Author: Ofer Amitai, Messianic pastor Jerusalem and Director of Israel Prayer Centre

What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? Jeremiah 11:15

“I have forsaken my house; I have abandoned my heritage; I have given the beloved of my soul into the hands of her enemies.” Jeremiah 12:7

“And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land.” Jeremiah 12:15

Is it not astounding that while God is rebuking His nation for her vileness, He addresses her as’ the beloved of my soul‘? The Hebrew means ‘loved one,’ ‘lovely one,’ and even ‘my friend.’

God IS Love, and as such, He doesn’t just love occasionally; He IS Love. God can no more stop being Love, than He can stop being God.

But what possible meaning can this have for Israel or us, seeing that our natural condition is one of sinfulness and wretchedness and that God is Righteous, Just, Holy, Immutable? Is it not better to have not known Love at all than to have known and then be separated from it forever?

Ah, but there is more to love. God not only IS Love, but He loves; He acts! He loved us. How? He sent His beloved Son.

“In this the Love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is Love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” 1John 4:9-10

Love is Yeshua’s incarnation and humiliation. Love is Yeshua on the cross; Love is blood flowing from Calvary. Love atones, Love saves, Love imparts and sanctifies by the power of the Holy Spirit. Love redeems and transforms us so utterly as to make us a new creation in the image of the Son.

Though His words and way may seem rough to us at times, we are in the hands of Love. He knows what He is doing; He knows what He is after.

“Although it is not always evident, He is constantly working, teaching, correcting, punishing, and disciplining. His Love for His people makes Him a relentless worker in their lives. He will not lay down His hammer and chisel until His work is done.” (1)

The day of Israel’s full restoration is coming; there is coming a day of fulfillment and consummation for you. Love will not have it otherwise.

Be wise, therefore, and surrender to Him who is Love.

“…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,” Ephesians 1:17-18

In Messiah’s blessings and grace,

Ofer

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(1) Washer, Paul. The Gospel Call and True Conversion (Recovering the Gospel Book 2) . Reformation Heritage Books. Kindle Edition.

Title: Touches by Ofer Amitai
Author: Ofer Amitai, Messianic pastor Jerusalem and Director of Israel Prayer Centre
Date: 5th November