Iron and Clay Pt 8: Israel, The Burdensome Stone.
The Burdensome Stone
Introduction
Zechariah 12:1–14
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. 2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. 4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. 5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. 7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. 8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. 12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; 13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
Anti-Semetism, Hatred of the Semite peoples, most notably, the Jews.
The Semites are the people group that descended from Shem, the son of Noah who outlived his brethren. These would include the Canaanites, Akkadians, Phoenicians, Hebrews and Arabs, but the term is used almost exclusively respecting the Hebrew peoples, the Jews today.
The bible, in this passage in Zechariah, not only predicts it will occur again, but goes into detail respecting the scope of the hatred that will come in “that day”;
3 … all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
The short phrase “in that day” appears in 112 verses in the Bible, 101 of them are in the prophetic portion of the Bible.
43 are in the 66 chapters of Isaiah, but 20 times that same phrase appears in the 14 chapters of Zechariah. The passage almost always appears during a time of judgment, and in these two books the passage most frequently refers to the same timeframe, when God comes to judge this world.
Again, the context bears witness as to when this occurs.
It will come when;
10 …. they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Probably one of the greatest and most evident forms of division that we should be seeing in the world today is that which sets much of the world against the people of God, against Israel, and we should logically expect this ANTI -Semetism to increase all the more up to and until “That day”.
While the signs of the times are evident in the world, whiles we see division in the world sociologically and economically, we will also see it increasing all the more against Israel.
The Time to come is known in the Bible as The Time of Jacobs Trouble;
Jeremiah 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
Nothing testifies more to the evident truth of it than what is being seen today.
God will judge those who condemn his people, and sadly there are far too many, both in the secular world AND amongst those who call themselves Christians, who are going to be a part of that judgement.
Are you one of them who are adding, in some way, to the antipathy of the world against Israel? Do you REALLY want to take the risk to be cursed of God?
Turn to
Genesis 12:1–3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Beloved, if there is one thing you want to be a little bit ignorant of, and give God’s people the benefit of the doubt on, it is that respecting Israel.
They have NEVER started a war, but have always finished them.
They are surrounded by sworn enemies who have LITERALLY called for Genocide against them and they themselves have been the subjects of actual genocidal intend several times through their history.
It is astonishing as we hear rhymes which literally call for the destruction of all the Jews, and yet journalists and many Christians, are charging Israel with genocide. Astonishing.
This study is that you might have the opportunity to be blessed.
That even if your own nation has decided to curse Israel, you yourself may be among the few that are blessed within a cursed nation, even with a nation that shall be destroyed “that come against Jerusalem”
PRAY.
The Seed
Now, there are a multitude of Christian peoples and denominations that believe all the promises to Israel have now passed onto the church because Israel had rejected her Messiah.
This is known as Replacement Theology.
Know therefore, if this were true then it is not only the blessings but also the cursings that are placed on the Church.
That time of Jacobs trouble therefore logically becomes OUR trouble if Replacement Theology were true.
There is one passage that they employ to justify the idea, and you and I are both going to see how easy it is to quench this notion. A notion that first began in the Roman Catholic Church and has branched off when the Protestant Church broke away from Roman Catholicism.
This is one of the theological beliefs they retained.
Galatians 3:16–29
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
The short phrase “Thy Seed” is the phrase all replacement theories hold to as their prooftext for the pretext. (Remember, a text out of context becomes a prooftext for a pretext)
The short phrase “Thy seed” appears in 63 verses of the Bible, including here. In order to know WHICH passage Paul is refereeing to we need to yet again consider the context.
First we begin to narrow it down.
To whom was God speaking when he used the phrase “Thy seed”? Abraham directly.
Ok, so we have now narrowed down the phrase to 14 verses, the final verse where God spoke directly to Abraham was Gen 22:18.
Next we need to remove all the passages which clearly refer to “Many”. This is interesting because it is obvious that when Paul uses the word “Seeds”, it presumes a distinction from referring to the children of Abraham to a specific descendant.
Therefore, all the passages that refer to “Thy Seed” in the plural, such as those refering to NUMBER such as “dust of the earth…then shall thy seed also be numbered” (Gen 13:16), and “stars…if thou be able to number them…so shall thy seed be” (Gen 15:5), and refering to the giving of the land and multiplication and every child and generations etc, once all of those are removed we have only one verse left that also happens to perfectly fit the passage Paul is refering to.
Genesis 22:13–19
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. 19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
Verse 18 is the only verse out of the 14 verses that can logically and consistenly apply to one singular descendant and that descendant be the very one who Abraham, in a figure, was to slay in Isaac.
Therefore, Paul was not negating the descendants of Abraham as the seed, but that all who have believed God as Abraham did are considered the spiritual children of Abraham, and so to all who have believed God by faith are the promises through faith given.
In other words, the promises are that which pertain to the law!
7 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Beloved, there is no other passage which perfectly matches the context of Paul testimony in Galatians 3:16-29.
Let me ask you a question.
Was the rejection of Christ by Israel a surprise to God?
Did Jesus not say;
John 5:43
43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
Well before he was rejected by them, he knew he would be killed, so, says he, “the scriptures would be fulfilled” which he repeated multiple times in the gospel accounts.
Turn to Romans 9
Romans 9:1–5
1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Romans 11:1–5
1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. 5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
The Conditional Covenant
Firstly, it is important to know what a covenant is. Simply put it is a PROMISE.
Some are conditional promises, others are unconditional promises.
Some depend upon the recipient of the promise, others depend solely on the GIVER of the promise.
Israel is given several covenants;
- The Abrahamic Covenant.
- The Palestinian Covenant.
- The Mosaic Covenant.
- The Davidic Covenant.
- The New Covenant.
ALL THE PROMISES TO ISRAEL ARE UNCONDITIONAL, except the middle one, the Mosaic Covenant.
Charles Fred Lincoln in 1943 Wrote of this saying;
“The four unconditional covenants, with the formula “I WILL,” are found in (1) Genesis 12:1–3, where the formula is found, either expressed or understood, seven times; (2) Deuteronomy 30:1–10, where it is found, either expressed or understood, twelve times; (3) 2 Samuel 7:10–16, where it is found seven times; and (4) Jeremiah 31:31–40, where it is found seven times.
The conditional covenant, with the formula “IF YE WILL,” is found (5) besides in Exodus 19:5ff., also in Deuteronomy 28:1–68; verses 1–14, “If thou shalt hearken diligently … blessings”; verses 15–68, “If thou wilt not hearken … cursing.”[1]”
Dwight Pentecost, in his classic Eschatological Treatise called, Things to Come, also explained well the nature of a ‘Conditional Covenant”.
“There are two kinds of covenants into which God entered with Israel: conditional and unconditional. In a conditional covenant that which was covenanted depends for its fulfillment upon the recipient of the covenant, not upon the one making the covenant. Certain obligations or conditions must be fulfilled by the receiver of the covenant before the giver of the covenant is obligated to fulfill that which was promised. It is a covenant with an “if” attached to it. The Mosaic covenant made by God with Israel is such a covenant.[2]”
Conditional
Deuteronomy 28:1–15
1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. 3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. 10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11 And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: 14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
Deuteronomy 30:19–20
19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
The Unconditional Covenant
Again, an explanation by Dwight Pentecost regarding an Unconditional Covenant, or a “Unilateral Covenant” is valuable here.
“In an unconditional covenant that which was covenanted depends upon the one making the covenant alone for its fulfillment. That which was promised is sovereignly given to the recipient of the covenant on the authority and integrity of the one making the covenant apart from the merit or response of the receiver. It is a covenant with no “if” attached to it whatsoever.[3]”
Note:
“To safeguard thinking on this point, it should be observed that an unconditional covenant, which binds the one making the covenant to a certain course of action, may have blessings attached to that covenant that are conditioned upon the response of the recipient of the covenant, which blessings grow out of the original covenant, but these conditioned blessings do not change the unconditional character of that covenant.[4] “
The Abrahamic Covenant is expressly declared to be eternal and therefore unconditional in numerous passages (Gen. 17:7, 13, 19; 1 Chron. 16:17; Ps. 105:10). The Abrahamic Covenant was solemnized by a divinely ordered ritual symbolizing the shedding of blood and passing between the parts of the sacrifice (Gen. 15:7–21; Jer. 34:18). This ceremony was given to Abraham as an assurance that his seed would inherit the land in the exact boundaries given to him in Genesis 15:18–21. No conditions whatever are attached to this promise in this context.[5]The New Testament declares the Abrahamic Covenant immutable (Heb 6:13–18; cf. Gen. 15:8–21). It was not only promised but solemnly confirmed by the oath of God.[6]
The Palestinian Covenant is likewise declared to be everlasting (Ezek. 16:60).
Ezekiel 16:60
60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
Genesis 12:7
7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
Genesis 13:15
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
Genesis 17:7–8
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Deuteronomy 30:1–5
1 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, 2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 3 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. 4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5 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.
“Great importance is attached to this covenant (1) in that it reaffirms to Israel, in no uncertain terms, their title deed to the land of promise. In spite of unfaithfulness and unbelief, as manifested so frequently in Israel’s history from the time of the promise to Abraham until that time, the covenant was not abrogated. The land was still theirs by promise.[7] “ Dwight Pentecost
The Davidic Covenant is described in the same terms (2 Sam. 7:13, 16, 19; 1 Chron. 17:12; 22:10; Isa. 55:3; Ezek. 37:25).
2 Samuel 7:12–16
12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
Psalm 89:3–4
3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, 4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.
Psalm 89:34–36
34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
Isaiah 9:6–7
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Jeremiah 33:14–17
14 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.
17 For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
The new covenant with Israel is also eternal (Isa. 61:8; Jer. 32:40; 50:5; Heb. 13:20).[8]
Jeremiah 31:31–34
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Isaiah 61:1–2
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Luke 4:17–21
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
The Covenant With Many
Daniel 9:26–27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Daniel 11:21–23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
[1] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1958), 67.
[2] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1958), 68.
[3] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1958), 68.
[4] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1958), 68.
[5] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1958), 75.
[6] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1958), 76.
[7] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1958), 96.
[8] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1958), 75.
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