The Israel of God - part 2
Reviewing the History of Israel with a "new" lens (i.e. perspective or point of view) we find that there are TWO streams flowing down through the history of Israel that have relevance all the way to this day and age. There are many verses that come to play in establishing this "new" lens. In many cases, you will have read various verses I will reference. I am going to bring special attention to considering the specific audiences referenced or identified in various verses.
I am going to start with the verses that I think most clearly define and distinguish the two major audiences that affect your understanding of the title Israel. These two audiences are not the ONLY audiences. They are just the two most important ones.
Please keep an open mind. Most have already resolved some of the references I will provide to a particular conceptualization of who or what they refer to. Try to clear out any current ideas or assumptions you have about the verses I refer to and consider a new way of looking at them. I won't be able to quote all the passages I reference, but I encourage you to pause and read the references as you consider this post.
Ezekiel 37:15–22 (NASB95)
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15 The word of the LORD came again to me saying, 16 “And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ 17 “Then join them for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 “When the sons of your people speak to you saying, ‘Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?’ 19 say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”’ 20 “The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. 21 “Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms.
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This is a prophecy pointed to the End Times. There are two sticks which represent two kingdoms which will be united into one kingdom in the hand of one who joins them in His hand. Let's look very closely at the two kingdoms.
Stick of Judah - Kingdom of Judah (Southern Kingdom)
FOR: Judah and the SONS of Israel, his companions
Stick of Joseph in Ephraim's Hand - Kingdom of Ephraim (Northern Kingdom)
FOR: Joseph and all the HOUSE of Israel, his companions
The stick of Judah refers to the SONS (S1121 - indicates children by birth) of Israel. This points more exclusively towards lineal descendants. This is a kingdom that still exists at the time of Ezekiel 37. They are in captivity, but they can still be seen as a nation of people.
The stick of Joseph in Ephraim's hand refers to the HOUSE (S1004 - indicates a household that contains a family) of Israel. This points to a potentially broader idea of a "house" that can contain natural born and adopted children. This is a kingdom that does not exist at the time of Ezekiel 37.
Let us further consider the exact timing of when this prophetic word is given. It is written while Judah (the southern kingdom plus a small remnant of the northern kingdom) is in captivity in Babylon. This has a major impact on our understanding. The Northern Kingdom (aka Israel or Ephraim) has already been destroyed and cast out by God by means of DIVORCE (Jeremiah 3:6-8; Hosea 1:4). The divorce of the Northern Kingdom made them OUTCAST rather than just DISPERSED/SCATTERED like the Southern Kingdom (See Isaiah 11:12).
So, here in Ezekiel 37:15-22, we have God speaking to the Northern Kingdom that DOES NOT EXIST as though they DO EXIST. This DIVORCE I am referring to was not partially executed against the Northern Kingdom. It was fully executed. This means that the Northern Kingdom fully lost its status with God. They were no longer His people (this is equivalent to saying they were no longer a spouse).
So, why is God speaking to a group of people who no longer belong to Him. It is bizarre, but it matches what God says in Hosea 1:8-11. Paul quotes this passage in Romans 9 and indicates that it points to us (i.e. christians).
Romans 9:23–26 (NASB95)
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23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. 25 As He says also in Hosea, “I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, ‘MY PEOPLE,’ AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, ‘BELOVED.’” 26 “AND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID TO THEM, ‘YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE,’ THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.”
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So at the time of this prophetic word in Ezekiel 37, God is speaking to an audience that (at some level) does not exist anymore. God is going to interact with this audience under their DIVORCED status. Don't think I am crazy...
. God says this himself in Isaiah 50:1-2 ("where is your mother's bill of divorcement) speaking to a future audience there as well.
So, there are two different kinds of audiences identified by Scripture that both have some level of association to the title "Israel". I believe these are best thought of as two separate sub-groupings in a single family. God prophetically indicates that these two sub-groupings (Judah and Ephraim) will exist right up to the very end of this age at which time they will be reunited.
Many people have referred to this in the following manner.
1. The Jews who are represented by those we see in modern day Israel plus the Jews who are still part of the diaspora (living outside of modern day Israel)
2. The 10 Lost Tribes of Israel who were "lost" when the Northern Kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrian empire and dispersed into various parts of the Assyrian empire.
I am proposing a new way of looking at these two sub-groupings.
1. Lineal descendants of Judah (aka Jews) and lineal descendants of the remnant of the Northern Kingdom that joined the Southern Kingdom when the Northern Kingdom was destroyed.
2. Lineal descendants of the Northern Kingdom that was carried away by the Assyrian Empire and other Gentiles who are grafted in to the "Israel of God" by way of Jesus Christ. These are those who are "called out of the world" (aka ekklessia) and it is not an exclusive grouping that includes more than just lineal descendants.
I have not attempted to replug the theological holes some may think I have opened up with this way of looking at these audiences. I have been looking at this for quite some time and I do not believe I have broken core theology of the Word of God. I am breaking some interpretations which are not core theology, but the best understanding of men. For example, this way of looking at these audiences affects most people's view of "dispensational theology". There are still some dispensations, but it reframes things.
Instead of "(A) Israel versus (B) the Church", it is "(A) the part of Israel which descends from Judah and whose hearts remain hardened until the time of reconciliation AND (B) the part of Israel which includes all those of the House of Israel who have been grafted in through Jesus Christ".
Next I will start laying out the scripture and history that paints this picture from the Word of God itself. I have already started to point at a few key references that Paul uses which match with this way of looking at the Israel of God.
Matt