The blessings of redemption.
The blessings which are here described as following the restoration of Israel are partly national and material in form, but they contain, in the heart of them, those deep spiritual elements of the Messianic ideas which constitute the blessings of redemption. Note the chief characteristics of these—
I. THE NEGATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BLESSINGS OF REDEMPTION.
1. Freedom from the old life of sin. "Neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil hearts." This implies
2. A change from the old habits of religion. The Jews will no longer have the ark, the seat of a localized Divine presence, and they will not want this. We can never exactly recover the past. Paradise cannot be regained. The new Jerusalem will not be like the old garden of Eden. The restored Christian cannot return to the primitive innocence of childhood. But he need not altogether regret this impossibility. With the innocence of childhood there were associated its ignorance, its weakness, its restraints. With redemption there comes a new and larger life. The ark is lost; but this need not be regretted since with it the limitations and material conditions of the Divine visitations are gone also.
II. THE POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BLESSINGS OF REDEMPTION.
1. The enjoyment of God's full presence. God's throne is to be no longer the mercy-seat at the ark:
All Jerusalem will be God's throne. God will dwell in the midst of his people, revealed to all, consecrating the affairs of daily life (Zechariah 14:20).
2. The glorifying of God in the earth through the instrumentality of his people. "All the nations shall be gathered," etc. God's people are honored by being the means of attracting others to him. Thus they are "a city set on a hill" (Matthew 5:14). The blessings of the gospel in Christ are offered to the world. The glory of the Savior and the joy of his people will be completed by the acceptance of them by all nations.
3. Brotherly love. The old enmity of Israel and Judah will cease (Isaiah 11:12, Isaiah 11:13). Christ is the Prince of peace. His advent prepared the way for peace on earth. As his kingdom spreads, peace must also extend over the troubled world. Even now the individual Christian must find his joy in exercising the peaceful spirit and practicing brotherly love (Hebrews 13:1).
III. THE CONDITIONS FOR RECEIVING THE BLESSINGS OF REDEMPTION.
1. Return to God in repentance. This is implied in the previous verses. Repentance precedes restoration.
2. Multiplication of numbers. These blessings were to come after the people were "multiplied and increased." We cannot expect the full Christian blessings till the Church has grown largely in numbers. God has special blessings for his Church. The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, when the whole Church was gathered together (Acts 2:1). These privileges of Christianity are of such a nature that they are not lessened by distribution, but the more they are scattered abroad, the more valuable do they become to every individual who enjoys them.
3. A fitting time. These blessings were not enjoyed at once. For some we still wait. "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed." Its growth is gradual; so is also the enjoyment of its blessings.