THE RE-GATHERING OF ISRAEL IN

UNBELIEF

REV. JAMES M. GRAY, D.D.

Dean of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago; author of "Synthetic Bible Studies," "Great Epochs of Sacred History," "The Christian Workers' Commentary,” "How to Master the English Bible,” etc.

I commence this address by laying down a definition of the Bible, which is, the history of the redemption of the human race on this earth. I emphasize the last phrase, "on this earth." There are some who seem to think that the Bible is taken up chiefly with heaven, but it says very little about heaven. It is dealing chiefly with the earth and the people that are upon it. God loves the earth and its people, notwithstanding all that the people are doing at the present time to contradict that statement. As was said this morning, His glory shall fill the earth, and the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

Keeping in mind, therefore, that the Bible is the history of the redemption of the human race on this earth, I ask you to note, in the second place, that God is using two instruments, or two

servants, in the carrying out of His purpose of redemption. One instrument, the primary one, of course, is "His only begotten and well-beloved Son," the Seed of the woman who should bruise the serpent's head, the Seed of Abraham in whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed, the Son of David whose kingdom shall be established for ever, "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world," whose "own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree." But God is pleased to reveal a secondary instrument, in the nation of Israel. The human race had been some time on the earth before He made that truth known. It is first revealed to us in the call of Abram to be the father of that nation as indicated in the 12th chapter of Genesis.

GOD'S PURPOSE IN ISRAEL

Now what had, or what has God in mind, in the use of Israel as His servant? Three things: (1) He desired Israel to be a depository for His truth in the earth, and unto Israel was committed the sacred oracles. The writer of every book of the Bible was a Jew, and the Jews kept the Bible intact for the world until the coming of Christ and the establishment of the Christian church. (2) He desired Israel to be a channel for the incoming of the personal Redeemer to the earth, and, as you know, Israel has given to the world its only Saviour, though she crucified Him when He came. (3) He desired Israel to be a national witness to

Himself before the other nations of the earth, in order that those nations in response to that witness, beholding Him as the only and true God in His attributes of justice, power, holiness, truth and love, might be brought into loving and cheerful submission to His holy will.

Israel has fulfilled the first two purposes, but has not as yet fulfilled the third. She has never borne a faithful and true witness to God, and the result is seen in the conflict of the nations in the present war. This war can be traced directly to the unfaithfulness of Israel as a witness to God, in consequence of which there is not a Christian nation upon the face of the earth. In every nation there are many Christians, but there is not a Christian nation as such, and there never has been. Moreover, so far as Israel is concerned, she, too, is suffering the punishment of her unfaithfulness in being scattered among these nations, persecuted, "sifted as corn is sifted in a sieve," and yet not one grain shall fall to the earth, is the testimony of God. In other words, it is God's purpose, as all of the prophets witness, to bring Israel back to her land, first indeed in unbelief, but afterwards she shall look upon Him whom she pierced, and shall mourn because of Him, and in that day she shall cry in the language of Isaiah, "Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him, we will rejoice and be glad in His salvation!" Then it is that Israel shall again take up the broken threads of her testimony for God, and through which the Gentiles shall be brought to

know Him and the kingdoms of the world at length shall become "the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ."

THE ABUNDANCE OF PROOF

The proof of the regathering of Israel is embarrassing in its riches. Where shall one begin in the Bible to talk about it? Genesis is filled with it, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. You cannot understand the book of Psalms until you have this great truth as its key. It is the beginning and the ending of the so-called prophetic books from Isaiah to Malachi. Matthew is rich in this teaching, Luke possesses it, the Acts, Romans, and when we come to the book of Revelation-what is that book without it?

It is the warp and woof of the whole Bible, but for the sake of brevity and convenience I am limiting your attention to a single chapter, the 30th of Deuteronomy.

The situation is this: Moses is soon to climb Mt. Pizgah to view the promised land which he was not permitted to enter, and then to take his flight into the presence of God; and before he goes, he is leaving this last word and testament with Israel-a word of warning, instruction, and hope. He is setting before his people in chapters 27 to 30, the blessings and the cursings which will come on them in either case as they obey or disobey their God, and at the close of his rendition of the cursings we read these words:

"And it shall come to pass, when all these

things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, and shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey His voice according to all that I command thee this day with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.

"And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it and He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

"And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

"And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

"And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good; for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as He rejoiced over thy fathers: if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul."