Is Israel still Gods Chosen People?
The covenant made with Abraham is the point that we usually think of as the beginning of the idea of God’s chosen people. It is found in Genesis 15:18 and Genesis 17:2-11. The land promise given to Abraham’s descendants was the focus of the covenant and has followed Israel’s history from Abrahams time to this. It is a factor in the thinking of modern Israelis toward their neighbors and of the thinking of present day Americans and Europeans toward the entire Middle East. Understanding the history of this promise is essential to understand the Bible and the history of the Jewish people.
Two other great covenant leaders were to follow. Moses, leader of the Jews at the time of the Exodus, was the next great covenant leader and David was covenant leader when Jerusalem was taken and established as the center of the Jewish nation. The promise to Abraham was not, however, the first instance of such a promise made in the bible.
The first beneficiary of a land grant from the Lord was Adam. If the idea that Abraham was the first to be in covenant relationship with the Lord contributes to the idea that Israel is God’s chosen people, then the realization that it was actually Adam who was first to be in covenant with the Lord might tend to negate that thought. But there was yet another who preceded Abraham in covenant with the Lord.
That was Noah. Author Palmer Robertson identifies them in the following way (This article is largely the result of Robertsons work). In Adam we had the covenant of commencement; In Noah the covenant of preservation, in Abraham the covenant of promise in Moses the covenant of law, in David the covenant of the Kingdom, all of which led to Christ and the covenant of consummation.
One can observe a progression here. Robertson includes a diagram intended to represent several significant aspects of the divine covenants in their diversity.
1. The ultimate purpose of the covenant of creation finds realization in the covenant of redemption. The intended goals of the two covenants correspond. By redemption, the original purposes of creation are achieved—or even excelled.
2. The various administrations of the covenant of redemption relate organically to one another. They do not replace one another chronologically, instead, each successive covenant expands on previous administrations.
3. Each of the shadows, prophetic administrations of the covenant of redemption finds its fulfillment in Christ, the personal embodiment of the new covenant. In him is found the fulfillment of all God’s covenant purposes.
One might take note of the fact that all five leaders were proven to be flawed individuals. For those who have doubts about their ability to measure up to any given task, remember that it is always average people that are chosen by the Lord to fulfill his desires for his people. Adam ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree (the only sanction given him). Noah was exposed in his drunkenness. Abraham laughed when he was told he would be the father of a mighty nation. Moses struck the rock rather than spoken to it and David had a loyal follower murdered in order to take his wife.
In the ancient world a covenant was an agreement between two kings, a great king and a servant or vassal king. Bible promises of blessings and curses, known as stipulations of the covenants are seen beginning with Adam and extending to Abraham, Moses, David and others from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation. The nation of Israel is unique in that they had a covenant with their God rather than an earthly king. Our Old Testament is widely known as the Old Covenant. Likewise the New Testament is known as the New Covenant.
In the ancient world when either party to a covenant (the great king or the servant king) broke the covenant, the other party was no longer bound by it. Most of the time it was the servant king who broke it and who usually feeling it was no longer necessary. He did not need the protection of the great king and could hold his territory by himself. This was the reason for the stipulations found in the covenant agreement. One of those was normally the loss of the territory granted by the covenant. A covenant might have included several stipulations, all of which were included as further incentive to remain loyal to the great king.
In the case of Israel, the great king (The Lord) was not there physically to speak for Himself so he chose to speak through prophets. In Judges 6:8 we first have a case where the Lord institutes a covenant lawsuit. The unidentified prophet recounts (for the Lord) all that has been done by way of creating Israel, granting territory, offering protection, bringing them out of bondage, feeding them in the wilderness and so on. Then he tells how Israel has broken the covenant and then invokes the curses described in the covenant.
In this case the Lord turned them over to the Midianites for seven years. During this time they hid in mountains and lived in fear. Whenever they planted their crops the Midianites would come and take and destroy them. We find Gideon hiding to thresh the grain so that the Midianites would not find it. The Midianites were not a particularly mighty nation, but were able to terrorize Israel for seven years even though Israel would have seemed to have a mightier army. Israel knew that they had abandoned the Lord and that he would no longer be their protection and helper in battle.
Although seven years might not seem like a long time, it is the number of covenant and other periods of servanthood might have been even longer. For example the Jews were in Egypt for 400 years. However, the entire time there was not as slaves. Joseph had been a young man (seventeen) when he was sold into slavery. He served Potifer long enough to rise to run his entire household for some period of time after which he was cast into prison. He remained there long enough to rise to run it even while being a prisoner himself, and was still confined for at least two years after interpreting the dreams of the cupbearer and baker. Then, upon his release he nearly ran the entire country of Egypt. Perhaps he was 30 or 40 when he rose to power. When his family joined him in Egypt, the Bible states that there were 70 in all who entered Egypt. Even though the 70 were named individually, 70 is a symbolic number and may have been an incomplete number, including only the actually family members. Remember when Abraham set out to rescue Lot (Genesis 14:14) he took 318 men who had been born in his household.
Using that number his entire community might have been as large as 2,000 people. So perhaps there were more than 70 who initially entered Egypt, but, I doubt it. Since they are named specifically, 70 should probably taken as a precise number. Joseph lived to be 110 so he may have spent over ninety years in Egypt by the time he died.
The Hebrews evidently had been there several generations before really entering the period of slavery. The Egyptians said “Let us deal shrewdly with them as they are too many for us”. The population of the Jews had been growing rapidly and the Egyptians were worried about that even though they already were a fully blown nation of great power when the Jews arrived. The Lord needed a protectorate nation for his fledgling people.
Serving a great king and having been granted territory comes pretty close to being a covenant itself and the Lord did not want any other covenants to cloud the relationship with Himself that he had in mind for the Jews. Had the relationship with Egypt been successful, in the long term, there would never arisen a cry for deliverance. It had to fail. The Jews were to be a unique nation in all earth in that their covenant was with their God rather than a great king.
The Pharaoh who “knew not” Joseph need not have been the very next pharaoh to follow Joseph’s death and several generations may have followed before the period of actually slavery began. The Bible does not say exactly how long their slavery lasted. I am guessing that it may have been 200 years or less, plenty long by any reckoning and far worse than 7 years under the Midianites.
Nevertheless, when persecution came, the Lord responded to their cry just as he did at the time of Gideon. Gideon is the first of many Judges who appeared following a time of backsliding by the Jews. The period of the judges lasted for the first two or three centuries after the Jews entered the promised land, not too long of a time into the existence of Israel itself. In each case the judge was preceded by a prophet who pointed out their sin that resulted in a cry to the Lord.
This is a similar function to that of the Holy Spirit, convicting one of sin. Understand that the punishment that was handed out at the time was a result of them breaking the covenant and suffering the sanctions promised in the covenant. The Lord was under no obligation to take them back on any of these occasions. Once the covenant is broken the sanctions are forthcoming and the covenant is over.
However, the Lord did take them back over and over again when he was not obligated to do so. His desire to continue to have a relationship with his chosen people was so great that he twice did something way beyond the call of duty. When Abraham cut the sacrifice and spread it on the ground Abraham was prevented from passing between the body parts as was the custom. Only the Lord passed through (Genesis 15:17).
This signified the Lord’s intention to keep both parts of the covenant. Notice that this is sort of early in the making of covenants. The Lord was already cognizant of the fact that they were unable to keep these covenants. Since He already knew it, I have to conclude that all this repeated breaking, cursing and atonement was not for God’s awareness but for mans.
At Mt Sinai, two copies of the law were made by Moses and both were placed in the Ark. Normally one copy went to the great King and one to the servant King. In this case the Lord had both copies put into the ark, the place where God was, again indicating his intention to be responsible for both sides of the covenant.
The Lord knew very well that they could not keep their end of the covenant and he was going to make sure that they remained loyal to him in spite of their backsliding. This shows how great His love was for his chosen people and easily gives rise to the idea that they will always be his people. It strikes me that this double responsibility on the part of the Lord is somewhat similar to our concept of grace.
In covenant language, creation is accomplished by division. In Genesis, the Lord separated the light from darkness, the water from the dry land, Eve from Adam. To create Israel it was necessary to separate the Hebrews from Egypt. The Egyptians did not worship the Lord and for much of their history they worshipped many gods. A portion of the reason to separate was to prevent the Hebrews from accepting the gods of Egypt or from intermarrying with Egyptians (which would most likely have entailed accepting their gods).
The Jews would have recognized the parting of the Red Sea as God’s creative act. However, they did not come into the promised land until the crossing of the Jordan. The 40 years in the wilderness was a 40 year transitional period. We will soon see that the 40 years between the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem was a 40 year transitional period in which the new covenant was created first in the spirit then in fact.
Who is Israel?
When the Exodus began, the Bible says they were a mixed multitude (Ex 12:38), being made up of both Hebrews and Egyptians who saw the power of the Lord and joined the people of the covenant. As time passed others were gradually included. Moses father-in-law was a pagan priest. His offspring were of mixed parentage as were the children of Joseph. Ruth was a Moabites. Naaman was a Syrian convert. Any who wished to join with the Jews could do so as long as they were willing to undergo circumcision. The Hebrews were expected to keep themselves spiritually pure. These examples demonstrate that Israel was not a term to be applied exclusively to the descendants of Jacob. It was the name to all those who became a part of the covenant regardless of ethnic origin.
Those who try to make a case that Israel was a pure physically race often appeal to the capture of Dinah, the Bible saying “which thing ought not to be done”. The prohibition against such unions, however, was primarily to prevent spiritual interactions that would follow.
This is important because as time passed their physical uniformity became increasingly compromised. They had been commanded to totally wipe out those people who inhabited the promised land so that they would not intermarry with them and worship their gods. In the initial few conflicts with “the people of the land”, the Jews were successful in totally destroying those people. However as time went on, they were only partially successful and they ended up living amidst their enemies.
This was allowed to test the Jews on their resolve to live according to the covenant with the Lord. With each period of backsliding, they increasingly intermarried with people of other nations and became less pure racially. In addition to people being gradually included there were also those who left. A good example would be what took place at the exile to Babylon in 586BC. Not all went to Babylon. However, when they returned to Jerusalem, the covenant reestablished was only with those who returned to the land. In the main it was the southern Hebrews, the Judeans, who made up the returning group. This could mean that most tribes were not included in the reestablished covenant.
In addition, the concept of pruning must also be considered. Robertson observes: “The pruning principle must be noted. Not only is it possible for a new branch to be grafted into genealogical relation to Abraham. It is also possible for a natural seed of Abraham to be removed from its position of privilege. This principle may be traced back into the earliest experience of the hint of promise. To demonstrate the sovereignty of God in the electing process, it was said, ‘Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated’ (Malachi 1:2-3).
When the Jews began to return to the land in recent history the Kazars and the Russian Jews figured prominently in the regathering. There are serious questions as to whether these people had been Hebrews in the beginning or were descendants of converts to Judaism in the 19th century.
I think it can be seen that the lineage of Jacob has been compromised beyond recovery. Modern Jews concede that they have no idea from what tribe they had come. Physical identity of the Jews is no longer possible and the idea of whether they are still God’s chosen people does not apply to the Jews as a physical group. Today three terms are used to identify those who live in Israel. Hebrew is the name used to identify those of the lineage of David, etc. Jew (taken from Judah) applies to those who practice the Jewish religion, and Israelis identifies those who live in Israel. They remain a mixed multitude. I think we can now see that we are not talking about those who are physically a Hebrew but those who are a Hebrew spiritually.
Under the old covenant system sin was always dealt with under the sacrificial system. Sins were never forgiven but were covered. Often called atonement, the sin problem would have to be dealt with on an annual basis. While the progression towards God’s ultimate plan can be observed throughout the old testament; it also gradually becomes clear that the plan to cover sins with the blood of bulls and goats was not having a permanent effect. Throughout the Old Testament the cycle of sin, punishment, repentance and return to the Lord continued and the prophets began to look ahead to a better way.
The writer of Hebrews says: For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshippers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. (Hebrews 10:1-10)
Behold, I have come to do your will. He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus once for all. (Hebrews 10:9b-10)
In the book of Isaiah we begin to see the heart of the Lord as to the in effectiveness of the old covenant system to remove sins with any lasting effect.
Listen O heavens (the spiritual), and hear, O earth (the physical)
For the Lord speaks.
“Sons I have reared and brought up,
But they have revolted against Me.
An ox knows its owner.
And a donkey its masters manger,
But Israel does not know
My people do not understand.”
Alas, sinful nation,
People weighed down with iniquity.
Offspring of evildoers,
Sons who act corruptly!
They have abandoned the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel.
They have turned away from Him….
“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”
Says the LORD.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams, Lambs, or goats.
When you come to appear before Me.
Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
Incense is an abomination to Me.
New moon and sabbath, the calling of assembly,
I hate your new moon festivals and our appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me.
I am weary of bearing them.
So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you.
Yes, even though you multiply your prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.
Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
Cease to do evil,
Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless;
Defend the orphan,
Plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:1-4, 11:17)
If the Lord’s disappointment in his people seems great in Isaiah, his actions against the offending nation as described in Jeremiah are even greater. Author J. E. Leonard says: ”As a result of the rebellion of Israel he sees the earth go into mourning and revert to a state of formlessness and void (Jeremiah 4:23, 27-28) as it was before the original creation (Genesis 1:2). In addition, the heavens no longer have light (Jeremiah 4:23, 28), man does not exist (v25), the birds have disappeared (v 25), the earth no longer brings forth vegetation (v26), and the cities, evidence of civilization, have been destroyed before the “fierce anger” of the Lord (v 26,29).
Eventually the prophets see the covenant as irrevocably broken. Only a small proportion of the people are faithful to Yahveh. As a result of the wholesale rebellion of His client people, the Lord has lost patience and cast them off. Judgment is inevitable: the nation will be invaded and taken captive to be resettled in other lands. As Micah puts it, the “wound is incurable.”
In the view of the prophets, the only possible remedy for Israel’s dilemma is the cutting of a new covenant with the small minority who have remained faithful to the Lord. This new covenant which the Lord promises is to come in the form of a person, whom Isaiah calls “the Servant.”
Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul delights,
I have put My Spirit upon Him:
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry out or raise his voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice…
I am the Lord.
I have called you in righteousness,
I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you,
And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon,
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison
(Isaiah 42:1-3, 6-7)
Matthew quotes it: 12:18….I will put My Spirit upon him and he will proclaim justice to the gentiles……vs 21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, but the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God (Romans 2:28-29)
For this reason it is by faith, that it might be in accordance with grace, in order that the promise might be certain to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father os us all, (as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”)… Romans 4:6-17a
If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved… For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10-9, 12-13)
Be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus that with one accord you may with one voice (both Jews and Gentiles together) glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, accept one another (whether Jews of Gentiles), just as Christ also accepted up to the glory of God. For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the true God.
to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and
(2) for the gentiles to glorify God for his mercy as it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to Thee among the Gentiles, and I will sing to Thy name.” (Romans 15:5-10)
We are Jews by nature, and not simmers from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law, since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified (Galatians 2-25-16).
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring heirs (of the covenant/kingdom) according the promise (Galatians 2:28-29).