The Gathering of Israel, One by One

Yet the time will come when the LORD will gather them together like handpicked grain. One by one he will gather them—from the Euphrates River in the east to the Brook of Egypt in the west. [Isaiah 27:12]

Isaiah 27 foresees the exile of Israel and, beyond that, the time in which God will gather his people once again. Though they have been scattered throughout the world, the Lord will bring them back to their land and to himself.

Isaiah 27:12 employs a harvesting image. The Hebrew literally speaks of God as threshing and gleaning the grain, using a process that allowed the farmer to distinguish the grain from the chaff. The addition of the phrase “one by one” emphasizes God’s personal attention to each one of his children.

Most of us have not experienced literal exile in our lives. We live in the country of our birth and/or of our choosing. Yet the image of exile gives expression to our sense of not quite belonging to this world as it is. We yearn for the Lord and the fullness of his kingdom. We look ahead to the day when God will gather all of us into his new creation, a day when we will be truly at home with the Lord and truly united to his people.

Yet, in anticipation of that future gathering, God seeks us and brings us to himself “one by one.” God isn’t just in the business of “saving the world.” He seeks us out individually, inviting us to know him and to be part of his work of putting the world back together.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Have you ever experienced some sort of exile? When? How did it feel? Do you ever feel as if you don’t quite belong to this world? When? What difference does this make in your life?


PRAYER: Dear Lord, I’m struck by this image of you gathering your people “one by one.” Though you are the Creator and Sovereign of the universe, and though your plans encompass the whole earth, nevertheless you care about each individual person . . . including me.

Thank you, gracious God, for gathering me to yourself. Thank you for caring about me personally. Thank you for inviting me to have an intimate relationship with you. Thank you for the many times when you have sought me out when I was lost.

Dear Lord, may I live this day as one who has been gathered by you. May I continue in fellowship with you throughout the day, and live each moment for your kingdom and glory. Amen.


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This was one of the Daily Reflection sent out from http://www.thehighcalling.org/ to my Inbox. I subscribed to it 2 months ago if I'm not mistaken. Anyways, I suggest you also subscribe to they Daily Reflection, I love it. It's always encouraging and inspiring. Maybe I should blog about it when I get a really powerful message. Or maybe a Daily Reflection here to my blog! lol

Most of us have not experienced literal exile in our lives. We live in the country of our birth and/or of our choosing. Yet the image of exile gives expression to our sense of not quite belonging to this world as it is. We yearn for the Lord and the fullness of his kingdom. We look ahead to the day when God will gather all of us into his new creation, a day when we will be truly at home with the Lord and truly united to his people.

God seeks us and brings us to himself “one by one.” God isn’t just in the business of “saving the world.” He seeks us out individually, inviting us to know him and to be part of his work of putting the world back together.

That was how I felt the moment we left the Philippines and moved here to Fiji. Even until now, I feel like an exile. I so miss my friends and my home country, the Philippines is way more 'civilized' than here in Fiji. I hope I won't be like a person who came from the mountains when I get back to Philippines. Oh, the techonology. lol! And I feel like an exile because, I sometimes feel I just couldn't mix with the people. I feel like I don't belong. But not in church, I like the people in church! Hehe. They are God's family so I love them. But aside from the church people? Nah, I'm like a total stranger here.

Speaking of exile, we all are. WE ARE PRISONERS OF SIN.

Anyways, we are citizens of Heaven, this world is just a temporary place for us. So whether I'm in the greatest nation or in Pinas, I am still a stranger. I will never be at home in this world.

We yearn for the Lord and the fullness of his kingdom. We look ahead to the day when God will gather all of us into his new creation, a day when we will be truly at home with the Lord and truly united to his people. In the end, we would all be ONE. No Americans, no British, no Fijians, no Chinese, no Filipinos, no whatever race in the world. Remember, we were separated by culture differences because people attempted to build the tower of Babylon to reach Heaven? No one can ever reach Heaven except through Jesus Christ. The hope that there will be a day when we will be truly at home with the Lord is everyone's hope dream. No more pain, sufferings, etc. We would finally be at peace. Let us all keep the faith.

The most powerful sentence I loved here in this reflection was 'He seeks us out individually, inviting us to know him and to be part of his work of putting the world back together.' Yes, as Christians, He want us to be in a relationship with our Heavenly Father. That's why He gave Jesus Christ to save us. While in other religions, people try to reach God through their rituals. Isn't it amazing that it is our God who wants to reach out for us? That's the one thing that is unique in Christianity!

And now, as the Word is being heard by more people, more and more people also become lovers of this world. People seeks security through money, earthly love, and other things that don't belong to the Lord. They can't see the real meaning of life.

I don't wanna talk about the End Times here, but Jesus Christ is really coming back soon. We'll never know when, but He will. He is now gathering Israel, one by one. Look at the world around us, it's time to wake up.

Well, it's also time for me to accept that I'm staying here in Fiji till my visa expires.... lol. I believe God put us here with a reason, and it's is His Will for us to be in this nation. I often ask 'why Fiji?'. Fiji has changed my life A LOT. And I know, I still need to learn MORE.

Till next time,