Thursday, October 20, 2016

The Salvation of Israel (Zech. 12:10)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/21/2016 12:07 AM

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  The Salvation of Israel

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Zechariah 12:10

            Message of the verses:  “10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”

            Now we did look at this verse in our last SD, and promised that we would look once again at it in this SD as it has to do with the salvation of Israel.

            Now we can see from the beginning of this verse that God is in the business of pouring, as He never sprinkles, and what does He pour out but His Spirit, the Spirit of grace and of supplication.  He speaks of the Spirit of grace because that is the motive and the reason that He is given, and then we move to the Spirit of supplication and this is the response that He brings.  MacArthur adds “When God pours out His Spirit of Grace, we respond in prayer.  Zechariah is saying that just as God pours out refreshing showers on thirsty and parched ground, so will He pour out the Spirit of grace and supplication on a repentant needy Israel.”

            Let us look at a few verses which tell us more about this term:  “Hebrews 10:29 “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”  Next we look at Joel 2: 28-29 "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 29 “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”  Peter mentioned these verses in his sermon that he gave on the Day of Pentecost when the church age began.  However when Peter spoke these verses to that crowd it only showed a taste of what was going to happen to Israel during this last part of the tribulation period, and also into the Millennial Kingdom age.

            Ezekiel 36:26 also speaks of this moment when Israel will receive their salvation from the Lord “"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

            The reason for them receiving their salvation comes from the middle part of our verse today when Zechariah writes “so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced.”  The people of Israel will realize that it was upon that old rugged cross that Jesus bore their sins in His body to proved salvation for them, and after He died the soldiers pierces His side which I believe is what Zechariah is prophesying that they will do to Him.

            Now notice also what this portion of the verse says “they will look on Me,” and that “Me” refers to Jesus Christ the very God of God. 

            MacArthur writes “And then Israel is going to receive salvation, look at 13:1, ‘In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.’  God’s going to wash the nation from its sin.”

            Now the salvation that Israel receives in that day is open to those who will accept the truth of what the gospel is, and that is first of all we must confess that we are sinners, and as sinners we sin, and so we repent of our sins and then receive the Lord Jesus Christ into your hearts and then, like Israel in that day you will be saved.

10/21/2016 12:33 AM

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