What Happens When Judah and Israel Are Grafted Back Into The Vine

The Minor Prophets Speak To Today

I The Lord Have Spoken!

Zechariah 10:6-12 NLT

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The Promise Remains

This promise in the prophecy of Zechariah remains unfulfilled. You may argue it has - at least in part and that I will agree to. But the part is not the whole and so the prophecy remains unfulfilled though in today's world we desperately need to see it come to pass.

What would happen if the pride still present in the lands of the Assyrian empire of Zechariah's day was crushed today? Almost the whole of the Middle East would be crushed and the power of Islam would be destroyed, both on earth and among the powers and principalities of the air.

That would totally change world affairs!

Imagine if Eygpt's rule suddenly ended. The most populous nation of Islam, or so I have read, would suddenly have no clout. Its wide influence would crumble. The places and groups it supports would suddenly have no power either and no place in the Middle East to turn to for power.

Indeed world affairs would be totally changed!

Remember Assyria and Egypt represent the lands that are attempting to emasculate God's children called Christians. They represent the places where God's children both his unfaithful children the Israelites and the branches grafted in in their stead, the Christians, are hated and marked for total destruction. And remember there are branches of Christianity that have also been added to God's pile of rejected children.

It Will Be As If They Have Never Been Rejected

One of the most important and least read prophecies and doctrines about this whole issue of the Jews today and the apostate Christians of today is found in Romans 11. We fail to meditate on this passage to our own peril.

God’s Mercy on Israel

11 I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.

2 No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

4 And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”

5 It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. 6 And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.

7 So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened. 8 As the Scriptures say,

“God has put them into a deep sleep.
To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see,
    and closed their ears so they do not hear.”

9 Likewise, David said,

“Let their bountiful table become a snare,
    a trap that makes them think all is well.
Let their blessings cause them to stumble,
    and let them get what they deserve.
10 Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,
    and let their backs be bent forever.”

11 Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. 12 Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.

13 I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, 14 for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them.15 For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! 16 And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

17 But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. 18 But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.

Paul says the same thing as Zechariah about God's rejected children. That message is important.

What Happens When Judah and Israel Are Grafted Back Into The Vine

At my mother's memorial service, a woman came forward to speak. She and her brothers and sisters had been family friends when we were children and were neighbors.

Virginia recounted the joys of working with my mother and our dear friend Alma. Everything she recounted was manual labor. Things like picking, cleaning and canning green beans and tomatoes. And all of it was a joy.

Then she surprised us. She used to pray that God would make our parents her parents!

She saw and experienced something she loved and needed.

But our family was and is nothing compared to what we will be when Judah and Israel join us by being grafted back into the tree of God's life.

We will become as healthy and disciplined as prime soldiers. Because of the conditions and health of our lives, we will feel overwhelmingly joyful - a joy like people experience drinking wine in moderation. 

Our children will see our strength of character, body, and life and they too will be glad. But they will recognize the source of this goodness and glorify God as freely as only children can. Our world is filled with children longing for such a life. Perhaps you were one as a child.

And we do not have to worry about Christ's second coming.

We Will Survive.

By my power you will be made strong,
    and by my authority you will go wherever they wish.

The Lord, our God has spoken!

Photo Credits: 

a capture from the UNHCR UN Refugee Agency Photostream @ flickr.com

Becoming fearless isn’t the point… by mukerjichinmoy @flickr.com