2:12
So Israel is a mess, with little interest in hearing the true word of God. One might think then that Israel is done for, and that would be true if Israel was her own nation, if it was a matter of Israel proving that she was good enough. But that is not the case, Israel is God’s nation. Her existence depends purely upon God, and so does her salvation. So, as in most of the other prophets, we find that condemnation, most severe condemnation, of the nation is followed by promises of salvation. and so it is here. So God declares that he will gather all of them together, a remnant of Israel. Note the use of the term “remnant”. That would seem to imply not all Israel in numerical terms will be saved. The Lord will bring them together as a shepherd would bring sheep into a sheepfold. And the place will throng with people. Lots will be saved, and this would seem to imply that many from other nations would be saved. The shepherd analogy is used a lot in the Old Testament, and it is highly significant when Jesus uses it of Himself. It is a clear reference to Jesus being the Messiah who was promised in the Old Testament. Jesus also said that he had sheep in another fold that He had to go for. There is much judgement, but there is also much salvation.
2:13
How could this salvation come about? Only because the Lord will be at their head. He is the One who will lead the way. “They will break through the gate and go out”, one could perhaps see a reference here to the church breaking out and going into all the world, or maybe I am just reading that into the text.
No comments:
Post a Comment