In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: (Isaiah 26:1-4 KJV)
Talking about the day of the Lord, Isaiah details his thankfulness. Yesterday a missionary to Guatemala posted this verse and mentioned “the righteous nation which keepeth the truth.”
Which nation would that be?
I’m certain Isaiah was speaking of Israel, and I’m so sad that our nation does not appear to fit the description. No – I am not advocating a nation where its laws are written by men to match what is in the Bible as Muslim Sharia laws are written to match the Quran. I’m thinking of where the law is written in men’s hearts:
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalms 119:11 KJV)
That verse doesn’t mention laws at all. It’s God’s word that needs to be in our hearts that we might not sin. Which word? Well, it certainly takes more than one. We’d have to begin with the words that teach us God exists:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 KJV)
That Israel existed to bless all nations:
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3 KJV)
That God planned for a deliverer, called the Messiah:
Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. (Ezekiel 34:22-23 KJV)
That God provided that deliverer in His son:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
(John 3:16 KJV)
To believe all of that we must also believe in “that day” of the Lord – whether from the Old Testament:
Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. (Isaiah 13:6 KJV)
… or the New:
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. (1 Thessalonians 5:2 KJV)
How can this be wrong? What is “that day”, and are we prepared?
I believe the righteous nation that keeps the truth and enters the City, does refer to Israel. But I don't believe that excludes people born of other nationalities. Paul said, "For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed." {Rom 9} When we get saved through the blood of Jesus the Messiah, we are grafted into the Good Olive Tree {Rom 11}, we become children of promise {Gal 4:28}, the spiritual seed of Abraham, through faith.
ReplyDeleteGod says that in the New Covenant, His Law would be written on our hearts. Jeremiah 31:
ReplyDelete31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (See also Heb 8)
This "write it in their hearts" began to be fulfilled when the Holy Spirit came and indwelt the believers, and continues the process of being fulfilled as we near the last days, but won't be completely fulfilled until we have no need of teachers, as mentioned in the above passage. I think that will be in the Kingdom. But we are learning! :)
Thanks, Tammy, for extending my thoughts. I agree. Forgive me for not getting to your Comments earlier! I do appreciate them.
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