RESTORATION OF ISRAEL

“So they will say, this land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited” (Ezek. 36:35 NKJV).

Prominent in this section of Ezekiel’s prophecy is the restoration of Israel. Our verse promises a great future for the land. That future concerns fruit, fences, and folk.

Fruit – “This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden.” When Israel was given the land in the time of Moses and Joshua, it was described as “a land that flowing with milk and honey” (Josh. 5:6). But because of their sin and disobedience, judgment came; a part of that judgment caused the land to become desolate. However, God promises restoration and said the land would once again become fruitful. Today we are witnessing some of this restoration of the land to fruitfulness. But the greatest fulfillment of fruitfulness will come in the millennium (Ezekiel 47).

Fences - “The wasted, desolate and ruined cities are now fortified (fenced).” In Bible times great walls were built around cities to provide them with protection. When a city was protected by a wall it was sometimes described as a ‘fenced city.’ The walls spoke of safety and peace. Describing the restoration Israel’s desolate and ruined cities as being “fortified (fenced)” tells us that the restoration will bring peace and safety to Israel. Today Israel is in the land, but there is not yet peace and safety. Peace and safety will come when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back to earth to reign as Israel’s king.

Folk - “And inhabited.” The Jews will return to Palestine because God has decreed their return and restoration. In spite of opposition, Jews today are flocking to Palestine and the population in Israel is ever on the rise. And the increase will continue, because God has promised that the cities will be inhabited by His covenant people

(Adapted from Analytical Biblical Expositor)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“The promises of God for tomorrow are the anchor for believers today!”

Richard Charles (R.C.) Sproul (1938 – 2017)

American Reformed Pastor, Theologian and Author

Word Study

Effective (powerful)

In Heb. 4:12 we read, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart!” (NKJV).

Effective (powerful) is the Greek word energēs (ἐνεργής = en-er-gace'). It is made up of two words: “en” which means in, and “érgon” which means work. Thus the word describes that which is working, efficient, effective, operative or powerful. In classical Greek energēs denotes work as a burden laid on a man. Energēs is not found in the Septuagint. In the New Testament, energēs speaks of that which is effective. “Living and powerful” shows that there is a dynamic quality about God’s Word. It does things. The Word of God is active, effective, powerful, productive, and capable of causing things to happen!

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“And Moses said unto the people, fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever” (Ex. 14:13 KJV).

Did You Know…

Moses’ mother was paid by Pharaoh’s daughter to be his nurse (Ex. 2:8-9).

Bible Quiz

What are the two types of bodies mentioned by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: What was Jesus’ family’s first reaction to his teaching? They thought He was “out of His mind” i.e. crazy (Mark 3:21).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“I AM”

"And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And He said, thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you” (Ex. 3:14 NKJV).

1. Meaning – I AM speaks of God as the Self-Existent One. He always exists – in the past, the present, and the future. There was never a time that God did not exist.

2. Insights – In context, God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and told him to go to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of slavery. In response, Moses said to God, suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, “the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, what is His name? What shall I say to them?” (Ex. 3:13). God’s answer to Moses in v. 14 is “I AM WHO I AM.” “I AM” is the ultimate statement of self-sufficiency and self-existence. God’s existence is not dependent upon anyone. His plans are not contingent upon any circumstances. He promises that He will be what He will be; that is, He will be the eternally constant God. He stands, ever-present and unchangeable, completely sufficient in Himself to do what He wills to do and to accomplish what He wills to accomplish. God is supreme over all other so called gods.

Did You Know...Christian History

Jackson Kemper was born December 24, 1789 in Pleasant Valley, New York. He was the first missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

Kemper attended Columbia College, and after relocating to Philadelphia, he was made a deacon of the Episcopal Church in 1811 and ordained as a priest in 1814. During this time also, the Episcopal Church was beginning to consider its responsibilities for mission in the newly developing, and expanding, United States.

In 1835 the General Convention of the Episcopal Church decided to appoint bishops to direct the Church’s future missionary work in the expanding west. Kemper was elected as the first missionary bishop in the Episcopal Church, with responsibility for what now are the states of Indiana and Missouri. He promptly headed west. Having found that clergy who had lived all their lives in the settled East were slow to respond to his call to join him on the frontier, he determined to recruit priests from among men who were already in the West, and established a college in St. Louis, Missouri, for that purpose.

As a missionary, Kemper traveled from the shores of Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico by steamboat, on horseback, by stagecoach, and often on foot. He slept in the open or on the hard floor of a remote hunter’s cabin or in an Indian wigwam. In one instance, he traveled for four days in order to confirm a young person in northern Wisconsin. Kemper organized six dioceses, consecrated nearly a hundred churches, ordained more than two hundred priests and deacons, and confirmed almost 10,000 souls. He lobbied, unsuccessfully, in the East for a German translation of the Book of Common Prayer to use in his ministry to German immigrants.

Pleased with the establishment of a Winnebago mission at Oneida in Wisconsin, Kemper pressed for further work with Native Americans. He went on to found Nashotah House and Racine College in Wisconsin, and founded the mission parish that became the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Milwaukee. He constantly urged a more extensive outreach to the Indian peoples, and translations of the Scriptures and the services of the Church into Indian languages.

In 1847 Kemper was elected to be the first Bishop of the new Diocese of Wisconsin, but he declined. After his retirement from missionary work in 1859, Kemper was again elected to the Diocese of Wisconsin; this time he accepted, remaining in that office until his death on May 24, 1870.

A Little Humor

With a booming voice, the minister of Music bragged to his congregation, “Two years ago I insured my voice with Lloyd’s of London for $750,000.” The crowded sanctuary was hushed. Suddenly an elderly woman spoke out. “So,” she said, “What did you do with the money?”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“True freedom is found in surrender to Christ!”