▌English Zone
David Mandrioli
God chose
Israel to represent Him in the world; He chose them to be a light to the
Gentiles. With the establishment of the Law, only then were the Jews made
conscious of the problem of sin, culminating with a new covenant when Jesus
atoned for our sins on the cross.
God blessed
Israel from when He first called Abraham. In Genesis 12:1-3, the Lord said to
Abram “Get out of your country, from your family, and from your father’s house,
to a land I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and
make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless
you, and I will curse Him who curses you; and in you all the families of the
earth shall be blessed.” The land of Israel was to given to Abraham and his descendants
as an everlasting possession.
Opposition to Israel’s
existence has been around since the days of Adam and Eve. Satan has tried to
cut off the seed of the woman. In Genesis, Cain killed Abel, but God gave Adam
another son, Seth. Sometime later, when the Jews were slaves in Egypt, Pharaoh
ordered all the male children aged two and under to be put to death. However,
they missed one: Moses. Centuries later, Satan got a hold of Haman and caused a
decree to be spread to kill all the Jews. Queen Esther made a plan, set a trap
for Haman, and her people were saved. Still, when Jesus was born, King Herod
ordered all the male children to be slaughtered, but Jesus was taken to a safe
place. The devil has used every tactic to destroy God’s people and prevent the
coming of the Messiah.
Throughout the
old testament, God’s people had a continuous cycle of sin, rebellion,
repentance, and restoration. Ultimately, they failed as a people because they wanted
to serve other gods and not listen to the prophets God sent to them to warn of
certain calamity if they did not turn from their sins. Despite their failure,
they are still God’s chosen people because of their famous ancestors. When they
stop being stubborn, and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, they will be
saved.
We serve a
merciful God. Micah 7:18 says “He delights in mercy.” Regarding the Gentiles,
God wanted to show his anger toward the Gentile nations who deserved to be
destroyed but he patiently put up with everyone. He revealed his glory by having
pity on the people he has chosen to share in his glory. Whether Jews or
Gentiles, we are the chosen ones. In 1 Peter 2:9-10, it says “But you are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people
that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into
His marvelous light; who once were not a people, but are now the people of God,
who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” Therefore, if God has
mercy on us, we are called to have mercy on others.
Anyone can be
saved. Israel’s failure brought salvation to the Gentiles. In Romans 9:25, Paul
is quoting from Hosea that says “Although they are not my people, I will make
them my people. I will treat with love those nations that have never been
loved.” There was no hope for us. Now our hope is in Christ Jesus. John 1:12
says “But as many that received Him, to them He gave the right to become children
of God, to those who believe in His name. How does one become acceptable to
God? By having faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9 says “that if you confess
with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised
Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Anyone can be saved.
In Romans 11:17-21, Paul used the allegory of
branches of a wild olive tree and branches of a cultivated olive tree. During this
period of time, there were two factions that were growing in the church: the
Jewish believers and Gentile believers. The Gentiles were seen as more
faithful, and because of that, the Gentile believers became judgmental of the
Jewish believers that didn’t have that zeal for God Paul is instructing us on
in this passage to remember where we came from. Our faith is rooted in Judaism
and the roots support us. Moreover, we should celebrate our roots and not be
prideful toward others.
The Bible
teaches us in Romans that the people of Israel will be brought back. Israel’s
rejection brought salvation to the world, so when God makes friends with
Israel, it will be like bringing the dead back to life. In Romans 11:23-24 “If
those other branches will start having faith,” they will be made part of the olive
tree again.
Finally, in verse 26, scripture reads “all
Israel will be saved.” It is believed that this will happen during the great
tribulation. In Zechariah chapter 13, the writer describes a time when
two-thirds of the Jews will die. This holocaust will be worse than the first holocaust
that happened during the second world war. It is then that Israel will stop
being stubborn and start believing in our Lord Jesus Christ. God always has a
remnant and when Israel accepts Jesus as the Messiah, God will forgive them
their sins and graft them back in to the olive tree, because of His unfailing
love. Therefore, we have a responsibility toward the non-believing Jews and
just as we have a responsibility toward Gentile non-believers. Stay strong in
the Lord and keep sharing the good news of the gospel with others. Your work is
not in vain.
▌中文翻譯/潘鳳珠傳道 郭建廷傳道
神正在以色列做事情。我們能活在這世代，真是興奮！羅馬書11:25-26節說到，有些猶太人心裡剛硬，且他們仍要剛硬直到外邦人的數目添滿了。接下來以色列全家都要得救。愈來愈多的猶太人轉向耶穌基督。從十九世紀開始，猶太人漸漸的回到以色列，這也讓以西結書第三十七章的聖經預言更多被實現。連以色列總理本雅明．內坦尼亞胡都向猶太人說：『以色列是你們的家，每一個猶太人的家。以色列的雙臂正向你們敞開，等待著。』此文重點將由羅馬書九章到十一章而來。這三章的主要三點是：神是憐憫的、任何人都有可能得救、以色列的人民將被帶回。
神揀選了以色列在世上代表祂。祂揀選了他們成為外邦人的光。因著律法的設立，猶太人認知了罪的問題。在新約時期，神的計畫在耶穌基督十字架的贖罪達到高峰。
神對以色列的祝福從祂呼召亞伯拉罕時就開始。在創世紀12:1-3節中，耶和華對亞伯蘭說：「你要離開本地、本族、父家，往我所要指示你的地去。我必叫你成為大國。我必賜福給你，叫你的名為大；你也要叫別人得福。為你祝福的，我必賜福與他；那咒詛你的，我必咒詛他。地上的萬族都要因你得福。」神要把以色列這地交給亞伯拉罕和他的子孫作永遠的產業。
從亞當和夏娃時期開始，以色列的存在就不停地遭遇阻力。撒旦總試著斷絕女人的後裔。在創世記中，該隱殺了亞伯，不過上帝給了亞當另一個兒子塞特。一段時間後，猶太人在埃及奴役時，法老命令殺害所有二歲以下的男童。但是他漏掉了一個： 摩西。幾個世紀後，撒旦影響了哈曼，讓哈曼頒布了殺猶太人的法令。以斯帖王后的計畫使哈曼掉入陷阱。最終，猶太人被救了。耶穌出生時，希律王下令擊殺所有的男童，不過新生的耶穌被帶到安全的地方。撒旦使用了各樣的計謀，為的是要毀滅神的子民和預防彌賽亞的到來。
在舊約歷史中，神的子民一直在經歷這樣的循環：罪、悖逆、悔改、恢復。他們終究是個失敗了的民族。原因是因為他們服侍其他的眾神，且不顧上帝差來先知的警告。不論以色列如何的失敗，因著他們先祖的緣故，他們仍然是上帝的選民。當他們有一天不再悖逆頑梗，接受耶穌基督的福音，他們仍是會得救的。
我們事奉一位憐憫的神。彌迦書7:18說：神喜愛施恩。論到外邦人，神要向應該被毀滅的外邦國家發怒，但祂仍忍耐寬容每個人。祂彰顯榮耀，憐恤祂所揀選的子民，讓他們同享榮耀。無論是猶太人或外邦人，我們都是被揀選的族類。彼得前書2:9-10說：「唯有你們是被揀選的族類，是有君尊的祭司，是聖潔的國度，是屬神的子民，要叫你們宣揚那召你們出黑暗、入奇妙光明者的美德。你們從前算不得子民，現在卻做了神的子民；從前未曾蒙憐恤，現在卻蒙了憐恤。」既然，神向我們施憐憫，我們也應當要向別人施憐憫。
每個人都可以被拯救。以色列的失敗將救恩帶給外邦人。羅馬書9:25中，保羅講到何西阿書所說的：「那本來不是我子民的，我要稱為我的子民；本來不是蒙愛的，我要稱為蒙愛的。」原本我們是沒有盼望的，如今我們的盼望是在基督耶穌裡。約翰福音1:12說：「凡接待他的，就是信他名的人，他就賜他們權柄做神的兒女。」一個人要如何被神悅納？就是要相信耶穌基督。羅馬書10:9說：你若口裡認耶穌為主，心裡信神叫他從死裡復活，就必得救。」每個人都可以被拯救。
羅馬書11:17-21裡，保羅運用了野橄欖和好橄欖枝子的比喻。在這段期間，教會裡面同時有兩派在成長：猶太信徒和外邦信徒。外邦信徒比較忠心，於是外邦信徒開始論斷猶太信徒沒有原始的熱忱。我們的信心是以猶太教為根基，是根托著我們。我們應該為根基而歡欣，而不是驕傲以待。
聖經在羅馬書教導我們，以色列百姓會被帶回來。以色列的拒絕將救恩帶給世界，所以，當神與以色列和好，就如同使死人復活。羅馬書11:23-24裡說道：他們若不是長久不信，仍要被接上，成為橄欖樹的一部分。
最後，在第26節，經文說：「 於是以色列全家都要得救。」在大災難時這將會發生。在撒加利亞書第13章，作者敘述有一段時期，三分之二的猶太人會死亡。這次的大屠殺，會比第二次世界大戰發生的大屠殺還要悲慘。那時以色列就會停止頑梗，開始相信主耶穌基督。當神的餘民以色列接受耶穌為彌賽亞，神會饒恕他們的罪過，將他們重新接回橄欖樹，因著祂永不止息的愛。因此，我們對於未信主的猶太人有責任，如同我們對未信主的外邦人有責任。堅定在主裡，持續將福音傳給別人。你的工作不會是徒勞無功的。
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