The Boiling Pot - Moriel Ministries

Reigning from the throne of David in Israel,
the Messiah king of Israel will bring
blessing not just to the Jewish people only,
but to all nations.
The Mystery Of Inclusion
In Ezekiel 47, we read that the stranger
who settles in Israel was to be given the
same inheritance as a native born Israelite.
Compare this with Paul’s statement in
Ephesians.
“How that by revelation he made
known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote
afore in few words, Whereby, when ye
read, ye may understand my knowledge
in the mystery of Christ) Which
in other ages was not made known unto
the sons of men, as it is now revealed
unto his holy apostles and prophets
by the Spirit; That the Gentiles
should be fellowheirs, and of the same
body, and partakers of his promise
in Christ by the gospel:” (Eph 3:4-6)
Fellowheirs with whom? Paul answers
this question in chapter 2:
“Wherefore remember, that ye being in
time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are
called Uncircumcision by that which
is called the Circumcision in the flesh
made by hands; That at that time ye
were without Christ, being aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel,
and strangers from the covenants of
promise, having no hope, and without
God in the world: But now in Christ
Jesus ye who sometimes were far off
are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, who hath made
both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us;”
(Eph.2:11-14).
Paul is very explicit here in saying that the
Gentiles who came to faith in the Messiah,
are now part of the commonwealth of Israel,
and one with believing Israelites. Believing
Gentiles share in the covenants, common-
Moriel Israel – Continued
process of beating him to death. No one
would have blinked at it if he had, -he was
only a Hebrew slave.. Moses intervened to
save his kinsman.
Moses sense of calling is made explicit
in Stephen’s inspired speech to the Sanhedrin
in Acts 7.
“And seeing one of them suffer wrong,
he defended him, and avenged him
that was oppressed, and smote the
Egyptian: For he supposed his brethren
would have understood how that
God by his hand would deliver them:
but they understood not.”
After this everything went “pear-shaped”
for Moses. His deed became known, he lost
all privilege and position in Egypt, had to
skip town, and then spent the next forty
years in a tent in the middle of nowhere,
working as an apprentice in the livestock
trade. Interestingly enough. Because there
was no one about when Moses killed the
Egyptian, then either the man he saved or
someone whom that man spoke to afterwards,
“shopped” Moses to Pharaoh. He
was let down by his own kinsfolk. His initial
rejection, sadly, came from within the community
of faith. This is not an uncommon
occurrence biblically. After 40 years Moses
former confidence in himself (this man who
according to Acts 7:22, “was learned in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians and mighty in
word and deed”) had so evaporated, that he
asked the LORD to send someone else instead
to deliver Israel. Moses had lost not
only his confidence but also sight of the
calling of God that he perceived all those
years ago. The LORD however had not.
For all who in walking faithfully with
the LORD have received setbacks this
should encourage us. When Moses returned
from the wilderness into Egypt, his ministry
turned that nation upside down. Through
Moses, God brought Egypt, the mightiest
military power of its time to its knees.
“Through Moses, God brought Egypt,
the mightiest military power of its
time, to its knees”
Our Passover Seder
Only a week or two ago we were celebrating
Passover. Hadass and I made a seder in
our own home with a few friends. We don’t
really like to use the traditional haggadah,
which contains a lot of Rabbinic material
which seems more calculated to hide rather
than reveal the Messiah. So our practice has
been to read Exodus 12, explain the meaning
of the elements, and then stand up and
eat our lamb (not a whole one!), bitter herbs
and matzah “Exodus style”, after which we
have a time of singing and prayer and celebrate
the Lord’s supper. Then we follow
this with a main meal.
Passover -Not Just a Jewish Event
One of the common mistakes that we can
make is to assume that Passover is purely a
Jewish event. I know that this will sound
strange, but let me explain. The Passover
event in Exodus is replete with typology
and foreshadowing, and one that we see in
particular is a partial realisation of God’s
promise to Abraham
“Thy name shall no more be called
Abram, but Abraham, for a father of
many nations have I made thee” (See
Gen.17:4-5).
In the biblical accounts we see, -even in
the catastrophic judgements of God upon
the Land of Egypt that preceded the Exodus
event, there was also an expression of
God’s care and concern for the Egyptians
and their welfare too. Moses specifically
advised the Egyptians to bring their remaining
livestock and field workers under cover.
It was Pharaoh’s hardening of his heart,
not God that made the destruction of
Egypt inevitable.
“Behold, to morrow about this time I
will cause it to rain a very grievous
hail, such as hath not been in Egypt
since the foundation thereof even
until now. Send therefore now, and
gather thy cattle, and all that thou
hast in the field; for upon every man
and beast which shall be found in the
field, and shall not be brought home,
the hail shall come down upon them,
and they shall die. He that feared the
word of the LORD among the servants
of Pharaoh made his servants
and his cattle flee into the houses:
And he that regarded not the word
of the LORD left his servants and
his cattle in the field.” (Ex.9:28-21)
Some Egyptians responded to the word of
the LORD through Moses, and later when
the Hebrews left Egypt, it is written a “mixed
multitude” left with them (see Exodus
12:38). As the LORD proclaims His word
and moves to redeem His people, He draws
others from the nations to Himself as well.
Throughout Old Testament history we
see this pattern in foreshadow; Rahab,
Ruth, Naaman the Syrian, Uzziah the Hittite
and many others. At the dedication of
the Temple (1Kgs.8:41-43) we see Solomon
expecting that people from the nations
would be drawn to fear the God of Israel.
“As the LORD proclaims His word and
moves to redeem His people, He draws
others from the nations to Himself
as well.”
This idea is also scattered throughout
the prophets, (particularly Isaiah) and the
Psalms., for example
• The Messiah is called a banner for
the peoples to whom the Gentiles will
seek (Isa.11:10)
• “strangers will be joined to Israel and
cleave to the house of Jacob” (Isa.14:1)
• “He will bring forth judgement to
the Gentiles, .......the isles will wait for
His law, the LORD will give Him for a
covenant of the people, a light of the
Gentiles.......” (see Isa 42).
In Psalm 72 a prophecy of the Millennial
rein of the Messiah we also see the LORD’s
promise to Abraham reiterated:
“His name shall endure for ever: his
name shall be continued as long as the
sun: and men shall be blessed in him:
all nations shall call him blessed.”
(Psa. 72:17)
18 Moriel Quarterly • June 2012