“I will take you from among the nations, gather you of all the countries, and bring you into your own land.” That’s what Ezekiel said. Wow! First, the physical restoration of Israel. Then he says, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will take the heart.”

How can you get a new heart? I’ll tell you how. Read Jeremiah 31. The Lord said in verses 30 and 31, “I will give you a new testament, new covenant, and it will no longer be written on paper. It will be written on the plates of your heart. Your heart will change and the word will be already on it.” How? Only when you believe in Christ. The new testament, new covenant – “I’ll take that heart of stone out of your flesh. I will put My spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. You shall also be My people and I will be your God.”

So God began over the last 70 years the physical restoration of Israel. And it’s called aliyah in Hebrew. To ascend. To go up to the house of the Lord. Aliyah is going up. The Lord came down upon the mountain, and Moses went up to get the law. But Micah says, “Come up, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of God, of Jacob.” So God is bringing the Jews back to the land.

Did you know that there’s a new report that shows that a greater number of Jews are making aliyah? It means the closer we are to seeing Israel receive a new heart. Because, first, they need to be restored physically to the land, and then they will be restored spiritually.

He’s bringing the Jews, the Jewish people, back from the ends of the earth – not just from one place, not just from Babylon. This time, from the four corners of the world. He’s working all of human history to this end – to be God to His beloved creation. With every new immigrant, the time gets closer.

There are so many wonderful things we can learn about the nature and character of God by examining His relationship and interactions with His chosen people, Israel.

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 KJV – “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, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Through this reminder to Israel we can see that God is a God of love. He is a God of power and a redeemer from bondage. We also see that He is faithful to His word and promises.”

Malachi 3:6 KJV – “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”

In spite of Israel’s rebellion, idolatry, and national rejection of Jesus, the Lord has remained faithful to His nature and character because He does not change. This is why, as Christians, we need to remember that the Holy One of Israel and the head of the church are the same person. He is the unchanging Lord who is faithful to His word.

Think about the parallels between Israel and the story of the prodigal son.

Ezekiel 37:1-6 KJV – “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.”

Luke 15:20-24 KJV – “And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

Like the returning prodigal, Israel is spiritually “still a great way off”. Yet God has brought them back to the land, and the land has flourished for them. A land once dead is now alive and teeming with life! Not because of them, but because of Him.

This is one of the few things that both Israel and the church will be present to witness as God fulfills His promises concerning the last days and His chosen people. We have been watching Jews return to their covenanted homeland over the last 120-plus years, even though they were scattered among the nations for nearly two millennia. In spite of their prodigal son-like rebellion, God has thrown them a welcome home party and figuratively “killed the fatted calf”. How so? Israel enjoys a booming economy, a powerful military, unparalleled technology, and cutting-edge medical advances that have benefited people all over the world. 

Jeremiah 30:1-3 KJV – “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.”

“The days are coming” is a phrase that is synonymous with “the last days”, “the latter days”, and “the time of the end”. This process is well underway, and, as the church, we should be watching Israel’s return with great expectation. 

As a new year begins, maybe you have been living like a prodigal. Maybe you’ve been wondering if God is still interested in having a relationship with you. For the answer, just look at Israel and how God has welcomed them home. Maybe it’s time for you, like the prodigal son, to come home. Things are always better at the Father’s house, and even though you may feel “a great way off” He will have compassion on you like He has His chosen people. He will welcome you home and you can truly have a Happy New Year!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus

“I will take you from among the nations, gather you of all the countries, and bring you into your own land.” That’s what Ezekiel said. Wow! First, the physical restoration of Israel. Then he says, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will take the heart.”

How can you get a new heart? I’ll tell you how. Read Jeremiah 31. The Lord said in verses 30 and 31, “I will give you a new testament, new covenant, and it will no longer be written on paper. It will be written on the plates of your heart. Your heart will change and the word will be already on it.” How? Only when you believe in Christ. The new testament, new covenant – “I’ll take that heart of stone out of your flesh. I will put My spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. You shall also be My people and I will be your God.”

So God began over the last 70 years the physical restoration of Israel. And it’s called aliyah in Hebrew. To ascend. To go up to the house of the Lord. Aliyah is going up. The Lord came down upon the mountain, and Moses went up to get the law. But Micah says, “Come up, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of God, of Jacob.” So God is bringing the Jews back to the land.

Did you know that there’s a new report that shows that a greater number of Jews are making aliyah? It means the closer we are to seeing Israel receive a new heart. Because, first, they need to be restored physically to the land, and then they will be restored spiritually.

He’s bringing the Jews, the Jewish people, back from the ends of the earth – not just from one place, not just from Babylon. This time, from the four corners of the world. He’s working all of human history to this end – to be God to His beloved creation. With every new immigrant, the time gets closer.

There are so many wonderful things we can learn about the nature and character of God by examining His relationship and interactions with His chosen people, Israel.

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 KJV – “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, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Through this reminder to Israel we can see that God is a God of love. He is a God of power and a redeemer from bondage. We also see that He is faithful to His word and promises.”

Malachi 3:6 KJV – “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”

In spite of Israel’s rebellion, idolatry, and national rejection of Jesus, the Lord has remained faithful to His nature and character because He does not change. This is why, as Christians, we need to remember that the Holy One of Israel and the head of the church are the same person. He is the unchanging Lord who is faithful to His word.

Think about the parallels between Israel and the story of the prodigal son.

Ezekiel 37:1-6 KJV – “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.”

Luke 15:20-24 KJV – “And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

Like the returning prodigal, Israel is spiritually “still a great way off”. Yet God has brought them back to the land, and the land has flourished for them. A land once dead is now alive and teeming with life! Not because of them, but because of Him.

This is one of the few things that both Israel and the church will be present to witness as God fulfills His promises concerning the last days and His chosen people. We have been watching Jews return to their covenanted homeland over the last 120-plus years, even though they were scattered among the nations for nearly two millennia. In spite of their prodigal son-like rebellion, God has thrown them a welcome home party and figuratively “killed the fatted calf”. How so? Israel enjoys a booming economy, a powerful military, unparalleled technology, and cutting-edge medical advances that have benefited people all over the world. 

Jeremiah 30:1-3 KJV – “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.”

“The days are coming” is a phrase that is synonymous with “the last days”, “the latter days”, and “the time of the end”. This process is well underway, and, as the church, we should be watching Israel’s return with great expectation. 

As a new year begins, maybe you have been living like a prodigal. Maybe you’ve been wondering if God is still interested in having a relationship with you. For the answer, just look at Israel and how God has welcomed them home. Maybe it’s time for you, like the prodigal son, to come home. Things are always better at the Father’s house, and even though you may feel “a great way off” He will have compassion on you like He has His chosen people. He will welcome you home and you can truly have a Happy New Year!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus