Many Israelis are asking today, 'What does the Lord want from us?' What the Lord is looking for today in His people is one thing – holiness! What the Lord is looking for in His people has not changed since the day He chose us to be His people. 
You shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. Exodus 19:6
Our G-d chose us and commanded us to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Yet, anyone living in Israel today recognizes that we are a nation that has turned away from our G-d and His covenant. We have not harkened to His voice, and we have turned away from the purpose for which He has chosen us.
Our G-d not only called us to be a kingdom of priests, He called us to be His witnesses to the nations and peoples of the earth.
Ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He; before Me there was no G-d formed, neither shall any be after Me. Isaiah 43:10
G-d called the Jewish people to send a clear and unmistakable message to all the nations of the earth: The G-d of Israel is the only G-d and that there is no one besides Him!
G-d chose us so we would come to know Him in such an intimate and living way so that we would become living witnesses as to who He is, the one true G-d, the creator of heaven and earth and everything in them.
Israel cannot be like the other nations because we are called to be holy, sanctified, and set apart unto G-d. Yet, today, as in the past, we are a nation who longs to be like the nations of the earth who worship money, power, and gods of wood and stone.
Our entire history seems to be the strong desire to be unchosen. Today, our leaders are leading us to abandon G-d's covenant promises regarding our land, saying, peace, peace when there is no peace. We are a people without a vision of who we are and what our G-d has called us to be and to do.
The Tanach describes such a people saying;
Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; but he who keeps the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18
We are a people who have cast off and broken G-d's covenant, and consequently we are experiencing war not peace; violence and terror, rather than peace and security. We are seeking man's plans and road maps to bring peace, rather than returning to our G-d and calling upon Him and seeking His way, His plan, and His purpose for our people.
The Lord prophesied through the prophet Ezekiel that a day would come when this would take place, and that day has arrived.
That which cometh into your mind shall not be at all; in that ye say: We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone. As I live, saith the Lord G-D, surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, will I be king over you. Ezekiel 20:32-33
These verses, written more than 2,000 years ago, describe modern Israel today so accurately they could be in one of the local newspapers as the headline article. Yet, the Lord G-d says, 'As I live, with a mighty hand and outstretched arm I will be king over you.'
Our Lord lives, and no matter how much our leaders and our people want to be like the nations, He will be king over us. Notice the words 'fury poured out.' We are experiencing fury because of our refusal to be and do what He has called us to do; which is to be holy and to be a nation of priests!
I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out.
Ezekiel 20:34
Once again the Lord says, 'With fury poured out I will gather you out of the countries wherein you are scattered.' Is this not exactly what the Lord has been doing since the rebirth of Israel as a nation?
I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, says the Lord G-D. Ezekiel 20:35-36
In these verses we find that the day is coming when once again we are going to be assembled as a nation and meet our G-d face to face, just as in the days of Moses. Only those who have clean hands and a pure heart will be able to stand in the presence of our G-d. Only those who walk in His ways and who seek holiness and purity before G-d will survive this day.
Why is the Lord going to assemble us as a nation once again face to face? What
Is His purpose?
I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against Me; I will bring them forth out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Ezekiel 20:37-38
Our G-d is a covenant making and covenant keeping G-d. As He meets us face to face and each person passes under His rod of judgment, He will separate the holy ones from the unholy; the clean ones from the unclean. He will purify, refine, heal, and cleanse His holy ones from their sins. His divine purpose will be to re-establish the intimate covenant relationship between Him and His people forever.
The Tanach paints a vivid picture of what will be the fate of those who have rebelled and transgressed against Him. He will separate them and they shall never again enter into the land of Israel, forever banished from the land and from G-d.
G-d is looking for holiness in His people. He is calling those who have ears to hear and hearts to understand to return to Him, to enter into a covenant relationship with Him, and to become part of His remnant who will be part of a nation of priests and a holy nation before the Lord our G-d.
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