A short meaningful piece of poem
00:00:01.36\00:00:03.57
was written in a newspaper,
and it went like this,
00:00:03.60\00:00:06.94
"How odd of God
to choose the Jew?"
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And then somebody responded
and said, "Oh, no, He's not.
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He knows what's what."
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Some people feel
that there's a mystery
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or mystique about
the Jewish people,
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and I'm not so sure
that they're necessarily
00:00:45.37\00:00:46.74
wrong about that.
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And let me add before
I get into this program,
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that there are many
wonderful Jewish people,
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and certainly people
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that God loves and that we love.
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But we want to understand
their role in biblical history
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and in the future of the world.
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If there's one thing
that keeps people's attention,
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maybe I should say
two things nowadays
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that keep people's attention.
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It's the papacy, the
pope and what he does,
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and everybody's eyes are also on
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that little
nation called Israel.
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We might ask ourselves,
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"Why is it that
the Jewish people
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seem to have
suffered so very much?"
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I mean, when you
look at their sufferings,
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it's heart rendering.
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And today is
going to be a little bit
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of a history lesson,
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as we move toward the future.
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But I want to back up and
take a look, first of all,
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at the origins of
the Jewish people.
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And in the Book of Genesis 12:3,
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Abraham is pictured
there, and really as the father
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of the Jewish people.
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In fact, Jesus' lineage
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was not only
traced back to Adam,
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but it was also traced
back at one place to Abraham,
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because He's considered
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the father of the Jewish people.
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In Genesis 12:3, it
says, "I will bless those,
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" God says to
Abraham, making him a promise,
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"I will bless
those who bless you,
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and I will curse
those who curse you.
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And in you all the families
of the earth shall be blessed."
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Now that's quite a statement.
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He's saying that all
the families of the earth
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will be blessed through Abraham
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or through the
people that he begets.
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In Genesis 15:4-6,
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that promised baby had not come.
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Abraham had not
received that new baby
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that the
inheritance and God's promises
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were all going to come through.
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And so he said to God, "Look,
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I've got this wonderful servant,
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Eliezer, let him
be my inheritance.
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And God says, "No, no,
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it's going to be
somebody from your own body."
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Genesis 15:4-6, "And behold,
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the word of the
Lord came to him,
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'This one shall
not be your heir,
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but one who comes
from your own body,
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shall be your heir.'
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Then he brought him
outside and said to Abraham,
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'Look now toward
heaven, and count the stars
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if you are able to number them.'
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And he said, 'So
shall your descendants be.'
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And he believed the
Lord, he trusted the Lord."
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That's where it's always at.
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At the end of the day
is do we trust the Lord.
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He believed the
Lord, even though
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he didn't have
that promised baby,
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even though he
was getting older,
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he believed the Lord,
and it was counted to him
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as righteousness.
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Now, when Moses showed
up, of course, as you know,
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through Jacob and his sons,
they all went down into Egypt,
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and they lived down
there for many years,
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400 and some years,
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and then the
Egyptians enslaved them.
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And then God talk to Moses.
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And these are the
promises that God made to Moses.
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Exodus 3:6-8, just before
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the marvelous
story of the Exodus,
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which is one of my
most favorite stories
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in all scripture,
and I'll be tempted
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to talk about it a little bit.
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But let's go to Exodus 3:6-8.
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God says to Moses
at the burning bush,
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"'I am the God of your
father, the God of Abraham,
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the God of Isaac,
the God of Jacob.'
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And Moses hid his face,
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for he was
afraid to look upon God.
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And God said to him,
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'I have surely seen the
oppression of My people,'
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God knows what's
going on, 'who are in Egypt,
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and I have heard their
cry,' He's heard their prayers,
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'because of their taskmasters,
I know their sorrows.'
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" And then He says, "
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So I have come
down to deliver them out
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of the hands of the Egyptians.'
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" So we know the
story of the Exodus.
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It's an amazing story.
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I mean, I'm still
just amazed at it.
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Not only did God
destroy Egypt with 10 plagues,
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and some people say, "Well,
how can He do that, last one,
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where He destroyed
all the firstborn children
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of the Egyptians?"
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Let me tell you that
it started out this way.
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God said to Pharaoh,
"Israel is My firstborn."
00:05:03.63\00:05:07.14
Doesn't mean He doesn't
love all the other families
00:05:07.17\00:05:08.84
of the earth, but the firstborn
00:05:08.87\00:05:10.91
always has
special responsibilities,
00:05:10.94\00:05:13.78
and the
privileges that go with that.
00:05:13.81\00:05:15.74
And God said to Pharaoh,
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"Israel is My
firstborn, let him go.
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And if you don't let him go,
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then I'm going to take
your firstborn in exchange."
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Now that was both a
promise and a threat.
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Pharaoh's one of
most stubborn people
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that ever existed on
the face of the earth.
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And then, of course,
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there's the story of the Red Sea
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where Israel walks through,
and is delivered on dry ground.
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Marvelous!
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Later, Moses as he
gets ready to pass away
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and to turn the
reins over to Joshua.
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In Deuteronomy, he makes
some startling things about it.
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He promises them
both blessings and curses.
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He promises some
blessings and curses
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based on one little tiny word,
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and you can read it over
and over again in Deuteronomy,
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the little word, if.
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If you will do what
I've asked you to do,
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you're going to
get the blessings.
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But if you don't,
you're going to get the curses
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and the curses
included being dispersed
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all over the world.
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But God would promise, He says,
"But I'll bring you back if,
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if you keep My
statutes and My laws."
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Now, some people think
that there's no condition
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to the Jewish people going home.
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Now, I want to say
this, and I say it kindly,
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hope I'm not misunderstood,
and I'm certainly not against
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the nation of Israel,
have nothing negative there.
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That's not my point.
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But many people misunderstood
and they think that Israel
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going back to Palestine
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is the
fulfillment of these promises.
00:06:47.67\00:06:50.04
But these promises
are based on an if and if.
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We're going to see that
if when we're going to get
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into the New
Testament at some point here.
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So that if came into play,
but God said something very
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fascinating when He
talked about all these promises
00:07:03.82\00:07:07.09
of blessings and
curses, and the ifs,
00:07:07.12\00:07:09.69
the conditions that
went along with them.
00:07:09.72\00:07:11.99
And then He said
this, "For instance,
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if you don't obey Me,
00:07:14.10\00:07:16.83
if you don't be faithful to
Me, if you don't keep the faith,
00:07:16.87\00:07:19.90
if you don't be loyal to Me,
00:07:19.93\00:07:21.27
this is what's going to happen."
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You have to understand
that we are in a world
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where Satan claims ownership,
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'cause he claims
he got it from Adam.
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And our
protection, Israel's protection
00:07:31.81\00:07:34.65
was based on
their loyalty to God.
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If they're not
going to be loyal to God,
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then God's going to
have a very difficult time
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against Satan
and his accusations
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that he has the right
to oppress this people
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and to take them
out from underneath
00:07:49.20\00:07:50.53
the protection of God.
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Do you need
protection of God in your life?
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I needed in my life.
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I want God's hand over my life.
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Well, coming back to
ancient Israel, again,
00:07:58.27\00:08:01.61
this was what God said to them,
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if they didn't
go along with him,
00:08:03.78\00:08:06.05
he says in Deuteronomy
28:37, it's an amazing thing,
00:08:06.08\00:08:11.15
"And you shall become
an astonishment, a proverb,
00:08:11.19\00:08:17.59
and a byword
among all the nations
00:08:17.63\00:08:21.00
where the Lord send you."
00:08:21.03\00:08:23.26
Where do Jews, where are they?
00:08:23.30\00:08:26.37
The fact is,
they're all over the world,
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because they've been
dispersed all over the world.
00:08:28.94\00:08:30.74
We'll go through a
little bit of that history.
00:08:30.77\00:08:34.34
But God said,
"Look, whether you obey Me,
00:08:34.38\00:08:37.91
or whether you disobey Me,
00:08:37.95\00:08:40.28
you are going to be a
fulfillment of prophecy."
00:08:40.32\00:08:44.45
And people are
going to look at you,
00:08:44.49\00:08:46.39
and they're going to say,
00:08:46.42\00:08:47.92
"What is really going on here?"
00:08:47.96\00:08:49.92
I want to go back to Deuteronomy
00:08:49.96\00:08:51.29
for just a moment here,
00:08:51.33\00:08:53.90
into that same place that
we were at in Deuteronomy.
00:08:53.93\00:08:57.47
In Deuteronomy Chapter 30,
00:08:57.50\00:09:00.14
we were actually
in 29, while ago.
00:09:00.17\00:09:01.77
But I want to go back
to Deuteronomy Chapter 30,
00:09:01.80\00:09:04.34
and I want to look
at this verse 19 and 20.
00:09:04.37\00:09:07.51
This is Moses, giving some
of his last words to Israel.
00:09:07.54\00:09:13.21
He says, "I
call heaven and earth
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as witnesses today against you,
00:09:15.62\00:09:19.32
that I have set
before you life and death."
00:09:19.35\00:09:23.43
And I'm going to
stop right there.
00:09:23.46\00:09:25.89
What happens to
Israel is an example
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of what will
happen to every nation.
00:09:28.80\00:09:31.57
And let me get it more
personal to every person.
00:09:31.60\00:09:35.60
God says, before
you and before me,
00:09:35.64\00:09:38.84
life and death.
00:09:38.87\00:09:42.61
But we have the power of choice.
00:09:42.64\00:09:44.75
We can choose to go
one way or the other.
00:09:44.78\00:09:49.12
Listen to what he says,
"Set before you life and death,
00:09:49.15\00:09:53.69
blessing or cursing,
00:09:53.72\00:09:57.33
therefore, choose life."
00:09:57.36\00:10:00.30
He begs them, "Choose life,
00:10:00.33\00:10:02.90
that both you
and your descendants
00:10:02.93\00:10:05.07
may live forever.
00:10:05.10\00:10:09.14
That you may," and then he gives
00:10:09.17\00:10:10.71
the basis for that,
00:10:10.74\00:10:12.07
"that you may
love the Lord your God,
00:10:12.11\00:10:14.78
and that you may obey His voice,
00:10:14.81\00:10:17.11
" you cannot obey God
without faith, by the way,
00:10:17.15\00:10:20.65
"and that for He is your life."
00:10:20.68\00:10:22.78
I want to say that to
every person listening
00:10:22.82\00:10:24.59
to me,
00:10:24.62\00:10:25.95
I say to
myself, God is our life.
00:10:25.99\00:10:29.19
And the devil
is in the business,
00:10:29.22\00:10:30.73
whether it's through
the mark of the beast,
00:10:30.76\00:10:32.36
or through with disobedience
to his God's commandments,
00:10:32.39\00:10:34.76
he's in the
business of separating us
00:10:34.80\00:10:37.77
from trusting God.
00:10:37.80\00:10:39.43
But God is our life.
00:10:39.47\00:10:43.20
And then he goes on to say,
"That the length of your days,
00:10:43.24\00:10:48.04
and that you may dwell
00:10:48.08\00:10:49.41
in the land which the Lord swore
00:10:49.44\00:10:50.95
to give to your father's
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
00:10:50.98\00:10:55.38
Let's go back to a little
bit of the history of Israel
00:10:55.42\00:10:59.22
as we begin to
trace this whole story
00:10:59.25\00:11:01.52
into the New Testament
and into the end of time.
00:11:01.56\00:11:04.96
The first
dispersion of the Jewish people
00:11:07.06\00:11:09.53
was under the Babylonians.
00:11:09.56\00:11:11.10
We know the story of
Daniel and his three friends.
00:11:11.13\00:11:14.27
And Jeremiah said
that they would be
00:11:14.30\00:11:16.47
there for about 70 years.
00:11:16.50\00:11:18.17
But Jeremiah gives the
reason for that dispersion.
00:11:18.21\00:11:21.64
In Jeremiah 25:4-11,
00:11:21.68\00:11:25.01
"The Lord has sent
to you all His servants
00:11:25.05\00:11:28.75
the prophets,
00:11:28.78\00:11:30.12
rising up early
and sending them,
00:11:30.15\00:11:33.56
but you have not
listened nor incline your ear."
00:11:33.59\00:11:38.46
There's the issue.
00:11:38.49\00:11:39.83
And that'll be the difference
between eternal life for you,
00:11:39.86\00:11:42.90
and for me.
00:11:42.93\00:11:44.27
Will we incline our
ear to listen to the Lord?
00:11:44.30\00:11:48.14
Will we trust Him?
00:11:48.17\00:11:49.50
Jeremiah goes on to
say, "And this whole land
00:11:49.54\00:11:52.91
shall be a
desolation and astonishment,
00:11:52.94\00:11:56.71
and these nations shall
serve the king of Babylon
00:11:56.75\00:11:59.61
for seventy years."
00:11:59.65\00:12:02.65
Well, we know about that
dispersion and, of course,
00:12:02.68\00:12:04.69
the Jewish people came
back, they rebuilt the temple
00:12:04.72\00:12:07.26
and the city, Ezra, Nehemiah,
we know the story of that.
00:12:07.29\00:12:10.99
But then you have the
dispersion of the Romans,
00:12:11.03\00:12:14.36
as the Romans took
over the land of Israel
00:12:14.40\00:12:17.60
and, of course, we
know they're the ones
00:12:17.63\00:12:19.00
who crucified Christ
00:12:19.03\00:12:20.57
and persecuted
the Christian Church.
00:12:20.60\00:12:22.77
But here's the dispersion
and we find that dispersion
00:12:22.80\00:12:25.97
actually mentioned
in the New Testament,
00:12:26.01\00:12:28.54
part of that dispersion
00:12:28.58\00:12:29.91
and the attitude
of the Roman Empire.
00:12:29.94\00:12:31.81
We're going to
trace the attitude
00:12:31.85\00:12:33.58
of the Roman Empire
toward the Jewish people.
00:12:33.62\00:12:36.99
Now, listen to Acts
18:2, Aquila and Priscilla,
00:12:37.02\00:12:41.46
wonderful New
Testament Christians
00:12:41.49\00:12:43.63
who were great
witnesses for the Lord Jesus.
00:12:43.66\00:12:46.73
"And he found," Paul, "found
a certain Jew named Aquila,
00:12:46.76\00:12:49.90
born in Pontus,
00:12:49.93\00:12:51.43
who had
recently come from Italy,
00:12:51.47\00:12:54.57
with his wife, Priscilla."
00:12:54.60\00:12:56.50
And then he says, "Why?"
00:12:56.54\00:12:59.11
"Because Claudius, the Emperor
had commanded all the Jews
00:12:59.14\00:13:02.61
to depart from Rome."
00:13:02.64\00:13:04.88
It seemed like the
Roman Empire just waged war
00:13:04.91\00:13:07.98
not only against the Christians,
00:13:08.02\00:13:09.78
but also against the Jews.
00:13:09.82\00:13:11.52
I tell you, the devil
not only hates Christians,
00:13:11.55\00:13:15.32
but he also hates the Jews,
00:13:15.36\00:13:17.06
because as long
as the Jews exists,
00:13:17.09\00:13:19.29
whether they are
faithful or unfaithful,
00:13:19.33\00:13:21.90
they are a testimony
00:13:21.93\00:13:23.40
to the power of
the God of Heaven,
00:13:23.43\00:13:26.07
that He keeps His
word, He keeps His covenant,
00:13:26.10\00:13:29.60
and He keeps His promises.
00:13:29.64\00:13:31.61
He will keep
His promises to you.
00:13:31.64\00:13:33.61
And every time
there are Jewish people,
00:13:33.64\00:13:36.04
they are a
symbol of God's promise
00:13:36.08\00:13:40.32
that He keeps His promises.
00:13:40.35\00:13:43.62
Well, I want God's
promises in my life.
00:13:43.65\00:13:46.12
I know you want
His promises in yours,
00:13:46.15\00:13:48.62
and we're going
to look at some more
00:13:48.66\00:13:50.39
of what the Jewish
people have gone through.
00:13:50.43\00:13:56.03