And It is Irrefutable

“For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

“Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 ESV

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

‘Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,

    on the day of testing in the wilderness,

where your fathers put me to the test

    and saw my works for forty years.

Therefore I was provoked with that generation,

and said, “They always go astray in their heart;

    they have not known my ways.”

As I swore in my wrath,

    “They shall not enter my rest.”’” Hebrews 3:7-11 ESV

Regarding the Physical Nation of Israel

So, what does this teach us, first of all, about the physical nation of Israel, those of Jewish descent who were and are descended from Abraham and Sarah via Isaac? How many of them who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years actually got to go into the land that God had promised them? Only a small remnant. Why? Because the majority of them rebelled against the Lord and they did evil in God’s sight and they would not obey his commandments, even though they were warned many times against disobedience. 

They not only did not get to go into the physical promised land, but they also did not enter into God’s eternal salvation and eternal life with God. They did not enter into God’s eternal rest. So, why do so many people today insist that the physical land of Israel should be granted to Abraham’s physical descendants, regardless of the fact that the nation of Israel, as a unit, has denied Jesus Christ as their Lord and Messiah, and thus they have rejected the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? That’s just not biblical.

And I have one other question along those same lines. Many people quote Romans 11 out of context, and they claim that “all Israel will be saved” at some point. But how about all those throughout biblical history who rebelled against the Lord and did not obey him, and all those who denied Jesus as the Christ, and now they are dead and gone, and they did not enter into God’s rest because of disobedience which God equated as unbelief. Do they truly believe that all the dead are now going to be saved? Not biblical! 

So, we have to consider the whole context of Romans 11, and in comparison with the whole of the teachings of the Scriptures, and if we do that, we cannot come to any other conclusion than it is not all Israel, in the sense of all the physical descendants of Abraham and Sarah who will be saved at the end. I believe if you read this in full context and compare it with all the teachings in the New Testament, with regard to the nation of Israel, that you will see that “all Israel” has to do with all who believe in Jesus Christ.

The Example that Provides for Us Today

Now, we are taught here that these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. And what is that primary example? God’s promises all have requirements. His promises to the nation of Israel and to us as followers of Christ all require obedience to our Lord’s commands and the forsaking of our sinful practices. And if we choose to rebel against the Lord, and to do evil in his sight, and to disobey his commandments under the New Covenant, we will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

So, we need to take that seriously! So, just as the physical descendants of Abraham and Sarah who rebelled against God in disobedience, via continuing in their sinful practices, did not get to enter the Promised Land, nor eternal rest with God, so we will also not enter into the kingdom of heaven if we choose disobedience over walks of obedience to our Lord – walks of faith which engage us in moral purity, honesty, faithfulness, and righteousness. Jesus taught it, and his NT apostles taught it, and it is irrefutable. 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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