They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” (Psalm 83:3-4)
Before we move on, I felt it was important to bolster the validity of the argument presented in the previous devotion. That is, there are those in the Body who are regarded as being hidden — at least in the sense that they are not regarded as “Israel” by the world, and certainly not regarded as such by most of the Jewish world. Nevertheless, those who are in Messiah are the seed of Abraham and therefore considered to be part of the family of faith that God refers to as Israel. It has nothing to do with DNA and genealogies; it has everything to do with faith in the Jewish Messiah.
Still, there is this idea that our identity as part of the family called Israel is unrecognized and, by and large, will remain so until the culmination of the age and restoration of all things. On this topic, Paul had this to say: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Messiah” (Romans 8:16-17). Paul went on to discuss the required suffering if we are to be glorified with Messiah, and then said, “The earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19).
In other words, if the Creation longs for the sons of God to be revealed, it is inferred that, to some degree, they are presently concealed. Solomon said that, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter” (Proverbs 25:2). In short, if God conceals something (or someone), when it is revealed — and it will at the appointed time — it will astound men and glorify God. As it is written, “In the fulness of time, God sent forth His Son,” but He did so in a way that many did not recognize. To be sure, Messiah wasn’t hidden away in some dark, remote corner of Galilee; He walked openly and spoke publicly throughout the region. And yet to most, who He really was remained hidden because, “had the rulers of this age known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8).
In a similar fashion, the world doesn’t fully recognize who the children of God truly are; perhaps because, as it was with Messiah, our time has not yet come. And according to Paul, before that day is manifest, we will be required to endure much suffering. And so, just as it was for Messiah, we too must be willing to say, “Not my will but yours” — and mean it. But when that day does come, it will be something the world will never forget, nor will it ever be the same. That hope brings me to this concluding thought: I want to be one of those revealed in that day, to the glory of God. And so, like all who aspire to the same goal, I must resign myself to the prerequisite suffering so that I may be glorified with Messiah.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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