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Ongoing series:
- Israel’s Covenants and the Kingdom
- Separation of the Church from Israel
- Reconnecting the Church to Israel
- God’s Kingdom and the Restoration of Israel
Part 1: Tracing Israel’s Journey: From Abraham to Christ, a Story of Faith, Promise, and Redemption
The Father of Faith
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Yeshua,
It can be said that Israel’s origins begin with Abraham, the father of faith, as Paul states, “It is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16, NKJV). God desired that Abram become a source of blessing to the whole world, setting before him a moral imperative to obey His commandment to leave everything of this world behind.
The Abrahamic Covenant
Nearly two thousand years before the advent of Christ, the Lord God made a covenant with Abraham, promising to make of him a great nation and a company of nations: “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” (Genesis 12:2-3).
This great nation, yet to be named, was then promised a sizeable piece of land as an eternal inheritance. The Lord said to Abraham, “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered” (Genesis 13:14-16).
These first two promises laid the foundation for God’s Kingdom, a great nation that would lead a company of nations to inherit God’s creation. But who was to govern these earthly kings? Presumably, Abraham understood that God alone would be crowned the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:8-10). However, the progressive fulfillment of Israel becoming that nation that would serve as the foundation for God’s Kingdom would not happen for another four hundred years.
The Covenant Reaffirmed with Isaac and Jacob
God reaffirmed His covenant with Isaac and later Jacob, whom He renamed Israel. The Lord spoke to Jacob, saying, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:28). Here in Genesis, for the first time, we hear the name “Israel” given by God Himself to Jacob, the patriarch of twelve sons who would become the twelve tribes of Israel.
The meaning of the name “Israel” is complex and multifaceted. It is derived from two verbs, sara (שרה), meaning “to become rigid from the retention of liquidity,” and yashar (ישר), meaning “to be upright,” straight,” or “level.” These two verbs are combined with the noun ‘el (אל), as in ‘elohim (אלהים), also known as ‘eloah (אלה), and the name for God. If we understand the deeper meaning, the Lord declared that He would make through Israel a straight path for all the nations to walk in.
As promised to Abraham, God remembered His covenant with the children of Israel, and four hundred years later, delivered them from their bondage and slavery in Egypt. We read, “Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ‘This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you’” (Exodus 12:1-2). “So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance” (Exodus 12:14).
On that glorious day, Israel became a mighty nation, and God initiated the fulfillment of His promises given to Abraham. As we read, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2); “And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions” (Genesis 15:14). I say “initiated” because Israel would not realize the fullness of her inheritance until the very end of the age. Even during the reign of King Solomon (the man of peace), Israel would not see the entirety of her land and more. Israel was not yet a kingdom of priests as the Lord had promised, saying, “’And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel” (Exodus 19:6). Not until Christ would come (the prince of peace) and take His rightful throne over Israel would she see the fullness of every promise and inheritance of God.
From Moses to the Kings
As foretold, God delivered Israel’s descendants from the bondage of slavery in Egypt into the land He promised to Abraham. The promise of land for a select group of people to receive this land as an eternal inheritance tells us that God’s Kingdom is as much material as spiritual. But Paul said that the spiritual is not first, but the natural, so there is an order to God’s redemptive plans for Israel and the establishment of His Kingdom.
SOURCE: HOUSE OF DAVID MINISTRIES
- Israel’s Covenants and the Kingdom (July ) 2 Parts
- Separation of the Church from Israel (August)
- Reconnecting the Church to Israel (September)
- God’s Kingdom and the Restoration of Israel (October)
