Having already established in the first part of this teaching that
the wall between Jews and Gentiles is removed in Christ, I want to go a
little further regarding Jeremiah 31:27-28 with regards to the seed of
man and the seed of beast that's sown in the house of Israel and the
house of Judah in the New Covenant. First let's begin with Zechariah
1:17 again:
17 �Again proclaim, saying, �Thus says the LORD of hosts: � My cities
shall again spread out through prosperity; The LORD will again comfort
Zion, And will again choose Jerusalem.���
And from chapter 2 of Zechariah, again, since we've already established
that Christ's Jew and Gentile Church are viewed by the author of the
book of Hebrews as already being in New Jerusalem through their union
with Christ:
4 who said to him, �Run, speak to this young man, saying: �Jerusalem
shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the
multitude of men and livestock in it. 5 For I,� says the LORD, �will be
a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.��
Now, we've already established that this is a Covenant of Comfort for
the animals. This isn't a wall of fire around people for their
protection and sanctification and an endless barbecue for the animals
for as long as there are animals. No, this is for their protection and
reward. His reward is with Him, according to Isaiah 40, which is us, and
His work before Him. While the nations are most definitely His work,
He's ministering to animals in Isaiah 40 and elsewhere in Scripture. I
realize how some people would regard those animal references as speaking
of people, but as I've long argued: when the plain sense of a Scripture
makes sense and is consistent with His nature and other parts of the
Written Word and when it would positively deeply effect people for Him
to be so wonderful, as in the case of His care for literal animals, then
we may freely expect Him to reveal more mercy and grace than many of us
have ever given Him credit for.
Turn with me to Galatians 3 and we'll read verses 8, 13, and 14:
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by
faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, �In
you all the nations shall be blessed.�
Have the Scriptures perhaps foreseen that God would do more than graft
Gentiles into His grace? Can it be that as Ephesians 1 says, He's
gathering all things together into one in Christ? (Ephesians 1:8-10)
Acts 3:21 says that the heavens retain Christ until all things are
restored. Could this include the seed of man and the seed of beast that
Jeremiah 31:27-28 contends for? Just asking. Let's proceed with our
reading in Galatians 3, beginning with verse 13:
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law...
If He's redeemed us from the curse and transgression of the law as
Galatians, Romans, 1Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, and Hebrews
would argue, has He left the seed of beast still in it's clutches? Is
that what Jeremiah 31:27-28 and Zechariah 2:4-5 are arguing for as God
foresees His Spirit upon the animals in Isaiah 63:14, Joel 2:22, Mark
4:30-32, and Romans 8:21?
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a
curse for us (for it is written, �Cursed is everyone
who hangs on a tree�)
Was this curse upon Christ when He was tormented for us at the Cross
just to end our sins forever? Or could there be a hint of Him baring the
suffering of all animals who are exploited in circuses, for television
and movies, and in research that's inherent in any of the passages I'm
referring to now and have referred to in the past on this subject?
13 � 14: Christ has redeemed us from the curse...so that the blessing of
Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
It would be good for you to spend some time thinking upon this promise
of the Spirit through the redemptive merits of our Redeemer in the light
of Isaiah 63:14 and Jeremiah 31:27-28. He was sowing the house of Israel
and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast, and
the great Shepherd Psalm, Psalm 23, says in verse 5 that He anoints the
head of His flock (we're the head of His flock) with oil. You can also
read Psalm 23:5 as Him anointing the flock directly because of Isaiah
40:10-11 and Isaiah 63:14.
In the context of the great Hosea 2:18 passage, it says in verses 22 and
23, building upon His declaration of no more fears for animals in Joel
2:21-24:
22 The earth shall answer With grain, With new wine, And with oil; They
shall answer �Jezreel.� 23 Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I
will say to those who were not My people, �You are My
people!� And they shall say, �You are my God!��
That sowing is evidently in Jerusalem according to Zechariah 2:4-5 or
more precisely in the house of Judah and Israel according to Jeremiah
31:27-28.
Psalm 23 says the oil is for the flock and Zechariah 9:17 says the grain
shall make the young me thrive and new wine will make the young women
thrive.
God has always had a place in the Scriptures for young men and young
women to bring them to that place of extremely, extremely old age that
Zechariah 8:4-6 talks about. But it is not His will for men, women, or
animals to be worn out or to die before their time, according to Psalms
103 and 104.
These are the days of Hosea 2:18 fulfillment when we'll see our Lord as
a wall of fire around both the seed of man and the seed of beast
according to Jeremiah 31:27-28 and Zechariah 2:4-5.
Go on to Part 3
Return to Hosea 2:18
Return to
Covenant Foundations
Animal Gospel
