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Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations …. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Jacob has to go alone into exile for 20 years; that's looks like bad news. By Divine Mandate and Destiny, Jacob returns to the Land with a large family, that's good news. In the Oracle in the desert, Hashem not only Jacob is reassures him that his exile will not be forever, but also that he will not be alone there. Hashem tells the patriarch, Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you (Genesis 28:15)." This is the promise that following the Great Exile comes the Great Ingathering of Jacob. In his Deuteronomy prophecy had already spoken about it. He says, "Adonai will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone (Deuteronomy 28:36). Chassidic teachings refer to this 'king' as the presence of Messiah with His people in exile. When Isaiah spoke of the exile, by the Spirit He said, But now thus says Adonai, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am Adonai your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior … Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth (Isaiah 43:1-6). Though expositors like to take this passage and apply it to the universal redemption of the Gentiles, the original context of the prophecy follows Moses' theme of the return of the actual Children of Israel/Jacob to the Land promised to them by Adonai through Abraham. Similarly, knowing the Great Exile of all Israel was at hand, our Master sends His apostles away along with Israel with the assurance of His forever Presence with them, even in exile, just as He did with Jacob. He tells them, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations … And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28: 19-20)." So you see, we have never been alone in our exilic state. Adonai has been with us all along and He promises to bring us back as He certainly is doing in our days. It is a long and tedious process, but angels are waiting for us to lead us in the way in which we should go (Genesis 32:1-2) At that time, Esau will also quit seeking revenge against God who from the beginning had given Abraham's inheritance to his brother Jacob (Genesis 25:23; 33). May it be soon Abba, even in our days! Patrick Gabriel Lumbroso www.yedideiadonai.weebly.com www.thelumbrosos.com
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