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6. Did YEHOVAH God give them the spiritual perception to understand the
lessons they should have learned from their 40 years of wandering in the
desert? Chapter 29:4.

7. Did YEHOVAH know Israel would not obey Him after they entered the
promised land? Chapter 31:20.

COMMENT: YEHOVAH knew Israel would break the covenant He made
with them. But He wanted to teach mankind a valuable lesson through Is-
rael’s experience and horrible example.

The multiple generations of Israel and Judah proved once and for all that
without a large measure of the holy spirit from YEHOVAH God, the Israelite
man’s mind is incapable of receiving and utilizing knowledge of
YEHOVAH’s spiritual way of life as defined by His spiritual Law -- the Ten
Commandments. Thus YEHOVAH God demonstrated that the mind of the
Israelite man, with the "breath of life" but without the addition of a large
measure of YEHOVAH’s holy spirit, cannot submit to YEHOVAH God nor
solve human problems and evils which are spiritual in nature. The carnal
Israelite man simply cannot come to grips with and cure the spiritual prob-
lems that beset humanity!

YEHOVAH God used ancient Israel to write in the pages of history these
indelible lessons. YEHOVAH God intends those descended from Israel to
learn these lessons when the time comes for spiritual understanding to be
opened to all those Israelites who have ever lived.

Spiritual Israel Being Called Today

The promises made to Abraham were twofold -- material and spiritual.
Even so, a large measure of the holy spirit and eternal salvation were not
offered to ancient Israel as a whole. They were only offered to those few
called by YEHOVAH God to carry out a special mission preparatory to the
establishment of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God.

Let’s now trace the spiritual phase of the promises from the time of Abra-
ham to this present day.

1. What, exactly, was the second part of the promises YEHOVAH God
made to Abraham? Genesis 12:3, last part.

COMMENT: The second phase of the promises -- "in thee shall all families

of the earth be blessed" -- refers ultimately to the Messiah and salvation of

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