"Oh, that is only an old Jew!"
And when my children were little, I used to tell them that we should
love the Jews, and be kind to them, and pray for them. For they are
God's own dear people, and our Lord Jesus Christ was a Jew, when He
came to earth and took our human nature.
It is true that the Jews are scattered all over the world now for their
unbelief and disobedience; but by and by, God tells us, they will be
gathered in their sows land, and Jesus will reign over them as King of
kings, and Lord of lords.
In Numbers xxiii. 9 we find a prophecy about the Jews. Balaam
prophesied: "The people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned
among the nations."
God separated them in various ways to be His own people. He promised
to go with them; and He also gave them certain laws which they were to
keep. They were not permitted to marry outside their own nation; they
were only allowed to use certain animals for food, and the animals must
be killed in a certain way, so that the blood was poured out. They were
forbidden to worship idols, or to follow the practices of the nations
round them.
They were to keep one a day week holy, and they were to go up to
Jerusalem once a year to keep the Passover.
These rules kept them separate from all other peoples, and as long as
they obeyed God they were abundantly prosperous.
Thus the prophecy spoken by Balaam so long ago, about the Jews being a
people apart by themselves, is fulfilled to the very letter to-day.