Monday, March 14, 2016

PT-2 The Gentiles: God's gracious Forgiveness from Zeph. 3:9-10


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/14/2016 9:06 PM

My Worship Time                                   Focus:  PT-2 The Gentiles:  God’s gracious Forgiveness

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Zephaniah 3:9-10

            Message of the verses:  “9 “For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, That all of them may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder. 10 “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings.”

            We ended our last SD on this section by looking at the first blessing that God promised to give to the Gentiles and the last day, and that comes from verse 9, that they would be converted.  Now we want to continue on this subject in our SD for today.  Not only will they be converted, but they will serve the Lord as one people and never again be divided as we read in verse nine where we see “To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.”  In our previous studies of other OT prophets we have read that during the Millennial Kingdom that the Gentiles will go up to Jerusalem to worship and to serve the Lord.  “1 The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. 3 And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war. 5 Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.”  Isaiah 4:1-6 teaches us similar things along with Ezekiel chapters 40-48 and Zech. 14:9 and following.  God is not the God of all the earth, but in those 1000 years things will be greatly different because the people will desire to worship the Lord, and this surely includes the children of Israel.

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes this second main point:  “Before our Lord’s death on the cross, there was a vast difference between the relationship of Jews and Gentiles to each other and to the Lord.  But the middle wall that separated them has now been taken down (Eph. 2:11ff.), and both can share in the spiritual blessings that come through faith in Christ.  ‘For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich upon all who call upon Him.  For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Rom. 10:12-13 NKJV).  This miracle of God’s grace will be demonstrated in the Kingdom Age as the Gentile nations trust and worship the God of Israel.”

3/14/2016 9:21 PM

 

No comments:

Post a Comment