Word for Wednesday
Fear thou not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am thy God, I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. Isaiah 41:10
Led by Iran and Syria, and supported by a majority of Palestinians, there is a strong movement afoot to eradicate the nation of Israel. Most of the Arab world regards Israel as an enemy and a threat, despite its diminutive size. Increasingly, world media sources have been seduced by the anti-Israeli rhetoric and portray Israel as the villain in her conflicts with her neighbours. I personally know some Christians who have succumbed to this seduction. Until Donald Trump came along, Israel’s strongest ally, the United States, had been slowly cooling its relations with Israel and gradually promoting warmer relations with those who would destroy Israel. Naturally speaking, as we see the precarious position of this tiny Middle East nation, we could presume that Israel’s history will soon come to a close. Today’s text defies that thinking.
Today’s text contains some wonderful promises that we as Christians can claim. It offers us assurances and comfort as we read God’s assurances of help and protection. But this verse is not written primarily for us; it is written for Israel. And we need to see in it God’s purposes for His earthly people. Because those purposes reflect directly on us today.
Only the help and intervention of God can preserve Israel. That has never been more true than it is today. And if God is to help and preserve Israel in miraculous ways, we can anticipate that His dealings with the Gentiles is coming to a close. In other words, the Rapture is very near. The age of Christianity is almost over. The sun is about to set on our Day of Grace. And we are watching the last days play out leading to God’s next great chapter in His dealings with this world.
The study of prophecy is fascinating, and we should all have an interest in it and a working knowledge of it. We should be aware, in an general way, of the future that God has laid out for us in His Word. Much of that future, beyond the Rapture that you and I are eagerly anticipating, is made up of God’s judgment on this sinful world and God’s preservation and help for His earthly people, as described in today’s text. We are about to be ushered into exciting times in God’s prophetic program.
Let us appreciate God’s wonderful promises as contained in our text. Let us also appreciate that, as God keeps His promises to Israel, we are very near to the Rapture. Let that anticipation keep us watching and working for our Lord. -Jim MacIntosh