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MERCY DAWNS IN ISRAEL
38. Q. Did God, on seeing our sin, at first just leave us alone? A. No. God is love, and as such he could not leave us alone to destroy ourselves and the world. 39. Q. Did God then just overlook our sin as if it did not matter? A. No. God is just and righteous. If he had merely overlooked human sin he would not have been righteous. He had to judge it and yet also he had a great desire to forgive us our sin. His ultimate purpose was to bear our sin, pain and death in himself. 40. Q. How did he begin to do this? A. God began to draw near to the world in judgement and forgiveness through his choice of one people (Israel) and one land. This began in God's call to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The purpose of this was eventually to reveal his will and bring salvation to all peoples and all lands. The Bible calls Israel 'the chosen people'. They were chosen first to be the bearers of God's Word to the world. The Old and New Testaments came to us largely through them. Jesus himself was a man of Israel. They were chosen secondly to be the means by which God would draw all the sin of humankind to himself. We see this supremely in the cross of Christ, where their sin reached its terrible climax. 41. Q. Did he choose Israel because they were better than the other nations? A. No. Israel was a sinful people like any other people. So as God drew near to them through his Word and Spirit they rebelled and struggled against God. In fact the name Israel means 'One who struggles with God'. The uniqueness of the Jewish people is rooted in the special intensity of God's relationship with them as more and more he bound himself to them, revealing his heart of holy love in the context of their unbelief and sin. 42. Q. How do we see this in their history? A. Many times they turned to worship the false gods of their neighbours, trusting foreign military alliances, and adopting pagan customs. 43. Q. Did God then give them up? A. No. He continued to draw near to them in love and righteousness through his Word, and this led to their long ordeal of suffering alternating between rebellion and repentance, judgement and forgiveness. God expresses his judgement by scattering Israel from the promised land to distant parts of the earth. Conversely he expresses his mercy by bringing them back to the land from every part of the world. This is a major theme of the Old Testament prophets. In the New Testament Jesus warns that just as he is to die at their hands so their nation will die and again they will be banished from the land. He says that there will be a time again when Jerusalem is trodden on by the Gentile nations but strongly hints that this time will come to an end. The apostle Paul too says that in the last days there will be new life for Israel. The final restoration of Israel is likened in the Bible to a resurrection. Just as they were drawn into 'death' so they are drawn into a 'resurrection'. This is part of God's loving purpose for all humankind. 44. Q. Was it only Israel that suffered? A. No. God himself suffered the grief of rejected love throughout their history. 45. Q. How actually did God draw near to them? A. There are many ways in which he did this but here are two of the most important ways: (a) He was their Redeemer. In calling Israel his firstborn son, he identified himself with Israel and redeemed them from slavery in Egypt. He also gave them a system of animal sacrifices which demonstrated his judgement on sin and his forgiveness for sin, in redemption. (b) He gave them the written law which as far as possible for something written, is a reflection of the will of God for our fellow human beings. The law deals with our relationship to God, and the world in which we live. The most important part of the law is what we call the Ten Commandments. 46. Q. How did Israel come to understand God's relationship with them? A. God sent them prophets to bring his Word to them. He gave them kings to show his care, discipline and protection to them, and he gave them priests to administer the system of sacrifices. REFERENCES 38. Gen. 3:21; 8:22; Matt. 5:44-45; Jer. 31:34-37; Hos. 11:8. 39. Ex. 34:6-7; Ps. 96:13; 98:9; Gen. 18:25; 2 Tim. 4:8; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 20:13; Dan. 9:9; 2 Chron. 7:14; Ps. 32:1; 86:5; 103:3. 40. Gen. 12:1-4; 13:14-15; 15:5; 18; 22:15-18; 32:25-30; Gal. 3:14-29; 1 Chron. 16:14-18. 41. Gen 32:25-30; Deut. 7:6-11; 9:4-7; Ezek. 12:2; Deut. 31:27; Matt. 23:37; Chron. 17:21-22; Amos. 3:1-2. 42. Hos. 4; Acts 7:51-52. 43. Hos. 11:1-10; Jer. 30,31; Deut. 28:64-67; 30:3-7; Matt. 21:33-43; 24:1-2; Luke 13:34-35; 21:20-24; Rom. 11:11-15, 25-29. 44. Matt. 23:37; Hos. 11:1-10; 3:1; Ps. 95:10. 45. Ex. 6:6; Ps. 78:35; Is. 41:14; 48:17; Ex. 4:22-23; Lev. 16; Ex. 20; 19:20; Deut. 1:5; Ps. 119:1; 19:7. 46. Jer. 1:4; Deut. 17:14-20; 1 Sam. 9-10; Ex. 28-39.
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