It Shall Come To Pass

by Joseph Hunting

This is one message to which I shouldn't put my name because the words are basically those of that most famous of all Jewish writers: Moses –- Moishe Ben Amram. He, who grew up as an Egyptian prince in the household of the Pharaoh, is the one through whom God gave to His people Israel the greatest code of laws this world has ever known.

We should stress the simple yet profound statement: "It shall come to pass" , that occurs so often in the Scriptures –- it's not "Maybe it shall come to pass" or "It might come to pass". God's Word is to be believed and trusted –- what He says will surely come to pass.

The following is a series of magnificent promises of blessings overflowing IF His people hearken to the Word of the Lord. How important is that tiny word 'IF'! For over 4,000 years Jewish history attests to the fact that Israel's God keeps His promises; their history is unique because of this truth.

The Blessings

Deuteronomy chapter 28

Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all his commandments, which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.

"And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:

"Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

"Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

"Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

"Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

"The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and he will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

"The Lord will establish you as a holy people to himself, just as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.

"Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.

"And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.

"The LORD will open to you his good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

"And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.

"So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them."

In the foregoing, the lavish blessings hinged on obedience, and the word 'IF' held the key to the vast treasure of wealth, peace and prosperity. And there was a time, briefly, when Israel enjoyed the outpouring of Divine blessing, for Joshua testified in the hearing of the people: "... not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you, and not one word of them has failed" (Joshua 23:14).

And the Curses 

But the bitter tragedy beyond description was also prophesied by Joshua: "Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the LORD your God promised you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the harmful things, until he has destroyed you from this good land which the LORD your God has given you ... the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which he has given you."

In the years that followed Joshua's death Israel experienced the awful curses Moses warned would result from disobedience. They read like a frightful nightmare, but are alas all too real, as nineteen centuries certify.

"But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all his commandments and his statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.

"Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.

"Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

"Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

"Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

"The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion and, rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken me ..."

The rest of the curses are hideous, yet they have all happened. And if anything lacked fulfilment over the centuries, it came to pass during the Holocaust. If anyone should doubt the veracity of God's Word, the following words of Moses matched to Israel's history during their long dispersion should settle the matter.

"And it shall be, that just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.

"Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known - wood and stone.

"And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul.

"Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. In the morning you shall say, 'Oh, that it were evening!' And at evening you shall say, 'Oh, that it were morning!' because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see."

Latter Day Blessings Promised

Israel 's long dispersion has ended; there is now a Jewish state; the people have returned from many countries and their numbers are growing. Once again we can see that the Word of God has come to pass, and this surely presages the complete fulfilment of all His Word.

"Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey his voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,

"that the LORD your God will bring you back from your captivity, and have compassion on you, and return and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you" (Deuteronomy 30:1-3).

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