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The Politics Of God And The Bible

Part 4 

Jacob Becomes Israel

Abraham's family over time became a nation of people.  One important event in the process of becoming a nation took place in Genesis 32:28 and 35:10.  In both passages God told Abraham's grandson Jacob that his name would become " Israel".  The Hebrew word "yisrael" is translated into English as "Irsael", and means "soldier of God".  "Yisrael" is a compound word, consisting of "yisra", meaning "contend or fight", and "el", meaning "God'.   Thus Israel means, soldier of God, defender of God, or something similar.  Isn't that interesting.  The God of love, peace, and holiness, names His chosen nation "the soldier of God".  I wouldn't run with that and follow in the steps of religious extremists, but the name "Israel" does tell us something about the politics of God and the Bible. 

Israel was not only meant to be a nation of priests, representing God to the world, but a nation that would defend the rule of God throughout the world. God's rule on earth was to emanate from Israel.  That has never happened, but it will.  We often recite the Lord's prayer, which in part says, "thy Kingdom come…".  God's Kingdom will come when Jesus returns to set up His Kingdom in Jerusalem.  God's rule will emanate from Israel after all. 

God's people today, whether Israeli or Christian, should see themselves as defenders of God's rule of truth.  How we actually defend God, I will comment on later.  It's the defense of God's truth that brings about the conflict between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of men, and in the world today, the conflict is escalating.  I'd suggest that if there is no conflict, the rule of God is not being defended by His people.  That has been the case more often than not, both in Israel and the church. 

A Community Of Nations Come From Israel

Genesis 35:11 is prophetic.  God reconfirmed to Jacob that his family would become a great nation.  God also told Jacob that from Israel "a community of nations" would come.  What does that mean?   

It's my thinking that the community of nations spoken of here is prophetic of Gentile nations entering the Kingdom of God.  The cross of Christ and the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles in Acts 10 began this process, but it didn't end there.  If you read the last couple chapters of the book of Revelation, you will see that the nations of this world will become the nations of God, and they will bring their splendor into the New Jerusalem. (Revelation  21:22 and following)  This is the final fulfillment of Genesis 35:11 and the community of nations that would come out of Israel.   

Once God judges satan, demons, and unrepentant sinners, Gentile believing nations, and there will still be nations, will live in peace and harmony with Israel on the new earth.  This is the politics of God and the Bible.    

God Watches Over Rebellious Israel

In Deuteronomy 2:7 Moses said that God watched over Israel while she was in the desert.  The trip through the desert should have taken eleven days according to Deuteronomy 1:2.  It took forty years because God exiled Israel in the desert for their disobedience. 

What we need to learn from this passage is that even though Israel spent more time in rebellion against God than submission to Him, God still watched over her. Israel's rebellion did not change that.   

Jeremiah 31:36 and 37 confirms this.  It reads, "only if these decrees vanish from my sight, declares the Lord, will the descendents of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me.  Only if the heavens can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendents of Israel because of all they have done".  This verse is a reverse way of saying that Israel will always be a nation, and God will never reject her, despite all their rebellion and disobedience.      

I believe this proves that God still watches over Israel today, even though she is still in rebellion.  He will keep His promises made to the patriarchs.  That's the politics of God and the Bible.            

That Divisive Land Issue

Many Bible scholars reject the idea that the land God promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and others, still applies to Israel today.  They say all the promises found in the Abrahamic Covenant have been spiritualized and redirected to the church, and that includes the promise concerning Israel being a nation and possessing land.

There's a problem with this thinking.  The Abrahamic Covenant is an "eternal" covenant, having no end.  God told Abraham in Genesis 17:8 that "the whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendents after you…"  That's just one of many passages that use the words "eternal", "everlasting", and "forever", in reference to God giving Israel land.  Forever means forever.  
 

It's poor Biblical interpretation to go back to these promises and make them mean something different than what the recipients of the promises understood them to mean.  If we spiritualize these promises and give them to the church, we do just that.  God meant for Abraham to understand land to be land.  That was Abraham's understanding, and it should be ours.         

God's promise of land to Israel has divided both church and political leaders right to this day. The heart of the present day Israeli Palestinian problem stems from the promise of land to Israel in the Abrahamic Covenant.  Most world leaders fail to grasp this, and will be judged by God for their failure. 

Joel 3:2 says, "I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat .  There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land".  Notice the words, "my people", "my inheritance", and, "my land".  Israel, and her promised land doesn't only belong to Israel, but to God.  I'd be careful what you do with God's people and land.     

The dividing of Israel is one of the key events that will bring this age to a close.  As I write, the primary solution to the Israeli Palestinian problem is to divide the land of Israel.  

The Abrahamic Covenant states that those who curse Israel will be cursed.  I'd suggest taking land from Israel is a form of cursing Israel.  God takes this issue very seriously, and so should our national leaders.  It's my thinking that the British Empire fell because she failed to allow Jews back into Palestine prior to World War Two.  God will eventually cause any nation to fall if they tamper with the land of Israel.  That doesn't sound politically correct these days, but it fits into the politics of God and the Bible.

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