JUDAH’S SEPTRE AND JOSEPH’S BIRTHRIGHT<\/p>\n
by J.H.Allen (1917)<\/p>\n
CHAPTER II.<\/p>\n
RACE VERSUS GRACE.<\/p>\n
Since we are compelled to begin our search for light,
\nconcerning every phase of these themes, along the lines of
\nBiblical history and prophecy, it will be well for us first to
\ngather from those sources a few of the greater and more general
\nfacts. By so doing, we will find it to be a great help in our
\nstudy of the more special features of the subjects, as it will
\nenable us to place, with unerring certainty, each detail where it
\nbelongs.
\nIt being true that the Lord included in the Abrahamic
\ncovenants a promise that the forthcoming children of promise
\nshould eventually develop into many nations, there are many other
\nthings that must follow as a consequent; one of which is, that
\nfor the accomplishment of this purpose, God must provide
\nsufficient territory or scope of country, which shall become the
\nhome of each nation, for it is absolutely impossible that
\nflourishing nations shall exist without national homes.
\nPursuant to this thought, we know of no utterance in all the
\nWord of God which furnishes a more general or comprehensive
\noutlook than the following: “When the Most High divided to the
\nnations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he
\nset the bounds of the people according to the number of the
\nchildren of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob
\nis the lot (cord, or line) of his inheritance.” Deut.32:8,9.<\/p>\n
When Moses was commanded to write the above concerning the
\ndivision of the earth’s surface to the sons of Adam, only a very
\nsmall portion of it was inhabited; nevertheless, in the mind of
\nGod every Island was set apart, and every continent divided. For
\nthe scope of the facts herein stated are world-wide, and embrace
\nwithin their sweep the entire inhabited and inhabitable portion
\nof the earth’s surface. Also, those divisions were so arranged
\nand subdivided, and the boundaries so set, that every nation,
\ntongue, and people among the sons of Adam,-be they already in
\nexistence, or be they among the forthcoming nations,had their
\nnational home allotted unto them.
\nMoreover, God always not only kept in mind that special
\ncountry which he had promised should become the everlasting
\ninheritance of the chosen race, but he also, when setting the
\nterritorial bounds for other nations, remembered Israel, and
\neither restricted the boundaries of other nations, or enlarged
\nthose divisions of country intended for Israel, which will be
\nneeded by that immense multitude of people when they shall have
\nfulfilled their appointed destiny of developing into many
\nnations. For we must bear in mind that the posterity of Abraham
\nare a natural seed, according to the flesh, and that each special
\nnation of the many must have a place in which to dwell.
\nIn addition to the fact that these Abrahamic nations are a
\nfleshly seed, we must remember also that they are not necessarily
\na race of saints; for it is a notorious fact that some of that
\nrace have been, and others are now, just as wicked as that fallen
\nson of the heavens would have them; but, on the other hand, that
\nsame race has furnished, and still is furnishing, men who are the
\ngrandest and best of earth.
\nWhen the time came for God to produce from the covenant man
\na son who should be the further progenitor of the covenant race,
\nAbraham was anxious that Ishmael, his son by Hagar, the handmaid
\nof Sarah, should be used for this purpose, and exclaimed, “O that
\nIshmael might live before thee !” To this earnest appeal the Lord
\nwas not indifferent, and promised that he would bless Ishmael.
\nBut on the subject of rejecting Ishmael as the covenant
\ninheritor, and making his covenant with a son who should be a
\nchild of Sarah, as well as of Abraham, the Lord was inflexible.
\nHis word of promise was the insurmountable barrier, and so he
\nsaid to Abraham: “Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed,
\nand thou shalt call his name Isaac … and as for Ishmael, I have
\nheard thee … twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him
\na great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac,
\nwhich Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next
\nyear.”
\nSo Ishmael’s posterity became alien before the legal line
\nhad any existence, except that, on the authority and
\nresponsibility of creative faith, the Lord counts things that are
\nnot as if they were-for God had yet to create Isaac and bring
\nforth life out of that which was as good as dead.
\nWe have the record o\u015b another racial choice and rejection
\nwhich was made before birth, that of Jacob and Esau, but before
\nwe discuss the question of race versus grace,-as involved in the
\ncaption of this chapter – relative to them, for it is over their
\ncase that the subject is argued in the New Testament, we wish to
\ncall your attention to the fact that after the death of Sarah,
\nAbraham married a second wife whose name was Keturah, by whom he
\nhad a number of sons. These sons in time became the fathers of
\nthe Medes, Midianites, and other nations; but we can no more
\nreckon these nations as a part of the promised many, than we can
\nthose which were formed by the posterity of Ishmael and Esau.
\nCould we do so, our task would be an easy one and our story soon
\ntold; but we cannot do this, for the covenant nations must come
\nonly from Abraham and Sarah through their only son Isaac, whose
\nposterity alone can be called, as they are called, “the Children
\nof the Promise,” in contradistinction to those who belong to the
\nother families, and who are called “the Children of the Flesh.”
\nThis brings us to the question of race versus grace as understood
\nby the New Testament Church, and explained by the Apostle Paul,
\nwho in his Epistle to the Romans says: “Neither, because they are
\nthe children of Abraham, are they all (racial) children, but the
\nchildren of the promise are counted for the seed.” As he carries
\nthe argument still further, he makes this truth all the more
\napparent by declaring: “In Isaac shall thy seed be called,” and
\nthen explains, as follows: “That is, they which are the children
\nof the flesh, these are not the (national) children of God; but
\nthe children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is
\nthe word of promise, at this time will I come, and Sarah shall
\nhave a son. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had
\nconceived by one, even our father Isaac (for the children being
\nnot yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
\npurpose of God according to election might stand, not of works,
\nbut of him that calleth). it was said unto her, the elder shall
\nserve the younger. As it is written Jacob have I loved, but Esau
\nhave I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness
\nwith God? God forbid!” Rom.9:7-i4.
\nWith this argument before us, it is clear that it is only
\nthe children of Isaac who are counted for the national seed of
\nthe covenant concerning the promised multitude, and that all this
\nquestion of election as regards Jacob and Esau is purely racial
\nand national. That is, one of these two nations which sprang from
\nthe same mater is the recipient of national promises, glories,
\nhonors, covenants, and service of which the other is not a
\npartaker.
\nThe argument is that when Rebecca, who we remember was to
\nbecome the mother of thousands of millions, had conceived by
\nIsaac, the father of the race, the result was that there were two
\nnations, or nationalities, in the womb – not necessarily a
\nnation, either of sinners or of saints. To convince us that the
\nelection was purely racial, Paul throws in the parenthetical
\nclauses explaining that Jacob had done nothing good that he
\nshould deserve these covenant blessings. But he also just as
\nassuredly affirms that Esau had done no evil that he should not
\nhave them, for the choice was made before they had the power to
\ndo good or evil, i.e., before they were born.
\nThe King James version is a little unfortunate in its use of
\nthe word “hated,” as herein used, for one meaning which is given
\nto the original word is, “to love less,” and when used in
\ncontrast to the word “love” as applied to Jacob, it will bear
\nthat simple meaning. The fact, which Paul states, is simply that
\nGod loved Jacob more and Esau less, or that he preferred one to
\nthe other, and that this preference for one excluded the other.
\nSo Paul asks the question, “Is there unrighteousness with God?”
\nand for a reply gives only that surprised exclamation, “God
\nforbid!” He scouts the criminating thought that it could possibly
\nbe unrighteousness with God, that he should be pleased to choose
\nthe white race with which to work out his purpose, instead of the
\nred, or copper-colored one; but makes the implication that there
\nwould have been unrighteousness, of a very grave character, with
\nthe Lord, if this election had been one of grace instead of
\nrace-that is, grace unto salvation for Jacob and his seed, and
\ndamnation, without any possible chance of grace, for Esau and his
\nchildren.
\nNow for the facts concerning these contradistinctive
\nappellations, “Children of the Flesh” and “Children of the
\nPromise,” as applied to the races which have Abraham for one
\ncommon father.<\/p>\n
(1) God, as we have shown, made a covenant with Abraham, in which
\nit was promised that he should become the father of many nations,
\nhence Abraham was the inheritor of a promise from God.<\/p>\n
(2) Isaac, who was a natural son of Abraham and Sarah, according
\nto the flesh, was not only the child of a special promise, but he
\nwas also the first child of the covenant promise.<\/p>\n
(3} After the death of Abraham, God confirmed the original
\ncovenant promise to Isaac, the child of promise, as follows: “I
\nwill perform the oath which I swear unto Abraham thy father; and
\nI will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and I
\nwill give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed
\nshall all the nations of the earth be blessed” Hence Isaac also
\nbecame the inheritor of a promise from the God of his father.<\/p>\n
(4) The immediate posterity of Isaac, the promiseholder, were
\nJacob and Esau, the persons whom Paul uses in making his argument
\nconcerning the Lord’s choice of race. Jacob, the younger of these
\ntwo, who were twins, was chosen by the promise-maker, before they
\nwere born, to be the inheritor of the covenant promises. And so
\nthe Divine promiser reiterates those promises to him, as follows:
\n“I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac:
\nthe land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy
\nseed: and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou
\nshalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the
\nnorth, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all
\nthe families of the earth be blessed.” Hence Jacob also received
\ndirect from the Lord the same covenant promises which had
\npreviously been given to his fathers.<\/p>\n
(5) Since there can be no mistaking the purport of these covenant
\npromises regarding a natural and multitudinous posterity for
\nthese promise-inheritors, and inasmuch as these promises were
\npromised and repromised, by the Divine promise-maker to the
\nsuccessive promise-holders, then, when that promised multitude of
\npeople shall have materialized, it is they, and they only, who
\ncan be called “The Children of the Promise.” And the only crucial
\ntest is that they be Abraham’s seed who have descended from Isaac
\nthrough Jacob.<\/p>\n
Thus it is that the natural seed of Abraham, whose
\ngenealogical tree sprouts from the Jacob roots, are the children
\nof the promise, and that others are not, although they also be
\nthe natural sons of Abraham, but, not having come through the
\nfamily line of the promiseinheritors, they are “the Children of
\nthe Flesh” only. While to Israelites only, the seed of Abraham,
\nIsaac, and Jacob, pertain the promises, the covenants, the
\nadoption, the glory, the special service, the giving of the
\ndivine law, and through whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ
\ncame. But no such national glory, honor, dignity, and exaltation
\nare promised to those other nations which sprang from that same
\nfather through Ishmael, Esau, and the sons of Keturah : no, not
\neven such glory as comes from the least of these covenants
\npromises and blessings.
\nConsequently, we can see why the Lord always declares
\nhimself to be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and not the
\nGod of Abraham, Ishmael, and Esau; and why it is that Paul’s
\nkinsmen according to the flesh are exclusively the children of
\nthe promise, for they are Israelities, to whom pertain the
\npromises, etc. That is, they are the people who owe their
\nexistence to the fact that God was true to the promise which he
\nmade to Abraham, repeated to Isaac, and reiterated to Jacob,
\nwhose name was changed to Israel, and from whom come the elect
\npeople whose general racial name is Israel. Thus each individual
\nmember of the race is an Israelite, be he a good man or a bad
\none, and belongs to the elect or chosen people of God.
\nTherefore all this question of election between Jacob and
\nEsau, which has caused so many unjust conceptions of God and his
\nprecious saving truth, is a question of Race, and not of Grace.
\nHowever, there is both an election of race and an election of
\ngrace, for Paul, when speaking of the seven thousand men who had
\nnot bowed the knee to Baal, declares that even now, “at this
\npresent time, also, there is a remnant according to the election
\nof grace.” But when he wrote regarding the attitude of a certain
\npart of the elect race toward the election of grace, he says: “As
\nconcerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes; but as
\ntouching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.”
\nHere we find two elections, i. e., the election of race and the
\nelection of grace.
\nTouching the election of race, God could say, “And thou,
\nIsrael, art my servant whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my
\nfriend.” But, when it was a question of individual service or
\nrelation to him, even among his chosen people, he could throw the
\nresponsibility on them, and say: “Choose ye this day whom ye will
\nserve.” Or when pressing the subject of eternal life to be
\naccepted or rejected by each member of that elect race, God could
\nsay: “See, I have this day set before thee life and death,” and
\nthen exhort them to “Choose life!”
\nIf it is a question of race election, and the fidelity of
\nthe Divine promise is at stake, it can be asserted that the will
\nof God, independent of the will of others, can cause certain
\nconditions to obtain; “that the purpose of God according to
\nelection might stand”-not in the good or evil works, or unholy
\nnatures of unborn babes, “but of him that calleth.”
\nWhen the call of God is of racial, or of national import,
\nGod can say: “Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel my called.” But
\nif it is a question of personal election to the grace of
\nsalvation, then faithful men of God may exhort other men, saying:
\n“Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.” When it
\nis race, it is, “Whom I (God) have chosen.” When it is grace, it
\nis, “Whosoever will, may come and take the water of life freely.”
\nWhen it is race, it is, “I have called thee by my name; thou
\nart mine.” In grace it is “Whosoever believeth,” of whom the Lord
\nsays: “They are mine.” In grace it is, “Come.” In race it is
\nfate, destiny, kismet.
\nOne is a chosen race, and the other is a chosen way. The way
\nis by faith that it might be of grace, but the choice of race is
\naccording to the predetermined and predestined purpose of God.
\nIn race election it is generation, or born of the flesh. In the
\nelection of grace it is regeneration, or born of the Spirit.
\nIn grace it is, “Whosoever offereth praise glorifieth me;” but in
\nrace, it is, “This people have I formed for myself; they SHALL
\nshow forth my praise.”
\nThis declaration brings us to the consideration of the
\npurpose, or object, which the Lord has in choosing, and forming a
\nspeciat race of men who, in spite of the wickedness of the great
\nbulk of them, he calls his own chosen people, and whose national
\ndestiny he purposes to control.
\nMuch of the manifest purpose of God touching this people is
\nmade known in that brief epitome given by the Apostle Paul, as
\nquoted above, respecting the national honors of his own people.
\nFiguratively speaking, every word in that resume of Israelitish
\nhistory and the summing up of their honors weighs a ton. As we
\nproceed with the story of Israel, it is our purpose to consider
\nthese facts in detail, but at this juncture we will take time
\nonly to say that, since the creation, no such opportunity, or
\nsuch fitting cause, for national honor and greatness has ever
\ncome, or ever can come, to any other nation on the earth.
\nIt would seem that their cup of glory was full to the overflow,
\nwhen through them the Lord sent his word from Heaven, and spread
\nit abroad over the face of the inhabited portions of the earth,
\nand when God’s word had been so fulfilled, and his purpose for
\nthem so fully accomplished that they could say: “Unto us a child
\nis born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon
\nhis shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
\nThe mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
\nWhen they could say this – then it would seem that their cup
\nof national greatness and glory was overflowing, and that the
\nsupreme purpose of God for them had been reached. But it is our
\nglad privilege to tell you that there is in God’s word a declared
\npurpose, which must yet be accomplished through that elect race,
\nand until it shall be fulfilled, all that which is done is robbed
\nof fully nine-tenths of its power and glory; since, outside the
\nrealm of faith, millions are today hopelessly drifting on the
\nshoals of constantly increasing forms of unbelief, and with the
\ngreat majority of men, the word of God must forever be regarded
\nas a cunningly devised fable, unless God has some plan of
\nvindication for it and himself.
\nFurthermore, the great love of God is misunderstood and
\ndespised; the blood of the atonement is trampled upon; Christ is
\nstill considered by the many a bastard, a fraud, and a failure.
\nHe is still put to an open shame in the house of his professed
\nfriends; shipwrecks of a one-time faith and a present professed
\nfaith in him are scattered everywhere. And so it is that God, his
\nWord, and his Christ, must yet be fully vindicated. And they
\nshall be, for God has promised it; and when this vindication
\nshall have been accomplished, then, and not till then, will
\nIsrael have reached the supreme climax of greatness and glory of
\nthe purpose for which the Lord has chosen her.
\nHarken ye unbelieving ones! Harken to this! “Thus saith the
\nLord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O
\nIsrael, * * * ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant
\nwhom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and
\nunderstand that I am He; before me there was no God formed,
\nneither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and
\nbeside me there is no Saviour. I have declared, and have saved,
\nand I have showed, when there was no strange God among you:
\ntherefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord–that I am God.” –
\nIsa.43:1,10-12.<\/p>\n
Note this, “That YE may know and believe ME, and understand
\nthat – I AM HE.”
\nGod not only intends to use the Israelites for the purpose
\nof convincing them that he is God, and the only God, but he also
\nintends to use them to convince the rest of the world. For he
\nsays: “I will sanctify my great name, * * * and the heathen shall
\nknow that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be
\nsanctified in you before their eyes.” – Ezek.36:23.
\nThis is the great purpose for which the Lord has chosen
\nIsrael, and when this is accomplished, they shall have reached
\nthe acme of national glory.
\nIf you ask, “Is the history of Israel, as a whole, a Divine
\nwork?” we answer, yes. But if you ask, “Is that history designed
\nas a preparation for the moral creation which Jesus Christ came
\nto effect?” Our answer is, no; the law which the Lord gave to his
\npeople was intended to accomplish that purpose; but the history
\nof Israel, together with prophecies concerning them, many of
\nwhich must yet become history, is for the vindication of God.
\n……….<\/p>\n
To be continued This book on the Sabbath<\/a> is one of the most informative church history books you may ever read.\u00a0 <\/a>\u0411\u0456\u043b\u044c\u0448\u0435 \u043d\u0456\u0436\u00a040 \u0420\u0430\u043d\u043d\u0456 \u043e\u0442\u0446\u0456 \u0426\u0435\u0440\u043a\u0432\u0438<\/strong>\u00a0\u0446\u0438\u0442\u0443\u044e\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f \u0442\u0443\u0442 \u044f\u043a \u0437\u0430\u0445\u0438\u0441\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438 \u0437\u0431\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0436\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044f\u00a0\u0421\u0443\u0431\u043e\u0442\u0430 \u0432 \u0441\u0443\u0431\u043e\u0442\u0443<\/strong>. Study and learn more about the tribal discoveries of the true orthodox & Celtic\u00a0 Israel church.<\/p>\n Go to JUDAH\u2019S SCEPTRE AND JOSEPH\u2019S BIRTHRIGHT pt3<\/a><\/p>\n
\nOCC Publisher’s note:
\nRead on to learn more about the Celtic Church and true Israel people of God.
\nOur Church (the Orthodox Church of the Culdees) has a wealth of literature and
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