God tells us in Isaiah 43:7 that He has created everyone that is called by His name for His glory. Daniel tells us in 2:21 that “God changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding”.
In Daniel 4:25 we read how Nebuchadnezzar, who had become a mighty king and ruled over many nations, was humbled by God “till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he will.” After Nebuchadnezzar was humbled, he said, as recorded in Daniel 4:37: “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the king of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.”
In Jeremiah, the 25th chapter, we are told that for a long period of time God sent His servants, the prophets, to persuade Israel to forsake the worship of idols, and turn to worship the one true God, but they would not obey. Because of this God says in Jeremiah 25:8,9: “Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Because ye have not obeyed my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof . . “.
God calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant because He was using him to punish Israel for their sins. Now we find in the Scriptures that the nations used to punish Israel delighted in Israel’s affliction and said “aha” against God’s sanctuary when it was profaned. This was the reason why God in turn punished them. Edom was one of those nations, and of Edom God said in Amos 1:11″ . . . I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.”
In Ezek. 25 :14 God says: “I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God.”
Of the Ammonites God says in Ezek. 25:3: “. . . Because thou saidst, aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate . . .”; and in verse 6: ” . . . Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel”, . . . I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen . . . and thou shalt know that I am the Lord” (Verse 7).
Again speaking of Israel, God says in Ezek. 36:21: “I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen . . . ” Verse 22 further states: ” . . . I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake . . .”. Israel was to be punished but not destroyed.
Now since we see that in spite of their disobedience and sins Israel are God’s chosen people we might wonder why He permitted Germany to destroy so many of them, and treat them so cruelly. Looking back into the Old Testament we see that when the Israelites went into the promised land they were commanded not to marry the sons and daughters of the other nations, for they were idol worshippers and would cause Israel to go astray (Exodus 34:16; Joshua 23: 12,13; and Ezra 9:12). Moses had told Israel in Deuteronomy 28 that they would be punished if they turned from the worship of God and worshipped idols, and they were punished. We also find in the history of Israel that on a number of occasions when they gave themselves over to the worship of idols and were punished they repented and humbly returned to worship God. Israelites living in the time of Hitler’s persecution were committing the same manner of sins that caused so much trouble in Israel in the time of Ezra. God used Nebuchadnezzar and others to punish His disobedient people, and Hitler in our day was used to persecute them in order to bring them back to their land.
Arthur W. Kac, M.D., a Jew, in his book, “The Rebirth of the State of Israel”, says on page 100: “The reform movement sprang up in Germany from where it spread to the other countries of the West and America . . . It declared as obsolete and unessential many of the laws and practices which for centuries controlled and regulated the daily life of the Jew.” And on page 316 he says: “The modern assimilationist movement among the Jews began in Germany at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century … From Germany assimilationism spread to many other countries . . It is said that if not for the intermittent reinforcements by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe the Jewish communities in the emancipated countries of Europe would have died a natural death even had Hitlerism never come to Germany. The advent of Nazism in Germany put an abrupt halt to the entire movement of assimilationism. As a result of Nazi activities many distinguished German families, prominent in scientific, industrial and cultural life in Germany, have suddenly been made aware of their Jewish ancestry.”
The writings of this Jew show that at least some of the Jews realize that the punishments that came upon them by the Nazis caused them to realize that marriage with other nations was not the answer to the Jewish problem. On page 318 of his book Dr. Kac says: “Is it perhaps permissible to assume that the disaster which has befallen Polish and German Jewries, apart from its human and moral aspect, bears the stamp of a Divine judgment upon two ways of life which God has numbered, weighed and found wanting?”
The fact that God permits Israel to be punished but not destroyed is for His glory and for His holy name’s sake (Ezek. 36: 31,32). Now in Ezek. 39:6 God says that He will send a fire on Magog. A well informed student of the Scriptures has ably shown in his writings that where Magog is mentioned in the Scriptures it has reference to Germany. So as God has punished other nations for their crimes against Israel, even so Germany has been punished for her persecution of the Jews.
The promise that God made to Abraham has again come true. God told Abraham that “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee. The rest of that verse will soon see its fulfillment when Christ returns. “And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One