Manifestation of
The Heavenly Kingdom (2) The
Choosing Of Israel
From
the Old Testament we see that the origins of earthly kingdoms all carry the
element of arrogance of Man elevating himself and rejecting God. Of course, the
establishment of kingdoms also progressed through political, economic, social,
military and cultural components. During the patriarchs¡¦ period (Genesis Ch.
12-50), there already existed the various rulers of Egypt and Canaan, such as
in the kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrah. The earliest international conflict
recorded in the Bible was the battle between the four kings and the five kings
in Genesis Ch. 14. At the same time, God started searching mankind for someone
in His favour with whom to set up a covenant, so that through him and his
descendants God¡¦s plan for salvation and His eternal Kingdom might be
displayed. In the end, through Abram¡¦s faith and submission, the Lord¡¦s will
was able to be carried out in the land. When God called on Abram, he had not
yet had a son through Sarai. But God promised him, ¡§I will make you
into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you
will be a blessing.¡¨ (Genesis 12:2) God wanted to make a covenant with him, so
that he would be the father of many nations, his descendants would be
multitudinous, nations would be formed through him, and kings would come from
him. (17:4,6) God also said, ¡§Abraham will surely become a great and powerful
nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.¡¨ (18:18)
When
it came time for Abraham¡¦s grandson Jacob, God again promised him, ¡§I am God
Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of
nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body.¡¨ (35:11) It can
be seen that the Lord¡¦s will for His Kingdom continued to be brought
progressively to light through the persons of Abraham¡¦s descendents. From the
following passages, we can discern God¡¦s later plan for His Kingdom through His
choosing of Israel:
1. The revelation
shown through God¡¦s naming of Jacob as Israel ¡V ¡§Israel¡¨ means ¡§The Prince of
God¡¨ or ¡§He rules like God¡¨. Jacob saw God face to face but kept his life, and
even received a new name from the Lord. From the meaning of the name it is
obvious that God wanted to relay intimations on governing a nation through him.
(32:28-30) ¡§God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer
be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So He named him Israel.¡¨
(35:10) This clearly indicates that God wants to use His chosen people on earth
to be the testimony for His glory, able to govern His Kingdom.
2. Israel is also
called the divisions of Jehovah ¡V ¡§At the end of the 430 years, to the very
day, all the Lord's divisions left Egypt.¡¨ (Exodus 12:41) Jehovah is indeed the
king of this army. God wants to lead His people.
3. From Moses¡¦ song
of praises to God, we see that God is a warrior and a king ¡V ¡§The Lord is a
warrior; the Lord is His name. ¡§ (Exodus 15:3) ¡§The Lord will reign for ever
and ever.¡¨ (Exodus 15:18) We observe the longing of Man for God to be King.
4. When God
redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt, and decreed the Law to them at Mount
Sinai through Moses, He told them, ¡§You will for me be a kingdom of priests and
a holy nation.¡¨ (Exodus 19:6) God wants the Israelites to be a holy nation belonging
to Him on earth, and to be His witnesses.
When God picked Israel and his descendants to be His chosen
people, the progression of His plan for salvation and eternal kingdom moved
forward a step. His wish is to bring Man into the Kingdom of His beloved Son
from the power of darkness, and to call Man back to Him as a holy nation, so
that they can serve and revere this eternal ruler.
By: Daniel To