“For the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah.”

Jacob here describes two groups simultaneously. He speaks of the righteous gentiles who have come to believe in Christ and await his second coming. These individuals are numbered among the House of Israel and are the chosen of God.

On the other hand, it seems to me that Jacob is also describing those Jews who have not found faith in Christ, but await still the coming of the Messiah. These two remain among the chosen people of God.

As one of Jewish ancestry this promise provides me much comfort. Jacob repeatedly in this chapter describes the long awaited day when the descendants of Jacob  and Judah
will finally come to know Christ:

10 And after they have hardened their hearts and stiffened their necks against the Holy One of Israel, behold, the judgments of the Holy One of Israel shall come upon them. And the day cometh that they shall be smitten and afflicted.

11 Wherefore, after they are driven to and fro, for thus saith the angel, many shall be afflicted in the flesh, and shall not be suffered to perish, because of the prayers of the faithful; they shall be scattered, and smitten, and hated; nevertheless, the Lord will be merciful unto them, that when they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer, they shall be gathered together again to the lands of their inheritance.

Oh how beautiful are these promises. And the time is not distant when these words shall be wholly fulfilled. In light of the gathering of Israel, we can know that the day will soon come when they will also know Jesus Christ their savior. I long for that day with all my heart. I long for the day when my relatives and friends of the covenant will come once again to know their Lord and Savior. That day will truly be a glorious one.