Who are they siding with in spiritual terms?
How is a political solution insufficient for a spiritual problem?

Father, please help us to see the eternal picture, the biblical picture in every human event. It is so easy to get caught up in the contemporary problems of our day and focus there, all the while failing to see that this is Your plan, both shaking nations and saving people, marching ever forward…until the Day of Jesus’ Return, for which we give You praise! We praise You for Your patience with us and Your love toward us! We praise You for the witness we have and our being a part of Your glorious plan by sharing Your Gospel for our salvation. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your sacrifice and the mercy of God in Your blood shed for us. We love You, Lord. Amen.