Three Phases or Periods of Time Israel God Rules in the Old Testament Establishment SlaveryExodusWilderness Conquest of Canaan Kings ExileReturnProphets The Church and Israel The New Testament Teaching ID: 698020
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Slide1
What is Israel?A Search for Meaning in Biblical Times and TodaySlide2
Three Phases or Periods of Time
Israel (“God Rules”) in the Old TestamentEstablishmentSlavery/Exodus/Wilderness
Conquest of CanaanKingsExile/Return/ProphetsThe Church and Israel
The New Testament Teaching
Israel After Jewish-Roman War
The Modern State of IsraelSlide3
Israel in the OT - Establishment
Unique Story of a NationUnlike any other narrative of a people groupBegins not with Israel per se, but all humanity (will cover in more detail in the next class)
Formation From Sinners by God’s Unilateral PromiseGenesis 12:1-3: “Get
out of your
country…to a
land that I will show you
. I
will make you a great nation
; I
will bless
you and
make your name great
; and
you shall be a blessing
. I
will bless those who bless you
, and
I will curse him who curses you
; and
in you
all the families of the earth
shall be blessed
.”
Stresses God choosing them, not vice versa
Abraham from Ur of
the ChaldeansSlide4
Israel in the OT - Establishment
Israel’s “Founding Fathers”Jacob as Usurper/Supplanter, Liar, Thief
Dinah/Shechem Incident (Simeon and Levi)Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38)Joseph Story
Israel Commits Grave Sin
Joseph Puts Trust in God
Joseph
“stands outside” IsraelSlide5
Israel in the OT – Slavery/Exodus
SlaveryIsrael “pays the price” for selling JosephMoses rises up as leader of the people
Plagues visited upon PharaohExodusGod delivers Israel through the Red SeaCentral story throughout the entire BibleSlide6
Israel in the OT – Wilderness
Wilderness Events/MotifKey to understanding biblical thoughtImportant Highlights
Israel brought out of Egypt by miracleWandering in the wilderness, grumblingGiving of the Mosaic Law (twice)Worshipping idolsSlide7
Israel in the OT – Wilderness
Important Highlights (continued)Numbers 14:13-20 (paraphrased): “And Moses said to the
Lord…’If You kill these people (Israel) as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, “Because the
Lord
was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness
.”’ Then
the
Lord
said:
‘I
have pardoned, according to your word;
but
truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the
Lord
—
because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice,
they
certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.
But
My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it
.” (continued on next slide)Slide8
Israel in the OT – Wilderness
Important Highlights (continued)God spares the people for His own sake, not theirsAlthough God pardoned He still punished
The one allowed by Him to enter was Caleb (‘dog’)“Moral of the (Wilderness/Exodus) Story”There is only one who is good: God
God’s people, even after witnessing His miracles and mercy, continuously reject Him
The point of our lives is not to be in the Promised Land, but to obey God’s
commandmentsSlide9
Israel in the OT – Conquest of Canaan
Differing AccountsIn the book of Joshua (part 1)In the book of Joshua (part 2)
In the book of JudgesArchaeological evidenceWhat do we make of this? What is the point?Slide10
Israel in the OT – In the Promised Land
Spurning GodAppointment of judges to hear casesIsrael’s desire for a king
1 Samuel 8:4-22 (summarized): Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations
.’ But
the thing displeased Samuel when they said,
‘Give
us a king to judge us
.’
So Samuel prayed to the
Lord
.
And
the
Lord
said to Samuel,
‘Heed
the voice of the people in all that they say to you;
for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me
, that I should not reign over them.
According
to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also.
Now
therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them
.’ (continued on next slide)Slide11
Israel in the OT – In the Promised Land
1 Samuel 8:4-22 (continued): ”So
Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, ‘This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots.
He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.
And
he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.
He
will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants.
And
he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young
men,
and
your donkeys, and put them to his work.
He
will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.
And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the
Lord
will not hear you in that day
.’ Nevertheless
the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said,
‘No
, but we will have a king over us,
that
we also may be like all the nations
, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles
.’ And
Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the
Lord
. So
the
Lord
said to Samuel,
‘Heed
their voice, and make them a king
.’Slide12
Israel in the OT – In the Promised Land
Spurning GodIsrael wants to be like other nationsIsrael rejects God’s rule over them
What Happens with the King(s)?Exactly what God said would happen!!!Solomon builds God a house/TempleNotably, Solomon’s house is bigger/better
Rapid
descension
/moral decline
Complete neglect/forgetfulness of GodSlide13
Israel in the OT – In the Promised Land
Forgetting God2 Kings 22:3-13: “Now it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent
Shaphan the scribe…to the house of the Lord, saying: ‘Go
up to
Hilkiah
the high priest, that he may count the money which has been brought into the house of the
Lord
, which the doorkeepers have gathered from the
people…to
buy timber and hewn stone to repair the
house.’ Then
Hilkiah
the high priest said to
Shaphan
the scribe,
‘
I
have found the Book of the Law in the house of the
Lord
.’
And
Hilkiah
gave the book to
Shaphan
, and he read it.
So
Shaphan
the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word,
saying…’
Hilkiah
the priest has given me a book
.’
And
Shaphan
read it before the
king.
Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes.
Then
the king commanded
Hilkiah
the priest,
Ahikam
the son of
Shaphan
,
Achbor
the
son of
Michaiah
,
Shaphan
the scribe, and
Asaiah
a servant of the king, saying,
‘
Go
, inquire of the
Lord
for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the
Lord
that is aroused against us,
because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book
, to do according to all that is written concerning us
.’”Slide14
Israel in the OT – In the Promised Land
Forgetting GodThe book of the Mosaic Law had been lost!!!Israel had been continuously disobedient to God
Disobedience Leads to ExpulsionJust as God expelled inhabitants before Israel(First) Temple is destroyedPeople taken into captivity/exileSlide15
Israel in the OT – Prophets
PropheciesHighlighted God’s continued goodness to IsraelStressed Israel’s persistent rejection of God
Focused on God’s desire to redeem Israel (because of his unilateral promise to Abraham), but also emphasized the Gentiles would be included in God’s plan of salvation (which, remember, was part of the original promise)
Predicted God would raise up a Messiah to lead the people
and restore them to GodSlide16
Israel in the OT – Prophets
Ezekiel 47:21-23 (God’s instruction upon returning to the land): “’Thus you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.
It shall be that you will divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves, and for the strangers who dwell among you and who bear children among you. They shall be to you as native-born among the children of Israel
; they shall have an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
And
it shall be that in whatever tribe the stranger dwells,
there you shall give him his inheritance
,’
says the Lord
God
.”
Notice how the inhabitants of the land are included or subsumed within God’s people, according to the prophetic teachingSlide17
Israel in the NT – Jesus
Jesus as MessiahChrist/Messiah/Anointed One (Matthew 1)Includes the GentilesTeaches subjecting the Romans not by military might but by the peaceful “sword” of the Gospel
Important Teachings of Jesus on GentilesParable of the Vineyard (Mark 12)Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20)
Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15)Slide18
Israel in the NT – Jesus
Important Teachings of the Gospel on PeaceMatthew 26:52: “Jesus said to [Peter], ‘Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will
perish by the sword.’”Story of Barabbas (Mark 15)Road to Emmaus (Luke 24)Slide19
Israel in the NT – St Paul
Emphasis on Putting Trust in GodSummarized well in Galatians 3:26-29: “ For you are all sons of God through
faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek
, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male
and
female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus
.
And
if you are Christ’s, then you are
Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise
.”Slide20
Israel in the NT – St Paul
Gentiles Included in the One Community of God, IsraelRomans 9:6-7: “But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor
are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’”Galatians 6:16: “And as many as walk according to this
rule” (of faith), “peace
and mercy be upon them, and upon the
Israel
of
God
.”Slide21
Israel and the Jewish-Roman War
Defining/Breaking Point Between Christians and JewsPrior to war, Christians and Jews not distinctWar to fight Roman occupation of Jerusalem
Christians refused to participate (because of Jesus’ teaching)Christians and Jews considered distinct groupsSecond Temple destroyedSlide22
Israel and the Church
The Church Views Itself as the Rightful Inheritor of God’s PromisesRemember teachings of prophetsRemember teaching of Paul
There is no “Israel” apart from the ChurchThe “curse” and the “blessing” of those promises in light of the biblical storySlide23
Israel and Palestine Today
From the perspective of the Church(Biblical) Israel is not a “Jewish state,” but the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church,” which is found throughout all the nations
Repudiation of the idea of “two covenants”/dispensationsThe Messiah has already come!Violence is only permitted—and even then hesitatingly so—for the purpose of self-defense
Human rights/dignity of ALL people must be protectedSlide24
Summary
Israel established by God’s unilateral promiseDespite God’s favor, Israel (both Israel in the Old Testament and the individual members of the Church) is consistently disobedient to GodGod, because of His own goodness and for His own name’s sake, unilaterally decided to redeem Israel
God, because of His own goodness, also decided to include the Gentiles in His plan of salvationGod’s plan requires us to view all people as our equals—i.e. there is no “them” vs “us”