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Israel (The Biblical View)
Abraham in the Old
Testament was the beginning of the people called Israel. God made
certain promises to him and through these promises we can better understand who
the Bible has in view when it mentions Israel. Promises
made to Abraham Two Kinds of Promises: 1.) some
relate to the seed of Abraham only 2.) others
relate to Abraham and his seed 1. Promises made to the Seed of Abraham only Gen
12:6,7 And
Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of
Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. Gen
12:7 And the
LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and
there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. - Unconditional
promise - No
commitment to Abraham - No
commitment concerning the duration of time Gen
15:18 In the
same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I
given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: Gen
15:19 The
Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, Gen
15:20 And
the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, Gen
15:21 And
the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. - Unconditional - No
length of time mentioned Gen
24:7 The
LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of
my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy
seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt
take a wife unto my son from thence. (this
promise refers to the two previous promises) - Promise
relates to his seed only - Unconditional
and no length of time mentioned
The Seed in
view is National Isreal Abraham
fathered Isaac who fathered Jacob and the 12 heads of National Israel The land was given
unconditionally (as a gift) - an evidence of GodŐs sovereign gracious
love to them Jos
1:2 Moses my
servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this
people, unto the land which I do give to
them, even to the children of Israel. Jos
1:3 Every
place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you,
as I said unto Moses. Jos
1:4 From the
wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all
the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the
sun, shall be your coast. Deu
9:4 Speak
not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from
before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to
possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive
them out from before thee. Deu
9:5 Not for
thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to
possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God
doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which
the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Deu
9:6 Understand
therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it
for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people. Deut
8:18-20 Remaining in the land was conditional Deu
8:18 But
thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to
get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers,
as it
is this
day. Deu
8:19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the
LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I
testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. Deu
8:20 As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before
your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the
voice of the LORD your God. National
Israel did indeed perish from the land and go into captivity though they were
allowed to return to the land and rebuild the temple in the reign of Cyrus,
King of Persia they still remained under the dominion of other empires and
never came out of captivity. At the time of JesusŐ coming, they were
under the dominion of the Roman Empire (Matt 1:17). They never again possessed the land. The Fulfillment of
the Promise of the Land Jos
21:43 And
the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their
fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. Jos
21:44 And
the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their
fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD
delivered all their enemies into their hand. Jos
21:45 There failed
not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel;
all came to pass. Neh
9:7 Thou art the LORD the God, who didst
choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest
him the name of Abraham; Neh
9:8 And
foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give
the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and
the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous: God has
fully performed the promises made to National Israel according to these verses. 2. Promises made to Abraham and his seed Gen
13:14 And
the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now
thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward,
and eastward, and westward: Gen
13:15 For
all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for
ever. Gen
13:16 And I
will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the
dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Gen
13:17 Arise,
walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will
give it unto thee.
- The land is given to Abraham
personally, and
to his seed
- A time
factor is mentioned (forever) Gen
17:8 And I
will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their
God.
- Abraham
never possessed the land Heb
11:8 By
faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after
receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he
went. Heb
11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as
in a strange
country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him
of the same promise: Heb
11:10 For he
looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Heb
11:13 These
all died in faith, not having received the
promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Heb
11:14 For
they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. Heb
11:15 And
truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out,
they might have had opportunity to have returned. Heb
11:16 But
now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be
called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. - Abraham never possessed the land of
Canaan, the promise made to him in Gen 17:8 was not fulfilled Rom
4:13 For the
promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his
seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. - This verse shows that when God
promised Abraham and his seed the land of Canaan, God actually had the whole world in view Gen
13:14 And
the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now
thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward,
and eastward, and westward: Gen
13:15 For
all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for
ever. Gen
28:13 And,
behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy
father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give
it, and to thy seed; Gen
28:14 And
thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the
west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in
thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Gen
28:15 And,
behold, I am with thee, and will keep
thee in all places whither thou goest, and will
bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee
of. Gen 17:2-8
Vs 4 thou
shalt be a father of many nations. Vs 5 for a father of
many nations have I made thee. Vs 6 I will make nations
come from thee 3 Times the seed is said to be
more
than one nation -- the seed is not the descendants of Ishmael because the land
would be an everlasting possession Rom 4:9-17 is a commentary on Gen 17:2-8 Rom 4:11 that he might be the father of all them that believe Rom
4:16 Therefore
it
is of
faith, that it
might be
by grace; to the end the promise might be
sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that
also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (all
= all believers) Romans
4 and Gen 17 altogether deal with Salvation in Jesus Christ see
also Gal
3:7 Know ye
therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. Gal
3:8 And the
scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith,
preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations
be blessed. Gal
3:9 So then
they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Gal
3:26 For ye
are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Gal
3:27 For as
many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Gal
3:28 There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal
3:29 And if
ye be Christ's, then are ye
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. In
summary: Two Kinds of Promises: 1.) some relate to the seed of Abraham
only (National Israel) --
was promised the land unconditionally
-- no reference to time was made (how long they would posses the land)
-- possessing the land was conditional upon obedience (Duet 8:18-20) --
these promises have been fulfilled (Josh 21:25 ; Neh
9:8) 2.) some relate to Abraham and his seed (GodŐs Elect)
-- promised the land unconditionally
-- an eternal inheritance
-- includes peoples from every nation
-- the land represents the whole world --Rom 4:13 (after it is re-created)
-- these promises have yet to be fulfilled in their entirety additional
verses: Rom
9:6 Not as
though the word of God hath taken none effect. For
they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Rom
9:7 Neither,
because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. Rom
9:8 That is,
They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God... Gal
3:7 Know ye
therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. Gal
3:29 And if
ye be Christ's, then are ye
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Gal
6:16 And as
many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. Gal
4:26 But
Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. Heb
12:22 But ye
are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an
innumerable company of angels, Heb
12:23 To the
general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven Rom
2:28 For he
is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is
outward in the flesh: Rom
2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose
praise is not of men, but of God.
In conclusion, we
see that there are two main entities God refers to as Israel: 1) the blood descendants of
Abraham (aka: National Israel) 2) the spiritual descendants of
the faith of Abraham (aka: GodŐs elected people)
-- one last note: National Israel was the organization God ordained to
represent Him on earth during Old Testament time, in other words, National
Israel was the Old Testament Church (see Acts 7:38) This is unlike the New Testament church
which includes peoples from every
nation and ethnic group (Gal 3:28; Col
3:11) But just
like the Old Testament church, included in the organization of the New
Testament church are those who are truly saved, and those who are identified with God but not truly
saved. Those who
are truly saved are, however, are the only oneŐs who are members of GodŐs
spiritual eternal church (Hebrews 12:22, 23) Israel can be a reference to
the organization of the
physical church -- or-- a
reference to
GodŐs spiritual eternal church just as we have seen in
this study, Israel referred to National Israel and those saved by
faith. The context of the passage and the usage of the term usually
dictate which meaning is in view.
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