Is there still something special about Israel, something unique in the eyes of God, or is the modern state of Israel just like all the other nations?
What does God say on the matter?
The Bible makes it very clear that Israel is indeed special and unique. Not better than other nations, mind you, but uniquely chosen for God’s own purposes. It should be no surprise, then, that Israel is subjected to a unique and special hatred from God’s enemies.
The people of Israel themselves displeased God for wanting to be “like all the other nations” (1 Samuel 8:1-9).
Moab and Seir also made the fatal mistake of pronouncing, “Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations” and were judged harshly for it (Ezekiel 25:8). The nation of Israel is not like all the other nations, and there are real implications when we assume that it is.
In Deuteronomy 7:6-8, God says He chose the people of Israel out of all the nations of the earth, calling them His “special possession” and saying that He has set His affection on them. In Romans 1:16, we see the instruction that the Gospel should go “first to the Jew” and then to the Gentile. However, in the very next chapter we see that coming first and being singled out is not always so enviable!
“There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Gentile,” we are told. “But glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Gentile.” (Romans 2:9-10).
The prophet Amos declares that because Israel has been chosen, they are held to a higher standard. Israel is chosen and special, but for the blessing of the whole world. The package comes with perks but also serious downsides.
“You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.” (Amos 3:1-2)
God chose Abraham and made an unconditional and eternal covenant with him. He also specifically chose Isaac, and then Jacob to form His people through his 12 sons:
He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”
(Psalm 105:7-11)
He rescued the 12 tribes of Jacob out of Egypt and made a covenant with them at Mount Sinai. Unlike the covenant with Noah which applied to all mankind to last until the end of time, the Sinai covenant was specifically with Israel and was upgraded to the new and better covenant through Yeshua, as described Jeremiah 31:31, and also in Hebrews chapters 7 and 8.
But Israel remains. Why?
Heaven and earth meet
The commandments given in the Sinai covenant developed the culture of heaven meeting earth: the divine and the practical. With each blessing for food, holding earth’s produce and looking up to heaven, or keeping God’s day holy, heaven and earth are bound together. The design of the tabernacle was also part of God’s instructions in the Sinai covenant. It was a real wood, metal, and fabric construction that you could see and touch, yet it was God’s very dwelling place. It was a constant, tangible reminder of God’s presence in their midst, whether they loved God or not. Just as the tabernacle served as a reminder for Israel, so the people of Israel serve as a tangible reminder to the world of God and His laws, even when they don’t keep them.
By their very presence Israel reminds the world that God is a lawgiver and a judge who has given us His instructions on how to live. God has standards. This explains a lot of the hatred the Jewish people have endured over the millennium: It’s the rejection of God’s sovereignty.
“He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for no other nation.” (Psalm 147:19-20)
Now that the people of Israel are back in the Land, the illustration has become much harder to ignore. The Talmud talks about the ten grades of holiness in concentric circles, with the whole land of Israel being on one level, the city of Jerusalem another, the temple court, the temple itself, the holy place and the holy of holies becoming increasingly potent in holiness.1 Even today, the land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount in particular, are like the spiritual epicenter of the world. The rage reserved specifically for Israel is an indicator of this fact, and also the tinderbox of the Temple Mount. God has chosen Jerusalem and set his affection on the people of Israel, the apple of His eye. Coming against Israel is like poking Him in His pupil. In short, it’s a very spiritually sensitive spot.
Israel is like a microcosm of the world, an example that God is using for the benefit of all the families of the earth, and God has chosen to work through Israel bringing the Scriptures and the Messiah for the blessing of everyone. But it doesn’t end there. God’s is also unfolding His end-time plans through Israel’s restoration: Israel remains chosen for God’s purposes. Yeshua will return to rule and reign in Jerusalem.
Dealing with an offended heart will be increasingly important as God starts wrapping up this age. There will be more trials and sorrows to come, and as Corrie Ten Boom said, they will either make us bitter or better, depending on our response. Confidence (faith) in God’s wisdom and love for all nations allows us to surrender to His ways, even when they confuse or offend us, and to trust His heart even in the midst of suffering and pain.
Israel is not like “all the other nations” and to think so displeases God. Why?
There are real consequences to thinking that Israel is no longer special to God. Here are some of them:
1. Suggesting that Israel is not special to God is saying He has given up on His promises. It is effectively doubting the faithfulness of God.
The nation of Israel is special because they demonstrate God’s faithfulness to His promises. Over the millennia, even though Israel has been unfaithful, God has kept His side of the bargain. He chosen Israel as His people, as the apple of His eye, and He has not changed His mind. Here are some of the key promises:
- He promised to keep Israel as a nation as long as the sun, moon and stars are in place. (Jeremiah 31:34-35)
- He promised to bring them back to the land, never to be uprooted again. (eg. Amos 9:15)
- He promised that Yeshua will return to Jerusalem to rule and reign (eg. Zechariah 2:10-13) and that the Jewish people would be there to welcome Him (Ezekiel 20:40, Matthew 23:39)
- And he promised that they would ultimately recognize his Son, Yeshua, as the Messiah. (eg. Zechariah 12:10)
His covenant promises are still holding strong, and He is fulfilling His word step by step. We are in a generation that has been privileged to watch this with our own eyes: The people of Israel have been regathered to their land after 2,000 years and are still standing despite multiple attempts to wipe them out. God is a promise-keeper who is faithful to His word. His faithfulness does not expire!
2. Thinking that Israel is no longer special to God joins with Satan’s opposition to God’s prophetic purposes.
It’s important to remember that one of Satan’s most-loved tactics is causing us to doubt God’s word. “Did God really say?” He whispers, first to Eve, and also later to Yeshua Himself in the desert. He did it in the Garden of Eden and has done it ever since. It’s important to know what God has promised in the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants, and to believe He meant what He said. Much of the prophecy in the Bible that has not yet come to pass is based on the necessity of Israel being back in place. Satan is opposed to God’s plans and therefore is deeply opposed to the restoration of Israel. He would love to delay, derail, or even destroy God’s prophetic timeline, but God will not allow that. We want to cooperate with God and his purposes, not the enemy’s! Seeing Israel as God’s special timepiece, restored to the Land in preparation for the return of Yeshua, gives us clarity and understanding as we watch His purposes unfold.
3. Believing Israel is no longer special to God results in Replacement Theology and fuels antisemitism
When Christians assume that Israel has fulfilled its mission and is now just like other nations, it inevitably leads to the belief that the church has replaced Israel. But if Gentiles are “grafted in” to the tree of Israel, how can they “replace” it? This way of thinking, known as “replacement theology” or “supersessionism” effectively denies ongoing God’s choice of Israel and despises the tree and its Jewish roots, just as Paul warned against in Romans 11. This historical assumption in turn has caused much of the persecution of Jewish people over the ages and was even used to justify the Holocaust. Failure to see how Israel remains special to God has resulted in horrendous antisemitism, hatred and murder of God’s chosen people throughout church history.
“From Satan’s perspective, Replacement Theology is a strategic tool to hinder God’s purposes, confuse believers, and delay Christ’s return to establish His Kingdom. However, Scripture makes clear that God’s promises to Israel remain irrevocable (Romans 11:29).”1
The unique nature of antisemitism in all its virulent forms should in itself alert us to the fact that Israel is not like the other nations. Israel is uniquely honored and blessed but it will be uniquely judged and held as an example, and is the target of unique hatred.
4. Failure to understand the place of Israel robs Christians of their roots
Those who make the mistake of thinking Israel is done and dusted often fall into other mistakes. A big one is thinking that the Jewish Scriptures, the “Old” Testament, is no longer valid. By blurring the many covenants into just two, the “old” and the “new”, lead many to believe the entire Tenach is now obsolete and replaced with the New Testament. Nothing could be further from the truth! It’s true that the Sinai covenant with temple sacrifices has indeed been replaced by the new covenant brought about by Yeshua’s sacrifice, but it is all still valuable today! When Paul wrote to Timothy that, “All Scripture” was profitable (2 Tim 3:16-17), he was talking about the Tenach, the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings: The entire Hebrew Scriptures.
The Jewish feasts, for example, though not binding or obligatory, are full of rich prophetic meaning that those dismissing the “Old” testament will sadly miss out on. The Tenach teaches us all the foundations of our faith, the Ten Commandments, the prophecy to come, along with all the Psalms, the proverbs, and amazing stories so full of wisdom and spiritual truth. The reason many Christians are wobbling in their faith today, unable to discern the difference between holy and unholy in today’s world, is because of their lack of rootedness in the Hebrew Scriptures and the foundations of our faith. Appreciating God’s enduring covenant with Israel gives believers a framework on which to hang the Scriptures. Missing that will mean missing out on so much in God’s heart.
But let’s put it in the positive!
God’s choice of Israel lays down the gauntlet to the world. His decision to work through one nation for the benefit of all serves to sift hearts and our ability to accept God’s sovereignty… or not.
Embracing God’s sovereign choice of Israel means:
1. Declaring our confidence in God’s faithfulness, that He will keep His promises — to Israel as a nation and also each one of us.
2. Agreeing with God in His choice of Israel is lining up with God as He unfolds His prophetic purposes on the earth.
3. Accepting that Israel is special to God is to take a strong stand against the hatred of God’s people.
4. Appreciating the place of Israel in the Bible opens up a treasure chest of riches as we can better understand God’s heart and His word to us.
- Mishnah Kelim 1:6
- https://x.com/wilson_mar11767/status/1883674187140620756
Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash
