Scripture reading: Jeremiah 31:33
The promise of the fathers is the great promise that God has made. The most beautiful thing is that God made this promise to Israel, and when the church came, He made the same promise to the church. The church is Israel and Israel will be the church in time to come when God will show them His special favor.
Jeremiah 24:7, “And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.”
Jeremiah 31:33, “But 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 write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
Jeremiah 32:38, “And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”
Ezekiel 11:20, “That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”
Ezekiel 37:27, “My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
Zechariah 8:8, “And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.”
2 Corinthians 6:16, “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
This indeed is the promise of the fathers, and it is abundant throughout all Scripture. God gave these promises to Israel at first, and then the Israel of God came to fulfill and inherit these promises. Many of the promises that were given to the people in the Old Testament were not understood. They did not understand how all these things would be brought to pass, and they desired and longed to understand it, but God told them it was not for them but for a people that should come.
We see the Lord giving this promise over and over and over again. Hebrews 8:10, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” The Spirit of God through Paul was quoting this to the Hebrew brethren. Now this was part of the church; this was not part of ancient Israel. We are talking about a promise being brought from the Old Testament to the church. If we could get this one thought in our hearts, then it would be a step forward to understanding the Word of God; because all that God promised, all that God did, all that God said in the Old Testament is pointing to the New Testament, to Jesus Christ Himself, and to Jesus Christ IN the church. We find then two manifestations here: Jesus Himself and Jesus in the church. This is the promise that God gave to His people.
(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 3, pages 120-121)
Thought for today: “And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”
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