God’s Outcasts
“For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.” Jeremiah 30:17
When Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, sacked Jerusalem in 587 B.C., destroying the wall around the city and the temple, that once glorious city became a pile of rubble. Any travelers who passed by it would shake their heads and ask how could it have happened; how did the people allow this to happen to their great city or why did they deserve such a catastrophe? Why were the people of Jerusalem cast out and removed to a strange land? Jerusalem had been the envy of all the surrounding nations. The people of Jerusalem had been blessed above all the cities and nations of the world, but now they were “outcasts”. Israel is still a land of outcasts because she still has many enemies who hate her.
At some future date, Israel will see invading armies preparing to attack, but God will stop them (Ezekiel 38-39), and then Christ will return (Revelation 19:11-16). God promised His people through the preaching of Jeremiah that one day they would be restored as His people. This will not happen until Christ returns, and the people of Israel recognize Him as their Messiah, falling to their knees and repenting of their sin. They will be saved in the same way as Gentiles are saved: by grace through faith. A true restoration can only occur through Christ.
Up until the time of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, obedience to the law and making the acceptable sacrifices were the only way to be at peace with God. Those who were accepted by Him were those who believed in His promise to provide a Savior. When Judah was sent into captivity in Babylon because of their rebellion against God, they were called “outcasts”. They lost their homes and were in captivity for 70 years, a long time to reflect upon their sins that brought them to this place in their lives. Over 500 years after their return, Jesus came on the scene, preached, healed, and was rejected by most of Israel leading to His crucifixion. Someone who was not familiar with scripture nor the history of ancient Israel, upon hearing this account, would assume that God was through with Israel forever, but not so. Some folks believe that the church, the body of believers, has replaced Israel as God’s chosen people, but scripture does not support that notion.
By the time the antichrist appears, the U.S. will have either become non-existent or will come under the dominion of some other nation. Scripture doesn’t give us any indication of what will happen to our nation because the focus will be on Israel and the Middle East during the end times. For many years, the U. S. could be described as Jerusalem was described previously, the envy of the rest of the world. American has been blessed above all nations, the “leader of the free world”, but like Israel, our sins are indicating that judgment can’t be far behind. President Reagan described America in his 1989 farewell speech as “a shining city on a hill” to which the world could look for help in times of trouble. Jesus said in Matthew 5:14 that “a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid”. Jesus was speaking of Jerusalem, but the principle can be applied to any nation whose God is the Lord.
There was a time when Jesus looked out over Jerusalem, describing her as a city filled with people who killed God’s prophets and stoned them. He greatly desired to gather them as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but they would not receive Him. Therefore, they were left desolate without the saving faith that could have rescued them (Matthew 23:37-38). America is not Israel, but we are following the same pattern toward destruction as ancient Israel. We were founded upon the principles of God’s word but, over time, have drifted away from God, and now are speeding like a runaway train that is about to derail. In the future, people will ask, “What happened to that great nation of America?” Unless we repent and turn from our wicked ways (II Chronicles 7:14), we can’t expect times to get any better.