Part II: The Purpose of Israel

In the book The United States and Britain in Prophecy, Herbert Armstrong proclaimed that Israel was the focus of everything that God was doing with humankind! He wrote: "The Holy Bible is the particular Book of a definite nationality-the children of Israel. It is undeniable! Its history, from Genesis to Revelation, is primarily the history of one nation or people-the Israelites. Other nations are mentioned only insofar as they come into contact with Israel. All its prophecy, too, pertains primarily to this people of Israel, and to other nations only insofar as they come into contact with Israel. The Bible tells of these Israelites and their God. It was inspired by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, committed to writing through Israelites exclusively, and preserved until after the New Testament was written by these Israelites. In its sacred passages we read that all the promises and the covenants of God, all the sonship and the glory, belong solely to Israel (Rom. 9:4)."

Moreover, Armstrong taught that the "white, English-speaking peoples - NOT the Jews" were the modern manifestation of the people of Israel! Hence, for him and his followers, it's ALL about the "white, English-speaking" folks of the world. According to Armstrong, the other nations and peoples of the earth are only incidental to the narrative and God's plans and purposes! BUT is that true? Is it ALL about Israel? Is God's focus and energy directed at the white, English-speaking peoples of the earth? In short, what was God's purpose for Israel?

Ironically, the Bible reveals that Israel was only regarded by the God of the Bible as a means to an end! In other words, God had a much greater purpose and focus than ensuring the wealth, health, and happiness of the people of Israel! It's NOT all about Israel. Scripture reveals that God USED Israel to introduce himself to humankind and effect their salvation!

Indeed, this truth is revealed in the very promises which God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. One of the very important promises that God made to these men was that ALL of the peoples of the earth would be blessed through them! We should also note that God promised to make Abraham's descendants into an innumerable multitude - something that could NEVER have been said about the twelve tribes who inhabited the narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea, sandwiched between the great empires of the past. Even so, the promises that we discoursed upon in the first installment of this series only represent a small fraction of what Scripture reveals about God's purpose(s) in designating the Israelites as his chosen people.

And, although those promises to the patriarchs were inviolable, the participation of their physical descendants was made conditional! The Bible makes plain in numerous passages that the offspring of Israel would have to obey God if they wanted to participate in the blessings promised to their forefathers. When the Israelites were encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai waiting to receive God's commandments, we read: "Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, 'Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel." (Exodus 19:3-6, NLT)

In the book of Deuteronomy, we read: "The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him. Therefore, you must obey all these commands, decrees, and regulations I am giving you today." (7:7-11) So, we see that the Israelites were NOT chosen because of any inherent greatness or special qualities which they possessed. Moreover, this passage reveals that God expected them to obey him. In other words, everything that he had done for them (or would do in the future) was NOT an entitlement!

Unfortunately, as any good student of the Bible knows, Israel failed to keep up their end of the bargain. Nevertheless, while that failure clearly violated the terms of God's covenant with them, it could NOT touch the promises made to the patriarchs. In other words, the promises were NOT abrogated by the children of Israel's failure to obey God This is more clearly defined in the pages of the New Testament.

Indeed, in Paul's epistle to the Christians at Rome, we find the most comprehensive statement in all of Scripture regarding God's purpose(s) for Israel. He began by noting that God had committed unto them "the oracles of God" (3:2) or Scripture. Later in the same letter, he pointed out that God had chosen them to be his children and had revealed his glory to them (9:4). Paul continued: "He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned." (Verses 4-5) Moreover, in what follows, Paul laid out how Israel had figured into God's plans in the past, and what role they were expected to play going forward!

In the light of Israel's history, Paul asked: "Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel?" (9:6) His answer to his own question: "No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, 'Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,' though Abraham had other children, too. This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children. For God had promised, 'I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.'” (Verses 6-9) In other words, God's view of who was/wasn't eligible to participate in the promises made to Abraham was NOT defined by physical descent from him!

Paul continued: "This son was our ancestor, Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins. But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, 'Your older son will serve your younger son.' In the words of the Scriptures, 'I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.' Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not! For God said to Moses, 'I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.' So, it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it." (Verses 10-16) Clearly, from God's perspective, physical descent from Abraham was NOT considered necessary to participate in the promises made to him.

Paul then proceeded to offer a justification for God's actions in this regard and proclaimed that it all really was God's prerogative to decide (verses 17-24). Furthermore, Paul went on to explain how God related to the other peoples of the earth. He wrote: "Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, 'Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before.” And, Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’" (Verses 25-26) He continued: "What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path. God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, 'I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.'" (Verses 30-33) The stone/rock, of course, being Jesus Christ.

Now, remembering that the chapter and verse designations were added many years after these writings were originally penned, we see that Paul's thought continued into the following chapter. We read: "Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God." (10:1-4) So, according to Paul, a person's belief in and acceptance of Christ's work is what reconciles him/her to God - NOT their ancestry!

To underscore this point, Paul continued: "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.' Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Verses 9-13) Later, we will see that Paul's view here is consistent with Christ's view and statements, and with the epistle he wrote to the Christians of Galatia.

Even so, in the letter to the Romans, Paul returned to the subject of Israel after nailing down the fact that salvation was open to everyone. In the light of everything that he had just said, Paul asked: "has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel?" (11:1) His answer to that question: "Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin." Paul then proceeded to summarize Israel's standing with God. He wrote: "So, this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened." (Verse 7) He finished the thought by explaining the part that both peoples had/would play in God's plan to save humankind.

He began by asking and answering another question: "Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it. I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead!" (Verses 11-15) Once again, these Scriptures clearly demonstrate that God's purpose was to save humankind - NOT ANY particular ethnic group of people!

Paul continued: "But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root." (Verses 17-18) He followed this with a warning to those Gentile Christians who had been grafted into Abraham's tree. Paul wrote: "'Well,' you may say, 'those branches were broken off to make room for me.' Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either." (Verses 19-21)

Nevertheless, contrary to what some may believe, Paul did NOT leave the people of Israel without hope. He concluded his remarks on the subject with optimism, hope, and confidence in God's mercy. Still addressing those Gentile Christians who had been grafted into Abraham's tree, Paul wrote that "if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So, if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong. I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved." (Verses 23-26)

And just so there wouldn't be any misunderstanding of the point he was making; Paul finished his treatise by reiterating what he had already laid out on this subject. Among his concluding remarks on this topic, we read: "Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone." (Verses 28-32) In other words, God's purpose was/is to save humankind - Israelite and Gentile! 

Now, earlier, I said that all of this was consistent with Christ's view and statements, and we will take this opportunity to review some of the passages which demonstrate this truth. In the Gospel of John, we are informed that the Pharisees once confronted Jesus with the fact that Abraham was their ancestor (8:39) Continuing, we read: "'No,' Jesus replied, 'for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. No, you are imitating your real father.' They replied, 'We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.' Jesus told them, 'If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God." (John 8:39-47) In other words, these Israelites were NOT acting like Abraham's descendants or God's children!

Like Paul, Jesus also made clear in a number of places that the salvation of humankind was the ultimate goal/purpose envisioned in those promises made to Abraham so long ago. For instance, most students of the New Testament, will remember Christ's Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-10) - a clear reference to Israel's rejection of their invitation to be God's people. On another occasion, when he was asked by his disciples about the end of the age and his return, we are informed that he answered that "the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14) Also, at the end of his earthly ministry and before he ascended into heaven, we read that Christ told his disciples to "go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you." (Matthew 28:19-20) Clearly, Christ believed that his work was on behalf of ALL of humankind!

In our review of Paul's letter to the saints of Rome, we promised to circle back around and take another look at the letter which he wrote to the saints of Galatia. In the previous post (Birthrights and Promises) we quoted extensively from the third chapter of that epistle (and I encourage my readers to review that entire chapter). For the purposes of this post, however, we will remind everyone of three passages which are pertinent to this current discussion. Once again, Paul was addressing Gentile Christians, and he told them that ALL of those "who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith." (Verse 9) Likewise, Paul observed that "Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham." (Verse 14) Finally, the chapter concludes with this famous passage: "And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you." (Verse 29)

Also, reminiscent of the point Paul was making in his letter to the Romans, is how Paul chose to explain the differences between the Old and New Covenants. In the fourth chapter of this same epistle, we read: "These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law. But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. As Isaiah said, 'Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!' And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac. But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit. But what do the Scriptures say about that? 'Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.' So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman." (Galatians 4:24-31) Once again, the point is reiterated that Abraham's true heirs are the folks all over the world who have been grafted into his tree because of Christ's work!

Now, I apologize to my readers for being so meticulous and extensive in my quotations of Scripture, but I really felt that this subject demanded more than the few prooftexts provided by Herbert Armstrong and his associates. Although this is certainly NOT an exhaustive treatment of the subject, I believe we have included enough Scripture to demonstrate that Israel was intended to introduce God to the rest of humanity. And, although they clearly failed to be a good example to the rest of the world, it is also obvious that God was successful in using them to introduce himself and his message to the rest of humanity! To reiterate, Israel was a means to an end - they were NOT the end itself! God did NOT fulfill his promises to Abraham in them - He fulfilled those promises THROUGH Jesus Christ! Hence, the physical fulfillment of those promises within the context of ANY nation that existed in the past, or which exists in the present, is wholly unnecessary and superfluous! Stay tuned!