HOPE OF ISRAEL

 

“He was not an ordinary man. He was the great Creator housed in a tabernacle of clay. He was the Eternal Jehovah ministering among men. He was God’s Almighty Son doing the things his Father sent him to do. He inherited from the Father of his mortal body the powers and characteristics of his Perfect Parent. He was placed in a position to excel all men. He was the God of Israel taking his place and receiving his lot and inheritance among that chosen people.”

-       Bruce R. McConkie, “The Mortal Messiah Book 1” p 30

The Saviour made it clear during His ministry that He was sent to ‘the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matthew 15:24). The Kingdom of Judah had lost its way and by 70 AD it would be scattered throughout the world. The Ten Tribes of the Northern Kingdom had already been lost. The House of Israel had one hope and that was the arrival of the Messiah.

And so the Messiah was sent to save the spiritual fabric of the chosen people of God who rejected Him. On all accounts it seemed as it was all lost except for one thing. The Saviour had sworn He will never forget His covenant with Israel (Deut 4:31; Lev 26:44,46; Isaiah 49:15,16; 2 Kings 13:23).

What the Saviour accomplished during His earthly ministry, by organizing His Church, propelled the chosen generation of royal priesthood to take the purity of His Gospel to the nations of the earth in fulfilment of the Abrahamic covenant (Matthew 28:19,20). And thus nothing was lost but everything gained. The sacrifice exacted, the Gospel given to the world for their adoption into the favoured House of Israel, the promise to Father Abraham kept.

By virtue of our discipleship, we are privileged to join in the Saviour’s role as the Hope of Israel. Consider President Nelson’s explanation of our significant role within this Hope after he quoted Nephi saying the Abrahamic covenant will be fulfilled in the latter days by all of the House of Israel (1 Nephi 15:18):

“When we know who we are and what God expects of us, we are filled with hope and made aware of our significant role in His great plan of happiness. The day in which we now live was foreseen even before Jesus Christ was born…These are the latter days. We are the ones foredetermined and foreordained to fulfill that promise.

“We are, in fact, the hope of Israel. We are God’s treasure, reserved for our particular place and time.”   (Quotes from President Russell M. Nelson, “Daily Joy”)

 

 Hope of Israel

Who would not see us lost,

Who rescued our souls

Never counting the cost. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: All Is Calm by Gabriel Heaton)

OUR ETERNAL HOPE

 

Imagine if our eternal destiny looked like this:

“….if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil….and our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself….” (2 N 9:9). Besides calling him the devil, Nephi’s brother Jacob, also called him ‘an awful monster’ and ‘death and hell’, meaning ‘the death of the body and also the death of the spirit’ (v10).

Cast your mind back to the pre-existence. We knew this ‘monster’ as Lucifer, the son of the morning, who was in authority in the presence of God and who sought the throne of the Only Begotten Son, whom the Father loved (D&C 76:25,26; 88:115). So great was Lucifer in the beginning that the very heavens wept over him when he rebelled and became the monster of death and hell (D&C 76:26). Imagine losing a son and brother with such great potential….and now he is compared to a thief (John 10:10) who seeks to steal, kill and destroy, for……

He is the collector of ruined lives,

The Master of ravaged souls.

He is the Son of the Morning,

His pride yielded irreversible cost

In the beginning we sorely wept

When his soul was forever lost.

 

According to Jacob, eternal misery could never be our outcome because of the goodness of our God who prepared a way ‘for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster’ (2 N 9:10). Because of the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel, ‘body and spirit shall be restored to itself again and all men become incorruptible and immortal’ (2 N 9:12,13). The heavens no doubt echoed as we sang and shouted for joy (Job 38:7) that one was chosen with such integrity of character, the dependability, the steadfastness, the selflessness, the perfection, the power, and all the divine attributes that would enable him to rescue us from hell. Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, became our hope of escape from the clutches of the one who would make us miserable forever.

 

If not for You,

Where would I be?

I would belong to the enemy.

 

If not for You,

Where would I be?

I would be lost in obscurity.

 

If not for You,

Where would I be?

Death would claim me for eternity.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus the Symbol of Hope by Ivan Guaderrama)

FEAR NOT THE WORLD

 

For the past year and a half I have allowed the state of the world and its' future to trouble me; so much so that it has started to emotionally and physically affect me. This morning as I studied Isaiah chapter 54, a ray of sunshine broke in on my vision of the whole situation and gave me clearer understanding. The chapter deals with the promises the Lord has made to the House of Israel in the last days.

My heart ached with vibration of words I heard the Saviour speak:

"For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee...O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted.....In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.....whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.....no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper..."

The dawning of truth that came to me is this: we do not need to fear the world, because we are not OF the world. We are altogether a separate entity. This chapter speaks a lot about the Lord's protection of us, who are His inheritance (Deuteronomy 32:9) and His favoured people above all the people of the earth (Deuteronomy 7:6). We might be scattered throughout the world and not be gathered into one country physically but we are spiritually gathered under the shadow of His wings. This is our heritage as His servants (Isaiah 54:17). This is our right and our promise. This is our life line wherein should lie our hope.

Fear not Israel, your God is with you......He has graven you on the palms of His hands......(Isaiah 49:16).

• Cathryne Allen

(Art by Yongsung Kim)