Rabbi Akiva was absolutely right. God is faithful. He is faithful to His promises and to His people. Yet we must remember, as did Rabbi Akiva, that God's faithfulness cuts both ways. We often think of it only in terms of reassurances and blessings. But He also is faithful to carry out His threats and curses. Israel has been the recipient of God's faithfulness in both areas.
Because people throughout history have witnessed the Jewish people's distress, deportation, and even near-destruction, they are tempted to say God has forgotten His ancient people and cast them aside. But nothing could be more misguided.
God has been unswervingly faithful to His covenant. Through Moses, God told the Israelites what would happen if they obeyed Him and what would happen if they disobeyed. Deuteronomy 28 clearly explains the covenant blessings and curses. The fact that God is faithful in following through with His curses actually proves He will be equally as faithful in bringing forth His blessings.
Just as the curses were literal, the blessings are literal. Israel's scattering was literal, and so is Israel's regathering.
In the darkest book of the Bible-Lamentations-the city of Jerusalem and the Solomonic Temple lie in ruins. In the midst of the devastation, the prophet Jeremiah, like Rabbi Akiva, saw a ray of hope: "Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies" (3:32).
Part 2 of 5.
Rabbi Akiva was absolutely right. God is faithful. He is faithful to His promises and to His people. Yet we must remember, as did Rabbi Akiva, that God's faithfulness cuts both ways. We often think of it only in terms of reassurances and blessings. But He also is faithful to carry out His threats and curses. Israel has been the recipient of God's faithfulness in both areas.
Because people throughout history have witnessed the Jewish people's distress, deportation, and even near-destruction, they are tempted to say God has forgotten His ancient people and cast them aside. But nothing could be more misguided.
God has been unswervingly faithful to His covenant. Through Moses, God told the Israelites what would happen if they obeyed Him and what would happen if they disobeyed. Deuteronomy 28 clearly explains the covenant blessings and curses. The fact that God is faithful in following through with His curses actually proves He will be equally as faithful in bringing forth His blessings.
Just as the curses were literal, the blessings are literal. Israel's scattering was literal, and so is Israel's regathering.
In the darkest book of the Bible-Lamentations-the city of Jerusalem and the Solomonic Temple lie in ruins. In the midst of the devastation, the prophet Jeremiah, like Rabbi Akiva, saw a ray of hope: "Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies" (3:32).
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