Hebrews 4:10a

Hebrews 4:10a

Israel and rest

Continuing on from our previous musings, we have seen how Israel, under Joshua, learned to remove the pagan gods and their adherents from Canaan; this involved military conquests and a great deal of effort but, eventually, the land was at rest, and it fulfilled its description as the Land of Promise. However, it was not long before the tribes of Israel compromised themselves and their relationship with the Lord God and they turned to worship foreign gods. Whenever they did this, they lost their “rest”. It was not just that they built idols and sacrificed on the high places but in so doing they rejected the provision and protection of the Lord, they preferred to worship man-made gods. This idolatry led to 10 of the tribes being completely overcome by the Assyrians and they were lost to civilisation to this very day. The southern nation of Judah also indulged themselves in paganism and they were taken into captivity by the Babylonians; there was no rest for them in Babylon. 70 years later, God, by His grace, allowed a new generation to return to the Promised Land, just like their predecessors who had carried out their sentence by being captives in the wilderness for 40 years. There followed years of trial and instability right up to the time of Christ when the land was no longer at rest but under the domination of the Romans. After rejecting the Messiah, the Jews eventually were scattered to every corner of the earth, it seemed that they were banned from the land of their rest forever! Would they ever learn!

Today, Israel has been re-established, the Jews have returned to God’s land, but they do not return as worshippers and followers of the living God and so, once again, the land is not at rest! Since the state of Israel was reformed in 1948 there have been continuous times of unrest and constant conflicts with the surrounding nations, the war with Iran and with Hezbollah in Lebanon is going on even as I write. These conflicts will continue until Armageddon and the return of Messiah, when the people will repent and allow Him to take the throne, and for 1,000 years there will be rest, not only in Israel but right across the world. It is only when the Lord God is worshipped, obeyed and respected that His people can be at rest. 

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