Who is Israel?
For us Christians (Gentiles at that) we need to listen
to Paul, ‘apostle to the Gentiles’[1],
in order to approach ‘End Times’ on a sound footing. When
we looked at the structure of Holy Scripture in Foundations we found that 2008
years after Creation the focus narrowed to just one man: Abraham… then his son
Isaac and grandson Jacob. So let’s see
how apostle Paul presents these 3 patriarchs…
Paul constantly describes Abraham as a man of faith[2],
counted as righteous for believing God. He
received the Promises as an uncircumcised Gentile![3] He
then had to wait 25 years to father Isaac so in the meantime had also married
an Egyptian maid, Hagar, producing Ishmael[4]
who represents Man’s futile efforts to please God[5].
Abraham
only ever owned a cemetery![6]...his
outlook was for ‘heavenly country’.[7]
He is the first to be
recognized as a prophet.[8]
Isaac:
·
is that ‘child of promise’[9]
·
is recognized by God as Abraham’s only son[10]
·
is a type of Christ – the one ‘Seed’[11]
·
was ‘offered’ in sacrifice at Mt.
Moriah, ~1000 years before the temple was built there and ~1900 years before the Lamb of God was
offered near there.[12]
·
his offering is a type of the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ[13]
·
gets to possess all things[14]
·
his wife Rebecca came from kindred[15]
·
represents the heavenly man[16]
·
doesn’t stoop to haggling over land[17]
·
represents our freedom ‘in Christ’[18]
Jacob
·
name was changed to ‘Israel’[19]
– ‘He will rule as/with God’
·
fathered 12 sons by 4 wives: ‘the
children of Israel’
·
lacked faith until on his death-bed
THE PROMISES…to
Abraham:
·
“I
will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee”
·
“In
thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”[20]
·
“Look
now toward heaven and tell the stars…so shall thy seed be.”[21]
·
“unto
thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river,
the river Euphrates” – unconditional covenant cut in blood[22]
·
Abrahamic Covenant: “I will establish
my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations
for an everlasting covenant…I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee,
the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting
possession…”[23] –
cut in circumcision.
·
Confirmed in Gen 22:17
The promise to
Isaac:
“Sojourn in this land and I will be with thee…I will make thy seed to
multiply as the stars of heaven and will give unto thy seed all these
countries and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.”[24]
The promise to
Jacob/Israel:
“Thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth and thou shalt spread
abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in
thee and in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed.”[25]
In other words, Israel is the family name for ALL
DESCENDANTS of Jacob and their heritage is intrinsically linked with not just
‘the one Seed’: Messiah but also the Promised Land.
The experiences of the children of Israel are meant as
example for our admonition.[26]
The escape from Egypt,
crossing of the Red Sea, wanderings in the wilderness, crossing the Jordan,
conquering of enemies and settling in the Promised Land all speak of our personal
experience of salvation from sins and this evil world by identifying with the
blood of the Lamb, drawing on God’s provisions, accepting my death with Christ,
then enjoying heavenly blessings.
Sadly Israel fell into idolatry and broke into 2
nations: Judah (2 tribes) and Israel (10 tribes) which was conquered by Assyria
in 721BC. Judah failed to heed the
warning and was sacked by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon commencing the Babylonian
Captivity 606BC thru 536BC. The Times of the Gentiles had begun - the Jews
under subjugation by 4 successive Gentile empires: Babylon, Medio-Persia,
Greece and Rome[27]…and
continue today! The Roman Empire fragmented in 476AD and is reviving in our
day, while Temple Mount is controlled by Jordan.[28]
We saw that Paul shows God recognizes 3 people groups
today:
·
Jew
·
Gentile
·
Church of God
God’s purposes for the Jews can be clearly seen in
this miracle of our day… In
just 3 years the homeless Jews went from taking refuge in the European
concentration camps that had annihilated 1/3 of them, to being established as a
nation in their own homeland on 14th May, 1948, despite the violent
attempts of arabs and the super-powers of the world to block this – the British
Empire and the Soviet Union!
No Scripture tells us that God has given up on the
nation of Israel forever.
‘If those ordinances (sun, moon & stars) depart
from before me’, says the Lord, ‘then the seed of Israel shall cease from being
a nation before Me forever’. This says the Lord, ‘If heaven above can be
measured and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will cast off
all the seed of Israel for all they have done, says the Lord’. [30]
If the revival of the nation of Israel after 1878
years is miraculous, wait til God re-joins those ‘long lost’ tribes of Israel
to Judah![31]
“…so all Israel shall be saved”[32]
[1] Acts
9:15 ; Romans 11:13 ; 15:16 ;
2 Timothy 1:11
[2] Romans 4
[3] Romans 4:10-11
[4] Genesis 16
[5] Galatians 4;22-31
[6] Genesis 23
[7] Hebrews 11:8-16
[8]
Genesis 20:7
[9] Galatians 4:28
[10] Genesis 22:2
[11] Galatians 3:16-18
[12] Genesis 22:1-15 ; 2 Chronicles 3:1
[13] Genesis 22:5 ; Hebrews 11:17-19
[14] Genesis 25:5
[15] Genesis 24:4
[16] Galatians 4:26
[17] Genesis 26:19-23
[18] Galatians 4:28-5:1
[19] Genesis 32:28
[20] Genesis 12:3
[21] Genesis 15:5
[22] Genesis 13:15 ; 15:18
[23] Genesis 17:7-8
[24] Genesis 26:3-4
[25] Genesis 28:14
[26] 1 Corinthians 10:1-11
[27] Daniel 2:37-38
[28] Luke 21:24
[29]
Isaiah 49:16
[30] Jeremiah 31:35-37
[31] Ezekiel 37:15-28
[32] Romans 11:25
