BRITISH-ISRAEL.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 20 April 1935, Page 6

BRITISH-ISRAEL.

EXPOSITORY COLUMN. By D.B.M. No. 3. ABEAHAMIC COVENANT. ' (Continued). It was seen in the last study that Abraham received a three-fold promise. 1. Whereas all his progenitors had been passed over for the purpose, Abraham was chosen to found a great nation. God required a nation to witness for Him on earth, and who can say that His knowledge of eugenics did not play a part in His choice of faithful Abraham? 2. A nation requires a national home, and to Abraham and to his seed was promised the land between the Euphrates and the river of Egypt. 3. The purpose of this selection is made clear. “In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’’ 'MIRACULOUS BIRTH. It should bo understood that. Abraham was 75 years old at the time of his call, and Sarah his wife was past child-bearing. They had no children, and another 25 years elapsed before the final promise of a son was made by God. With a certain degree of impatience, Abraham had already begotten a son, Ishmael, x>f Sarah’s servant, and the facts are recorded to show that this son was not acceptable, but only Isaac, the seed of promise. TEST OF FAITH. When Isaac was a youth, Abraham was tested by God. Ho must oiler up his heir, the son of promise as a sacrifice. Even this he was ready to do, believing that God could raise him up from the dead if necessary. The narrative is to be found in the 22nd chapter of Genesis, which shows that God interrupted the sacrifice, and confirmed the Covenant with an oath, ■God had judged Abraham’s character correctly as a lit founder of His servant race. And now, the promise was made absolutely without conditions. BIRTHRIGHT TO JACOB. Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. The birthright passed to Jacob, who was again the subject of Divine choice. Although his character as 3 young man left much to be desired, he passed through a deep expcriencJ which changed him. On that occasion God changed his name to Israel. “Jacob” meant a “supplantcr”:, Israel meant “Prince with God.” The name was a confirmation of the calling of the race, to assist God to administer the world.

We find on perusing the book of Genesis that the original promise to Abratyam was expanded to Jacob in so far as it touched upon the multitudinous seed, and the land. We also find that whereas the promise was passed on to Isaac, to the exclusion of Ishraael, and to Jacob to the exclusion of Esau, the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant were divided amongst the sons of Jacob. It cannot be claimed that all the twelve tribes were partakers equally of the promises. Let us consider the promise about the nation. Abraham was promised (Gen. 12:2) “I will make of thee a great nation,” and in 13:16, “I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth.” In 17:5, “A father of many nations I have made thee.” Jacob’s promise (35:10, 11) was “A nation and a company of nations shall be of thee.” BIRTHRIGHT BEQUEATHED’ TO JOSEPH. When Jacob ’was about to die, he called his sons together, and blessed them. But prior to this, he had a private interview with Joseph and his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Joseph, it is well ; known, was that son of Jacob who had been sold as a lad in slavery to Egypt, and there became. Prime Minister, administering the food supplies through seven years of plenty, and the subsequent seven years of famine. In the story of Joseph we have another case of Divine testing and trying, as in the case of his forbears. To Joseph was given the birthright blessing, as it is recorded in 1 Chronicles 5:1, 2, “His (Reuben’s) birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph . . . Dor Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him ■came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s.” EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH, Genesis 48 records how Jacob blessed Ephraim the younger grandson with the blessing that he should be a multitude of nations: and Manasseh, the elder, was given the blessing that ho should be a great people. It is a fact that in the history of Israel in Palestine, Ephraim was the leading tribe of the northern kingdom, but this tribe did not there become a; multitude of nations. The first verse | of the 49th chapter shows that the promise was for the “latter days.” We have the authority of Crudcn’s Concordance for believing that the terms “latter days” and “last days” refer to the period between the first coming of Christ and His second coming. It is therefore in these days that we should look for the descendents of Joseph as a great people and a multitude, or company, of nations. In that gallery of faithful heroes of 11th Chapter of Hebrews this is the one event chosen out of his long life to commend Jacob: “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.” THE FULFILMENT. It is a striking fact that in modern times we do find a great people, the United States of America, who are 1 one blood with a company of nations,

the British Commonwealth of Nations. Many indulge in roars of laughter when it is suggested that this is the fulfilment of the promise; but of all suggested explanations 'of the above Scripture, the British-Israel one is in closest accord with the facts of history.

The parallel between the Bible promise and the alleged fulfilment in the Anglo-Saxon race becomes closer when we consider the promise of the land. . “SPREAD ABROAD.”

Abraham’s promise was "from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river of Euphrates” (Gen. 15:18): Jacob’s promise was "Thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south (28:14). Jacob remembered this when he blessed his son Joseph (50: 26). "The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.” The manner in which the English speaking people have spread abroad in a world wide Empire is a close parallel to the above. I PROTECTION IN WAR. Eurther, "The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hatred him; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made ystrong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.” (50:22, 23) aptly des■cribe the manner in which Britain has been preserved against the many attacks recorded in history. WEALTH. When Moses blessed the tribes (Deut. 33: 13-17) he confirmed the same blessings to Joseph. It is a remarkable fulfilment of this passage that America and the British Empire are self-con-tained. possessing in their own domains the precious things of the earth. And no' one can deny that they have been followed by "the goodwill of him that dwelt in the bush.” Their history appears to have been specially guided by Divine Providence,

Consideration of the blessings of Judah must wait until next column.