Who (or what) is “Israel”?
Our Adult Bible study class today looked briefly (or not so briefly, as it were) at the meaning and import of the word “Israel,” given it’s significance in Paul’s letter to the Romans, which was the intended focus of our study this week. Here, in its entirety, is the handout we prepared and distributed to the class, which generated a great deal of discussion. Feel free to comment below, and we’ll respond as we’re able. -DR
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In his letter to the Romans, Paul addresses a challenge facing the early church, which is one that endures in some circles even today: the need to clarify the relationship between God’s first word (“the Old Covenant”) and His second word (“the New Covenant”), and between His people abiding by these respective testaments.
Often, the word “Israel” arises in this “Jewish/Gentile” and “Old Testament/New Testament” discussion, and the word also appears frequently in our world’s daily news; therefore, Christians are wise to understand the meaning and import of this very prominent term.
In the Old Testament, broadly speaking, “Israelites” or “Israel” is the sacred name which marks Jewish believers as the elect and favored recipients of God’s grace.
More precisely, King Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, caused the Kingdom of Israel to divide, circa 931 BC (1 Ki. 12:1-24; 2 Chr. 10:1-11:4); the new Northern Kingdom took the name “Israel,” while the Southern Kingdom, “Judah.” Continuous idolatry coupled with a chaotic succession of kings and conflicts over the next 200 years led to the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians, in 722 BC (2 Ki. 15:8-17:23), leaving only Judah, whom the Babylonians would later decimate and exile, in 587 BC (2 Ki. 24:10-25:21; 2 Chr. 26:1-21).
King Cyrus of Persia permitted the Judeans to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and city, following their Babylonian captivity, in 538 BC. Ezra tells us, “When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem” (Ezra 3:1). God’s people “Israel” were united again.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul, “a chosen instrument of [Jesus] to carry [His] name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15), makes clear that, now because of God’s work in Christ, “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Rom. 9:6). In other words, Paul makes a critical distinction in Romans: one is not saved simply because one is Jewish by birth or adheres to the ancient traditions of the Israelite way of life.
Rather, Paul essentially says, all who believe in the promise of Christ are the children of God and are now called “Israel,” including and especially the Gentiles who were formerly “far off” but have now “been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13).
In today’s geopolitical realm, “Israel” is the Middle East nation-state founded on May 14, 1948. Many Christians are prone to get this nation-state confused with the “Israel” of Scripture, though not once does God’s Word have the 1948 nation-state specifically in view. It is this fundamental misunderstanding that leads various Christian sects, and even many Baptists, to obsess over the turmoil in today’s Middle East, erroneously thinking the eternal salvation of Christian believers is somehow tied up with the political destiny of that earthly nation.
As we go about making disciples of all nations and serving others through our daily vocations, we are wise to discern these important distinctions, lest we confuse the salvation of God’s people in Christ with the military and political affairs of a country which Scripture never has in view.
Rev. Don Ray