God called Israel out of Egypt to be his own treasured possession and his covenant faithfulness with them is maintained, despite their persistent disobedience.
God's election of Israel
The nation was founded upon God's promises to the patriarchs
Genesis 12:1–3 See also Genesis 17:1–8, Genesis 35:9–13
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
Israel as God's chosen possession
1 Kings 8:53 See also Exodus 19:3–6; Deuteronomy 7:6, Deuteronomy 32:7–12; Psalm 135:3–4
For You, O Lord GOD, have set them apart from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spoke through Your servant Moses when You brought our fathers out of Egypt.”
God redeemed Israel from Egypt
Exodus 6:6–7 See also Exodus 3:7–10; 2 Samuel 7:22–24 parallel 1 Chronicles 17:20–22
Therefore tell the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
God enters into a special covenant relationship with Israel
Israel's privileged status within the covenant
Romans 9:4–5 See also Romans 3:1–2; Philippians 3:4–6
the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen.
Israel's disobedience to the covenant
Israel provoked God in the wilderness
Psalm 78:40–41 See also Exodus 32:1–10; Numbers 11:1–6, Numbers 14:1–4
How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
Israel's unfaithfulness in the promised land
Isaiah 1:4 See also Judges 2:10–13; Jeremiah 11:9–10; Ezekiel 20:27–28
Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who act corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.
Israel exiled for her sins
2 Kings 18:11–12 See also 2 Kings 25:8–12 parallels Jeremiah 39:8–10, Jeremiah 52:12–16
The king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes. This happened because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD their God, but violated His covenant— all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded — and would neither listen nor obey.
God's promise to restore Israel
God's promise not to abandon Israel completely
Deuteronomy 4:31 See also Leviticus 26:44–45; Isaiah 6:11–13 Though Israel will be destroyed, a holy remnant will be left; Jeremiah 31:35–37
For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers, which He swore to them by oath.
God's promise to bring Israel back to the land
Jeremiah 30:3 See also Isaiah 43:5–7; Ezekiel 37:11–14
For behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore from captivity My people Israel and Judah, declares the LORD. I will restore them to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they will possess it.’”
God's promise to reunite Israel
Jeremiah 3:18 See also Ezekiel 37:15–23; Hosea 1:10–11
In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave to your fathers as an inheritance.
The promise of a restored relationship between Israel and God
Jeremiah 31:31–34 See also Isaiah 40:1–2; Ezekiel 36:24–28
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt— a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
Israel returns from exile
Ezra 1:1–5 parallel 2 Chronicles 36:22–23
Jesus Christ, the Saviour of Israel
Jesus Christ's ministry was specifically to the nation of Israel
Matthew 10:5–6 See also Matthew 15:21–28 parallel Mark 7:24–30
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go onto the road of the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
Jesus accepts the title ``Christ'' (Messiah), God's anointed deliverer for Israel
Matthew 16:16–17 parallels Mark 8:29, Luke 9:20 Although Jesus accepted the title “Messiah” (Christ), he did not fulfil contemporary Israelite hopes of a political deliverer.
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.
Jesus Christ declares to Israel the good news of God's reign
Mark 1:14–15 Jesus Christ takes up Isaiah's message of good news, that God is coming in sovereign power to restore Israel (see Isaiah 40:9–10, Isaiah 52:7). See also Matthew 4:23, Matthew 9:35; Luke 8:1
After the arrest of John, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. “The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”
Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ
Israel warned that rejection of Christ means exclusion from the kingdom
Matthew 8:11–12 See also Matthew 21:33–46 parallels Mark 12:1–12, Luke 20:9–19; Matthew 22:1–10 parallel Luke 14:16–24; Luke 13:28–30
I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Israel's rejection of the gospel
Romans 9:30–10:4 See also Acts 28:24–28; Isaiah 6:9–10; 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16
God's faithfulness to Israel maintained
Membership of the true Israel is based on God's election, not merely on physical descent from Abraham
A remnant of Israel has been elected by grace
Paul declares that ``all Israel'' will be saved
Isaiah 59:20–21; Romans 11:25–32 The phrase “all Israel” is interpreted as either: (1) the total number of the elect (either Jews, or Jews and Gentiles) of every generation, or (2) the great majority of Jews of the final generation who will be saved when Christ returns.
The new Israel
The church as the new Israel
Galatians 6:15–16; Philippians 3:3 See also 1 Peter 2:9–10
For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who walk by this rule, even to the Israel of God.
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh —
The church described as the 12 tribes of Israel
James 1:1 See also Revelation 7:4–8 Some see this as a reference to members of actual Jewish tribes, but others see it as symbolic of all the faithful believers who live through the time of tribulation; Revelation 21:12 The number 12 emphasises the continuity of the NT church and the OT people of God.
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.
The apostles as the 12 leaders of the new Israel
Matthew 19:28 See also Luke 22:29–30; Revelation 21:14
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.