Hiraeth
2002 - Notice: The author gives permission to download, print,
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Verse
3:- "FOR I WISH THAT MYSELF (Paul) WERE ACCURSED FROM CHRIST
FOR MY BRETHREN, MY KINSMEN ACCORDING TO THE FLESH". The rest of the 9th chapter of Romans explains this situation of Chosen children, and "why" these children should be in such a privileged position, Saint Paul tells us God is not unrighteous because of it, but rather merciful and compassionate instead. By this means "He" is proving to us He's very much alive, and so are "all" his promises and covenants. Despite our evil ways and self-will amongst we Israelites, some of our brothers and sisters will fulfil all prophecy as written! No man or woman with little understanding can say to God "why have you treated us all in an uneven manner"? We Israelites are the "clay" in the Potter's hands, and it is enough! The remaining verses of Roman's Chapter 9 have enormous impact, taking us through many paths of Scripture which explain in detail that we must be "kinsmen, under the law" whether the nation of Israel is in the Jew or Gentile. These latter verses will be explained in another chapter. Let us walk some more along the path of the "Kinsman" at this moment of writing. The path of kinfolk is in many ways similar to the "second child" and "birthright" lineages. In as much that it is another piece of identification to set into the Israelite jigsaw. It leads us with a chain for the family tree from one generation to the next. Telling us all we must be relatives under the Law to be redeemed, and towards the purpose of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. The law
of the "Kinsman" was established in Leviticus
25:47-55. On the
face of it this law of "redeeming the kinsman"- like many of
the other laws in the Old Testament- seem to be irrelevant in our modern
way of thinking. They seem to be old-fashioned laws to be shaken off,
as if we must only adhere to the teachings of the New Testament in the
Bible. But not so! If one is looking for truthful "roots" to
cling to in our chaotic societies. One cannot separate the Old from the
New Testament, for the "Old" is the foundation of the house
to be built in the New. If we are to believe God and His Christ, then, we must believe Jesus came to "fulfil" those same laws. (Matthew 17:18, Romans 3:29-31). When Romans Chapter 3 speaks of Jews and Gentiles under the law in the same breath, one must not forget that the "House of Israel" are in the Gentiles, in their millions, as the sands of the sea which cannot be counted. (Genesis: 22:15-18). And those same Gentile Israelites must learn of God through faith, whether they went through the Greeks, Romans, or are in British stock. Indeed, one acknowledges there "are" also strangers joined to these Israelite Gentiles, because Abraham's seed is in all nations, whose "price" has been paid through the blood of Jesus Christ. But they are not counted as direct "Kinfolk". The price to redeem Israel's kinfolk was set in the Old Testament and carried out to its fullest extent in the New Testament, and the "price" which the Redeemer paid is with us unto the end of time! A dictionary will tell us that a "Kinsman and Kinswoman" are persons of the same family and race, they are of the same bloodline, no matter how many generations have come and gone. A "Redeemer" is one who buys back or recovers by payment those persons, which belonged to his own family, freeing them from captivity and bondage. So, if Jesus is the "Redeemer" of a family's possessions of people "who" did He buy back in the Gentiles? And "where" is that family of kinfolk that is His bloodline? Though Jesus was of the nation of Israel and of Judah, -called Jews- this bloodline is also polluted with other nations, just as all Israel's bloodline, so, where are His kinfolk? The Bible tells us that Jesus came to fulfil the law down to the last dot and tittle, (or double description at the beginning of a book as the word tittle implies in Matthew 5:17,18). Therefore, we must understand from the beginning of learning truth that it is really God the Father who is the Real Redeemer of His people, His son Jesus the Christ came to earth instead of Him, and paid the price of redemption on earth for God, because God cannot set His foot on the earth when it is so full of corruption, otherwise all would be destroyed by the purity of His presence. (Exodus 33:20, Isaiah 63:16,17). God is a consuming fire- (Matthew 12:29). The "surname" of God's family and "kinfolk" is Israel, which is God's family name. (Isaiah 44:5,6). Too many churches misunderstand the role of the Redeemer with Israel and themselves. Christian Churches teach that we only have to accept Jesus as our Saviour and be christened, or baptised, and we are Christians, all saved, and then those same Christians can usurp the authority of the laws written in the Bible; Replacing both houses of Israel to receive the "promises" upon those same Christians. In other words, these so-called Christians close the door on the Old Testament and its people who are all subject to laws, promises, covenants, etc; and then put those great words into the,"too hard basket" not to be understood! Then these Christians smugly sit back and indulge themselves in their man-made rituals, soft spoken words, "holier than thou" attitudes and go straight to heaven when they die! Well!
I have got news for you so-called Christians! To be an "heir"
to the promises set by the Almighty God in the Old Testament, one must
have many years of striving and learning, from the lower stages in education
to the higher levels of learning. That learning in the "elements
of the world" teach you one thing, which may bring you to God through
trials and tribulations. But "then" your education in the ways
of God must again begin in a sound manner, being taught that we are children
and heirs of the Verse
4:- "BUT WHEN THE FULNESS OF THE TIME WAS COME, (a distinct age
already fixed) GOD SENT FORTH HIS SON, (through the Holy Spirit upon Mary)
MADE OF A WOMAN (Mary, the lineage of the "second choice" who
brings forth sons of God) MADE UNDER THE LAW".(The rule of action
laid down and prescribed by authority from the Old Testament). Though Saint Paul was a Jew and knew he was of the tribe of Benjamin, Yet! He wrote his words to "we Israelites and Kinsmen", most of us subject to some form of Christianity through the ages of history, within Gentile nations. Let Saint Paul's verse in Galatians 4:21, mill around in your brain until the words gel in some sort of understanding; Verse 21:- "TELL ME, YE THAT DESIRE TO BE UNDER THE LAW, DO YE NOT HEAR THE LAW"? All the dead and the living of Israel must be "redeemed" and their name remembered, which understanding we read in the book of Ruth 4:7-10. "The World-wide Church of God" under the late Herbert Armstrong always taught that we were all meant to be part of the family of God from the beginning even during the advent of Adam and Eve, -so we were- but it all went wrong because the strength of the flesh was paramount! The "path of the kinsman" is then all-important to fulfil prophecy and to give identification to God's people on earth. Again,
on this path we will be faced with how important the roll of Joseph was,
and is, to Israel's children. The "lament" in the law for Joseph
"must always be" acknowledged and understood by all. Which we
read of in Amos
6:1-7, which tells us that from the beginning the "house
of Israel's" trust was in their kingdom and city of Samaria; Whose
holy seed Zion are all named together as the "Chief of the Nations".
They, of nation-kingdom, take their "ease" -or freedoms, from
toil, mental pain, and anxiety in their lives, as if that freedom was
brought about by their own labours. They trust in their own secular vanities,
without thanking God for those freedoms! This nation in its richness of
living, its apathetic lifestyle, its search for the almighty shekel, and
its craving for luxury without God. Who do "not" stand up against
evil and violence in their midst who make apathetic attempts to control
lawlessness. Who are lulled by the sounds of sweet music, pamper themselves
with food, drink, and Never
once does all Israel in the Gentiles, think seriously of dear Joseph who
was afflicted many years in Egypt, and was separated from his brethren
for their sakes! Joseph suffered much "for" his kinsmen and
"because" of his kinsmen. It is "his" standing in
the sight of God, -"holding birthright and blessing" promises
also- who have kept the "House of Israel" from want, and who
gave them those freedoms to this day. "He" standing security
for this Israelite nation, shoulder to shoulder with the Lord Jesus Verse 6 - "THAT DRINK WINE IN BOWLS, AND ANOINT THEMSELVES WITH THE CHIEF OINTMENTS; BUT THEY ARE NOT GRIEVED FOR THE AFFLICTION OF JOSEPH". Amos wrote these words of explanation approx. (BC 776-763) during the time when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was at its greatest power. That kingdom fell to the Assyrians within the following 50 years and was utterly destroyed. That judgement and warning still rings true to this day for all Israel, -both houses- in our modern world. Nothing has altered only the steady count-down of years, which are marking off our days on the destruction clock! To understand fully we must go back to the "first principles" of the law, at the beginning of our Bible. For those words to enlighten us "why" the "price" set was only 30 pieces of silver for the Redeemer Jesus Christ, for His kinsmen. We read in Leviticus 27:2-5, that the estimation (valuation) of a man between the ages of 20 years to 60 years old was set at 50 shekels of silver, according to the shekels of the consecrated place, (sanctuary) of worship, where God had received these shekels as a tithe offering. A man was not valued with silver shekels of daily usage as his worth, but special shekels of the sanctuary, thereby proving the man's value in the sight of God. When we read in the New Testament of Judas Iscariot being paid 30 pieces of silver by the priesthood, (Matthew 26:3-16) then that priesthood would have been fully aware of the laws of Leviticus and the value of a man of Jesus' age, (approx. 33) being worth 50 silver shekels. The priesthood even downgraded him to a manservant worth 30 shekels. (Exodus 21:32). So, with that very act of downgrading the worth of Jesus as a man of the tribe of Judah, it was against the laws of God set up for the whole nation of Israel. That bond of brotherhood previously set up between the 2 houses of Judah/Israel was consequently broken from that moment. The Messiah was cut asunder from the Jew of Judah, and "He" went to Israel in the Gentiles. This we read in, Zechariah 11: 7-14. Zechariah tells us that the 2 staves, or peoples, called "Beauty" (Israel) and "Bands" (Judah) were to be further slaughtered by 3 shepherds to come upon them, namely, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Because, when Zechariah wrote he was then amongst the remnant who had returned to the land of Israel, from the captivity of Babylon. The 2 staves (memory sticks) for the covenant with God, were "broken" because of the sin of the house of Ephraim/Israel, (1 stick) and the sin of the house of Judah (1 stick). Both these houses were to be given another chance through Jesus. However, the Jew of Judah were failed by their priesthood, who, ignoring the law upon which all depended on for the people to be weighed in the balances, and redeemed, sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And the brotherhood between Jew and Israel in the Gentile was severed, and a gulf of misunderstanding and distrust between them would be forged in secular and spiritual history in those years ahead! However, despite their evil ways and the machinations of these 2 houses, God nevertheless brought about the redemption of these "kinsmen". Joseph of the "house of Israel" also helped in their salvation. We read
in Genesis
37:2,28, that Joseph was only 17 years old at the time that he
was eventually sold to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Though
the selling of Joseph in the book of Genesis was "before" the
establishing of the Levitical laws for each man's worth, nevertheless,
Joseph's price had been taken note of by God and written down for our
learning. Joseph's price in Leviticus 27 verse Joseph was a "prince" bearing the surname of God, as son of Israel beloved of his father, chosen and predestined by God to "redeem" the nation of Israel from want and hunger; Allowing those people time to grow into a nation in Egypt, giving them protection under the auspices of Joseph's great name! Jesus and Joseph, who were both under a "singular vow" before God (Leviticus: 27:2) were weighed by man, and eventually they paid the 50 shekels of the sanctuary required, -between them- neither were to be left in limbo as slaves. Jacob's dying "singular vow" or "solemn promise before God" for Joseph in Genesis 49:22-26, stands "absolute" in history for all time. Verse
22:- "JOSEPH IS A FRUITFUL BOUGH, EVEN A FRUITFUL BOUGH BY A
WELL; WHOSE BRANCHES RUN OVER THE WALL". We must note very carefully from verse 24 of Joseph's blessing that it is Joseph, -the prince- who stands with the "stone" of Israel, who is Jesus Christ the King, and these two great personages paid the "price" for their "kinsmen" of all Israel. The prophet Isaiah tells the people about these "2 arms" of God -Jesus, Joseph- who have saved the people from destruction. Isaiah 51:1-5. Verse
1: - "HEARKEN TO ME, YE THAT FOLLOW AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS, YE THAT
SEEK THE LORD; LOOK UNTO THE ROCK (Jesus) WHENCE YE ARE HEWN, AND TO THE
HOLE OF THE PIT (Joseph) WHENCE YE ARE DIGGED". Both the "rock" Jesus, and the "pit" Joseph, as great "Kinsmen" saved their people in ancient and modern times, from disaster and death. It's now "our" turn, -as the nation of all Israel- to understand these things, and rally to the cause of learning truth, and let us find the holy people of Zion and Jerusalem! Awake! Awake! Zion put on your beautiful garments as "factual" Israelites and prepare to meet your long lost "kinsmen", stand up on your feet and be counted! Mark 10:29-31 tells us we will find the family of mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, brethren, and sisters. Pick up the little children, protect them from this evil filled world. Close ranks, no matter what religion you have come "out" of, to be known only from this time forward as the nation of Israel, led by your King, The Lord Jesus Christ! Is it not written that there are "Watchmen" in the earth to bring all Israel good tidings when the time is right? And will show you truly that your God lives! Isaiah 52:1-15. Verse 1:
- "AWAKE, AWAKE, PUT ON THY STRENGTH, O ZION; PUT ON THY BEAUTIFUL
GARMENTS, O JERUSALEM, (2 remnants) THE HOLY CITY; FOR HENCE FORTH THERE
SHALL NO MORE COME INTO THEE THE UNCIRCUMCISED AND THE UNCLEAN".
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