Israel’s Initial Calling and Favor

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Short Summary
The discourse outlines Israel’s central role in God’s plan through four key ages: the patriarchal age, the Jewish age, the Gospel age, and the mediatorial kingdom, all beginning with the faith of Abraham and his descendants. It emphasizes that God’s continued favor towards Israel stems from His covenant promises and faithfulness, despite Israel’s failures, and that their historical experiences serve as lessons for both spiritual believers and future mankind. Ultimately, God’s long-suffering nature and promise of a future revival for Israel highlight His commitment to fulfilling His plan according to His holy name.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on Israel’s Role in God’s Plan

Introduction and Greetings
– The speaker expresses gratitude to Brother Michael, the Toronto brethren, and sends greetings from his wife Ruth and the brethren in Oakland County.
– Emphasis on the unity of brethren joining Israel’s initial calling and favor.

Four-Point Overview of Israel’s Role in God’s Plan
1. Patriarchal Age: Begins with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (later named Israel).
2. Jewish Age: Starts after Jacob’s death when God worked with the 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel.
3. Gospel Age: Jesus, a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Judah, and the 12 apostles were Israelites. The high calling was confined to the 12 tribes for the first seven years of the Gospel Age, especially the last 3.5 years of their 70 weeks of favor.
4. Mediatorial Kingdom on Earth: Begins with faithful Jews in Israel, known as the holy remnant.

The Principle of “To the Jew First”
– Based on Apostle Paul’s writings in *Romans 1:16* and *Romans 2:9*.
– Israel’s precedence in God’s plan centers on faith, which began with Abraham.

Faith Exemplified in Abraham and His Descendants (Hebrews 11:8-19)
– Abraham obeyed God’s call to leave his homeland by faith, living as a sojourner in the land of promise.
– Sarah conceived past childbearing age by faith.
– Abraham looked for a heavenly city, demonstrating hope beyond earthly promises.
– Abraham’s faith was proven by his willingness to offer Isaac (Hebrews 11:17-19).
– Abraham is the father of two seeds: the spiritual seed (faithful followers) and the natural seed (biological descendants).
– Subsequent verses (Hebrews 11:20-22) highlight the faith of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
– The chapter also mentions Moses and other ancient worthies, mostly descendants of Abraham, reinforcing his central role.

Genealogical Confirmation and Covenantal Promises
– The lineage from Shem (son of Noah) to Abraham is traced in Genesis, confirmed through Mary’s genealogy in *Luke 3*.
– Genesis 12 marks the beginning of the Abrahamic covenant, foundational to God’s plan.

Natural Seed as Types and Shadows to Teach Lessons (1 Corinthians 10:1-11)
– Israel’s experiences under Moses serve as examples and warnings to the spiritual seed.
– The natural seed’s failures (idolatry, fornication, temptation of Christ, murmuring) are recorded as admonitions.
– These lessons also apply to the world in the future as they become God’s covenanted people.
– The law is eternal, manifesting differently over time.

Prophetic and Historical Roles of the Natural Seed
– God used Israel to fulfill time prophecies such as:
– The Jubilee cycles ending in 1874 AD.
– The Times of Restitution beginning with Jesus’ return to heaven (*Acts 3:19-21*, *1 Thessalonians 4*).
– The Gentile Times ending in 1914, freeing Jerusalem from gentile powers (*Luke 21:24*).
– The period of Jewish national favor lasting 1845 years from Jacob’s death to Jesus casting off the nation in 33 AD.

Continued Divine Favor Toward Abraham’s Descendants (Romans 11:28)
– Though “enemies” concerning the Gospel (due to persecution of Christian Jews), they remain beloved for the patriarchs’ sake.
– God chose Israel as a unique nation (*Amos 3:2*).
– God’s promises to Abraham’s seed stand firm — spiritual seed like stars in the sky, natural seed like sand on the seashore.
– Both seeds must exercise proper faith to receive lasting blessings.

God as a Covenant-Keeping God (Ezekiel 36:22)
– God’s favor to Israel is for His holy name’s sake, not their merit.
– Despite Israel’s idolatry, hypocrisy, worldliness, and faithlessness, God remains longsuffering.
– Chastisement and correction are part of God’s plan to restore Israel.
– A future great rehabilitation and revival of Israel is expected after the Gospel Age.

Conclusion and Prayer
– The speaker closes by emphasizing the importance of understanding Israel’s role to put current events and God’s plan in perspective.
– A prayer is offered, thanking God for His mercy, grace, and the insights given through His word and Spirit.
– Petition for faithfulness and understanding as God’s plan unfolds.

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Key Bible Verses Referenced:

– Romans 1:16; 2:9
– Hebrews 11:8-19, 20-22
– Joshua 6:25
– Matthew 1:5
– 1 Corinthians 10:1-11
– Acts 3:19-21
– 1 Thessalonians 4
– Luke 21:24
– Romans 11:28
– Amos 3:2
– Ezekiel 36:22

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This discourse highlights the vital and foundational role of Israel in God’s plan, emphasizing faith as the core reason for divine favor, the dual nature of Abraham’s seed (spiritual and natural), the educational and prophetic purposes of Israel’s experiences, and God’s unchanging covenant faithfulness despite Israel’s shortcomings. It encourages believers to learn from Israel’s examples and trust in God’s ultimate plan for blessing all humanity.

Transcript

Go ahead. Thank you Brother Michael, and we do wish you all peace through our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we give thanks for this opportunity to share thoughts. We do thank the Toronto Brethren for giving us this opportunity as well, and I send you love from my wife Ruth, who’s in Chicago wanting to be with Brother George and as they remember, dear sister Florence, and we do also want to give you the love from the brethren here in Oakland county, with whom we meet many who are joining Israel’s initial calling and favor.

I’m going to give a four point very brief overview of Israel’s role in God’s plan, and as I’m saying these we keep in mind what the Apostle Paul wrote In Romans the first chapter in verse 16, he repeated it in Romans 2, 9 and quite simply, it’s to the Jew first and then also to the Gentiles. So Israel and God’s plan first, the start of the patriarchal age was Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whose name was later changed to Israel. The start of the Jewish age. At the death of Jacob, God worked with Jacob’s 12 sons, which became the 12 tribes of Israel.

The start of the Gospel age. Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, an Israelite of the tribe of Judah. All the 12 apostles were Israelites. The high calling was confined to the 12 tribes for the first seven years of the Gospel age, if you will. I would say particularly the last three and a half years of their 70 years of favor.

70 weeks of favor, sorry. Start of the mediatorial kingdom on earth is with the Jews of faith in Israel, the holy remnant. So the start of the patriarchal age, start of the Jewish age, start of the Gospel age and start of the mediatorial kingdom on earth all starts with the Jews first. Now why did it come to the Jews first? Really, it comes down to faith in God, which started with Abraham.

So when I look In Hebrews, the 11th chapter would be easy enough to start in Genesis, but in Hebrews, the 11th chapter in verse 8, Hebrews 11:8 I’m going to read through verse 19. Quite a few verses. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whether he went by faith. He sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in a tabernacle with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful, who had promised therefore sprang there even of one and him as good as dead. So many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore for innumerableness. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country, and truly, if they had been mindful of that country once they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

But now they desire a better country, that is a heavenly Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city by faith. Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten Son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called accounting, that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure. It was Abraham’s tremendous faith in God, his initial faith, when first approached by God to leave his homeland in Ur. But he lived a life of faith right up until the end and repeatedly demonstrated the depth of his faith by his actions and his convictions. Foreign Abraham that God began the genealogical lineage that would produce the mother who would bear the Messiah, Jesus Emmanuel.

Abraham was the father of both seeds, the spiritual seed of faith, both literally and symbolically, and the natural seed who both seeds together would in due time be the channels of eternal blessing to the entire human family.

But returning to Hebrews 11, we note that after Abraham we just read verses 8 through 19 regarding Abraham’s faith. We see in verse 20 how Isaac also likewise lived his faith. Then in verse 21, Isaac’s son Jacob, he also had a life of faith. Then his son Joseph, one of his sons, lived his faith, and then the apostle Paul here in Hebrews, turns to Moses next and the remainder of the ancient worthies who are mentioned by name in this chapter, with the exception of Rehab, who became an Israelite later, as it were Joshua 6:25 and Matthew 1:5.

All these others are descendants of Abraham that are named just for emphasis. When we look at this 11th chapter, the apostle Paul only names three ancient worthies, Abel, Enoch and Noah, before coming to Abraham.

Then the remainder of names are his descend descendants, with the exception of Rehab, as we already noted. Now similarly, if we go back to Genesis, just think of going back to Genesis. There’s only 10 chapters in Genesis before we are introduced to Abraham through his lineage is confirmed to be through Shem, the son of Noah, and traces all the way back to Adam. That’s in Genesis. This is succinctly confirmed in Luke, the third chapter, regarding Mary’s genealogy, you’re familiar with that.

And In Genesis the 12th chapter, we have the start of the great Abrahamic covenant, reiterated and elaborated on in latter chapters. So we have learned that Father Abraham is a most central figure in God’s plan of the ages, along with his promised seed of faith and promised natural seed. Now, focusing on Abraham’s natural seed as our topic, we have learned that God has intended to use them to help educate the new creation, for they became types and shadows to teach us lessons as to what God rightfully expects from his covenanted people. We’re going to take a little read there in First Corinthians 10 on that very thing, starting in verse one. Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.

But with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples or our for our figures to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted neither to be idolaters, as there some are, some are them. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in 1day 23,000. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

Neither murmur, neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them, that is the natural seed of Abraham, Israel for types or examples, and they are written for our admonition, whereupon the end of the ages are come. So clearly, brethren, one of the reasons God used the natural seed was to educate the spiritual seed.

And we can’t go on without saying that these same lessons will be useful to the world of mankind as they walk up that highway of holiness in the future. We read in Revelation 20 how the books will be opened and the world will be judged out of them, and this is the old those books are the Old and New Testament, and so God’s law is eternal. It’s just manifest itself in a variety of ways.

And here with the natural seed, it was very clearly pointed out as they were a covenanted people, lessons for us as God’s covenanted people and lessons for the world and mankind in the future as they become God’s covenanted people.

Their millennia long experiences of trying to practice the commandments of the old law covenant will serve them well when they try to live by the ordinances of the new law covenant in the future, and furthermore, God used them the natural seed to help fulfill certain time prophecies. Just three prominent ones. We have the jubilee cycles which ended in 1874 A.D, and the Times of restitution which started with our Lord Jesus being sent back to earth’s atmosphere by God. Acts 3:19 21 and 1 Thessalonians, the fourth chapter.

Secondly, we have the Gentile times ending in 1914 and the great war that led to to the freeing up of Jerusalem from gentile powers, Luke 21:24 and thirdly, the time of Jewish national favor along 1845 years from the death of their last patriarch Jacob until Jesus cast the nation off from God’s favor for a duplicate period of time starting in 33 AD.

So in closing, God makes it perfectly clear that he continues to show favor to Abraham’s descendants because of his promises to the patriarchs, and this is what we read in Romans 11:28 as concerning the Gospel, they are enemies for your sakes. But as touching the election, they are beloved for their Father’s sake. Just to emphasize some points in these verses in Romans 11 which will be considered in greater detail a little later on, as concerning the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake. It was just like Ishmael persecuting the Isaac class that Paul explains and Galatians, the fourth chapter.

The thing is that the Jews at the first advent persecuted the Christian Jews, and because of that Paul likens them as enemies. But as touching the election, God chose them as the one nation he knew out of all the families of earth.

Amos 3 and verse 2, they still hold that election.

Now here in this verse, Romans 11:28, it’s because of the Father’s sake, the Patriarch’s sake, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who demonstrated such such wonderful faith we read about in Hebrews 11, that the Lord will maintain his promise to Abraham that his seed would be blessed as the stars of heaven, the spiritual seed of faith, and as the sand of the seashore, the natural seed. But they too will have to manifest a proper faith in order to have lasting blessings. But they have been continually invited first to receive of God’s favors and blessings as we outlined at the beginning. But there is another and I think a more important point on why they continue to be favored. It’s because God is a covenant keeping God.

He continues to give them opportunities for his own name’s sake. In Ezekiel 36:22. Ezekiel 36:22. I’m just going to read part of the verse. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God.

I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake. Yes, in Ezekiel 36, in the context we read of how God will bless Israel in the future. It has a beginning now, but more fully in the peaceable kingdom under the new covenant arrangement. They walk up that highway of holiness. They’re going to have blessings that they themselves did not earn, did not deserve.

In fact, they brought shame upon their religion by so much of their idolatry, and then later through their hypocrisy and even later after that, and throughout the time it was just worldliness and then faithlessness. But the Lord, for His own holy name’s sake, even though he will not be mocked, he’ll chasten the rebels. They will all have to have a change of heart and mind to enter into the fullness of blessing that he’s intended for them. Yet let it not be said that God isn’t long suffering with a stiff necked generation.

He pleads with them in their wilderness condition. He gives them every opportunity in order to see the error of their ways. But blessedly we’ve learned that until their blindness is removed, mainly instituted by Satan and his deceptive teachings and practices, the God of the little G of this world, we believe that there will be a great rehabilitation and a revival in Israel that like has never have been in the days ahead after the gospel age has come to a close. So with this brethren, we will close here and turn this back over to brother Michael.

You’re muted, Brother Michael.

Yeah, thanks for that. Do you mind closing this session with a word of prayer, please? Thank you Brother Rick, for your discuss. Thank you.

Beloved Heavenly Father, we truly thank you and praise you for all your mercies and grace. We thank Thee for the insights you’ve given us through Thy Holy word, with Thy Holy Spirit in our minds and hearts, the help of the harvest message, that we might grasp Israel’s role in Thy plan of the ages, that we might be able to put things in their proper perspective. Understanding that as thy plan unfolds, your actions with different ones change. But your promises are steadfast. Help us to learn these things, learn the lessons by them, learn from the examples that we might be faithful in our little walk.

And we pray now and and leave the remainder of these day and sessions in thy in thy hands through Jesus Christ, seeking your will to be done. Amen.

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