Again Moses tells them, "Thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb and a by-word among all nations, whither the Lord shall lead thee."
The amazing sufferings of the Jews, and their existence through them; their obstinate attachment to their own religion; and the manner in which they have constantly believed in impostors declaring themselves to be the Messiah,--must ever be an "astonishment" to all who read their history: and, whether justly or unjustly, their avarice, usury, and hard-heartedness, _did_ everywhere become a "proverb." Even now, if any person is peculiarly avaricious and miserly, it is not unusual to hear his neighbours say of him, "Oh, he is quite a Jew,"--meaning that he has those bad qualities ascribed to the children of Israel. In short, the name of Jew has been a "by-word," or term of reproach, signifying all that is bad; and the treatment of the poor creatures has been in accordance with such notions. Then again, rulers have forced them to wear marks on their clothes, and have made their condition as low and disgraceful as possible: the people have insulted and abused them, and treated them rather as brutes than as fellow creatures. Pagans, Mahometans, and, sad to say, Christians also, have alike persecuted them; making their very name a "proverb" and a "by-word," in every part of the world whither they have been scattered.
That any Jews should be left, after all that this persecuted race has gone through, must ever appear truly wonderful. They have, as we have read, been massacred by thousands, and exposed to privations and sufferings, which might have blotted out their name from the face of the earth; yet they still exist. Let us once more refer to Moses, for the reason of this wonderful circumstance. "And yet...when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God."
These words, and these only, explain _why_ their unprecedented sufferings have, contrary to all human expectation, failed to "_destroy_" the Jews "_utterly_."
The prophet Jeremiah also, in regard to the Jews, says, "I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee; though I make a full end of all the nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee." Since the Jews were first scattered amongst all nations, great changes have taken place amongst the kingdoms of the earth; old empires have been utterly destroyed, and new ones have risen in their place; a "full end" has been made to many of the Eastern nations, amongst whom the Jews were scattered; most, if not all, the nations of Europe have changed their masters, and become, as it were, new nations: but amidst all these changes, the race of Israel has ever remained a distinct people, a nation without a country, "a homeless race," clinging to the religion, laws, and customs of their forefathers.
Many prophecies there are, pointing to great blessings still to come upon the Jews; and, as has been already said, they _will_ come as surely as the miseries foretold, have done: _how_ and _when_ these things will be, it is not for us to know, until the Lord shall perform his work of mercy, and take His chosen people again into favour.
Mean time the exact fulfilment of prophecy, as shown by their history, has ever been regarded as one of the strongest proofs of the truth of the Christian religion: thus through the dispensation of the Almighty, the Jews have been made the means of strengthening the faith of others in those blessed Gospel truths, which unhappily for themselves, they still refuse to believe.
It only remains for us to pray for the conversion and salvation of the Jews; and to ask God to pour out upon us the help of the Holy Spirit, that we may so truly believe all the articles of the Christian faith, as to practise the duties which the Gospel sets before us, and act always as the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose followers and disciples we became at our baptism.