Opus 2025-244: One or Many

One of the questions that comes up in conversations with people who like to have conversations is the place of Israel in God’s agenda.  We accept the fact that Abraham was chosen and through him the nation of Israel was chosen to be special in God’s eyes.  He promised Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing to the world.  We see that blessing fulfilled in the coming of Jesus and His death on the cross.  We see a hope for the future by His resurrection.

But that doesn’t answer the question about the place of Israel in God’s final agenda.  What about the end times?  Personally, it’s not a big issue for me, because I am not a part of the nation of Israel, and I have trusted in Jesus for my salvation, so the future is secure for me.  It’s still a question that comes up.

In my reading one of the issues that emerged recently was the fact that in dealing with Israel as a whole God was looking at the nation.  He called them to be a blessing.  That blessing culminated in the cross.  Was He just using Israel to prepare the world for the coming of Jesus?  Was that all there was to be in called by God?  Not really.  The Jews were incredibly blessed by having the law, by knowing the standards God expected them to live by, and by leaders who personally talked to Him.  They had all the offerings of the blessings of God.  The problem is as a nation, they rejected those expectation.  They continually spat in the face of God.  He continually came back and offered chances of repentance.  In response they would spit again.

The point is they still had the offering of being blessed themselves if they would live in obedience and seek to live upright and righteous lives.  We know there were individuals who met that criteria.  We think of Enoch who was before the law and was taken by God because of his righteousness.  We think of Noah being singled out because he was trying to live in righteousness.  The list goes on.  But the nation as a whole rejected God, and when Jesus came the leadership ratified that rejection.

Ultimately salvation, in terms of eternal life, is a personal matter.  We see some references to that in the Old Testament.  We see Moses and Elijah meeting with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration.  Salvation that concerns us as Gentiles seems to be totally individual and personal.  God still works for the church.  Whether God still works through Israel is a question that I have.

That question about Israel is pretty much an intellectual one for me.  Ultimately, the question of each of us has to answer is how do we respond to Jesus.

homo unius libri