II-The Past History of the People of Israel
After our short survey of the general dealings of God, we now come to consider His ways, as exhibited more in detail; and in doing so we turn to that people, or nation, which was peculiarly the platform for their display, in government, longsuffering, and mercy—the people of Israel.
We have seen the state of the world and failure of man in the days before the flood: and afterward Noah set up on the renewed earth, the world going into idolatry, and, amongst the jarring elements of human wills, man striving to make a center and a name apart from God, and the judgment of God thereon—the divisions of the world into nations in the family of Noah. There was a purpose with God at that time, in His mind and counsels, which we find in Deut. 32:88When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. (Deuteronomy 32:8). “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people, according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.” Here we find that centuries before they existed as a nation, the counsels of God were occupied about them. His dealings with the nations of the world were arranged with reference to the seed of Jacob.
The world had lost the knowledge of the one true God and had gone after idols, even the family of him of whom it was said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem.” Satan had succeeded in gaining the position God should have had in the minds and hearts of man. “Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.” (Josh. 24:22And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. (Joshua 24:2).) We learn from 1 Cor. 10:2020But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. (1 Corinthians 10:20), in which the apostle quotes Deut. 32, that these gods were devils. This being the case, God chose one man, whom He called to separate himself from his country, associations, and his family to be a witness in the world and against the world for Him. To this man, Abraham, God gave certain promises, both of a temporal and of a spiritual nature. The question before us being the past history of the nation of Israel, we pursue only the temporal promises. When Abraham came into the land of Canaan, God said, “Unto thy seed will I give this land.” (Gen. 10:1111Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, (Genesis 10:11).) When Lot had separated from him, these promises are renewed. “Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed forever,” &c. (Gen. 13:1414And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: (Genesis 13:14), &c.) Again in chapter 15 we find the promise renewed and the bounds of the land named. “And he said unto him, I am the God that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.” And again, “Unto thy seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.” In a vision in the same chapter God reveals to Abraham that his seed would be a stranger in a land that was not theirs and that they should serve them. “And they shall afflict them four hundred years. . . And afterward they shall come out with great substance.”
Now these promises were entirely unconditional: they were given by God and received by Abraham without any condition whatsoever. We find them, still without condition, repeated to Isaac in Gen. 26, and to Jacob in Gen. 28. We turn to Ex. 2, when the four hundred years were expired, and we find these promises to the fathers alluded to; “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob; and God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.” The people are now redeemed, and taken out of Egypt, the covenant name of Jehovah revealed to them. Afterward they are told God's purpose in thus taking them out. “Unto thee it was showed that thou mightest know that the Lord (Jehovah) he is God, there is none else beside him.” (Deut. iv. 35.) Or, as He says in Isa. 43:1212I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. (Isaiah 43:12), “Ye are my witnesses that I am God.” On the redemption of the people God takes up His dwelling amongst them in the cloud and the glory.
The question of righteousness had not, however, yet been raised. The people journey from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai, the objects of perfect grace. Here God proposes certain terms of relationship with them; “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.” &c. (Ex. 19) “And all the people answered together and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” See also chapter 24:3, 7, where the covenant is ratified by blood. Thus they enter upon a covenant of obedience as the terms of relationship with God. Instead of saying, “No, we cannot trust ourselves in the least; if we accept conditions as these, we shall surely fail: we shall not be able to keep our blessings for one hour.” Instead of this, they were full of confidence and ignorant of themselves. The result is plain and solemn. The lawgiver goes up to the mount that burned, to receive the terms of the covenant; and, ere he returns, the people make a calf and worship it, as the god that brought them up out of Egypt: they say, “Up, make us gods which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.” (Ex. 32:11And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. (Exodus 32:1).) Moses returns with the tables of the law in his hand; he sees the music and the dancing when he came nigh unto the camp: he saw that on the side of the people the terms of the relationship were broken; and his anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hand, and broke them beneath the mount. Pure and unmixed law never, therefore, came amongst the people. The lawgiver returns to the mount; he goes up again, “peradventure he might make an atonement for their sin;” and in answer to the prayer of Moses, the people is spared, and a covenant of longsuffering, patience, and mercy added to that of the law; and it is established in the hands of the mediator and the people. (Ex. 34:2727And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. (Exodus 34:27).)
The Book of Leviticus, with other matters, settles the approach to God, who dwelt amongst them, and the priesthood.
The Book of Numbers gives the journey through the wilderness.
When about to enter the land, the covenant is renewed, establishing the terms of their possession of the land on condition of their observing them, in the plainest way in the Book of Deuteronomy. Chapter 27 states the principle of legal righteousness, and chapter as other parts of the book, the conditions of their inheritance and blessing in the land. “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth, and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field: blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep: blessed shall be thy basket and thy store: blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.” (Deut. 28:1-61And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. 3Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 6Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. (Deuteronomy 28:1‑6)) And the alternative, “But it shall come to pass, that if thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field; cursed Blain be thy basket and thy store; cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land; the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep: cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.” (Deut. 28:15-1915But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: 16Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. 17Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. 18Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 19Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. (Deuteronomy 28:15‑19).) The whole chapter states in the most solemn manner the conditions of their possession and retention of their blessings in the land. And we read in chapter 29:1, “These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab (in the borders of Israel), beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.”
Accordingly we find them entering the land under the leadership of Joshua, the waters of Jordan separating themselves, and the “Lord of all the earth” passing into the land before His people, to possess the land in them. This was an important title which the Lord thus assumes, to which we shall have occasion to refer again.
The Book of Joshua gives the history of their conquest and establishment in the land. In the last chapter we find Joshua establishing a covenant with the people, in which they bind themselves to serve the “Lord their God,” and to obey His voice, and under these conditions to retain the blessing.
We now see one point established clearly, of the utmost importance, which is, that the people never yet possessed the land, or the blessings promised to the fathers, under the unconditional terms promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These promises are yet to be fulfilled and accomplished in grace.
The results of their inheritance of the land, and the blessings conditionally, we find in the Book of Judges, as in other scriptures. “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baalim: and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods; of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtaroth And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice: I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died; that through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord, to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it or not,” &c. (Judg. 2:11-13, 20-2311And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: 12And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. 13And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. (Judges 2:11‑13)
20And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; 21I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: 22That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. 23Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua. (Judges 2:20‑23).) This book shows their failure, and the faithfulness and longsuffering of God, who raised up judges and deliverers from time to time, to bring temporary relief to them out of the bands of their enemies.
In 1 Samuel we find the failure of the priesthood in the family of Eli. We read, “Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial, they knew not the Lord.” (1 Sam. 2:1212Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord. (1 Samuel 2:12).) The entire chapter treats of this failure, and the cognizance the Lord takes of it. In chapter 3 the Lord establishes the regular line of prophets in Samuel,” ere the lamp of God went out in the house of the Lord,” to form the link between Himself and the consciences of the people. In chapter 4 the ark of God, on which He manifested His presence, is taken. Eli dies, and the wife of Phinehas, dying on giving birth to her child, names him “Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel.” The prophet Samuel is now the link between God and the people. “He judged Israel all the days of his life.” When he became old, he set his sons to be judges over Israel, but they “walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.”
The people now desire a king and “the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us; and Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” The Lord now gives them a king, a man of their own choice, Saul the son of Kish. Chapters 9-15 give us the history of his appointment and failure. He fails in what he had been raised up to do. “And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou.” (Chap. 15:28) God now gives them a king, a man of His own choice, “David the son of Jesse,” who at last is settled in the kingdom. After him, his son Solomon is established on the throne of the kingdom, in the full tide of prosperity and blessing,” neither adversary nor evil occurrent.” (See 1 Sam. 16-1 Kings 10) But “Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt,” and he multiplied wives unto himself. Both of these things were expressly forbidden in Deut. 17 “And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice; and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.” (1 Kings 11:9, 109And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, 10And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. (1 Kings 11:9‑10).)
They had now failed under prophets, priests, and kings. Solomon had for a little moment united all these in his own person, serving as a type of Him in whom all shall be established. We read in 2 Chron. 9:3, 43And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, 4And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her. (2 Chronicles 9:3‑4), when the Queen of Sheba came up, she heard the wisdom of the prophet, and saw the magnificence of the king, and the ascent of the royal priest to the house of the Lord—a faint shadow of the coming day of the glory of the kingdom.
God now stirs up the adversaries of the kingdom against Solomon, declaring by His prophet that He would take the kingdom from him; yet He would still preserve one tribe to David's house, that he might always have a light before Him. Accordingly, when Rehoboam came to the throne the mass of the nation revolted under Jeroboam, who established a separate kingdom, and an idolatrous center of unity. The tribe of Judah only was preserved to the house of David.
From this time we pursue the histories of these two divisions of the nation, under the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. That of the former is a tale of evil without any redeeming point, till we come to 2 Kings 17, when, under their last king, Hoshea, Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria came up and led away the nation of Israel captive. “In the ninth year of the reign of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Haber by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.” (2 Kings 17:66In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. (2 Kings 17:6).) Read the entire chapter, which gives the account of this. These tribes have never been restored.
We follow the history of the kingdom of the house of Judah from Rehoboam's day, which is such another tale of wretchedness, and failure, and departure from God, occasionally relieved by the reign of some faithful king, such as Josiah and Hezekiah, till the house of David consummated its guilt in Ahaz. This king had set up the altar of a strange god in the house of the Lord, and made molten images for Baalim, and followed the abominations of the heathen. He was scarcely exceeded in iniquity by Manasseh after the reign of Hezekiah. In the reign of Zedekiah the time had come when those touching and solemn words were pronounced: “The Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes and sending, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.” (2 Chron. 36:15, 1615And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: 16But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy. (2 Chronicles 36:15‑16).) Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against the city of Jerusalem, and besieged it and took it, and brought the nation captive into the land of Babylon, and put out the eyes of the king and slew his sons, rifled the house of the Lord, and burnt it and the king's house, leaving a few of the poor of the people to be vine-dressers and husband men in the land. They had failed under prophets, priests, and kings, and God pronounced these words by the prophet concerning their last king: “And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God, Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until be come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” (Ezek. 21:25-2725And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, 26Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. 27I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him. (Ezekiel 21:25‑27).)
The glory, or presence of Jehovah, that had dwelt amongst them since they had been redeemed from Egypt, departs from its house. Turn to chapters 9 to 11 of the prophet Ezekiel. In chapter 9 the prophet sees the glory of the God of Israel gone up from the cherub, and standing upon the threshold of the house: the Lord marks His own, who were faithful, then executes judgment. In chapter 10, the glory departs from off the threshold, and stood over the cherubim that were to bear it away. And in chapter 11, the glory goes up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mount of Olivet, that is upon the east side of the city.
As soon as the people had gone into captivity, the “sword” of government is handed over to the Gentile king, and the “times of the Gentiles” begin. “Thou, O king, art a king of kings, for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all.” (Dan. 2:37, 3837Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. (Daniel 2:37‑38).) Israel had been God's servant up to this (in this position, however faithless). See Isa. 43:1010Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. (Isaiah 43:10)—“Ye are my servant whom I have chosen.” (See also Isa. 41:8; 42:19; 44:218But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. (Isaiah 41:8)
19Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant? (Isaiah 42:19)
21Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. (Isaiah 44:21)) The Gentile king now takes the place of the Lord's servant, though in another sense. (See Ezek. 29:18, 2018Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it: (Ezekiel 29:18)
20I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 29:20); Jer. 25:99Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. (Jeremiah 25:9), &c.) During the times of the Gentiles, God assumes the title of the “God of heaven,” as we see all through the Book of Daniel, which treats of these times. He had gone over Jordan into the land of Israel, as we saw, under the title of the “Lord of all the earth,” and had exercised His government from the center of Israel. The people having proved themselves worse than the heathen around, utterly untrue witnesses to the “Lord of all the earth,” God removes His presence from amongst them, and bestows the government of the world into the hands of the Gentile king.
Thus ends, properly speaking, the past history of the nation of Israel. In the language of Hosea, “The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without a teraphin.” And again, “Call his name, Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.”
We must not, however, close our brief view of their past history, without looking shortly at the return of the remnant, of part of Judah and Benjamin at the close of the Babylonish captivity. We turn to Jer. 25 and we find that when they were about to be sent into captivity into Babylon they are told by the prophet, “Behold I will send.... Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof and this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” We find in the Book of Esther how God secretly watched over His people without publicly owning them or manifesting Himself to them, in the land of their captivity. We read in Dan. 9 that as soon as the seventy years of the kingdom of Babylon were run, and Darius the Mede had taken the kingdom, “I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolation of Jerusalem.” When the seventy years were over, a remnant of Judah and Benjamin came back, and settled in the land (Ezra 1, &c.); they rebuilt the temple, and reared up and repaired the city. (Nehemiah.) The history of this remnant is touching and impressive. It was, however, an empty temple; they had neither the Shekinah (or the glory of the presence of Jehovah), nor the ark, nor the Urim and Thummim. They did not pretend to more than they had, but did what they could in the ruins of everything around. This was not the national restoration as was promised by the prophets; nor was it the inheritance of the land according to the promises to the fathers; only a remnant of Judah and Benjamin returned under the permissive patronage of their rulers, to whom they were still subject. “Behold we are servants this day; and for the land that thou gavest to our fathers to eat the fruit thereof, and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it; and it yieldeth much increase to the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and our own cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.” (Neh. 9:36, 3736Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: 37And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. (Nehemiah 9:36‑37).) When the national restoration takes place God declares, “will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.” (Ezek. 37:2222And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: (Ezekiel 37:22).) And again, “They shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.” (Isa. 14:22And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. (Isaiah 14:2).)
This remnant of the nation remained in the land under their oppressors until the coming of their Messiah, and His presentation to them; only a little band of disciples attached themselves to Him, and received Him as the Christ: the mass of the people refused Him and chose a murderer in His stead. They were warned by Him that He had come in His Father's name and yet would reject Him: and that if another would come in his own name, him they would receive. (John 5) With His own blessed, unwearying love He pleaded with, and yearned over, and wept for the people—still beloved for their fathers' sakes, till compelled to say, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate, for I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (Matt. 23:37-3937O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Matthew 23:37‑39).) The sentence of judicial blindness and hardness of heart, pronounced by the prophet seven hundred years before, but in longsuffering withheld, (Isa. 6:9, 109And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. (Isaiah 6:9‑10),) came to pass. (Matt. 13; John 12) The householder had sent his Son to receive the fruits of His vineyard, and the husbandmen said,” This is the heir, come let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours; and they caught him and east him out of the vineyard, and slew him.” His love was not turned aside even by this; the Holy Ghost takes up the voice of Jesus on the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” by the mouth of Peter in Acts 3, who says, “And now brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also our rulers.” Repent and be converted and even now He will return. But they gnashed their teeth upon His witness Stephen, and stoned him, and sent a message by him after Jesus “We will not have this man to reign over us.” Still in longsuffering He lingers till the days of Acts 28, when the final carrying out of the sentence was pronounced by Paul, “Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this people and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive, for the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed: lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” (Acts 28:25-2725And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, 26Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: 27For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Acts 28:25‑27).) It only remained to complete the sentence by the armies of Titus—till “the cities be wasted without inhabitants and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate and the Lord removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.” (Isa. 6:11, 1211Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 12And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. (Isaiah 6:11‑12).)
The great Prophet had come into the midst of His people: to Him they would not hearken. Rejected, He had gone to heaven to be a priest for those who believe; and when He comes again as King, He will unite all these glories in His own person, and His kingdom shall have no end!