The Remnant is Real (Advent 17, 2022)

Acts 7:17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’ 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die. 20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.”

Stephen recounts the Hebrew history in Acts 7, but Jesus’ genealogy is silent on specifics.  A few names, but we aren’t able to pinpoint dates or locations until we get to the later names of Salmon, Boaz, and Ruth.

Back to Stephen’s recounting of history, Moses is not in Jesus’ genealogy, but he did prefigure Christ as a prophet who would lead an exodus out of the land of slavery. All we know is at this point, they were slaves in Egypt, and God would raise up Moses to lead them out…including the silent people in the line of Christ.  That Exodus would occur somewhere around 1446 BC, if we’re calculating back from King Solomon’s reign.

It is important to note that by the Exodus, the Hebrews were an identifiable people group from twelve tribes, and the remnant would be the smaller group within a larger overall group.  The small group would be by faith, not by heritage or tribal affiliation alone.

This is an important distinction we can make at this point.  Who is a Jew?

I read online sometimes people claiming there are fake Jews and real Jews which is rather unproductive language, though I can understand the reasoning. It’s similar to real Christians and those Christian hypocrites who claim the identity at Christmas, but don’t actually follow Christ. 

For the Jews, it’s even more complicated.  As I see it, there is a heritage of Hebrews—the Jews scattered in nations throughout this world, a national group of Jews who live in the nation-state of Israel, and out of both there is a faith remnant, the descendants of Abraham by faith.  The Jews of faith whether the Messianic Jews or the remnant to yet be grafted in.

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But let’s make one thing clear: the Church is not the faith remnant out of the Hebrews. 
That remnant was here until Christ’s birth, is now hardened,
and is yet to come according to Romans 11: 25-27. 

“I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” (Romans 11:25-27)

Questions for further thought:

Why are the terms fake and real unproductive?

How does that foment criticisms of antisemitism?

Are there “fake” and “real” Christians?  How can we identify who is real and who is fake (Matthew 7:15-29)?  Who knows the truth of the hearts of those claiming to follow Christ?

Prayer:

Help me, Lord, to be a peacemaker on this earth- a peacemaker between those of the Jewish heritage and those who are rooted in their Christian heritage by their devotion to Jesus Christ.  Help me to appreciate that Jesus was raised with the faith doctrines and traditions of Judaism.  Remind and teach me that the roots of my faith as a Christian include not just the New Testament but also the words of life that Christ fulfilled from the Old Testament.  Help me to love my Jewish brothers and sisters.  Help me to teach any with ears to hear that Christians are not their enemies but their loving helpers. For those Jews by heritage who follow Christ, help me to be their partners in being a light to the nations.  We ask Lord that, in Your time, You will graft back in that original Jewish heritage so that we all might reach fullness together in Christ, and may it hasten the Day of His Return.  It is for Christ’s glory we pray. Amen. 

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Advent began Sunday, November 27, 2022 and continues to Saturday, December 24th as we explore the remnant spoken of in Scripture and awaken as the end draws near.

 By signing up on the sidebar of my Home Page you can receive these daily “Awaken, Remnant” devotionals. Or they will be reposted on SeminaryGal’s Facebook page as well.

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Acknowledging inquiries about an entire season’s devotionals for your study group’s planning purposes, Seminary Gal’s prior seasons’ Advent devotionals can be accessed via the archives to the right and are as follows:  

• The multi-faceted Interlude between the promise of a Deliverer and the birth of our Messiah and King was the theme of 2021’s devotional series. It is archived beginning November 28, 2021.
• 2020’s Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
• God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
• Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.