Does ‘Israel’ have a divine right to the land? part 1
Martin Saunders (of Youthscape) wrote an excellent article highlighting four issues which often prevent evangelicals from understanding what has been happening in the State of israel/Gaza conflict. First, he comments 'Information technology'due south not every bit simple as good guys vs bad guys', something which I accept also been trying to bespeak out, though social media is not helping with this. Second is ' The fear of accidental antisemitism', something nosotros need to take actually seriously, every bit the rise of antisemitism across Europe highlights.
But Martin'south third point is that 'We're non articulate what the Bible says' about Israel and the land.
For many Christians (often termed Christian Zionists), the Bible clearly states that God has a special plan for Israel which includes a lasting covenant with the physical 'country'. For others, that covenant was fulfilled by the cantankerous (Matthew v:17)…Any we believe, we can't claim to concur a 'biblical' position if nosotros haven't read scripture. There are no short-cuts; you can argue anything with a proof text. Only past reading the Bible as a whole, and by understanding the grand narrative of Scripture, can we truly empathise God's relationship with the state and the people of Israel.
In the light of this, I offer some reflections on the status of 'the state' in Scripture. Two things demand to exist considered at the outset. The first is that it is not possible to identify 'State of israel' in the Bible with 'Israel' the modern nation-state. Despite what the vast majority of commentators say, Israel is non a 'Jewish' land, even though information technology privileges immigration access to Jews in the global diaspora. Modernistic Israel is in fact constitutionally a Western-style liberal republic, whereas biblical Israel was for nigh of its history a monarchical theocracy.
Secondly, both in Hebrew and in Greek, the word for 'land' and 'earth' (i.east. meaning the whole world) are the same:eretz (Hebrew); andge (Greek). Then, for example, in the first creation narrative the dry footing is called 'eretz' (Gen 1.10), however the term specifically used for the territory promised to God's people iseretz Israel.We need to look out for the way that the biblical writers tin can, at times, transform their meaning and vision on the basis of this linguistic ambiguity.
Perhaps the most striking thing nearly the 'country' within the OT narrative of Israel is that, contrary to one dimensional claims nearly promise and inheritance, it actually has multiple significance, and its theological pregnant always eclipses its geographical significance.
The beginning dimension is the country equally a sign of the unmerited generosity and souvenir of the sovereign God. This is plant in the promise to Abraham in Gen 12.1–3:
"I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will exist a blessing. I will bless those who anoint you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blest through you."
Already we can see the tension betwixt the local and the global: the giving of the land to Abraham (how else can he become 'a nation'?) will have global consequences of blessing—whether all peoples volition be blessed or will 'bless themselves by you lot' (the Hebrew is cryptic).
This theme of unmerited grace appears in a number of dissimilar forms in the narrative. It is shown in the choosing of this (small and insignificant) people in Deut 7.vii:
The LORD did not ready his affection on you and cull you considering you were more than numerous than other peoples, for y'all were the fewest of all peoples.
and in the repeated phrase 'a country flowing with milk and honey' (e.chiliad. in Moses encounter at the burning bush, Ex three.viii). The significance of 'milk and honey' probably has to do with the fertility of the land, possibly that the blessing comes from unexpected sources, only also that these things occur naturally. Different growing and harvesting crops, these things only come up to you, equally Samson on one occasion found (Judges 14.8). This is paralleled in the Deuteronomic tradition with the inheritance of 'cities y'all did not build, cisterns you did non dig, and groves you did non plant' (Deut 6.11, Joshua 24.13).
Note that, in all this, the nigh of import matter is the truth that information technology points to about God (non about the people)—one who is an abundant generous giver to those who do not in whatsoever fashion merit this generosity. This truth in relation to the country (of Israel) is 1 that is writ large on the land (of the whole of cosmos), and is prominent in the creation narratives. The abundance of the creation is a reflection of the generosity of the creator.
This link is important in the second theme underlying the idea of 'the land': God's project of the restoration of humanity, and the function of State of israel in this project. The Abraham story follows difficult on the heels of the account of 'the fall', which is plant non just in Gen 3, but in Gen 3–11; the turning from God in the garden which is known as 'sin' unfolds itself equally a power which brings expiry and despair and disrupts relations in families and nations and destroys the fruitfulness and abundance of the earth.
The juxtaposition of this chaotic picture with the story of Abraham carries a strong implicit message: with Abraham God is beginning the chore of restoration of humanity, hence the global significance of the story of this individual. It is a link that Paul makes in Romans 1–4; these chapters beginning with humanity's idolatry which leads to unfruitfulness of the torso, and they end with Abraham's obedience leading to surprising fruitfulness of his body. This new people, in this new land, are to be a 'light to the nations', (Is 42.half dozen, Is 49.6) a destiny which is fulfilled in Jesus followers (Matt 5.xiv) because it is fulfilled in Jesus himself (John 8.12).
This has a central related strand, which is detail emphasised in the 'Priestly' tradition in Leviticus. If the people given this land are part of the restoration of humanity from sin to holiness, and then the occupation of the land must be inextricably linked with moral restoration. In fact, the expulsion from the land of the resident Canaanites is given a specific moral dimension: considering of their unholy practices, the state has 'vomited them out' (Lev 18.25), and the life of the holy people of God is defined in contradistinction to those who lived there previously.
These three ideas—of divine grace and generosity, of the restoration of humanity, and of moral distinctiveness—are constantly brought together in the prophetic tradition. The promise of return following exile is a mark, not of the 'specialness' of the people, but of the faithfulness of God. No political ability, and not even the past disobedience of the people, tin thwart God'south plans or undo his faithfulness. And considering of this, God'south grace in restoration is destined to overflow ethnic boundaries—a particular theme of the 2d and 3rd parts of Isaiah. And in light of this, the return to the country must involve a rediscovery of obedience to God's constabulary—a particular theme of Ezra and Nehemiah.
All this ways that 'the state' has a particular theological meaning. It is, on the 1 hand, the place of receiving God'southward blessings, but on the other, the arena of obedience to God's commands. In fact, the land itself has near greater theological significance in these regards than the indigenous identity of God's people. The 'resident alien' who is not an ethnic member of God's people, simply does reside inside the geographical space of 'the land', is to both savor the privileges and blessings of God's people, just also must take on the responsibilities of observance (see, for example, Lev 19.34). This idea will be key when nosotros look at the way the New Testament interprets this ideas in the next blog postal service.
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