The Jewish sage, Rabbi Eliezer was said to have told his disciples:
“Repent one day before your death. As it is written in the apocryphal Book of Ecclesiasticus (or Sirus) 5:7
‘Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord, and put not off from day to day: for suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord come forth, and in thy security thou shalt be destroyed, and perish in the day of vengeance.’
His disciples responded:
“Does one know what day he will die?” He replied:
“Then all the more reason that he repent today, lest he dies tomorrow. And Solomon too wrote:
‘Let your clothing be always white, and never fail to perfume your head.’” (Ecclesiastes 9:8)
Another sage, Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai explained these things with a parable:
There was a king who summoned his servants to a banquet without appointing a time.
The wise ones adorned themselves and sat at the door of the palace; they said:
“Is anything lacking in a royal palace?” The fools went about their work, saying:
“Can there be a banquet without preparations?”
Suddenly the king desired the presence of his servants. The wise entered adorned, while the fools entered soiled. The king rejoiced at the wise but was angry with the fools and commanded:
“Those who adorned themselves for the banquet, let them sit, eat and drink. But those who did not adorn themselves for the banquet, let them stand and watch.”
We read in Isaiah 65:13-15 this revealing prophetic statement:
“Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Behold, My servants will eat, while you will go hungry. Behold, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame. 14 Behold, My servants will sing for joy with a happy heart, but you will cry from the pain of heart, and wail out of a broken spirit. 15 You will leave your name behind as a curse for My chosen ones, and Adonai Elohim will slay you.
But He will call His servants by another name. 16 So he who says a bracha in the land will be blessed by the God of truth, and he who swears in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles are forgotten because they are hidden from My sight!’” God revealed that the name of the wicked nation so defamed and degraded the name of Israel that He will have to invent an altogether new name, called here ‘another name’ for his people.
The new name of God’s chosen shall become a blessing and be known as ‘ONE NEW MAN’ Jew and Gentile; to them, under that name, all the promises and privileges of the new covenant shall be secured. God shall have servants out of all nations who shall be blessed with this new name. There will come the time, soon to pass, when the ‘God of Truth’ will once again be revered in the land; and the troubles of the former times for Israel and His remnant will be gone.
We cannot conclude this devotion without a mention of verse 17 where the Lord assures His people of a glorious future in the new world which He will establish. (Cf. 65: 17-25) In this verse, we read how God will create a new heaven and a new earth and a new Jerusalem as described also in the Book of Revelation. (21:1-3)
The central focus will be Messiah Jesus, Immanuel and the righteous will have free access to Him! This glorious new creation will be far more wonderful and complex than we can ever imagine, and I am expecting we will be the generation to see these things come to pass!
With these amazing things in mind, let’s serve Him faithfully and wholeheartedly, occupying our time with great yearning as we await His soon return, heirs of His new creation! Those who stubbornly refuse His call and go after false gods will receive their
reward of everlasting shame.
