About Jesus   Steve Sweetman

Home Page

The Politics Of God And The Bible

Part 3

Irrevocable Promise

Before continuing further on Old Testament passages I want to comment on Romans 11:29 since I just mentioned it in the last section. 

A quick reading of the Old Testament will show that Israel spent more time in rebellion against God than in submission to Him.  Their relationship with God was cyclical.  God demanded obedience.  They'd comply for a while, then turn to their own ways, or worse still, to other gods.  God would in turn judge and punish Israel.  Under duress from God's judgment, Israel would feel sorry for herself and repent.  God would forgive them and bless them.  Eventually Israel would fall away again, and the cycle would start all over.  So goes the history of Israel to this very day.  

Israel's worst act of rebellion was their rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ, their Messiah.  We need to ask, "was the rejection of Jesus by Israel the straw that broke the camel's back in the mind of God"?  How you answer this will determine how you view prophetic history.  Some people believe that Israel 's rejection of Jesus angered God sufficiently that He revoked the promises He made to Abraham.  They say God could not tolerate Israel 's disobedience any longer, so in 70 A.D. He allowed the Roman army to demolish Jerusalem and scatter the Jews across the known world.  From that point on Israel would never have any prophetic and historic significance.  Today, Israel stands among the nations of the world as just another nation.  God has now transferred His promises found in the Abrahamic Covenant from Israel to the church.  The church is now God's chosen people.  Old Testament prophetic passages that were directed to Israel are now directed to the church.  From this premise a whole theology of God and His relationship with man has been developed.  It's called "Covenant Theology". A sub-category of "Covenant Theology" is called "Replacement Theology".  Israel has been replaced by the church.      

Did the apostle Paul believe in "Replacement Theology"?  No.  In Romans 11:28 and 29 He says, "as far as the gospel is concerned, they ( Israel ) are enemies on your account, but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on the account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and His call are irrevocable".  Simply put, Israel became an enemy of the gospel of Jesus.  On account of that, God opened the doors of His Kingdom to the Gentiles through salvation.  That being said, God could not break the promises He made to Himself that were directed to the patriarchs in the Abrahamic Covenant.  Among other things, He called the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to be a great nation, and that call is irrevocable.  Israel still has prophetic and historic significance.  This significance has nothing to do with Israel's obedience to their God.  It has everything to do with God not breaking his promises. 

Ezekiel 36:22 to 32 confirms this by saying, "it is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name … For I will take you out of the nations.  I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land …  You will live in the land I gave your forefathers…"   God will bring Israel back to their homeland, not because they deserve it, for they don't.  God will do this for His own name sake, meaning, He could not break a promise that would destroy His credibility.  What He promised Abraham will come about.  This is the politics of God and the Bible.    

Note the word "election" in Romans 11:28.  It's translated from the Greek word "ekloge", and isn't as political as it sounds.  "Ekloge" means, "a choice, choose, or, chosen".   Paul uses the word "election" in reference to the Jews.  They were elected, or chosen, by God's sovereign will to be a special nation.  Paul says that God will not revoke the choice He made.  Israel was not set aside by God in 70 A.D.. as "Replacement Theology" states.

Balaam

After 40 years of exile and wandering in the desert because of Israel 's rebellion against God, Israel was on the border of the land God promised them.  Balak, the king of Moab, feared Israel's presence, so he requested a pagan sorcerer named Balaam to curse Israel.  Balak figured that was the only way to get rid of Israel. 

Balaam refused to curse Israel.  He had five prophetic messages from God for Balak.  Here's just one thing Balaam told Balak.  Numbers 23:9 says, "I see a people (that's Israel) who live apart and who do not consider themselves as one of the nations".

Balaam stood on a hill looking down over Israel, a nation of people without land to live in.  He prophesied to Balak that Israel was a nation set apart, a nation that did not consider herself as one of the rest of the nations of the world.  Balaam's assessment was right.  Israel was created to be a distinct society.  Their existence was to demonstrate to all nations how a nation should live before the Lord God.  Even a pagan sorcerer understood this, and so should we. 

It was God's will to have His own special nation.  Even though Israel has failed miserably in her responsibility as priest to the nations, Jesus will turn them around at the end of this age.  That's part of God's political agenda.  Zechariah 12:10 says that God Himself will pour out "a spirit of grace and supplication" on Israel.  Israel will finally repent for good and become the nation she was meant to be.  Ezekiel 36:22 to 32 confirms this.  The never ending cycle of repenting, falling away, repenting, falling away, will finally end.  This political promise will not be broken.    

When it comes to the politics of God's people, whether Israeli or Christian, the fundamentals are the same.  God's people are a distinct society, separate from the rest of the world.  The Bible portrays God's people in direct opposition to the nations of the world.  I think many Christians have either forgotten this, or didn't know it in the first place.  God's people must decide that their allegiance is first to the Kingdom of God, not to the kingdoms of men.  

The Politics Of War – Part 1

As you read the Old Testament you might wonder why a loving and holy God involves Himself in war.  The answer is simple.  In Genesis 11 God dispersed man throughout the world that began the process of secular nation building.  In Genesis 12 God began the process of building His own nation of Israel.  By virtue of the fact that God created His own nation in the midst of pagan nations, He put Himself in the middle of conflict.  He would defend Israel, as He promised Abraham, which meant being involved in war.  I will speak more about war later.  I only mention it now because we see God involved in war early on in the Biblical account, and that bothers many Christians and non-Christians alike.  

Right from the beginning of nation building, war was part of the national affairs of all nations.  Does God like being involved in war?  Probably not, but He is just, and justice demands exposing and dealing with evil, and that's a messy job.  It has been said, "war is an instrument of peace".  It's sad to say, but that's true.  

 Next Page 

Previous Page

Home Page