March 2

ELECTION OF RACE
by Ray Prinzing

"Walk before Me, and be thou perfect.  And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.  And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations."                                                                                   (Genesis 17:1-4).

This is solely done by God, He chose the man to become the father of a race - a race that He had purposed to use to bless all mankind.  What a testimony of this man who was so tested and tried, found worthy of his calling, to become the father of many nations, and through his seed all nations to be blessed.

But as a nation, Israel was called while yet in the loins of Abraham, and not because of their own greatness, even as we read, "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.  The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers..." (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).  How sovereignly God chose this people to become His own elect.

Having been so chosen, bringing this people out of Egypt and into a land of promise, God worked many processes of testing, proving what was in their heart, and as a nation Israel failed to fully qualify.  They turned to serve other gods of the heathen about them.  So He had to severely punish and discipline them, scattering them among all nations.  "For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."  (Amos 9:9).  But  this is not the end, for God has fully used all the scattering, and has planned a time of gathering again, "what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?"  (Romans 11:15). Even now at the present time He is drawing to Himself out of natural Israel those who become His Spiritual firstfruits.