THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SAYS (PART 14)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“This is what the Lord says to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of. But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting.”

Isaiah 45:1a, 17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Unless you haven’t been paying attention to world affairs and in particular the affairs of present day Israel, you know that God’s precious, chosen nation is under threat. Their chief enemy is the country of Iran who has gone public on more than one occasion to advocate for Israel’s utter destruction and it’s well documented that they have attempted to produce a nuclear weapon to that end.

Of course, we have seen mixed reactions to this matter with some nations coming to Israel’s aid and others not. And of course, Israel has made it no secret that they will do whatever is necessary to defend itself against any danger, with or without anyone else’s assistance.

Did you notice anything missing in this discussion so far?

Of interest to me, I never hear anyone invoking the name of God as the chief Defender and Protector of His beloved, chosen people. It’s true, isn’t it?

I do not hear Israel’s Prime Minister speaking boldly in public about how his nation has nothing to fear because God is with them. He is not proclaiming that they are standing firm on faith, knowing God is in control and will watch over them just as He has since the dawn of creation. And I haven’t heard him let everyone know that Israel has nothing to worry about in the face of threats because God has assured them in His holy word that He will not allow any harm to come their way.

The former would be an amazing, attention-grabbing, faith-grounded proclamation! And it would be absolutely verifiable as we now see in looking again at our scripture passage from Isaiah and what the Lord says:

“Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting.” Isaiah 45:17

God speaks here and does so clearly, telling any potential rival of Israel to not bother wasting their time, whether in the times of Isaiah or today. Specifically, He will:

1. Save Israel.

Israel will never be in a place where they cannot be rescued. This means complete annihilation is not in play as any attempt to attack them will be met with the Lord’s protection. He will defend and save His blessed Israel and no one can stand against God. No one.

2. Save Israel eternally.

This promise to save His chosen people, Israel, does not have an expiration date. He will keep them in His care forever because He said He would do so and God always keeps His promises. Always. He protected them in biblical days, He’s still protecting them today, and He will protect them against any and all future threats.

3. Ensure Israel is never shamed or disgraced.

Israel is God’s special nation here on earth and the Israelites are His cherished people. That is never going to change. And although the Lord may discipline His people, and He certainly has done that in the past, He will not shame or disgrace them. Rather, He has always ensured that His people were restored, as He did in paving their way home to Jerusalem after their seventy year exile through raising up King Cyrus and the Persians to overthrow the Babylonian empire.

Through this series up to today, the Lord has been speaking to each of us about Himself, how He relates to us, and how we are to relate to Him. But now we know that He has one special nation and people who are dear to His heart and that nation and people are Israel. Next time you hear people threatening to destroy them, remember today’s devotion and the words of the Lord. For He will save Israel and that salvation is everlasting.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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