In the Old Testament there were many Jews who had faith and trusted God, not the Law, for salvation. Sometimes large portions of a generation believed.
Abraham: “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” – Genesis 15:6
Jacob: “The Lord will be my God.” – Genesis 28:21
Joseph: “God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” – Genesis 50:24
Joshua: “Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is given you for your own.” – Joshua 1:11
Samuel: “Speak, for your servant is listening.” – First Samuel 3:10
David: “Create in me a pure heart, O God…You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it…The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” – Psalm 51:10, 16-17
Solomon: “The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.” – First Kings 3:10
At the same time there were many Jews in the Old Testament who did not believe, such as King Ahaz who was warned by Isaiah:
“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” - Isaiah 7:9
And, in Jesus day an entire generation followed their rebellious leaders and rejected the Lord:
Jewish crowd: “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”…We have no king but Caesar.” – John 19:15
Paul faced the same rejection from large groups of Jews when he presented the Word of God:
“Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. They disagreed among themselves and began to leave…” – Acts 28:24
Paul writes in Romans 11:28-29 that the Jews are enemies of the gospel, because they as a culture oppose the gospel message. They showed contempt for the promise, and, instead, chose the Law. Yet, the Gentiles did not stumble over the concept of salvation by faith.
But, because of the promise given to the patriarchs such as Abraham, Jacob, (and, the promises that were believed by Joseph, Joshua, David and many more) Israel is still elected by God. Israel was chosen for a purpose and Israel was given a mission. As a people group Israel cannot be forgotten by God and neither will God’s plans be changed, because God gave Israel their mission and God called them to action. It will be done. Israel will accomplish God’s call and his plan will prosper because:
“God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.”
|
