God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah. That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. (Psalm 67:1-2)
As was discussed in the previous devotion, God ordained that the nation of Israel was to be favored and blessed by Him — for a purpose. He did not choose them because they were the greatest of people or more in number than any other people. As He said, “You were the least of all peoples; but (you were chosen) because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). In short, He made His face to shine upon His people simply because He desired to bless them and because He had a purpose for them.
It is a certainty that God is determined to bless Israel, but it is just as clear that His interests were never confined to that nation only. Time and again, Scripture reveals that the Almighty is concerned with the welfare and salvation of all nations. In fact, when speaking of the Gentile nations, God said, “Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7). In other words, God’s plan always included the salvation of the nations.
He was and is so determined to save the people of all nations that, even when Israel failed to be the example they were called to be, He did not abandon His intentions. In fact, it was through Israel’s disobedience and subsequent exile that the nations were exposed to the God of Israel and His ways. As Paul clearly states, the Gentiles were invited to come into the family of faith, in part, due to the fact that Israel refused to acknowledge Yeshua as their Messiah. God will have His way where the salvation of the nations are concerned; He did not give up on us and never will. Understanding His commitment to us, even before we knew of Him, speaks to the compassion and goodness of God. It seems fitting to close out our thoughts today with these words of Paul:
“God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Messiah died for us … and saved from wrath through Him. … When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son … through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:8-11).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
Recent Comments