Isaiah 14:1-2 English Standard Version The Restoration of Jacob 14 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves. They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. There is a promise that now only will Israel return to the Promised Land, but that Gentiles would want to join them and become attached to the nation of Israel though they were not ethnically Jewish. We see this with the return of the people from Exile--the LORD caused the nation that held them in Exile to release them and all the things that Babylon had stolen and gave them much more in the way of everything they needed for food and to rebuild their cities and houses at the expense of the taxes of the other territories in the region. The Gentiles who bound themselves to the house of Jacob would be male and female slaves. They would be obligated to obey the Law and keep the covenant, but they would not have all the rights afforded to a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You may ask how that is fair, but that is the way God made things to be. He was (at this time in history) to have a special relationship with the Israelites that was not to be given to anyone else. However, we know as New Testament saints that these barriers have been removed and there is now no distinction between Jew and Gentile. All men of all peoples and all nations are called equally to be saved by faith alone through grace alone by the provision of Christ alone to the glory of God alone.
God promises that the nation of Israel would once again be the "head" and not the "tail." They would take their captors captive and rule over those who oppressed them. However, they would not mistreat those who were t heir slaves, as those slaves has rights under the Law that they could not be mistreated, abused, trafficked, or killed by way of premeditation or negligence without punishment. This is quite different than the way they had been treated, but God calls His people to treat others as they want to be treated, not as how they have been treated. "Do not repay evil for evil but overcome evil with good." Comments are closed.
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Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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