SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/9/2016 8:52 PM
My Worship Time Focus: The People of Israel will be Regathered
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference:
Zechariah 8:7-8
Message of the verses: “7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ’Behold, I
am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the
west; 8 and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of
Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and
righteousness.’”
I want to
look at two sub-sections in this SD and the second sub-section is entitled “The
relationship between Israel and Jehovah will be restored,” and this will cover
verse eight.
As we have studied
the OT, especially the prophets we have seen that first of all Israel would be
divided between the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom and first of all
the Northern Kingdom would go into captivity because of their sins, mostly for
worshiping idols. Next the Southern
Kingdom of Judah would go into captivity, but they would return to the land of
Israel after 70 years of captivity were complete as seen in Daniel chapter
nine. One thing we need to understand
before we move on and that is that after the dividing of the two kingdoms of
Israel, with ten tribes making up the Northern Kingdom, and two the Southern
Kingdom that many of the people from the Northern Kingdom’s move into the
Southern Kingdom because of the idol worship that was there and because the
temple was still in Jerusalem. Now as we
looked at many of the prophecies we learned that they had a twofold fulfillment,
one that would be fulfilled shortly and one that would be fulfilled during the
end times, which consists of the period of time we call the tribulation period
which last for seven years and some, like the ones we have been looking at in
this section of Zechariah that have fulfillment in what we call the Millennial
Kingdom, for it last 1,000 years which will take place after the return of
Jesus Christ to earth which is seen in the 19th chapter of the book
of Revelation. Now as far as verse seven
of Zechariah chapter eight we see a promise from the Lord that He will regather
Israel to their land, and as mentioned He did this after the 70 years of
captivity was complete from the Babylonian captivity, but this speaks of the
end times when He will do this, for during Zechariah’s time many of the people
of Israel had already returned to the land of Israel. One of the prophecies we have looked at many
times is from the 28th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, and we
will look at verse 63 “"It shall come about that as the LORD delighted
over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to
make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you
are entering to possess it.” Now this
has happened in 586 BC, but it also happened again in 70 AD when Titus and the
Roman Legions destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and the Jews were scattered
around the world, and what we see in verse seven of Zechariah chapter eight is
a regathering of Israel into the land.
Many will say, and I agree with them, that this began in May of 1948
when Israel became a nation for the first time since they conquered the land
during Joshua’s day. Even when they
returned to the land in Zechariah’s day they were not in sovereign control of
it, even Jesus said that Jerusalem would be trodden down until the time of the
Gentiles is fulfilled. That has not
happened yet, but the process of Israel becoming a nation begins in May of
1948. Dr. Wiersbe writes “While groups
of Jewish patriots have returned from time to time to their land, the kind of
worldwide regathering described by the prophets has never yet occurred.”
Now we move
onto verse eight. Now we know that this
verse speaks totally of the Millennial Kingdom, for that is when it will be
fulfilled totally. Dr. Wiersbe writes “For
a time, God abandoned His people because they abandoned Him, and He called them
‘Lo-ammi; for you are not My people, and I will not be your God’ (Hosea 1:9
NKJV).”
Another verse
that goes along with this showing that God has not totally abandoned His people
is found in Zephaniah 3:20, and with that we will close: “20 “At that time I will bring you in, Even
at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your
eyes," Says the LORD.” (This is the
last verse Zephaniah wrote.)
7/9/2016 9:18 PM
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