Today there is much discussion and controversy as to the role of modern-day Israel in the current events happening in Gaza and the rippling effect throughout the world of antisemitism. There are biblical scholars forming sides and beliefs considering that the modern-day Israel as it is mostly a Zionist political movement formed by unbelieving Jews. God has a plan and He is in control! In order to understand God’s plan, we must go to His Word, His Covenant and His Promises. I revisit the wise words of an early 1900’s Bible scholar, A. W. Pink, who said: “God is working out His eternal purpose, not only in spite of human and satanic opposition, but by means of them.” “Dominion, glory and sovereignty were given to Him (Son of Man) that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will never pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7: 14)
The purpose of God came through the Jews to (1) be a nation separated to God from the pagan nations; (2) to receive, disseminate and preserve the Word of God; (3) to provide the lineage to usher in Messiah. After the fall of Adam in the Garden, God began unfolding His plan of redemption to mankind. Paul explains it in I Corinthians 1: 15: 45 “The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam (Messiah) became a life-giving Spirit.” Sin brought death into the world—separation from God that could only be overcome by the Lamb of God (His Son) slain before the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13: 8) God chose Abraham—a man who believed God to birth a nation—a chosen people to complete His purpose. We read in Genesis 12 about God’s call and promise to him. “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (2-3) Additions and explanations of the Covenant were given from time to time. These promises were repeated to Abraham’s descendants—Issac and Jacob who would later be named Israel and to their descendants leading to King David and his lineage through Nathan the line of Mary, the mother of Christ. (Luke 3: 31) The promises included a promised land as a gift or grant that cannot be duplicated, bought or sold which is described in Joshua 1: 1-4: “Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD that the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide saying. ‘My servant Moses is dead. So now, arise, you and all these people, cross over this Jordan to the land that I am giving to Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I am giving to you, as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites—to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.” God’s Covenant with Abraham and his descendants was unconditional as noted in the “I will” statements He made to him. To further validate that God would fulfill the Covenant Himself, the act of laying on the altar the five beasts and birds represents the Oriental method of making a covenant as each party to the agreement walked between the pieces of the animals did not occur as Abraham went to sleep, and God was the only One who walked through. (Genesis 15: 1-18) Throughout their history, the people of Israel were aware of their “chosen” status before God. (See 1 Kings 3:8; 8:53; Psalm 105:43; Isaiah 43:4; 65:9; and Amos 3: 2.) The fact that God has an eternal future for Israel is evident in that five sixths of the Bible bears directly or indirectly upon them—Jesus being the central figure who brought the Jews and Gentiles together. (Ephesians 2: 14)
God gave a word of warning to His Chosen People in Deuteronomy 28: 63-64 for being a stubborn and stiffed-neck people and rejecting Him: “And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor they fathers have known, even wood and stone.” We know that the Jewish people because of their disobedience and rejection of God have experienced dispossessions of their land—going to Egypt—carried off to Babylon—and then world-wide after their rejection of Christ as their Messiah. For 2000 years the Jewish people have been without a homeland until God began to move them back in 1917 culminating in their recognition as a State in 1948. This final progression back into the land can be seen in Ezekiel’s vision of Israel’s restoration—a valley of dry bones signifying their return in unbelief that we have witnessed since that time as Israel today is mostly secular with the largest percentage of LGBQT population in the world! However, their return signals God’s timepiece for the fulfilment of the prophecies of the last days before the return of Christ. God spoke through Ezekiel in 37: 21-23: “Thus saith the LORD GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land; And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all; Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people and I will be their God.”
God will accomplish what He has promised in the way that He chooses—in His time. We are privileged to be able to witness the fulfilment of God’s Word concerning His Chosen People Israel and to pray as we are instructed in Psalm 122: 6 “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they be secure who love you!” The Israelites were a chosen generation and likewise, believers in Christ are the objects of God’s everlasting love as the spiritual seed of Abraham born from above, united in One Head, and partakers of one life in Christ! We have one hope on earth and one home in heaven!
To represent the higher honor of the saints in the Gospel Age, Peter combines two offices never united in the Jewish laws, Jewish kings were not priests; neither were all the tribes of ancient Israel admissible to the priesthood. But in regard to Christians, it is true of them all that we are kings, inasmuch as we are made conquerors in Christ over our spiritual enemies. We are priests—the way into the holiest of all has been open to each of us. The altar has been prepared and consecrated upon which we are enjoined to lay the bloodless sacrifice of our whole persons “holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service.” (Romans 12:2) Let us seek grace to prove that we are a chosen generation by choosing God as the portion of our souls; that we are kings by maintaining the dignity of Christian character and authority over the lusts of the flesh; that we are priests by devoting ourselves anew as living sacrifices to God; that we are citizens of the holy nation by being holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners; and that we are called out of darkness to be children of light! We are called at such a time as this to rise up and speak up and proclaim Christ and His resurrection and victory over sin and death! He is forming His Bride to be without spot and wrinkle ready to meet our Bridegroom in the Rapture!
God will complete His plan for Israel and perform His promise of a land and a kingdom upon this earth when they look upon Him who they have pierced and proclaim Him Messiah and He will reign for a 1000 years! Then the promise of Ezekiel 37: 14 will be fulfilled “And I shall put My Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoke it, and performed it, saith the LORD.”
Let us think of God as a master chess player. He will undoubtedly win the game! But which exact moves He makes along the way will be a response to our choices. He will find a way to maneuver the situation so that His will is done, despite our choices. The lesson for us is powerful! As people of Biblical faith, we know that God’s plan for the world will be fulfilled. We can choose to help bring that plan to fruition or to sit on the sidelines and watch someone else make it happen. The partnership between God and those who serve Him calls upon us to be active participants, aligning ourselves with God’s promises and thus meriting to play a part in their fulfillment. Like Esther, who knows if we are called for such a time as this!