Is it really important to be part of Jacob’s stock?
Being a physical descendant of Jacob (Israel) will be important only if you strive to live the life of
righteousness that pleases the God of Jacob; otherwise, it will avail you nothing. Why? Because Hebrew
Scripture teaches that king Ahab belonged to Jacob's stock. Yet when Ahab turned away from God, the
Creator personally planned his extermination. As is written: «And the Lord said, “Who shall persuade Ahab,
that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead?”»- 2 Kings 22:20, KJV).
On the other hand, Job wasn't related at all to Jacob's race, yet God was so pleased with him that went on to
proclaim his name in the heavens («And the Lord said unto Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Job,
that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth
evil?”»- Job 1:8).
Is obedience the result of salvation? Or is salvation instead the result of obedience?
Christianity claims that a man’s blessing (or “salvation”) needs to happen first, as only then can such a man
be endowed to obey God's commandments (“For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil
that I do not want to do”- Romans 7:19). But Reformed Samaritans claim it’s the other way around: that “the
blessing” (of “salvation”) comes upon a man only after he has committed himself to obey God’s
commandments. Which of these two ideas is correct? Well, the answer is quite simple-- You see, when God
wanted to bring Israel into the promised Land (a symbol of the believers entrance to Paradise) He wisely
followed a specific order. Why? So that we might learn which is the Divinely approved path toward
salvation. You see, in the first place, God brought the Israelites unto Mt. Sinai, where they received the ten
commandments; and only after they had embraced God’s commandments did the Almighty give them the
promised of inheriting the Land. In addition, Scripture states that those Israelites who refused to follow
Moses were not allowed to enter the land, but rather died in the wilderness. So, the message is crystal clear:
“Those who refuse to obey the Ten commandments brought forth by Moses, won’t be allowed to enter into
the promised Land (Paradise)”. And the former is consistent with the fact that, the first thing God wanted
Adam to do, was to till the Garden (Genesis 2:15). Why? So he could learn that humanity’s future would
hinge upon the principle of “sowing and reaping”. So, if a man chooses to sow goodness (obeying God's
commandments), goodness will come back to bless him; but if he sows no goodness, he can’t expect to reap
any goodness. Ans the former is also attested by the Christian Gospel, when it goes on to say: “
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