Restoration of Israel as Presented by the Prophet Jeremiah: Part 2 

The continuation of the subject with the Prophecy of Isaiah already done.  Every Passage Examined

JEREMIAH – PART 2

Jeremiah 23:1 – “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!’ declares the LORD. Jer 23:2 Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: ‘You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,’ declares the LORD. Jer 23:3 ‘Then I Myself shall gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and shall bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.  Jer 23:4 I shall also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,’ declares the LORD.

As is often the case in prophetic writing, the problem is put, and then God’s future plan will supplant that. Here the problem is false shepherds (and that would include priests, elders, and prophets, and even the king), and God’s charge against them is that they have destroyed and scattered the sheep because they have not cared for them. They have been committing evil deeds, but God will hold them accountable for that. Leadership always carries great responsibility, and these false shepherds failed. How many likewise are failing in the churches? I like the way the NASB expresses verse 2.  God will attend to the betrayers of His flock because they have not attended to the flock.

In verse 3, God will step into human history and gather all those scattered sheep, those who are redeemed and saved in the Tribulation, gathering them from all countries. He will bring them back to Israel (Isaiah focuses on that a lot), multiply them and make them fruitful. It was God who had driven them from their homeland because of their unrepentant idolatry, and it is God who will gather them because of His great love. Once gathered, He will appoint true and faithful shepherds so that no more will the sheep be afraid, terrified and missing. Those shepherds will be under-shepherds because the Lord is the Shepherd of the sheep, true both for the Church and Israel.

———————

Jeremiah 23:5 – “Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign as king and act wisely, and do justice and righteousness in the land. Jer 23:6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely, and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The LORD our righteousness.’ Jer 23:7 Therefore behold, the days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when they will no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ Jer 23:8 but, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.”

Verse 5. This is future with the indicator introducing the verse. It will not happen until the King of Kings and Lord of Lords comes to execute judgement on Israel’s enemies, and then claims the earthly throne of His father David and reigns as King over the whole earth from Jerusalem – Zech 14:9 “And the LORD will be king over all the earth. In that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.”

Zech 14:17 “And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.” When Jesus came the first time, He came as the prophecy of Zechariah indicated, but He came in rejection, and there was a presentation on Palm Sunday, but this was but a glimmer of the glorious coming that happens at the Second Coming.

Zech 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you. He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Jesus will come again and enter Jerusalem, and He will be received as the rightful King. There is an erroneous thought going around that it is David who returns to reign, and it comes from this verse: Jer 30:9 “But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.” Jesus has descended from David, and ascends David’s throne. I have stated previously in Isaiah and already in Jeremiah how important “justice” and “righteousness” are.

There is an amazing study in “The Branch” as it relates to the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is not the time for that study, but I want to give the other 3 verses in that with the one in Jer 23:5 already mentioned.  Isa 4:2 “In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel,” and  Zech 3:8 “Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you – indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch.”  Zech 6:12 “Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is, and He will build the temple of the LORD.’”  The study on the Branch will be done in Jeremiah chapter 33 and verse 15.

Verse 6. This begins with “In His days,” and verse 5 confirms the “His.” It is The Branch. The Branch will save Judah, cause it to dwell securely, and His Name will be “The LORD our righteousness.” Of course, all these will be in the restoration blessings. The righteous nature of the people and the land will reflect the righteousness of their Branch King.

Verses 7-8. The backward look will be replaced by the present conditions. Whereas once the Jews looked to Moses in Egypt as their deliverance to bring them to the promised land, so in the redemption days of Israel, it will be their Messiah who will bring back the descendants from all over the world. Living on their own soil is so definite, and you can imagine their feet walking on their own soil. This glorious event will happen but after the Lord Jesus actually places His feet on the Mount of Olives, which will split in two. It is His feet that prepare the position for the nation’s feet.

———————

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jer 29:12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you, Jer 29:13 and you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jer 29:14 I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.”

Verse 11. This passage sits in the context promise of the return from Babylon – Jer 29:10 “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.” Then follow the verses we are considering, but this prophecy goes way beyond the Babylon return. In the terrible days of Israel’s sin, God had plans for them, but they were the plans of disaster. Those plans played out, and it meant defeat by enemies, famine, hardship, subjugation and exile and dispersion. However, God has other plans and He well knows them, and they are plans that relate to the nation’s good, to its welfare, to its future and to its hope.

Isn’t it wonderful when there is a bright hope in our future vision, when we know we are going to enter into glory and peace and blessing, not into uncertainty and conflict and every hopeless situation? That is the difference in “The Two Ways” – the way of righteousness and the ways of destruction (Psalm 1 considers that). The Church has that hope and looks out for it. Israel has that hope but currently does not realize it.

Verses 12-14. Contained here is a universal truth that God hears all those who seek Him and call on Him in all circumstances, but these verses specifically have application to Israel in the time of its restoration. After the removal of the Church, and when God again turns His attention to the lost sheep of Israel, then a remarkable turning begins to happen. The Jews will again seek their God, and God will respond. They will call on Him and pray to Him because the times will be very hard ones, being set in the Tribulation years. God will listen to their prayers, but they will only find Him when the seeking is done in sincerity with their “full heart,” for God will demand nothing less. These will be the days of total commitment and surrender. The Tribulation will not be a time for sham or pretense; there must be total genuineness of heart in searching for God.

The Lord will respond and will be found by His searching people, and three promises ensue. He will restore their fortunes, and this is not a great mountain of gold. It is the great promise of communion with God in the midst, in the theocracy of God as it was always intended. Secondly, He will gather them from all the nations of the world to where He had driven them in judgment, and thirdly, He will settle them in the land of promise, in that land from the Nile to the Euphrates.

——————

Chapters 30 and 31 are crucial in the restoration of Israel in the book of Jeremiah. Chapter 31 is one of the most important references in all of scripture. Chapter 33 is another vital chapter.

Jeremiah 30:1 – “The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Jer 30:2 ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book, Jer 30:3 for behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The LORD says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall possess it.’

Jer 30:4 ‘Now these are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah, Jer 30:5 ‘For thus says the LORD, ‘I have heard a sound of terror, of dread, and there is no peace.  Jer 30:6 Ask now, and see, if a male can give birth. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth, and why have all faces turned pale? Jer 30:7 Alas! for that day is great. There is none like it, and it is the time of Jacob’s distress, but he will be saved from it, Jer 30:8 and it shall come about on that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off their neck, and will tear off their bonds, and strangers shall no longer make them their slaves.”

Verses 1-3. This prophecy is so important that Jeremiah is instructed to write it down in a book (a scroll in those days). Verse 3 states almost the same as the previous section does, the one 29:12-14, a promise of restoration and settlement in their land.

Verses 4-8. Some say this is a description of the destruction of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar, but the context does not allow that. Of course, certain events can be forerunners or hints of a future calamity, and that may be so here as a wisp of “the great one.” That great one is the Great Tribulation that is on the horizon, for the Rapture of the Church looks so close.

We examine the passage. We begin with terror and dread and an absence of peace. The men are in turmoil as if in labor pains, and all faces are pale. Great calamity is overtaking the nation, and that could have been also under Nebuchadnezzar and later under Titus in AD 70, but verse 7 gives the proper context. It is the great day, in fact, the great day of His wrath over all the earth, but for the Jews, a special phrase is entered for them – “the time of Jacob’s distress” or “the time of Jacob’s trouble” as it is more commonly termed.

There is some difference of opinion as to what this is, with some saying it is the whole of the Tribulation viewed in respect of Israel based on the whole night of Jacob’s wrestling with God before the victory came. Others, and I think the majority, say this is the intensity of Jacob’s trouble that night, the most severe part, and therefore it relates to the second half of the Tribulation, beginning with the erection of the abomination in the Temple, the very time when the Lord would tell His Jewish Tribulation saints to flee from Jerusalem immediately when they saw this event (Matt 24).  That is the last three and a half years, the 1,260 days (42 months). In verse 7, the term, “there is none like it,” means it must be like no other time in history and nothing can equal it, so it must be set in the Tribulation.

Verse 8. Let us look at this term – “I will break his yoke from off their neck, and will tear off their bonds” as it is the turning point and the solution to Israel’s great distress. What does “his” and “their” mean? This is how I see it. The description has its fulfilment at Armageddon, but it is not just one single event leading to it. For the last half of the tribulation, the world leader = Antichrist will be the satanic enemy of Israel and especially of the Jewish believers who are fleeing Jerusalem. This is where Revelation 12 applies, that chapter being God’s protection for His own from Satan.

Additionally, the nations of the world have their armies in Israel and particularly in the assault against Jerusalem. Zechariah describes that this way – Zech 12:3 “And it will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.” AND Zech 14:2 “For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.”

The forces in Israel are from three groupings. There are those who belong to Antichrist and the False Prophet who will be in the Valley of Jezreel (Har Mediggo); Gog and Magog in the Kidron Valley and on the mountains, and they will have Jerusalem by the neck (the army of Ezekiel 38 and 39 and Zechariah above); the Kings of the east who have gathered (probably the armies of Asia, especially China, Japan and Korea area). Jerusalem will be in dire straits, but then, suddenly, this happens – Zech 14:3 “Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.” It is then the Lord of Lords and King of Kings delivers His people and “breaks his yoke” (Antichrist) and “tears off their bonds” (Nations). Messiah delivers His people!

——————–

Jeremiah 30:9 – “But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. Jer 30:10 Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares the LORD, ‘and do not be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from afar, and your offspring from the land of their captivity, and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and no one shall make him afraid. Jer 30:11 For I am with you,’ declares the LORD, ‘to save you, for I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you, only I will not destroy you completely, but I will chasten you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”

Verse 9. Some have made a problem of this verse where there is none. They say that David will reign again over his people. That is wrong. This is the core of the verse: “shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king.” A king reigns, we know that, and the Zechariah verse states this – 14:9 “And the LORD will be King over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.” There is no doubt that the Lord Jesus Christ will reign as the Millennial King, so when it says, “and will serve David their king” the reference must be to David’s greater Son, the Messiah.  “Shall serve the LORD their God” is equally true. They will also serve the Lord their God.

Now, is Jesus God? Most definitely He is. They shall serve the LORD (Jehovah) their God. This is one and the same. They will serve their Messiah the King. Remember, “the LORD will be the only ONE and HIS Name the only ONE.”

Verses 10-11. It is an error to say that verse 10 was fulfilled with the return of the Jews after the Babylonian captivity. In fact, it is short-sighted, to say the least, because verse 10 says they will be quiet and at ease, and no one will make them afraid. Just think! No sooner had the exiles returned in the time of Zerubbabel, Joshua, Haggai and Zechariah that work on the temple restoration ceased because of their enemies threatening them. Read that in Haggai chapter 1. All through that period right up to the birth of Christ, the Jews had trouble from all the nations, including the time of the Maccabees. The nation had no rest after they returned from their captivity.

The verse will have its fulfillment in the restoration of Israel at the start of the Millennium. Then Israel will have everlasting peace and be at ease with enemies. Verse 11. This is an interesting verse stating God will punish all the nations among whom the Jews were scattered, bringing about their destruction. This would link in with Armageddon and the often-quoted Zechariah verse – Zech 12:9 “And it will come about in that day that I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”

God will not destroy Israel completely (which means some destruction) and will punish the Jews in the Tribulation, to chastise them, and this is necessary to bring them to repentance, that they will come through as pure gold, the redeemed saints of the Lord, refined and unadulterated.  Zechariah mentions two-thirds will be cut off, and the one-third is the remnant that is refined. It is very possible that those numbers are generic in terms of a remnant. The Hebrew system of numbering is rather complex.

END OF PART 2: RESTORATION OF ISRAEL FROM JEREMIAH

ronaldf@aapt.net.au

 

 

2 Chronicles 7:14

Introduction

Recently I was involved in an exchange with the National Day of Prayer organization. It could have been any of a number of organizations, but in this case, they were the other party. And the controversy focused on their use of 2 Chronicles 7:14 as the basis for the National Day of Prayer activities. The verse says: “[If] My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (All Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible.)

This verse is trotted out virtually every time there is a call to prayer. We should have calls to prayer, whether it is for our government, the sanctity of life, the persecuted church, etc. We need those reminders, and it is surely good for more than one reason to come together to pray. But the scriptural basis given for almost any of these calls to pray is 2 Chronicles 7:14. Should this verse have to carry all the load? Is it even appropriate? Does the Bible not say anything anywhere else to call us to prayer? I cringe whenever I see it used this way.

So I contacted the National Day of Prayer people. I credit them with responding to my request and with knowing what they were doing in the use of this verse. They were purposeful in using this verse and did not use it simply because it is a call to prayer. I appreciate the National Day of Prayer and think it is important for believers to come together to pray; however, I differ with their understanding of the verse.

Unfortunately, there are many other groups and individuals who use it without understanding the verse, and they need to understand the implications of their choice. This article is an effort to look soberly at the verse, to see how it is misused, and to see its current value for us.

Setting/Meaning

Solomon, the son of David, was king over Israel. He was, in fact, the third king and the last king over unified Israel. The task of building the temple had been left to him, though his father David would have built it if the Lord had given him permission.

2 Chronicles 3–4 record the building of the temple. In chapter five, the ark of the covenant, which had been in the original tabernacle, is installed, and the priests and Levites prepare to serve. In chapter six at the dedication, Solomon speaks to the people and then prays one of the great prayers of the Bible. The prayer includes a list of possible scenarios in which the Israelites might sin, and each one concludes by their prayer of repentance toward this place, which was built to house the symbolic presence of the Lord; the Lord would hear and respond by reversing the circumstances of chastening. Chapter seven records that the Lord sent down fire to consume the huge number of sacrifices offered that day. The people celebrated a week-long feast. One night some time after that, the Lord appeared to Solomon with the response to his prayer. Our verse appears in the Lord’s message to Solomon.

Generally, God is saying to Solomon, “Yes, I will respond as you say. If the people come to me in prayer with the appropriate attitude and corresponding behavior, I will reverse the chastening and bring blessing to your land.” Their relationship to the God who called them, already through their ancestor Abraham, would be evident in God’s parental dealings with them.

It is instructive to notice that the people here are a national, geographical, genealogical, ethnic, political group. They are called earlier in the chapter “Israel,” they inhabit a defined land, they are descended from Jacob (also known as Israel), they have their own customs, and they have a monarchial form of government.

Distortion/Theological Principle

Our general consideration of this verse does not so far suggest it as the most appropriate basis for a call to prayer for the Church in the United States in the twenty-first century. But the explanation given is that, though the above is the meaning of the verse, God has set aside Israel, and today Israel is replaced by the Church. This is called by some Replacement Theology. It results in the Church taking for itself the instructions and promises originally assigned to Israel. However, these instructions and promises must be spiritualized or allegorized—they can no longer be taken at face value— because they are tied to a specific country and chunk of real estate which is not true for the universal Body of Christ, the Church.

There are theological systems which for the sake of their consistency, may replace Israel with the Church. But there is a biblical basis also offered here. If someone appeals to a Bible verse by way of explanation, then we have to conclude that the explanation is biblical. That it is biblical in that sense does not make it true, simply because biblical statements can be misused. 2 Timothy 2:15 commands us to be workmen who use the Bible accurately and therefore are approved by God.

So the admitted ‘biblical’ basis for Replacement Theology is Galatians 6:16: “And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” The Israel of God, in their view, is another name for the Church. We may also ask whether this verse deserves the burden placed upon it. As we will see later, a huge system rests upon the last phrase of the verse and even more specifically upon the word translated “and.”

This maneuver allows anything said to Israel to be transferred to the Church even though it was written to the Israelite nation in a thoroughly Israelite setting.

Exegesis of 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Galatians 6:16

In order to consider 2 Chronicles 7:14, it is most helpful to include verse thirteen since that is also part of the sentence.

“If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

So the verse is connected to the types of conditions listed in verse thirteen. These conditions come directly out of those listed in the covenant stipulations of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. The chastisement of drought appears in Deuteronomy 28:24, the locust in Deuteronomy 28:38, and the pestilence in Leviticus 26:25 and Deuteronomy 28:21. God called Israel into covenant with Him in a way that He has not initiated with any other people. The ceremony of solemnizing the covenant relationship is recorded in Exodus 24. There was a direct relation between the people’s obedience and divine blessing and between the people’s disobedience and divine chastening.

The Lord then agrees with Solomon’s prayer request. He clarifies that these are His people, as explained in Deuteronomy 7:6-11:

“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

“The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

“Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face.

“Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.”

It appears that this is not applicable to any other nation existing at the time Israel as a nation existed. The expression “my people” appears in the Bible 217 times. Twenty-three percent of the time, it is used by humans. In seventy-seven percent of the occurrences, it is used by God and by Him always with reference to Israel. God never speaks that way of the Church. It can be supposed that it could be used of the Church, but the connotations associated with “people” usually involve national, geographical, genealogical, ethnic, political overtones, and these are not applicable to the universal body of Christ. If it cannot be transferred to other nations of that time horizontally, it is at least questionable to think that it could be transferred to another group vertically in a different period of time, especially a group without national, geographical, genealogical, ethnic, political cohesion.

When they have sinned and experienced the chastening of the Lord, they are to return to Him with the attitude that recognizes who He is and who they are: they are to come humbly.

They are to pray. He is real, but He is far too great to reside in the temple building Solomon built. So the contact must be made spiritually by faith.

They are to seek God’s face. That Old Testament expression seems to be synonymous with praying.

It does suggest a coming close to God and perhaps even coming close to God for His approval and blessing. And this leads to their repenting from their sinful behaviors. At this point, the Lord is ready to respond.

He will hear from heaven–the location which is home to Him. He will forgive, clearing the account of charges against them, and, we might add, by looking ahead to the atonement Jesus Christ would provide on the cross.

And He will heal their land. We have no difficulty with this phrase when it is used of Israel.

There was a definitive land to which this applied. We also understand what the healing means. Verse thirteen itself suggests that the healing is the return of rain, the elimination of locusts, or the elimination of pestilence, etc., as the case may require.

And the chastening and healing is part of the covenant stipulations in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28-30. When such healing is applied to the Church, we have no idea what it means.

Galatians 6:16 appears in an epistle in which Paul challenges the Galatian believers regarding adding to salvation, which is by grace through faith. They were being influenced by Judaizers who wanted to add to the gospel of Christ the legal requirements of the Mosaic law, including the practice of circumcision of baby boys, observing the food laws of Leviticus 11, and observing the sabbaths and festivals. Our verse actually appears as the third to the last verse in the entire epistle as the writer is preparing to close. It says:

“And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.”

The rule of which he speaks is explained in the previous verses as that of Christ and the cross, making believers a new creation and one no longer defined by Jew/Gentile distinctions. He in His death for sins is what counts, not any works which can be added.

But the germane question is, who are the two groups indicated in the verse? They are indicated as “them” and “the Israel of God.” Interestingly, the phrase “the Israel of God” is used only here in the Bible.

On the one hand, there is no occurrence elsewhere to help with interpretation here, but, on the other hand, this unique occurrence seems to provide opportunity for unique interpretations!

In context, the previous verse again holds the key.

Verse fifteen says: “For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” One group is characterized as circumcision; these are clearly those of Jewish background.

The other is uncircumcision; clearly, these are of Gentile background. These two characterizations are no longer relevant—what is relevant is the new creation.

The Galatians obviously were mostly Gentile in that the Jewish observances and rituals were being foisted upon them by the Judaizers.

This would hardly be a concern if the congregations consisted of Jewish believers. So the “them” of verse sixteen is the same as the “uncircumcision” of verse fifteen. And “the Israel of God” of verse sixteen is the same as the “circumcision” of verse fifteen. Both of these groups are part of the “new creation” of verse fifteen. So the two groups are Gentiles who believe in Christ and Jews who believe in Christ; both have come together in the Church as a new creation.

The Replacement Theology people suggest that the “and” in “them, and upon the Israel of God” should have the sense of “even” as though the two expressions refer to the same group. This is actually possible, though it is unlikely. The Greek word used has as its primary meaning “and.” In addition, we have just shown above that the context sets up for two different groups, not one group referred to two different ways.

The question regarding the future for the Israelite nations has been with us a long time. And, though there may be other reasons as well, it almost seems as if the Apostle Paul wrote Romans 9-11 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit with the twenty-first century in view. And what is his conclusion? That Israel has been set aside for a time, the time during which many from the nations will come to Christ, but at the end, Israel will be reinstated; for, as 11:29 says, “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Then he breaks out in rapturous praise over the marvelous plan of God! We can take the words of Scripture to mean what they say, and, in fact, we should.

The term “Israel” appears in the New Testament seventy-three times. Nowhere does it refer to anything other than this nation descended physically from Jacob, unless here. Even here, as we have shown, it does not make the best sense. And upon that, Replacement Theology loses all semblance of ‘biblical’ support.

The Replacement Theology people have ignored even the first part of the 2 Chronicles 7:14 sentence, namely, verse thirteen. And that means they have simply taken a group of words, on the supposed basis of a faulty interpretation of a New Testament phrase, and built a whole way of looking at the Bible upon it. But even there is another inconsistency.

Read on in the same chapter. Verses fifteen and sixteen speak of the Lord setting His eyes and heart for all time on the temple which Solomon built. Time has not yet expired, so it would seem that one cannot transfer the particular attention of which God speaks here to anywhere in the world of our choice. Should the Church pray toward the Temple Mount in Jerusalem? Or should we pray to the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.?

Neither of these makes good sense, but it does make sense for Israel to pray toward the Temple Mount.

In verses seventeen and eighteen, the Lord speaks of the kingship of David and Solomon. What in the Church corresponds to that? Is the Church political? Again, for the Church this information is nonsensical, while for Israel it is plain.

Why are we mentioning this? We have been taught that context is important in determining meaning.

Then verses nineteen through twenty-two pose the opposite situation of that in our key verse. Here the Israelites are disobedient to the point of idolatry. What is the penalty? It is to be driven out of their land. What land is that if the passage is now taken to be a reference to the Church?

The Church worldwide has no specific land, or, to put it another way, dwells in every land. So to what land shall the Church driven out of its land go?

We know where Israel went; when Judah was defeated, they were taken captive to Babylon.

And furthermore, the answer I received from the National Day of Prayer people indicated that we could directly apply this to America as well as any other nation. Are we to say that the Christians of Iraq today are obviously living in sin and not crying out to God for their nation? If they were crying out according to 2 Chronicles 7:14 (in the Replacement Theology view), would not God cause the terrorism to cease and bring them peace and prosperity? And other nations would also cast doubt upon the Replacement Theology view. We simply cannot take the Scriptures focused on Israel and transfer them to some other construct of our choice. Or shall we somehow elevate American Christians above those of other countries as though we deserve the blessing of ‘healing’ but do not expect the Lord to bless other nations as Sudan similarly?

It is easy to conclude that the Replacement Theology people really do not seriously consider the actual words of Scripture inspired of God.

Jesus certainly did and indicated that every word was important, even to the smallest letter. He said in Matthew 5:18: “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.”

Many of them probably are not aware that they are doing this, but again, it is incumbent upon us to be careful students of God’s Word. The Bible is not a magical book in that interpretational tricks will get us what we want, nor is it a reference phrasebook designed for handy quotations; it has its own story.

Ramifications

There are wide-reaching consequences of replacing Israel with the Church. I will cite only a few here.

First is the political. In the last couple years, one Presbyterian denomination urged its people to divest themselves of financial investment in Israeli concerns. The presupposition was that Israel certainly has no more place in the plan of God, so we will side with the Palestinians who will bring peace to the Middle East once Israel is gone. Churches holding this doctrine have no reason to be interested in the welfare of Israel. As far as they are concerned, no prophecy involves the nation of Israel even if Israel is named in it. This does not dissuade from anti-Semitism and may actually fuel it.

Second is the soteriological. Obviously, in any of these, you will find exceptions, but if the Replacement people are consistent, they believe in a salvation by works via infant baptism. All churches which practice infant baptism believe in a kind of replacement theology.

They have adapted the covenant ritual of circumcision (for infant Israelite boys) to baptism (for all infants) so that by virtue of genealogical procession from church members, the next generation is included in the people of God. Each denominational group has its own explanation, but it is at best a confusion of salvation by grace through faith.

Third is the exegetical. Words do not finally mean what they normally are considered to mean.

And they do certainly not mean what they should in their contextual setting. Of course, this makes interpretation of Scripture a subjective process subject to the will of the interpreter. It implies that the Bible does not have a message of its own.

Someone can concoct a theology and then impose it upon the text of Scripture. There are no interpretational controls in such a system so that the text can ultimately be interpreted as to mean anything.

Fourth is the theological. There will be no kingdom of God on earth with Jesus Christ personally present and ruling on the throne of David in earthly Jerusalem, even though the Old Testament is rich with such promises, and even though the Gospels suggest that program still exists. Furthermore, this system indicates that God makes promises, even promises termed eternal, and then changes His mind. If that is so, we are in great trouble because we have little reason to hope that God will fulfill promises of eternal salvation. God is not a liar, even when we often are, and we treat Him as such to our own peril.

Romans 9–11 was written just for the exact reason of considering the question of Israel. Is God done with her? Read the following verses, and you decide:

Romans 11:1-2 “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?”

Romans 11:11-12 “I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression be riches for the world and their failure be riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!”

Romans 11:25-32 “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in; and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.’ From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

“For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, in order that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience that He might show mercy to all.”

After considering that, the Apostle Paul breaks into rapturous praise to God for the marvelous plan He has, a plan which no human mind could ever conceive, a plan which ultimately brings great glory to God.

Let us not rob Him of the glory due Him!

Contemporary Application

So what shall we do with 2 Chronicles 7:14? Shall we cut it out of the Bible? Shall we ignore it? Again, if we take Scripture seriously, we will recognize its value regarding God’s covenant plan for Israel and also its enduring principles for us. Romans 15:4 says, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” And this verse does truly give us hope.

First, it suggests that there is cause and effect in repentant prayer. A person realizing his sin and repenting of it can come to God and expect to be heard. The verse promises that God does hear.

Second, the verse indicates two values. The first is that of humility. If you are coming to God in prayer, the attitude is that of a bent knee.

After all, He is God, and you are the creature. The second is that of sorrow for sin. Hopefully, as you come to God, you are sorry for the sin you have committed and not just the penalty you are experiencing. This prayer must be repentant and involving a change of attitude and action.

Third is the promise of forgiveness. In the original setting, God does remove the chastening which came as a result of the sin. He did give a pardon for sins, and He does the same today for those who come in the same way. He pardons upon the basis of Jesus Christ’s finished work of salvation on the cross. He is just and the justifier of the one who believes in Jesus (Romans 3:26).

There are a couple of New Testament passages which actually have the same message as 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. Their major difference is that whereas 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 is focused on the people of Israel as a nation and tied to their land, these are individual and universally applicable wherever in the world someone comes in the indicated way.

Note James 4:6-10.

“But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Is this not the same message? In fact, if one is searching for slogans to call people to prayer, this passage contains at least a couple. How about “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”? How about “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you”? Let us make sure that when we call people to pray, we actually are calling people to pray on a basis that pleases God, rather than calling people to pray so that we can create a prayer organization for our own purposes and glory.

There are possible slogans elsewhere that could be used to call people to prayer. For example, how about “pray that we might lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” based on 1 Timothy 2:1-2? Or how about “pray instead of fainting” from Luke 18:1?

Another? How about 1 Peter 5:6-7?

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.”

Is this not also the same message? Perhaps you can find a slogan also in this verse.

But you wonder what the exaltation is. Does it need to be identified? Perhaps with a closer look, it could be. But it is clear that the exaltation will happen in God’s time and way.

If we are concerned about the exaltation, perhaps we are not really coming in humility. You can trust His great love. He cares for you. If you are troubled about your sins, God is waiting to hear from you; He will welcome you and bless you truly, richly, and eternally in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Conclusion

More could be said, but we have gone on long enough. It should be clear that 2 Chronicles 7:14 is not the appropriate call to prayer in our day. Words do mean something. There are calls to prayer that do not have to be ripped out of their context in order to call us to prayer. Let us come on God’s terms, and let us glorify Him for His perfect plan!

If you wish to interact with the author, you may contact him at arlieandruth@cox.net.