Israel and the Church

Good morning Church!

Doxology:

This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God.

In light of recent events, I have been asked by several people questions concerning Israel.

First, let me say that this is completely normal. All of your life, you have been told that Israel is God’s chosen people. You have been told that we as a nation should align ourselves with Israel and that any nation who did not do so would be cursed by God.

Israel is now in the middle of a war, so if these claims are true, it is only natural for you to be thinking on these things.

Second, I want to say that it is not completely your fault for not knowing the Biblical teaching concerning Israel. Now of course we all have a natural obligation to the study of God’s Word for ourselves, but such a claim is of great importance. Because of the major role Israel has played throughout the history of mankind concerning God’s revelation of himself unto us, this topic of Israel’s future should be taught more often and in greater depth. Not just from the pulpit, but also from our youth and adult classrooms.

Thirdly, I want to personally commend all of those who have reached out to me, or someone else in whom you trust, with questions regarding this topic. It shows your desire for truth. Instead of blindly following a teaching that you do not understand, you are seeking our the truth of God’s Word so that you might be faithful to it. Let me be the first to say that you will be better for it.

Matthew 5:6 NKJV

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

If you maintain that same hunger and thirst for righteousness, you will be filled with the truth of God’s Word and you will be a better man/woman as a result. May you always seek the Lord in that way!

Lastly, I want to be open, honest, and upfront with you all in saying that it is very difficult, at least for me, to be dogmatic about this doctrine, argumentative with others over this topic, or especially judgmental of others because of where they land theologically concerning these things.

To study Israel, the covenants God made with Israel, the fulfillment of those covenants, how the Church plays a role in the fulfillment of certain things within those covenants, and what it means for the future of both the Church and Israel, is a daunting task. To study all of these things also forces us to study the end-times events, or what is known theologically as eschatology. It is not for the faint of heart. It is not for the weary.

There are several varying positions concerning these things and I truthfully feel that we may all, every person from every doctrinal position, be very surprised when these events actually do unfold.

These things have been debated for centuries and I feel quite confident that we will not figure it all out today!

Someone may ask, “Well, Pastor Thomas, if you are not completely settled on these things, then why venture into such a study?”

That is a wonderful question. We venture there because it is necessary. Many people have questions right now concerning these things and if we do not attempt to answer them here, they will seek answers elsewhere.

For someone to google these things, or turn to youtube debates, I fear would leave them more confused than settled. For that reason, we will do our best to present the Word of God concerning these things so that it might help those who have questions and inspire them to turn to the Word of God themselves to seek further clarification.

I want to be the first to say that I am by no means done studying this topic. I have not exhausted it to the fullest and I am not sure such a thing exists.

With that being said, I beg you to study this topic for yourself. I do hope you are encouraged by this teaching, but I also hope that you do not take my teaching as the final Word of authority concerning it.

I am a man and therefore I am not infallible. God’s Word on the other hand is. So be good Bereans and test these things according to God’s Word. Amen!!

Context

As I was studying for this series, I began asking questions that I felt needed to be addressed.

As we move throughout this study, we are going to use these questions to help guide us through.

One of the first questions I wrote down was, “Was Israel really God’s chosen people?”

Content

Was Israel Really God’s Chosen People?

Notice the question is past tense. I wanted to start at the beginning, because starting at the end and working backwards can really mess us up. I believe this was one of my own struggles in becoming to understand this topic. I started at the Church and worked backwards. Once I went back to the beginning, it opened my eyes to a better understanding.

I want to start with these verses:

Romans 9:1–5 NKJV

1 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

Paul is sharing his grief for his people. He says that he has great sorrow in his heart, so much so, that he would be willing to be accursed from Christ if it meant his fellow brethren could be saved.

He then begins to partially explain the source of his grief for them. He essentially says here that God has done everything within His power, short of taking away their choice to believe, so that they might believe in Him and understand the fulness and prophetic fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

He starts by giving us this credential:

To whom pertain the adoption

This word adoption means the same thing that it does in Romans 8:15

Romans 8:15 NKJV

15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

God chose the descendants of Abraham to be His children.

Exodus 4:22 NKJV

22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn.

Right out of the gate, we find the answer to our question for today:

Was Israel Really God’s Chosen People? Absolutely Yes!!!

There is no other way to answer it. The Scriptures are clear that Israel was favored by God and that God worked in and through them for thousands of years. He adopted them into sonship. They were indeed the children of God.

Though we have already answered our question, I do not want to stop here. I want to continue through this text, so that we might know what it looked like to be God’s elect. Thankfully, Paul continues by giving several more credentials.

The Glory

This phrase is referring to the shekinah glory of God. What is that?

The Shekinah Glory was the brilliant light which descended into the midst of God’s people when God was visiting them. It symbolized God’s glorious presence and was revealed in the form of a cloud.

It was the glorious presence of God in that cloud that led Israel through the wilderness.

Exodus 13:21 NKJV

21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.

It was the glorious presence of God in that cloud that filled the came into the presence of the assembly as Aaron spoke to them:

Exodus 16:10 NKJV

10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.

It was the glorious presence of God in that cloud that met with Moses on top of Mt. Sinai when giving him the law.

Exodus 19:16 NKJV

16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Exodus 19:18 NKJV

18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

Exodus 19:20 NKJV

20 Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

It was the glorious presence of God in that cloud that filled the tabernacle:

Exodus 40:34 NKJV

34 Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

It was the glorious presence of God in that cloud that rest upon the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant, which represented His presence.

Leviticus 16:2 NKJV

2 and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

Being adopted into the family of God meant that they experienced the presence of God.

The Covenants

What is a covenant? A covenant is an agreement made between two parties. It was not just any ole agreement, but a binding agreement. A binding agreement that held severe consequences if annulled by either party. It set up a special relationship between those involved and mandated a most severe level of trust and accountability.

It was like a contract of our day, to where two people sign the dotted line and simply hire a lawyer to get them out of it if they were to change their minds.

A covenant was an unbreakable vow.

God made several of these covenants with Israel over the years they served Him.

Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 12:1-3; Gen 15:18; Gen 17:4)

Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 19:5, 24:8, 34:10; Deut 29:1)

Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:16)

The New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

To be a child of God meant that God trusted you enough to place His name upon you.

The Giving of the Law

It was in Exodus 20 that God gave the His law to Moses. Because of their adoption into sonship, God entrusted His very words unto His people.

God’s Law was His help unto His people. It was the requirements of His righteousness. Though they would never keep it fully, it was an aid unto them. It gave them the do’s and don’ts of a fruitful life for God.

Every time God said “Thou shalt not”, He was saying “Don’t hurt yourself!”

Every time God said, “Thou shalt”, He was saying, “Help Yourself!”

To be a child of God meant that God revealed unto you His divinity, His righteousness so that you could know who He was.

The Service of God

“The Service of God” refers to the temple worship of God. The services speak of the priestly services given unto the Levitical priesthood for the cleansing of the people and their worship unto God.

God knew, even though He had given His law unto the children of Israel, that they would not be able to fully keep it. He also knew that their failure to fully keep that law, or their sin, would cause a separation between Him and them.

Because of the seriousness of sin, simple remorse would not do. The payment for sin must be equal to the punishment of sin. The punishment of sin, according to Romans 6:23 was death: “For the wages of sin is death...”

This meant that in order for their sins to be forgiven and their relationship restored, something had to die. Instead of requiring the life of the one who sinned, God made a way for the people to sacrifice the blood of their animals instead. This sacrifice was temporary but costly. Animals provided meat, but they also provided so much more. Their animals carried items as they moved throughout their pilgrimage. Their animals were used to work the fields and maintain crops. Their animals were used for many things. To have one sacrificed was a great loss to the people, but this was the requirement.

To perform sacrifices on the altar at the temple meant that one was confessing their sin unto God by sacrificing a life, an animal, so that the blood of that animal might atone for their sin.

In this process, the relationship of the individual was restored unto God and allowed that individual to have a right Spirit with Him in worship.

What an amazing gift! God gave unto His people a means of showing their gratitude unto Him for all that He had done and to worship Him fully.

To be a child of God meant that God showed unto you the depths of His love and the importance of your relationship together.

The Promises

The promises were the great Messianic prophecies that we will talk about more in a moment.

The thing to note here is that to be a child of God meant that God made promises to restore, honor, and keep you.

Of Whom are the Fathers

Romans 2:28–3:2 NKJV

28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. 1 What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? 2 Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.

In these verses, Paul is explaining the concept of salvation in terms of those who try to obtain it by keeping the law of Moses vs those who place their faith in Jesus Christ.

He explains that works cannot be the means of salvation. Otherwise grace could not be in effect. He further explains that a true Jew is one who is a Jew inwardly and has undergone the circumcision of the heart.

Now we will discuss this in greater detail later on, but I want to focus for now on the first two verses of Romans 3.

Paul then asks the question, “If this is the case, then what advantage is there to being a Jew? What is the profit of circumcision?”

His answer is astounding: “Much in ever way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.”

The words of scripture that reveal God, His Gospel, the Son Jesus, The Holy Spirit, His faithfulness and Truth all come to us through the agency of Jewish writers who God spoke through.

2 Peter 1:19–21 NKJV

19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

These verses confirm unto us that God Himself chose Jewish men to convey His Holy Word unto us.

Everything we know about God in terms of objective truth, moral standards, right and wrong, good and evil, hope and salvation we owe to the contribution of Jewish men inspired by God and carried along by the Holy Spirit.

From Whom Christ Came

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke present Jesus as Savior and Messiah and they are careful to recite the genealogy that traces the family of Joseph and Mary back through their Jewish lineage.

While Jesus is the Son of God and was God Incarnate, conceived of the Holy Spirit, he was born of a Jewish woman and adopted by a Jewish Father and raised in a Jewish home and grew up in a Jewish culture.

He called to himself Jewish Disciples who became our Apostles. His ministry was almost exclusively to Jewish people.

Jesus was a Jewish citizen of Israel and He wept for Jerusalem. Jesus loved the Jewish people, his Jewish family, his Jewish followers and his Jewish Capital.

Our Jesus was a Jew!!!

Commitment

The original covenant was not made with Israel, but with Abraham.

Genesis 12:1–3 NKJV

1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Abraham begat Isaac. Isaac begat Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and these twelve men became the leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel.

The covenant God made with Abraham passed on to his descendants through the promise. Therefore, Abraham’s descendants became the children of God through him.

Now take a look at these verses:

Galatians 3:6–9 NKJV

6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

Galatians 3:26–29 NKJV

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 4:4–7 NKJV

4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Did you hear that? Just as Israel was chosen by God for adoption to those who believed, we too, through faith, have been made children of God.

This means that we, like Israel, get to experience the presence of God, His divinity and righteousness, His love, and true worship.

This also means that we get to share in the name of God.

the name Israel meant “a prince with God” or “one who rules with God”.

The title Christian means “a follower of Christ” or “a disciple of Christ”.

May we all represent Him well and be thankful of His covenant promise!!!