2. The Purpose for Natural Israel
The
bloodline of natural Israel was established to fulfill three major purposes,
all closely related. The first and
most obviously stated purpose in the Old Covenant was that there be a people
physically separated from all other people to be identified by the worship of
the one true God—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
This purpose speaks to realities less obvious today, but very obvious at the time of Israel’s inception—namely, that a people was known by its gods (idols). This relates to hidden spiritual realities regarding principalities and powers behind the “gods” of the nations. By their idol worship, nations served as literal hosts (“dwelling places”) for principalities in contention with God. In response to this, God determined also to have a people known by His name as His dwelling place for carrying out His larger contention with the unseen powers.6
The
purpose of a separated people identified by the one true God formed the
backdrop for the second main purpose
for natural Israel, which was to host the incarnation of the Son of God into a
preserved race for all of humanity’s redemption. From the beginning, Satan’s
purpose was to thoroughly infest and corrupt the human race beyond possibility
of redemption. The Flood and the preservation of Noah was God’s first response
to this corruption.
But
God’s further response was to secure a separated seed from within mankind through
which He might safely bring forth the world’s Savior. Upon the successful
proving of the faith of Abraham, Abraham’s seed by promise—natural
Israel—became that appointed seed.
Natural
Israel was ordained for hosting the incarnation of the Messiah who was to save
His people from their sins—“His people” referring to all men of all mortal ages
in whom the Father would plant and reap His Eternal Israel seed—first from
those of natural Israel, and then from those outside natural Israel as well.
The
third purpose of natural Israel was
to form a living mirror-in-time of the Eternal Israel that preceded it in the
heart of God and which remains past it in immortal glory. Natural Israel was
established as a model preparatory people
for their Eternal counterpart who were to be born through Christ. As a mirror
of the yet unrevealed Eternal Israel, natural Israel was committed the
patterns, types and shadows of the eternal through the “oracles of God” to
Moses and the prophets (Rom. 3:1-2; Heb. 8:5).
Abraham’s
prototypical sacrifice of Isaac is the first witness of physical Israel’s role
as a reflection of Eternal Israel. Isaac’s sacrifice from which he is
figuratively “resurrected” to continue Abraham’s line mirrors the Heavenly
Father’s sacrifice and resurrection of Christ for bringing forth the Eternal
seed.
As a forerunner of Eternal
Israel’s Light to come, natural Israel was given to the world as a natural
“night light” to all peoples for pointing the way to the Heavenly realm by the
worship of the One True God revealed to the patriarchs. The same way a night
light prepares eyes in the night for turning on a brighter light, so natural
Israel was given ahead of the revelation of Christ and His Eternal Israel. (In
prophetic type, natural Israel’s light is to Eternal Israel’s light what John
the Baptist’s light was to the Light of Christ [Jn. 5:33-35 with 1:5-9].)
6 Once the New Covenant came into force,
the purpose of a divine habitation for heavenly contention was upgraded to
manifest on a transnational spiritual basis through Eternal Israel, to wit, the
church (Eph 1:22-23 with 3:10)—to be discussed in more depth in the second
treatise.