The Israel of God

Thanks again Terry Cropper.

Most Christians have been taught the true “Israel of God” is comprised of all biological descendants of Abraham only. However I believe God’s word teaches that “true Israel” has always been a (willing obedient spiritual group of people) in a covenant relationship with God form various nationalities, not just an exclusive biological group.

In this article I will endeavor to show why I come to believe from scripture, that from the beginning, there was a “physical Israel” and a “spiritual Israel” - a group within a group -two separate entities even during Old Testament time.

When most Christians are first saved that are told to read the New Testament. The problem is the right way to understand the New Testament is to have a good grasp and understanding of the Old Testament first. When we are told to read the Bible from the end of the story, (The New Testament) and not from the start of the story (The Old Testament) our understand of many of the New Testament concepts which started in the Old Testament are lost. Such as Paul’s words in (Romans 9:6)

In the beginning, God started with one righteous men named Abraham, and subsequently his biological descendants, the nation of Israel. However what is over looked God deals with the patriarchs of Israel as individuals. He dealt with Abraham as an individual; with Abraham’s son Isaac, as an individual; Abraham’s grandson Jacob, as individual. And approximately 400 years after the time of Joseph, God dealt with Moses as an individual, instructing him to lead the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:37).

After God miraculously brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea, He spoke to them (as a group) for the very first time establishing the conditions by which individuals within that group would be considered His covenant people. (Exodus 19:3-6) As you read this passage notice the qualifying words “if” and “then.” After God spoke to the group and establishing the conditions by which individuals within that group would be considered His covenant people.

Following the death of Moses, Joshua received his first instruction from God. ( Joshua.1:2ff). God dealt with Joshua as an individual. After the death of Joshua the God dealt with Judah as an individual. Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, "Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?" And the LORD said, "Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand." (Judges 1:1-2) All through out the Bible God deals with individual beginning with Adam.

Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, had his name changed to 'Israel' by God. His descendants eventually became known as the people of Israel (i.e. the descendants of Israel). The Old Covenant was offered to Abraham’s descendants as a nation, because of their genealogy and because of God’s choice.

Rather, God chose these people because of His love for them and His unconditional covenant with Abraham. This doesn't mean that God loved Israel more than other people, it was just that He intended to use Israel as His means to love and bless everyone.

A study of the Old Testament clearly shows that, even then, people for other nationalities were welcome to becomes part of God’s covenant people (i.e., God’s “Israel”) if they were willingly faithful and obedient to the conditions of the covenant.

The reason the majority continued to be from the same nationality during Old Testament times is that God never commanded the nation of Israel to evangelize. However God always left the back door open for any alien living among the Israelites who had a sincere desire to become part of God’s covenant people (God’s “Israel”).

Through the ages God’s covenant people included only those individuals who were willingly faithful and obedient to the conditions of the covenant. In other words, God’s true covenant people has always been spiritual group of believers who had trust in God, even during Old Testament times.

We find in the Old Testament that people from other nationalities were always welcome to become apart of God’s “Israel.” Through willing faith and obedience to the conditions of the covenant, people from other nationalities were assimilated (absorbed as equals) into God’s covenant people. God’s “Israel.”

(...about 600.000 ) men women and children left Egypt with Moses however NOT all the men women and children were biological descendants of Abraham. Some were aliens from other nationalities who trusted the God of Abraham and became apart of God’s “Israel.”

“An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part, like one born in the land...The SAME law applies to the native-born and to the alien living among you’ (Exodus 12:48-49).

“An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must do so in accordance with its rules and regulations. You must have same regulations for the alien and the native-born (Numbers 9:14)

“For this is what the Lord says; ... ‘Foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve Him, to love the mane of the Lord, and to worship Him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it, and who hold fast to my covenant these I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’” (Isaiah 56:4a, 6-7)

As we have seen from the previous Scriptures under the Old Covenant system, people from other nationalities who desired to serve the God of Abraham were assimilated (absorbed as equals into God’s covenant “Israel.”

When Matthew began his Gospel with a genealogy or family tree of Jesus, contrary to Luke and many of the genealogies in the Old Testament, he included four women and two of these women were NOT biological descendants of Abraham. Rahab, the great, great grandmother of David (Matthew 1:5) was a common prostitute in Jericho.

When Joshua sent two spies into the city of Jericho, Rahab, gave them shelter. When the king of Jericho sought their lives she hid them on her roof, and afterwards helped them escape. (Josh 2:1-8) They promised her that if she tied red cord to her window when the Hebrew people invaded Jericho, she and all her household would be saved. (Josh. 2:18-21).

They kept their promise, and when Jericho was taken, she and her household escaped. (Josh 6:17- 22). By professed faith in the God of Israel ( Josh. 2:11) Rahab became a part of “Israel” along with her entire family (Josh. 6:25; James 2:25). Ruth, the great grandmother of David and daughter-in-law of Rahab (Matthew 1:5) was from the country of Moab, but professed faith in the God of Israel (Ruth 1:16) and became part of “Israel” with full approval from the elders of the city (Ruth 4:11-12).

This is notable since it was not customary for Jews to include women in their records. The examples of Rahab and Ruth help us understand how God views “Israel” as those individual who trust in the true God. One should also remember both Rahab and Ruth.

Rahab is unusual in that she recognized the action of God, and put her faith in him while the rest of Jericho followed the Canaanite religion. She is listed in Hebrews 11 as one of the heroines of the faith.

Apparently, God Himself was impressed with Ruth's conversion, because He chose to send the Messiah through Ruth's offspring! What an exciting and inspiring example to everyone of us to think that God may have something very important in store for us, even though we have ungodly beginnings.

Just as those individuals in the Old Testament were apart of God’s “spiritual Israel” because they were willingly faithful and obedient to the conditions of the covenant. Those individuals who were NOT willingly faithful and obedient to the conditions of the covenant were apart of “national Israel.”

The Apostle Paul alludes to this basic fundamental covenant principle in his letters to early Christians. But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be called." (Romans 9:6-8) What Paul is saying is that not all the people form the nation of Israel are truly people of God’s Israel.” The covenant relationship is, and was an individual decision and choice as seen with the story of Rahab. The choice, the responsibility, and the Covenant relationship with God are individual , not national.

At the beginning of New Testament times, it was an accepted fact that God’s Covenant “Israel” still included people who were not biological descendants of Abraham (i.e., non - Jews). They were referred to as “proselytes” or “converts” and are mentioned fore times in the New Testament Scriptures; Matthew 23:15; Acts 2:10-11, 6:5, 13:43.

I believe that it has always been God’s intentional, plan that we see being a part of (Spiritual Israel) has always been a matter of faith not biological descendants even during Old Testaments times. In 21th century Christianity, we miss the significance of so much that is written in the New Testament by not having any understanding of how God has always assimilated (absorbed as equals) people for other nationalities into His covenant people “spiritual Israel” even in the Old Testament.

During the time of Jesus many biological Jewish Christians also had great difficulty accepting the non-Jewish Christians as equals in the eyes of God - even to the point of not eating with them (Galatians 2:11-16). And as non-Jews began to accept the New Covenant Gospel message, in some instances they too thought of themselves as God’s elite, and as a group totally separated from believing biological Jews. Paul reprimanded the non - Jewish believers in Rome for this very attitude, as we read in (Romans 11:17-18).

God spiritual Israel seems to have been a difficult concept for BOTH Jews and non- Jews to grasp in the first century - just as it is for so many Christians in the 21th century. Any individual who accepted the new covenant relationship offer by Jesus Christ is apart of God’s “spiritual Israel.” The Church has NOT replace the Israel of God. The Church is (i.e., God’s “Israel”) which started in the Old Testament of individuals who put their faith in God. God deals with individuals.

All through the Bible, God’s faithful obedient covenant people are referred to as “Israel.” Unfortunately the nation is also called “Israel.’ This is were the confusion, lies both then and now. In other words, from the very beginning there was a “physical Israel” and a “spiritual” Israel. Those who were part of spiritual Israel were those individuals who accepted the covenant relationship offer and willingly chose to be faithful and obedient to the conditions of the Covenant

The biological descendants of Abraham could be “cut off” from “Israel,” through disobedience to the conditions of the Old Covenant, even though they continued to live in the nation of Israel. “Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people, he has broken My covenant (Genesis. 17:14)

The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot out of My book’‘ (Exodus 32:33) “..... any Israelite...who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, and does not being it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the Lord, that man must be cut off from his people” (Leviticus 17:8-9). If any Israelite does not obey the prophet (referring to Jesus) would die, be cut off from God’s people;’ (Acts 3:22-23, quoted from Deut 18:15-19). For further study read (Lev. 24:16; Num. 9:13; Deut. 17:2-5).

During the “tribulation” period, culmination in 70 A.D., God used the complete destruction of Jerusalem to dramatically show biological Israelites AND Christians that everything connected to the Old Covenant system was over and done: the priesthood; the animal sacrificers; the earthly temple; the earthly city; the favored nationality; the genealogy records; even possession of all the land.

To this day, many Christians still don’t fully understand it. Consider the following. Since the Jewish genealogy records were destroyed in 70 A.D. along with the temple, ON-ONE can prove that he or she descended form Abraham. This bring us back to the starting place of this study. God deals with individuals who willingly chose to be faithful to his covenant not biological group.

God’s covenant principles of individual choice has been the same from the beginning of time, and continues to this day and into the future. With the coming of Jesus and the establishment of the New
Covenant system, the “rules” simply changed as to how one becomes part of (i.e., God’s “Israel”). Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."(John 6:29).

When studying the subject of “Israel” in the Bible, we need to remember to distinguish between the spiritual nature of God’s covenant “Israel” and the physical nature of the nation of Israel.