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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
January 7, 2024
Blessings, Curses and Restoration
Deuteronomy 27-30 & Selected Scriptures
Introduction
I trust that the messages last month on the rapture and the promise of an imminent return of Jesus for the church have strengthened you in our blessed hope for transformed glorified bodies and dwelling with Jesus forever in His Father’s house. I also trust it has encouraged you in living a more holy life in the here and now in preparation for it. Though many things could occur before Jesus appears, knowing that nothing must occur gives both an eager anticipation of the future and a somber reminder to be ready for His sudden presence at anytime.
This morning we will be turning our attention to promises that God has made to the Jews as God’s chosen people. Many of the problems in studying prophecies concerning the last days – eschatology – are directly related to either being ignorant of what God has promised to them in the past or in trying to replace them with the church. Why is this important? I will give you two reasons.
First, eschatology includes doctrine directly related to those who are part of the church, the body of Christ. Both Jesus and the apostles included teachings about what will happen in the future, and the book of Revelation is about end time events that will culminate in eternity. Revelation 22:7 even pronounces a blessing on those who will heed this book of prophecy. Christians should learn and know what God has revealed to us about the future lest we be led astray by false teachers into either false hope or complacency.
Second, God’s faithfulness to His promises to the Jewish people is an aspect of His own character that enables us to trust Him for His promises made to us in the church. That is actually Paul’s point in Romans 9-11. He states emphatically in Romans 11:1-2, “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! . . .” 2 “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. . .” God has always preserved a remnant of those who are Abraham’s descendants both physically and in faith (Romans 11:2-7, 11). In regards to that remnant, Paul states in verse 26 & 29, “and so all Israel will be saved . . .” “For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.”
If God’s gifts and calling were revocable to them, then we would stand in grave danger for His gifts and calling of us would also be revocable. However, God’s attributes of infinitude such as being omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, immutable and eternal, combined with His attributes of character such grace, mercy, love, patience, veracity and faithfulness, guarantee that He always keeps His promises. He never fails. And since God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants going through the line of Isaac and then Jacob and his descendants was unilateral, then even their disobedience could not break the covenant and remove God’s promises. The same is true for we who are Christians. God chose us before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4) resulting in the truth of 2 Timothy 2:13, “if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
God’s Choice of the Jews
Though God’s choice of Abraham and his descendants is well known, I want to quickly review the covenants God made with them and their essential characteristics.
Turn to Genesis 12:1-3. Abram had already immigrated with his father, Terah, his wife, Sarai, and his nephew, Lot, from Ur of the Chaldeans to Haran. After Tera dies, Yahweh intervenes in Abram’s life. 1 Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you will be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
This covenant involves God giving Abram 1) A land He would show him, 2) Making him a great nation, 3) Making his name great, and 4) Making him a blessing to all the families of the earth. There is also an element of protection in blessing those who bless Abram and cursing those who curse him. All Abram needs to do is go where Yahweh shows him, which Abram does and he finally ends up in the land of Canaan.
Due to a famine, Abram has a brief sojourn in Egypt where he gains great wealth. God has blessed him in the midst of adversity. After returning to Bethel, Abram and Lot separate because their flocks have become too large to live in the same area. Lot moves to the plains of Sodom where he is eventually taken captive in a war. Abram and his servants chase down the invaders and defeat them. On the way back, he is met by Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the God Most High. Melchizedek brings bread and wine and blesses Abram saying, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered our enemies into your hand” (Genesis 14:19-20).
In Genesis 15 Yahweh renews and ratifies a covenant with Abram. He states in verse 1, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward will be very great.” As the chapter continues, God assures Abram he would have an heir from his own body saying to him in verse 5, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them . . .” “So shall your descendants be.” Verse 6 is Abram’s response, “Then he believed in Yahweh; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” God continued in verse 7, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” The rest of the chapter records a formal covenant that is made in which sacrifices are cut in half and laid opposite of each other. Normally both parties would ratify the covenant by walking together between the sacrifices. The symbolism being that if you do not keep your part of the covenant, then you should be cut in half. In this case, only Yahweh symbolized by a smoking oven and flaming torch passed between the pieces of the sacrifices. This is a unilateral covenant. In verses18-20 Yahweh then reiterates the covenant saying, “to your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates” followed by specifying the particular nations in those lands Abram’s descendants would supplant.
In Genesis 16 Sarai’s maid, Hagar gives birth to Ishmael, but he would not be the son of the promise. In Genesis 17 God Almighty expands the covenant to make Abram a father of a multitude of nations and changes his name to Abraham. He also institutes the rite of circumcision as a sign of the covenant. Though Abraham pleaded on behalf of Ishmael who was born 13 years earlier, God is emphatic in Genesis 17:19 & 21 saying, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.” Ishmael would become a great nation, but the covenant would be established with Isaac. To emphasize the point it is repeated in verse 21.
Abraham was one hundred years old when Isaac was born, and Sarah was ninety. Genesis 21 records that Sarah did not want Ishmael around to compete with Isaac. This distressed Abraham, but God told him in verse 12, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.”
The test of Abraham’s faith in Genesis 22 was supreme as shown by the comments about it in Hebrews 11:17-19. 17 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18 it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” 19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” Since God’s covenant with Abraham was bound up in Isaac, then God would have to raise Isaac back to life in order to keep the covenant. Contrary to Arab assertions, the covenant of blessing with Abraham goes through Isaac and not Ishmael. Because of Abraham’s obedience, God reiterated the promise to multiply his descendants “as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore” and that “in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 22:16-18).
Yahweh confirms the covenant with Isaac in Genesis 26:24 saying, “I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham.” He does the same thing with Isaac’s son, Jacob, in Genesis 28:13–15 as had been prophesied earlier (Genesis 25:23 & 27:27-29) that Jacob, not Esau, would be the son of the covenant. 13 . . . “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. 14 “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” This covenant is confirmed again in Genesis 35:9-12 after Jacob had returned to Bethel. 9 Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; You shall no longer be called Jacob, But Israel shall be your name.” Thus He called him Israel. 11 God also said to him, “I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, And kings shall come forth from you. 12 “The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, And I will give the land to your descendants after you.”
It is important to emphasize that Yahweh’s covenant with Abraham and then reconfirmed with his descendants is unilateral and it is an everlasting covenant (Genesis 17:19). These are promises of what God will do for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants regarding the land, a multitude of descendants and being a blessing to the world without condition of what they would do. Yes, God told them to obey Him, but these covenant promises would be kept even though all of them failed at points of time to trust and obey Him.
In Exodus 6 Yahweh refers back to this covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as the basis for His unconditional promise to bring the sons of Israel out of bondage in Egypt, to take them for His people, and to establish them in the land sworn to them in that covenant. In Exodus 19 conditional aspects are added to what would become the Mosaic covenant. If they would keep the covenant by obeying His commands, then God would establish them as His special treasure and they would be to Him a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (vs. 5-6). The establishment of the Mosaic covenant did not change any of the elements of the Abrahamic covenant though it did put conditions on what each generation would experience based on whether they trusted and obeyed God or not. In short, there would be great blessings if they obeyed and great curses if they did not along with a promise of restoration if they were cursed. These conditions were given in detail to the generation that came out of Egypt in Leviticus 26. The blessings are in Leviticus 26:1-13, the curses in verses 14-39 and restoration in verses 40-45. These conditions were repeated again in even more detail in Deuteronomy 27-30 to the second generation that was about to go into the promised land.
Promised Blessings – Deuteronomy
Moses begins the book of Deuteronomy with a short history of the nation coming out of Egypt and their wanderings in the wilderness and a call upon them to obey Yahweh. In chapters 5-26 Moses restates the laws of God’s covenant with them with this warning given to them in Deuteronomy 11:26–28, 26 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; 28 and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.”
In Deuteronomy 27 Moses instructs them that after they have entered the land they were to build an altar on Mount Ebal and sacrifice peace offerings. Then half of the tribes were to stand on Mount Gerazim and half on Mount Ebal to receive the blessings and curses. These two mountains are immediately to the west of Shechem and the valley in between them forms a natural amphitheater. Verses 15-26 are a series of curses on those who break the specific commandments listed.
Deuteronomy 28:1-14 are the blessings for obedience which I will read in its entirety.
1 “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God: 3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. 4 “Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. 5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7 “The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. 8 “The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 9 “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 “So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you. 11 “The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 “The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 “The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14 and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”
All of these blessings would be theirs upon the condition of them obeying Yahweh. However, please note that the covenant promises God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are not included. God’s promises of a land, a multitude of descendants and being a blessing to the world was unilateral. God will fulfill His covenant promises regardless of their obedience or disobedience, however, the blessings associated with those promises that any particular generation would experience would be directly tied to their obedience to Yahweh. That would include occupation of the promised land and abounding families and the material blessing that would be associated with both. Life is better when it is lived in obedience to God.
Promised Curses – Leviticus 26:14-39; Deuteronomy 28:15-68
Life lived in disobedience to God is cursed. The specific curses listed out in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 are the opposite of the blessings listed in the previous passage with detailed expansions on how those curses would be carried out. The specifics go from bad to worse. Material prosperity is lost and descends into famine and poverty. Personal health is lost and descends into horrible diseases, blindness and madness. Security and victory over enemies changes to defeat and oppression and eventually deportation. And while Deuteronomy 28 mixes the horrors of these curses with one another, Leviticus 26 gives a pattern of greater curses as the people continue in disobedience.
The curses for disobedience in Leviticus 26:14-20 are bad enough and include loss of health, prosperity and defeat by enemies. Verse 21 then states, “If then, you act with hostility against Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins.” The curses now include an increase in dangerous wild animals and loss of children and cattle so that there is a population decrease. Verses 23-24 marks the next decline, 23 “And if by these things you are not turned to Me, but act with hostility against Me, 24 then I will act with hostility against you; and I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins.” The curses now include oppression and famine. Verses 25-27 mark another increase in the curses. 27 “Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, 28 then I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I, even I, will punish you seven times for your sins.” The curses now include famine so bad that it results in cannibalism, the cities laid waste, the people deported, the land left desolate, and that the few that would be left would be in constant terror. The history of the nation recorded in Judges through 2 Kings shows that God did exactly what He said he would do. As both the nations of both Israel and Judah went father away from the Lord, the curses increased until both were finally deported with their cities laid waste and the land left desolate.
If Leviticus 26 ended at verse 39 or if Deuteronomy did not include chapter 30, then there would be reason to conclude that God had rejected the Jewish nation because of their disobedience and that His covenant promises to them were somehow conditional. But Leviticus 26 continues on and Deuteronomy includes chapter 30 and their promises of restoration despite the obstinacy and disobedience of the people
Promised Restoration – Leviticus 26:34-45; Deuteronomy 30
Leviticus 26:34-43 ties restoration to confession of iniquity and unfaithfulness against the Lord. That is a pattern in Jewish history from the time of the Judges onward. In the time of the judges that followed a pattern of prosperity leading to complacency, unfaithfulness and idolatry which would then result in the forewarned curses and oppression leading eventually to confession, repentance and God delivering them. During the time of the kings, the pattern was more directly related to the godliness of the particular king. A good king brought blessings since he would lead by his own example and bring about at least an outward form of godliness by enforcing the law to one degree or another. An evil king would lead the people in the opposite direction often oppressing the people himself and then eventually becoming oppressed by a foreign power. However, the passage continues on to tie restoration to unconditional covenants.
God states in verses 44-45, 44 “Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. 45 But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.” God will not break the covenant He made with their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Portions of the nation and at times the entire nation have experienced God’s curses upon them due to their unfaithfulness, yet, there always has been and always will be a remnant to which God will keep His covenant promises.
Joseph recognized this when he told his brothers in regard to them selling him into slavery in Egypt, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance” (Gen. 45:7). This was part of Isaiah’s prophecy in 2 Kings 19 against Sennacherib king of Assyria and to encourage king Hezekiah and the people stating in verses 30-31, 30 “The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 ‘For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The zeal of the Lord will perform this.” Jeremiah 23:3 and 50:20 both prophesy concerning a future remnant that would return to the land after the deportation and time of exile was past. Ezra recognized that in his day stating in Ezra 9:15, “O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in our guilt, for no one can stand before You because of this.” Prophesies and statements about this remnant also occur in Ezekiel, Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah, Haggai and Zechariah.
Deuteronomy 30 is a more detailed promise of restoration of this remnant of Jewish people to the land following deportation and being scattered among the nations. However, in comparing this passage with other Scriptures talking about a restoration and re-gathering the Jews to the land, there appears to be more than just one such re-gathering and restoration. Arnold Fruchtenbaum of Ariel Ministries has made a study of this published in his book, Israelology – The Missing Link in Systematic Theology.
The first re-gathering is well known with very specific detailed prophecies concerning it and an historical account of its occurrence in Ezra and Nehemiah. The prophecies of Isaiah 44 & 45 foretell of this restoration and that God would raise up Cyrus to bring it about. Jeremiah 29:10 is the prophecy of the timing until the punishment of Babylon and that restoration. “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.” 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and Ezra 1:1-2 both record that in recognition of Yawheh’s appointment, Cyrus made a decree for a remnant of those who so desired to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
Fruchtenbaum points out that passages such as Ezekiel 20:33-38 and 22:17-22 describe a different gathering and return. The return under Cyrus’ decree was of those who freely desired to do so and 42,360 did do so. These passages in Ezekiel describe a return driven by force instead of free desire that is followed by purging and refining under Yahweh’s wrath.
Ezekiel 20:33–38 reads, 33 “As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. 34 “I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out; 35 and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 36 “As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord God. 37 “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 and I will purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am Yahweh.”
In a similar vein Ezekiel 22:17–22 states, 17 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are the dross of silver. 19 “Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Because all of you have become dross, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 ‘As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath and I will lay you there and melt you. 21 ‘I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it. 22 ‘As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out My wrath on you.’ ”
Both of these passages describe a return to the land, but it is by compulsion and is accompanied by God’s judgment and wrath. The restoration spoken of in Deuteronomy 30 is one in which Yahweh brings back His people from the ends of the earth and blesses them described in verses 5-9 as follows. 5 “And Yahweh your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 “Moreover Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. 7 “And Yahweh your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 “And you shall return and listen to the voice of Yahweh, and you shall do all His commandments which I am commanding you today. 9 “Then Yahweh your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for Yahweh will return to rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers.” The passage continues on with the blessings conditioned on obedience in turning to Yahweh with all their heart and soul. But with circumcised hearts, that will be easy to do for it matches the future new covenant described in Jeremiah 31:31-34 in which Yahweh writes the law on their heart so that He will be their God and they will be His people. They will know Yahweh and He will forgive their sin and remember their iniquity no more. Moses even directly states in Deuteronomy 30:11 & 14, “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach . . . “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.”
The physical blessings of this new covenant and restoration to the land are described in other prophecies of a future return and restoration such as Amos 9:13-15 and Joel 3:18-21. We will go over those in detail in future sermons.
Conclusions
The point of today’s sermon is rather simple. The Jews are God’s chosen people not because of anything inherent in them and despite their obstinacy and sin (Deut. 7:7; 9:6). He set His love upon them because of the oath He swore to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Deut. 7:8). That does not mean that all Jews will receive God’s blessing since their disobedience to Him brings upon them God’s curses, yet God always has a remnant that are descendants of Abraham both physically and in faith. At present, the Jews are still in the time of refining and purging to make them pure until the end time which saw in our study of Daniel 11:35. This includes the current State of Israel which is a nation of unbelief gathered back to the land out of compulsion and under God’s wrath as prophesied. God has kept His promises of blessing, curses and restoration. God will also keep all of His promises that are still to be fulfilled including a future nation of Jews gathered in belief and under the new covenant and the blessings that come with it.
Those who discount or even deny God’s covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that extends to their descendants living today and in the future also discount or even deny God’s attributes related to His sovereignty and those related to His love, faithfulness and veracity. That would be a god of a different character that cannot be trusted to keep His covenants and promises. That in turn would change the gospel from a message of confident hope to one of wishful thinking.
My trust of God to keep the promises made to me and all those who have placed their faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ is the same as Abraham’s trust of God when asked to sacrifice Isaac. It is complete and yielded to God doing what is humanly impossible. God makes sinners righteous and adopts them into His family. God set His love on this sinner, redeemed me through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, forgiving me and declaring me righteous before him all because of His own mercy and grace and applied to me through the simple act of believing Him to be true and faithful to His promises. What is your level of trust in our Creator, Yahweh the Lord God? If it is not already at this level, I pray that will be soon. Talk to myself or any of our church leaders and let us help you as you seek the Lord.
Sermon Notes – 1/7/2024
Blessings, Curses and Restoration – Deuteronomy 27-30 & Selected Scriptures
Introduction
Eschatology includes doctrine directly related to those who are part of the ___________, the body of Christ
God’s faithfulness to His promises to the _________people proves He will keep His promises to the church
If God’s gifts & calling were _____________to them, then they would also be revocable to us
God’s Choice of the Jews
Gen. 12:1-3. God’s covenant with _______includes 1) A land. 2) A great name. 3) Descendants. 4) Blessing
____________pronounced a blessing on Abram after he defeated the armies that had captured Lot (Gen. 14)
Genesis 15. Yahweh affirms His covenant with Abram and ratifies it ________________
Genesis 16 -17. Sarai’s maidservant gives birth to __________, but the covenant goes to Sarah’s future son
Genesis 21. _______is born and Ishmael & his mother are sent away to avoid any competition between them
Genesis 22 / Hebrews 11:17-19. Abraham’s faith is ____________in command to sacrifice of Isaac
Yahweh confirms covenant with Isaac (Genesis 26:24) and with Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15, 35:9-12)
Yahweh’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac & Jacob is unilateral and ______________(Genesis 17:19)
Exodus 6 – Yahweh’s covenant with Abraham is the reason for the _____________(cf. Gen. 15:13-14)
Mosaic covenant adds conditional aspects for specific _____________but no change to Abrahamic covenant
Promised Blessings – Deuteronomy 28:1-14
Deuteronomy 5-26 is a restatement of the ____________ of the Mosaic Covenant
Deuteronomy 27 – Half of the tribes on Mt. Ebal and half on Mt. Gerazim to receive ___________________
Deuteronomy 28:1-14 – the blessings to be received if _______________to God’s commands
The covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac & Jacob and descendants ____________regardless of obedience
Promised Curses – Leviticus 26:14-39; Deuteronomy 28:15-68
The specific curses listed in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 are the ___________of the blessings of Deut. 28:1-14
Leviticus 26 gives a pattern of ____________curses as the people continue in disobedience
Jewish history recorded in Judges through 2 Kings shows that __________exactly what He said he would do
Leviticus 27:40-46 & Deuteronomy 30 tell what Yahweh would do even if they were ________________
Promised Restoration – Leviticus 26:34-45; Deuteronomy 30
Leviticus 26:34-43 ties restoration to ______________of iniquity and unfaithfulness against the Lord
Leviticus 26:44-45 ties restoration to the _________________ covenants with their ancestors
God always preserves a ______________(Gen. 45:7; 2 Kings 19:30-31; Jeremiah 23:3, 50:20, the Prophets)
Deuteronomy 30 is a more detailed promise of ______________of this remnant of Jewish people to the land
The 1st restoration is prophesied in Isaiah 44-45, Jer. 29:10 and ________________in Ezra & Nehemiah
Ezekiel 20:33-38 & 22:17-22 are prophesies of a ___________restoration – compelled then purging & wrath
Deuteronomy 30:5-9 describes a return from the ends of the earth followed by _____________
The passage continues to describe circumcised ________that match the new covenant of Jeremiah 31:31-34
The blessings of this ____________& restoration are also in prophecies such Amos 9:13-15 & Joel 3:18-21
Conclusions
The Jews are God’s chosen people _____________their obstinance and sin (Deuteronomy 7:7; 9:6)
God set His love upon them because of the oath He swore to their _____________(Deuteronomy 7:8)
The Jews are presently in a time of refining and _______________(Deuteronomy 11:35)
God has ____His promises of blessing, curses & restoration. He will ____all of His remaining promises too
Denial of God’s continuing unilateral covenant with the Jewish patriarchs denies God’s _____________
Such denial results in a ___________god that cannot be trusted and removes confident hope from the gospel
The Christian’s faith in God needs to become the same as that of Abraham – God does the _____________
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Write down the scripture references and look them up later 2) Count how many times the term “covenant” is mentioned 3) Discuss with your parents the importance of God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac & Jacob and their descendants.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. Why is the study of eschatology important for the Christian? Why are God’s gifts and calling irrevocable (Romans 11:29)? What would be the consequences if they were revocable? What are the elements of the covenant Yahweh made with Abram in Genesis 12:1-3? How did God bless Abram in Egypt despite his demonstration of a weak faith? What blessing did Melchizedek give Abram (Gen. 14:19-20)? What is the significance of the renewal of Yahweh’s covenant with Abram in Genesis 15 and how did He ratify it? Why isn’t Abram’s first born son, Ishamel, the son of the covenant? What was the test of Abraham’s faith in Genesis 22? What did he believe God would have to do to keep His covenant? (Hebrews 11:17-19). Did God make any changes to the covenant when it was extended to either Isaac (Gen. 26:24) or Jacob (Gen. 28:13-15 & 35:9-12)? How was the Exodus a fulfillment of a promise made to Abraham? Did the Mosaic covenant change element of the Abrahamic covenant? What was the purpose of the Mosaic covenant? What are the blessings God promised if the people were obedient (Deut. 28:1-14)? What are the curses if they were disobedient (Deut. 28:15-68)? How does the history of the Jewish people demonstrate God’s faithfulness to His promises and warnings? What is the importance of the promises of restoration in Leviticus 26:34-45 and Deuteronomy 30? Do the promises of restoration belong to every Jew? Explain. Examine each of the following prophecies and note the similarities and differences between them whether the prophecy as been fulfilled or not: Isaiah 44 – 45 / Ezekiel 20:33-38; 22:17-22 / Deuteronomy 30:5-14; Jeremiah 31:31-34. Why did God set His love upon the Jewish people? Is God’s covenant with the forefathers of the Jewish people conditional or unconditional? Explain. Has God kept His promises of blessing, curses and restoration? Are their additional promises in the covenants still to be fulfilled? Will God fulfill those aspects of the covenants? Explain. Since the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29), what is the danger in a theology that teaches they are revocable – Specifically that the church has replaced Israel in the ancient covenants? Is your faith and trust in God on the level of Abraham’s? If not, how did Abraham’s faith grow and how can your faith grow to be more like his?
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