The Messiah Our Redeemer: Part 5 of 12

SAVING FAITH IN GOD’S MESSIAH

V. The LORD Promised To Send A Redeemer

The LORD told Abraham that through him “all nations on the earth will be blessed, because you (Abraham) have obeyed me” (Gen22:17-18). In broad terms, the promise is a reference to the nation of Israel, as the writers of the Jewish ArtScroll series have stated, “When Israel lives up to its mission, it is humanity’s conduit to God and all the world is subservient to it.” (ArtScroll-Daniel). In fact, many of the persecutions that have befallen Israel can be seen as an attempt by the Adversary to defeat the plan of God by destroying the nation of Israel. The continuing existence of the nation stands as one of the supreme evidences to the very existence of God.

Yet, the prophecy given to Abraham also looks forward to a specific individual send by God to bless the world, as Job has spoken, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25). Later, Jacob prophesized of the specific tribe from whom this individual would descend when he said…

“The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his”
(Gen 49:10).

The ruler’s scepter came to David, the son of Jesse from the tribe of Judah, who was anointed by the prophet Samuel, to be king over Israel (1 Sam 16:13). David was the second king of Israel, but unlike Saul, David was selected by the LORD because he was a man after the LORD’S own heart (1 Sam 13:14, 1 Sam 16:1). The permanency of David’s throne was subsequently established by the LORD to David when…

The LORD swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: “One of your own descendants I will place on your throne…for ever and ever” (Psa 132:11-12).

Writing 300 years after David, Isaiah reinforced the continuing promise to the line of David saying,

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD” (Isa 11:1-2).

Isaiah gives us insight that the promise to David is not speaking of an endless succession of rulers, but of a specific descendant who would reign on the throne of David forever, as it is written...

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isa 9:6-7).

The concept of a Messiah (Anointed One, King or Prophet) who will reign over the nation of Israel can also be found in the Torah, as it is written…

"A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter out of Israel" (Num 24:17).

This prophecy was understood to be a Messianic reference by the start of the common era and Rabbi Akiva use this passage to anoint the leader of the second Jewish revolt (132-135 CE) as Messiah, calling to him Shimon bar Kokhba (Son of a Star). After the failure of the revolt, the destruction of the nation, and the dispersion of the Jewish people, the rabbinical writers came to refer to him as “bar Kozeba” (Son of the disappointment).

The coming of the Jewish Messiah from the line David is not one of the hidden mysteries in scripture. It is the fulfillment of the original promises spoken to Abraham and to the prophets. What was hidden as a great mystery in scripture, the LORD’S plan to use the promised Jewish Messiah to become the gateway of salvation for the Gentile nations. As Isaiah has written,

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations (Isa 42:1)…I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” (Isa 42:6).

The promise of the LORD’S servant, the Messiah, is twofold. He will be…

1. “a covenant for the people” and
2. “a light for the Gentiles”.

As a “covenant for the people”, the Messiah will

“restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept (Isa 49:6)…, restore the land (Isa 49:8)…and say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’” (Isa 49:9)

The words of Isaiah are a reference to the national revival foretold by Moses who wrote, “He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than you fathers.” (Deut 30:5). It is the Messiah who will bring to fulfillment this national revival spoken by Moses and the prophets.

As “a light to the Gentiles”, the Messiah will “bring my (the LORD’S) salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isa 49:6). In short, the Messiah will be the ultimate revelation of God to the creation previously living outside of the knowledge, blessings, and salvation given to the nation of Israel.

The apostolic writer, Paul, referred to this concealed truth in scripture as “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations…God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery… the hope of glory” (Col 1:26-27). And again, “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus” (Eph 3:6). And further, “For He Himself (the Messiah) is our peace, who has made the two into one…His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace” (Eph 2:14-15).

Zechariah prophesized of the Gentile nations coming to the Jewish Messiah in this way…

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'" (Zech 8:23).

The “ten men from all languages and nations” constitute a minyan, the number necessary for worship at a Jewish synagogue. Ten is used in scripture to represent completeness, and the number can also represent a greater whole, such as the ten righteous sufficient to save Sodom (Gen 18:32), the ten plagues that marked a completed judgment against Egypt, the ten commandments representing the entire Torah given by God, and the ten spies who rejected the promised land bringing judgment against the entire nation of Israel. (It is interesting to note that only eight were on Noah’s ark. When we understand that the righteous Methuselah died in the year of the flood, we can quickly theorized that ten people may have been sufficient to even save the entire world.)

The “ten men” in Zechariah’s prophecy can be seen as representing all of the Gentile nations who will stream to and demonstrate faith in “one Jew”, by grabbing the “hem of his robe”, specifically the “tzitzit” (tassels). Moses commanded Israel to wear these tassels as a continual reminder of the commandments. “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments…so you will remember all the commands of the LORD’” (Num 15:38-39). The “corners” of the garment, where the tassels are attached, are also referred to as “wings” and were seen to have Messianic implications from the words of Malachi, “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings” (Mal 4:2).

By taking hold of the hem, Gentiles will in mass be declaring faith in a single Jew, “because we have heard that God is with you”. The phrase “God is with you” is a variation of the name Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Matt 1:23), a reference in the apostolic writings to Yeshua. The single Jew that Gentiles are drawn to is Yeshua, but complete fulfillment of the promises still await, as it is written,

“In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious” (Isa 11:10).

Yeshua is the name given by the angel Gabriel, meaning “Salvation”. Yeshua is the eternal answer to the daily Jewish Amidah petition,

“Speedily cause the offspring of Your servant David to flourish, and let him be exalted by Your saving power, for we wait all day long for Your salvation (Yeshua). Blessed are You, O Lord, who causes salvation (Yeshua) to flourish.”

At a future time prophesized by Zechariah, the words of Jacob will be fulfilled and “the obedience of the nations is his” (Gen 49:10). As it is also written,

“The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name one” (Zech 14:9).