What Was the Purpose of the Jewish Nation
“What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” Rom 3:1-2
In this Blog, I want to address the question: What was (not is) the purpose of the Jewish Nation?
Now while many Christians, both Dispensational and Covenantal, believe that the Nation of Israel still has some part to play in God's Eternal Plan, I will not be dealing with that topic in this Blog.
This Blog will simply answer the above question, “What was the purpose of the Jewish Nation?”
I will answer it under two (2) points:
Firstly, they were to be a pure human linage for the Christ.
Secondly, they were to be the custodians of God's Written Revelation.
Both of those are found in Rom 3:1-2.
The pure human linage is found in the statement about circumcision, and they being the custodians of God's Written Revelation is clearly stated in the verse.
The overall plan of God follows this line of events: God elected people in eternity past whom he would save, he created the heavens and the earth, Adam and Eve sinned, God revealed the promised Savior as “the seed of the woman”, the descendants of Seth followed God, God saved Noah who was a descendant of Seth, time goes on, and then God calls Abraham out of paganism, and nation of Israel follows from him by Isaac and then Jacob, by way of Egypt and the Exodus.
God then gives the Israelites Laws:
The pre-exisiting Moral Law is written down as the Ten Commandments.
He gives them Civil Laws to govern the nation.
He gives them The Ceremonial Law, so they can worship him correctly, and show them the work of the Messiah who was to come.
The Moral Law, because it reveals God's own moral character, obviously existed before it was written down as the Ten Commandments.
The Civil Law was to promote a well ordered society, and keep them separate from the pagan nations around them.
The Ceremonial Law, as an expansion of the 2nd Commandment, told them how to worship (The Regulative Principle), and also revealed the sacrificial work of the Savior who was to come.
There is overlap between the Civil Law and the Ceremonial Law in things like circumcision and prohibitions to mix with the pagans around them.
Regarding the first point, that the Jewish Nation was to provide a pure human linage for the Christ.
Broadly speaking, God revealed himself to Abraham and called him out of Ur of the Chaldees (Gen 12) where he had been an idol worshiper, probably astrology, thinking the stars were spirit beings who controlled affairs on earth (Jos 24:1-3). The point being, God separated Abraham from Error: there is Truth and Error; Truth and Lie.
Truth is of God; Lie is of the Devil.
Regarding the Devil:
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” Joh 8:44
Compared with the following which regard Jesus:
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Joh 14:6
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” Joh 17:17
God calls Abraham out of The Lie, and leads him into Truth. He sets Abraham up as the head of the Jewish nation, and then after the Exodus, gives commands to them by Moses, to not do what the pagan/heathen nations do; to not mix with them, to not inter-marry, to not do religion as they do, etc, etc.
“Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.” Exo 34:11-16
“When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” Deu 12: 29-32
Inter-marriage would have made the Jewish nation impure, and the blood line of the Messiah questionable. But that did not happen, his linage is absolutely known, being tracable back to David, and then Abraham, and finally to Adam, on both his mother Mary's side and his “father” Joseph's side; not biological father, but step father. That is why the Holy Spirit is so careful to record Jesus genealogies in Mat 1 and Luk 3. There is NO DOUBT at all regarding Jesus linage: he is pure Jew!
This is absolutely important because all of the prophecies regarding Messiah (which is the Hebrew word for “Anointed One”; “Christ” being the Greek equivalent) are that he is a Jew, born of David's linage!
Those prophecies given to the world, via the Jewish Prophets, clearly said God would send the Savior through the Jewish nation. The Savior of the world was to be a Jew, and Jesus was pure Jew!
That certainly made the Jewish nation important.
And God gave circumcision as the sign of that covenant, the mark which was to distinguish the Jew from the pagan.
“This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.” Gen 17:10-11
The second purpose of the Jewish nation, was to be the custodians of God's Written Revelation, and of course we are speaking here of the Old Testament.
Obviously the 2 purposes go hand-in-hand.
God gave his written word exclusively to the Jewish Nation: to no other nation, only to them; a Sovereign and exclusive choice on his part.
And as the custodians, they were to keep it un-tainted from error, from additions or subtractions, and it is well known, to their credit, how careful the Jews were when making copies of the Scriptures.
The pure Word of Truth; the pure human linage .
And in order for that Truth would be preserved, it was written down. Oral History is corrupted, changing as it is told and retold, time after time. We all know “The Telephone Game!”
We see this among the Angave people, how there are many versions of the same story, with each person or clan insisting theirs is the correct one! The Angave people know that their stories are corrupted, and for that reason they have a great reverence for the Bible, simply because it is written: If it is written down, it cannot change, it has remained the same for all of human history.
If only all of the “wise” ones of the World (1Co 1 and 2) would have ½ the wisdom that the “primitive” Angave have, they would acknowledge the Bible as the preserved Word of God, instead of caviling over imagined inconsistencies and errors, seeking to “discover” the true text by means of their “critical analysis.”
All Reformation Era Creeds and Confessions have statements similar to this from the Westminster Confession of Faith:
“The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which, at the time of the writing of it, was most generally known to the nations), being immediately inspired by God, and, by His singular care and providence, kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical; ...”
The Bible is crystal clear: There is One God, he made everything out of nothing, and as creator he gave laws to Adam, but he disobeyed, and mankind died, but God in mercy sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for the sins of, and then give new life to, any and all, who in humble confession acknowledge that they are sinners (dead/defective within) and therefore do sins (the actions which flow out of that death/defect), and ask for forgiveness, pardon, and life.
God gave the Jewish nation the job of preserving the purity of the Old Testament, so that that message would not be corrupted, and that message is clearly revealed in the Old Testament
“ … chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.”
CHIEFLY – first in order of time, because it is first in order of importance; their primary job, we can almost say their only job, was to maintain the purity of the Scriptures. In doing that, they followed what was written, and accomplished their other function, the maintenance of a pure human linage for the Messiah.
For more on the preservation of the Scriptures, see my Blog entitled: “Bible Versions and Manuscripts”
Having looked at the Purpose of the Jewish Nation, I want to explain why I said, “What was (not is) the purpose of the Jewish Nation?”
“... was (not is) ...”
Both of those purposes ended when Jesus was born!
From that time on, if the human linage of the Jewish Nation was corrupted, it would not effect God's Plan: Christ had been born of David.
From that time on, the work of the sacrificial system, which was to point to the one time death of Christ was done. This is a major theme of the Book of Hebrews. It was so done, that God allowed/caused the Temple to be destroyed, so that the Old Testament Sacrificial System could never ever be continued, thereby showing in no uncertain terms that it was DONE! If you are Jewish, you need to consider that fact.
What ever God will do to/for the Jewish Nation in the future, as part of his End of History Plan; what ever part they will play; whatever will happen to them; one thing is crystal clear, their special work of being a pure human line for the Christ, and their work as the preservers of the written scriptures is over.
The Gospel message, the Eternal Plan of God was always to save people from “every kindred, tribe, and nation,” and it is for that reason all of the inhabitants of heaven sing endless praise to the Lord Jesus.
“God so loved the world.”
“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped him that liveth for ever and ever.” Rev 5:6-14
22 August 2024