Has God forsaken Israel?

Here is a paper I wrote for my Biblical Theology class. I wrote it as a fairy tale, because regretfully most people in this world view Israel as a fairy tale. That somehow the God of Abraham no longer cares for His people. Let me know what you think…

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Once upon a time a very Great King chose a man by the name of Abram and asked him to go to a far country that he did not know[1]. Now this man was no one special he was just like you and me, though he had one thing that the king liked very much. He was a very brave man and was willing to go to this far country that he did not know.

Now because Abram was willing to leave everything behind and go to this new country, the Great King promised that he would make this man’s name great. He would also make a great nation out of him and that it shall be a blessing to all the families of the earth[2]. This made the man very happy and he packed up everything he owned and went to seek this new country.

The man arrived in the new country that was promised to him by the Great King, but he himself was not going to posses it[3]. The Great King told him that he was going to have a son and through this son that his descendants would be as numerous as the dust of the earth and that they would posses the land[4]. The Great King told Abram that his name now would be Abraham as he would be the father of many[5]. So the Great King made an everlasting covenant that stated all of these promises[6].

The Great King also informed Abraham that his descendants would live in a foreign land and be mistreated for many, many generations[7]. This troubled Abraham but he trusted the Great King and believed in the promise made by him.

Abraham in the course of time had a son and named him Isaac and Isaac grew and became the father of Jacob. When Jacob became a man he in turn became the father of the twelve patriarchs[8] who would go on to become the twelve tribes of the Promised Land. This pleased the Great King very much.

Now all that the Great King had foretold came to pass and the descendants of the patriarchs did find themselves in slavery. They cried out to the great king and he remembered his promise and came and brought his people out of bondage[9].

Through many trials, tribulations, and sadly even some rebellion among the people the Great King was able to bring his people into the Promised Land. Now he told the people that the land would be their’s forever and ever, but that to posses the land they would have to follow the good laws that he gave them. The Great King loved his people very much and knew that after living in slavery for so long that they would need the guidance of these laws to be able to stay in the land and honor their Great King. So he made a covenant with the people[10]. That if they would keep his laws then they could possess the land that was promised to them forever and ever and have great blessings from the Great King[11]. If they did not keep the law there would be grave consequences[12].

He also gave them a sacrificial system in which when they inadvertently broke one of the laws they could make atonement for it by the sacrifice of an animal at the His temple.

Many generations passed and the Great King raised up a ruler for his people[13]. He did this as he could not be there in person. Though the Great King was sad that he could not be there in person, he knew it was for the best and that someday he again would be with all of the people he loved.

Now David, who was chosen as king, was a man after the Great Kings own heart and desired to do all that he could to please the king. The Great King was mightily pleased with David and made an everlasting covenant with him. The Great King promised him that his kingdom would be an everlasting kingdom and that his heir would be on the throne for ever and ever[14].

In the course of time David passed away and lay with his fathers. One generation passed to the next and the people started to turn against the Great King and started honoring false kings and idols made from there own hands. The kingdom divided and each in turn did horrible things and worshiped evil things.

The Great King was very distressed by this, but as he loved the people so much he sent people to them to warn them of the covenant and that if they did not turn back to and honor him that they would not be allowed to stay in the land[15]. Regretfully, the people did not listen and the Great King brought terrible armies from other countries against them and removed them from the land. Once again his people were in bondage.

After a period of time the Great King once again found favor in his people and remembering his covenant with them and brought them back to the Promised Land[16]. He also again promised to make a new covenant with them an everlasting covenant[17]. So the people came back and rebuilt their towns and their cities and most importantly they rebuilt there temple for there Great King. This made the Great King very happy.

Again, many generations passed and in the course a young girl by the name of Mary became of age and was about to be married. Mary was a direct descendant of David. This was a young girl just like any other young girl of her day except that she found great favor with the Great King[18]. Because she found great favor with the Great King, he sent his emissary to her and he created in her womb (though she lay with no man) a baby. This was not an ordinary baby; this was the very son of the Great King. You see, the Great King wanted to make a new covenant with the people he loved and the only way he could make this covenant was to send his son in the flesh. This was no ordinary covenant that he was going to make. This was going to be a covenant that would purchase his people once and for all from there inequities and truly set them free forever and ever[19].

When the baby was born, Mary named him Jesus and the boy grew up to be a very great man (he was the son of the Great King after all). He went forth throughout all of the Promised Land and proclaimed the good news of his father the Great King. He healed many people and freed many from demons. Every where he went people were amazed by him.

There were some though that did not like this man as he threatened there power over the people. They plotted against this man and eventually they succeeded in having this man killed.

The Great King was very angry against his people and he cast them aside because of this horrible deed and never more did he have anything to do with them. He then went and found a new people and raised them up to replace these evil people who killed his son.

The End

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Sadly, this is how most in the church today believe what has happened to the state of Israel. Many would like us to believe that the Jews were just a footnote in history. They tell the story of the Jews as if it were just a fairy tale. The church in its quest for power has twisted the truth and has claimed all of God’s promises for itself and has left only judgment and condemnation for the nation of Israel.

The issue with this view is that it lowers God and raises man up. We are dealing with the Great “I AM”[20] the creator of Heavens and the Earth[21] who when He speaks, He cannot not lie[22]. We need to come to a true understanding that when God stated that he was going to make an everlasting covenant with a people, then this is exactly what he meant. It is not a fairy tale to be told to children at bedtime, but a reality that we as gentiles should be on our knees daily, grateful that we were grafted into these promises God gave to the Jews.

Paul in his letter to the Roman church warned of this very thing. He was concerned that by the time he got to Rome there would be two churches, a Jewish church and a Gentile church. The main issue was the gentiles were starting to put forth the fairy tale that they were the true church. Paul reminded them of the covenants[23], but most importantly he reminds them that God has not rejected Israel[24]. That He does have a plan for them and for all of the people of the world.

Jeremiah puts it best and I have included here as it is very plain as to God’s plan for the Jewish people:

God’s Message to Jeremiah: “Have you heard the saying that’s making the rounds: ‘The two families God chose, Israel and Judah, he disowned’? And have you noticed that my people are treated with contempt, with rumors afoot that there’s nothing to them anymore? “Well, here’s God’s response: ‘If my covenant with day and night wasn’t in working order, if sky and earth weren’t functioning the way I set them going, then, but only then, you might think I had disowned the descendants of Jacob and of my servant David, and that I wouldn’t set up any of David’s descendants over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But as it is, I will give them back everything they’ve lost. The last word is, I will have mercy on them.’”[25] (Emphasis mine)

Just as God’s covenant with night and day still stands, just as the earth and sky are still in there proper working order so too is God’s commitment to the people of Israel. So let us lay the fairy tale down and embrace the truth, God’s truth.

For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory[26].

So yes Virginia, there is a God and He does have a plan for Israel!

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[1] Gen 12:1

[2] Gen 12:2-3

[3] Acts 7:5

[4] Gen 17:2; Gen 22:7

[5] Gen 17:5

[6] Gen 17:7

[7] Acts 7:6

[8] Acts 7:8

[9] Ex 3:7

[10] Ex 19:5-6;

[11] Lev 26:1-13

[12] Lev 26:13-41

[13] 2Sam 7:8

[14] 2Sam 7:8-17; Jer 33:17

[15] Amos 3:7

[16] Jer 32:37-38

[17] Jer 32:40-41

[18] Luke 1:30

[19] Jer 31:31-35

[20] Ex 3:14

[21] Ex 31:17

[22] Tit 1:2

[23] Rom 9

[24] Rom 11

[25] Jer 33:23-26; The message (not included in word count)

[26] Isaiah 62:1-2; NKJV (not included in word count)

~ by mjwakema on April 25, 2008.