EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the second in a 10-part series on Romans 9:4-5 exploring Israel’s relationship with God and what it means for the rest of humanity. The views expressed in this series are the author’s and are not necessarily endorsed by Modern Day Missions.
The Israelites were a race of people who Yahweh, the one true God of the universe, set apart for himself to inaugurate his redemptive plan for humanity. His purpose was to dwell among people and speak to them at a time when the world perceived God to be either distant or unknowable. Yahweh also wanted to train a group of people to live by his values so that the world could observe them and learn to live in a manner opposite the rebellion and depravity that was virtually unrestrained.
Yahweh wanted the inhabitants of the earth to observe — from the outside looking in — the righteousness of the Israelite community and to recognize that the rest of the world was grossly dysfunctional by comparison. Yahweh wanted the outside world to be envious of the people who he set apart for himself and long to be a part of their community. He wanted the world to admire the Hebrew lifestyle and seek to emulate that lifestyle — if not join the community. God would allow anyone willing to live according to his wholesome values to join the Israelite community.
Thousands of years later Israel was first founded, Yahweh took his invitation to the world a step further. Instead of waiting for non-Hebrews (or Jews) to reach out to his people to become a part of their community, he sent a collection of his people (who he designated his messengers, or “apostles”) throughout the world to invite every person from every ethnic group, every language group and every nation to have fellowship with him right where they are. He promised that if they were to receive conciliation with him, he would teach them his wholesome, life-affirming values both through the indwelling of his very spirit within them and the scriptures he gave the Jews to teach and remind them how to live a godly life.
Raymond Billy is a discipleship overseer with Youth With A Mission in Kona, Hawaii.
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