In our day there are many evangelical believers
who are joining the chorus of those who deny a future for Israel or who deny
that she will ever be the special nation God had once desired her to be. “Replacement theology” (Supersessionism or fulfillment
theology) believes the promises given to Israel, and specifically through
the covenant with Abraham, have now been transferred to the Church. They take words of Scripture once believed
literally by Israel and spiritualize them to make them the property of the
Church.
We do not mention this here to deal with it in
any detail. Suffice it to say that Rom.
11:25-26 and the whole argument of Romans 9-11 makes this position
untenable. But our reason for mentioning
it here is to say that they are not the first to think that God was so fed up
with Israel as to be finished with them.
The original supersessionists
were the Edomites. After the city of
Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians and was burned and the temple destroyed, the
people of Edom stood off to the side, licking their chops, ready to take
possession of the Promised Land as
soon as the Babylonian army disappeared.
Edom had an ancient
hatred with Israel. Some of it could
probably be traced to Esau and Jacob.
But it showed up in the matter of the land. God had given Mt. Seir to Edom (Deut.
2:5). When Israel came to take her
inheritance the people of Edom would not allow them to cross their land to get
there (Num. 20:14-21). Together with
Ammon and Moab the Edomites has tried to throw Israel out of the land in the
days of Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20:10-13) but God had not allowed it. But now the old envy came up when Israel
seemed to be reduced to nothing. Their
God had brought about their destruction and desolation. Surely, the Edomites thought, the land will
now be ours.
But God was not finished with Israel. There was yet a remnant. The mountains
of Israel against whom Ezekiel had preached earlier (Ezek. 6:2) he now
preaches that God is for them (36:9),
that the now-desolate land will again flourish, and the people will return and
flourish in the land. The taunts of
those who deny Israel’s uniqueness among the nations will be heard no more
(36:15)!
Is Israel today that flourishing nation
prophesied by Ezekiel? No, certainly
not. What is seen in Israel today is a
modern miracle as many have said. But
they are still hurting or bereaving themselves.
They are still tormented by the nations and bear the anti-Semitic reproach
of the world. Israel as a nation does
not know the Lord as Ezekiel speaks
of here.
But that is not to say God is not at work in
Israel. The first major step to saving
Israel is to regather her to the land.
That is the miracle of Israel today.
God is bringing the scattered people from the nations to which they were
driven. That is a testimony to the word of God, a modern testimony that God is
not finished with Israel.
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