What joys, what mighty bottomless pool of blessings awaited those who returned from Babylon if they turn from the sins of their fathers and embrace afresh the ancient Covenant of Moses? We'll never know. However, Isaiah paints a glowing image of it in symbolic language, and ends up describing the Realm of the Spirit after Christ's Ascension.
A woman bereft of children is not the same as one who never bore. Israel was taken away into exile, rather like a woman who lost her children. Had she learned the lessons of Isaiah and the other prophets, she could come back home and start fresh and new as a woman who simply has not yet borne children. Not just forgotten would be the sorrows from before, but it would be as if they had never happened. Israel would not, so what we have instead is a contrast between Judah, the "the married woman" versus Christ's Kingdom, which had not yet born fruit. Barren wives were often treated poorly, and in this unspoken thought, we note the spiritual side of God's "Israel" was never well received by the Nation. But when her time came, she outgrew the Old Testament Israel beyond compare, because her progeny would include all nations.
So when she bears fruit, she will be like a rowdy young wife who finally shows her worth. He would proudly own her as His beloved. By being the bride of the Maker of all things, her social standing is without peers. The shunning of Old Israel would become the public celebration of a precious spouse. The time of separation would be forgotten as a brief incident.
In God's eyes, the Flood of Noah, harsh as it was, took away the constant, nagging, in-your-face embarrassment of very public provocation. The earth was cleansed of those who would never turn to the right. Once past, God changed things to ensure it need not happen again. Thus, if Israel would return to their ancient spiritual calling, there would never again be a time when Israel would be removed from the Land. As we know, roughly a century after Christ, the Jews were driven from Palestine by Roman soldiers, so it's obvious she never accepted the terms of renewal. Instead, we have a spiritual empire which cannot be removed under any circumstances.
This New Realm of the Spirit was indescribably delightful. How can you compare the vast riches of God's Heaven with mere building materials? It would have to be like a city founded of huge precious stones, walls of treasures, roofing of jewelry. The children of this New Covenant would be taught by virtue of being God's children. In obeying the draw of the Spirit, the new kingdom would embrace all the blessings ever offered by God under any covenant before. Nothing could possibly threaten the security, health and prosperity of such a realm, because it would be the same as threatening God Himself. If God, who can create the fire of the forge, the very iron forged in it, and the blacksmith who works it, how can any mere human build a weapon to bring harm to Him? Just so, no weapon of man can truly harm God's spiritual people. More, His very righteousness will be placed in our names, so no accusation can stand.
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By Ed Hurst
14 July 2009
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