07-CHAPTER III THE MYSTERY OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL

CHAPTER III THE MYSTERY OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL

Israel is God’s "chosen people" (1 Chronicles 16:13; Exodus 19:5). As a redline it extends its history from Abraham right through the ages. This line however is not always uniform, not direct and continuous, but repeatedly it subsides, indeed, in parts is broken and seems to disappear, but then again it emerges (see Chart). For Israel’s affairs are more changeable than with any other people of the earth; now in the land, now out of it; sometimes in misery, sometimes in happiness, conditioned through sin and repentance, judgment and grace. But in all this Israel has its duty and its God-given hope. At the appearing of Messiah it will recognize its sins and turn to God. Messiah will triumph and receive the crown (Zechariah 6:11-13. See Chart: the crown in the last green area in the central section of the drawing). The kingdom of God will be revealed and the whole of mankind be blessed. But all this will not be at all to the glorifying of any nation or creature but solely to the self-glorifying of the great Redeemer-God as the God of Jews and non-Jews. "Thus saith the Lord, not for your sake do I this, O house of Israel, but for the sake of My holy name" (Ezekiel 36:22, Ezekiel 36:32). "So that no flesh shall boast itself before God . . . but he who boasts let him boast in the Lord" (Jeremiah 9:23-24; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31). Not a single people was at God’s disposal, so as to be able to make it His "chosen people," not a single community, nor even a single family. Hence the necessity of a completely new start and the call and choice of a single individual. Not immediately as a broad stripe, but rather as a point must this line begin (see Chart). But with this one man should commence a completely new historical leading, a separate stream in the midst of the whole ocean of the nations, which stream, with preliminary restriction of the revelation to the descendants of this one man, should lead direct to Christ, and by way of Christ and His cross to a world- embracing expansion of the redemption. Such is the meaning of the call of Abraham. And in this way would Abraham become the "father of all believers" (Romans 4:11).

Meaning and Task of the call of Israel The meaning of Israel’s call was threefold: moral education, historical revelation, missionary. On the stage of world history by the example of Israel, there should be publicly shown to the nations what sin and grace, judgment and redemption are. In Israel’s conduct and fate there should be given, in as it were a paradigm, an object lesson, not to be misunderstood or ignored, such as awakens the conscience and leads the sinner to the knowledge of himself, and then, through repentance and faith, to the knowledge of God.¹ That the Divine revelation might descend to earth Israel should be the "People of the Ear," who heard God’s word, the "receiving station" for the "waves" out of eternity. Theirs should be a calling which should find its final centre and crown in this, that at last not only God’s word but God Himself should come, not only His prophets, but His Son (Hebrews 1:2). Thereby Israel becomes the place of arrival of the World-Redeemer, the bridge­head of His coming out of eternity, the home of the God- Anointed (Messiah), and through Him the birthplace of the Christian church. (John 4:22; Ephesians 2:19-20; Romans 11:17-18; Galatians 3:9Galatians 3:14). For the spread of salvation Israel should be God’s witness and mouth, the channel of the revelation of salvation, the standard- bearer of the truth, God’s herald among the nations. Herein lies its commission as prophet and missionary. The purport of its national history is associated with the universal:"in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3)².

Israel’s fall and God’s ways of Judgment

Israel has never answered to its calling. Therefore its history becomes both crisis and judgment. Nevertheless God, for the sake of Abraham, His friend, holds fast to His goal (Romans 11:16, Romans 11:24).

There were three principal periods of distress. Of these the first had the character of oppression only (Deuteronomy 4:20; Exodus 6:6), but the two others that especially of judgment (2 Kings 17:7-23; Jeremiah 32:31; Matthew 27:25. "Exile" = banishment). At the same time these principal periods of distress distribute themselves among the three chief branches of mankind since Noah, that is Ham, Shem, and Japheth. During these three periods the descendants of Abraham are out of their land, and the red line, speaking figuratively, sinks into the green area of the world of the nations. In Egypt it was the Hamites (Genesis 10:6), in western Asia, it was the Semitic Assyrians and Babylonians (Genesis 10:22), and, The captivity in Mesopotamia was in two stages: first, the ten-tribed kingdom, which had been separated from Judah after the death of Solomon (tenth century B.C.), was carried away by the Assyrians (destruction of Samaria 722 B.C.). From that time the ten tribes are missing and consequently have become the "lost" ten tribes. Then, a century-and-a-half later, came the judgment upon the southern kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and carried the population of the two-tribed kingdom to Babylonia (606, 597, 586 B.C.). In a double sense the Babylonian captivity endured seventy years, politically and religiously.

Strictly the carrying away of the southern kingdom to Babylon took place in three stages. It commenced with the first invasion by Nebuchadnezzar in the year 606 B.C., and thus exactly seventy years before the later return of the remnant from Babylon (536). The result of this first expedition was the taking away of Jehoiakim and the leading nobles of Judaea (2 Chronicles 36:5-7; Daniel 1:1-2). Then followed a second campaign of Nebuchadnezzar (597 B.C.,2 Kings 24:8-17; 2 Chronicles 36:9-10). By the third invasion, that led finally to the destruction of the capital, the general body of the population was brought to Babylon (586 B.C.,2 Kings 25:8-11). Thus although the whole captivity was not completed till 586 B.C. it had already begun in 606 B.C., and therefore it is entirely justified to reckon the Baby­lonian captivity from this first carrying away, so that from it till the return under Zerubbabel, by permission of the Persian king Cyrus (536), was exactly seventy years. But also the destruction of the temple had lasted seventy years. Here naturally the year 586, in which the temple itself was destroyed, must reckon as the starting point. The close of the seventy years thereafter would then be the year 516, and this is the very year in which—after twenty years of interrupted build­ing—the restored temple was consecrated and devoted to its true use. This was in the sixth year of Darius of Persia, whose reign began in 521 B.C.; thus it was 516 B.C. : comp. Ezra 6:15. Darius reigned from 521 to 485 B.C. In detail, to the three stages of the carrying away correspond three stages of the return.

First, there returned to Jerusalem, under Zerrubabel and Joshua, a chief part of the captivity of the southern kingdom, so as to rebuild the temple according to a decree of Cyrus, the king of Persia (536 B.C.). Only a small number of the Ten-tribed kingdom returned with them; the chief portion of them remained behind and are missing until the present day. Only at the restoration of Israel, immediately before the arrival of Messiah’s kingdom, will they emerge from among the nations (as, so to speak, the red band on die Chart reappearing from the green field of the nations). Then they will unite with the similarly new-appearing band of the Two-tribed kingdom (Ezekiel 37:15-22).

Seventy-eight years after the return under Zerubbabel, in the seventh year of the Persian king Artasasta (Artaxerxes I, 465— 424), thus in 458 B.C., there returned under Ezra a certainly smaller group (Ezra 7:7), and soon thereafter, only thirteen years later, in the twentieth year of Artasasta (445), Nehemiah came to Jerusalem to build again the city and the wall. At the same time this was the commencement of the Seventy weeks of Daniel leading on to Messiah (Daniel 9:25).³

Deeply affecting was the inward change experienced by the people during the captivity in Babylon. Until the exile Israel’s chief sin had been idolatry (Exodus 32:1-35; Judges 2:17; Judges 10:6; 1 Kings 11:5; 2 Kings 16:3-4); but now, largely under the powerful influence of Ezekiel, the "Moses of the Exile", the people were thoroughly healed of this sin. Since that time idolatry has never been a chief danger or cause of disaster. In Babylon Israel was healed of Babylon. Babylon itself, "the Mother of all harlotry and idolatry" (Revelation 17:5), became the place of healing for the harlot people, and Israel returned to its homeland as a renewed people of God. But then set in at once another false way. Life petrified. Dead formality gained the upper hand. Out of faith grew Orthodoxy, out of a striving after a holy walk with God came proud Pharisaism; and when Christ appeared, He, the crown and the star, the goal and the real meaning of its whole history, was rejected by the people and brought to the cross. In inconceiv­able blindness they themselves cried, "His blood come upon us and our children" (Matthew 27:25).

God has taken them at their word. Judgment broke in. First, in a.d. 70, Titus destroyed the city and temple. Then sixty- five years later, after repeated outbursts of Jewish opposition, in the bloody insurrection of the false Messiah Bar Kochbar (Son of the stars, with appeal to Numbers 24:17), and after desperate conflict, the whole political structure was smashed to pieces and the

Jews were exiled from the land by the emperor Hadrian. By this, as our Chart symbolically represents, the red thread of the Two-tribed kingdom was snapped and sunk into the green area of the nations, as was formerly the red band of the Ten-tribed kingdom (722 B.C.). Since then Israel has been subject to dis­persion and fearful sufferings and judgments (Deuteronomy 28:65; Deuteronomy 28:67).⁴ Israel’s Hope and Readmission But at the end of the time God will resume His dealings with Israel. Already tokens of this, flaming signs, are perceptible. The hand on God’s world clock nears the midnight hour. As regards Israel, up till now four chief events are especially prominent signs:

1791. Removal by the French National Assembly of all excep­tional laws against Jews. Consequent swift development of Jewish influence in politics, press, and high finance.

1897. The founding of Zionism, and therewith systematic endeavors for the return to the land of their fathers.

1917. The Balfour Declaration. Palestine declared to be the national home of the Jewish people under British protection.

1948. Founding of the State of Israel.

These are all signs of the times. They retain their significance even should there be backward movements (see 2 Thessalonians 2:7). (See the four dates on the Chart at the end of the green field of the nations, beneath the blue field of the seven golden Lamp- stands). But this is to be marked with them all: the restoration of Israel does not become a reality simply by fulfillment of these signs of the times. For the kingdom of God in no wise comes through human progress. It is not the outcome of activities and developments on earth, but it is the gift of and comes by the powerful working of the Most High from heaven (Daniel 7:13-14).

Thus also with Israel. Its last development before the open­ing of the kingdom of Messiah will pass through catastrophes. God’s judgment will be made manifest in the most terrific con­vulsions. The " great tribulation," the " time of Jacob’s trouble," will burst in (Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21; Matthew 24:29; Revelation 7:14; Jeremiah 30:7). But then Messiah will appear. The eyes of the remnant united in the land will be opened (Revelation 1:7; Zechariah 14:4). They will turn to the Lord with repentance (Zechariah 12:10; Isaiah 53:3-6), and Israel, as well as the nations of the world, will be inwardly renewed (Isaiah 11:1-10; Zephaniah 3:9).

Christ will rule. Crowned with the double crown, of silver and gold,⁵ (Zechariah 6:11-13), belonging to the royal priesthood of Melchizedek (Psalms 110:4; Hebrews 7:1-28), He will be the Divine King over Israel and the nations.

Conversion and reunion of Israel (Hosea 3:5; Isaiah 11:9; Ezekiel 37:15-23), renewal of the nations (Zephaniah 3:9), peace among the peoples (Micah 4:3-4), blessings upon nature (Isaiah 11:6-8; Hosea 2:23-23), heightened brightness of sun and moon (Isaiah 30:26)— these are some of the glories of that golden age. But finally the visible kingdom of God on the old earth will, by mighty acts of God, be brought over into the eternal and perfect condition of the new earth, in the eternal kingdom and eternal glory of God the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

Thus God reaches His goal. In reference to Israel also His grace triumphs (Romans 11:26, Romans 11:29). In spite of all detail crises God’s whole plan will be perfected. The pilgrim goal of Abraham shines undimmed. The saved descendants of the Patriarch—his bodily and spiritual seed through faith—share richly in the fulfillment of his longing. For Abraham expected the "city which has foundations, whose Creator and Builder is God" (Hebrews 11:10), "Jerusalem above, of gold most precious built." Truly, "The gifts of grace and the calling of God are not repented of" by Him. "Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom as well as the knowledge of God" (Romans 11:29, Romans 11:33). To Him, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (1 Kings 18:36, comp. 31), to Him, the God of the nations (Romans 3:29), "to Him, the King of the ages, the incorruptible, invisible, only God, be honor and glory from eternity to eternity. Amen!" (1 Timothy 1:17).

Notes

¹Comp. The Dawn of World Redemption, p. 92, section "God’s Wisdom," p. 151; Israel’s course as an Object lesson.

²See The Dawn of World Redemption, p. io8ff "Israel’s Call and Task." sincc the destruction of the Jewish State by Rome, it is especially the Japhetic nations in general, in whose lands the descendants of Abraham have had to dwell and under whose authority they have again and again been given up to violence and oppression. The oppression in Egypt took place in the second millennium before Christ (between about 1700 to 1500 B.C.).

³ This subject is treated more fully in The Dawn 0f World Redemption, p. 159f.

⁴ See The Triumph of the Crucified, p. 137, for a list of the greatest catastrophes and periods of distress in Israel’s history since a.d. 70.

⁵ See the gold and silver crown on the Chart in the last green area of the middle section. Gold, as it were the "red" metal, is the symbol of royalty (comp, red purple). Silver, the "white" metal, is the symbol of priesthood. In the Mosaic temple service it is plainly the color of the priesdy garments as referring to the holiness and purity, spirituality and light of the Divine and Eternal to which the priesthood stood in special relation.