Israel's problem and ours

The place of Israel in God’s plans, indeed Israel full stop, is a contentious issue amongst Christians, and in the world as a whole. The two extremes amongst Christians are, on the one hand, and approach that more or less says Israel can do no wrong, or whatever she does God will intervene on her behalf. The other extreme is that Israel essentially no longer has any special place in God’s plans and is just a nation like any other nation. Ideas that go along these lines are sometimes called “replacement theology”.  Both these extremes are deeply flawed and fundamentally unbiblical.

A far better approach is to look at the Bible and learn. I am currently working through the book of Hosea, and like many of the prophets much of it is a catalogue of unremitting judgement upon Israel. Let’s just look at one verse, see what we can learn, and then apply it to our own lives. Hosea 13:9 says:

He (God) destroys you, O Israel, for you are against me, against your helper.

What was Israel’s thinking? They knew that they were different, that they were a nation created by God. There were many times when she was in deep trouble, her need was real. Moreover, other nations often treater her unjustly (not much change there then). All this was true, but she then reasoned that God would therefore protect and help her. But she had forgotten one thing, her own sinfulness., and her own sinfulness was her biggest problem. As it says in Hosea 13:9, she was against God. When Jesus came to earth we see the same pattern. The root of Israel’s problem was that she did not realise her own need to repent (this was especially true among the religious leaders, many of the “common” people did recognise this.). Israel will one day be saved, but only when she realises her own sin, repents, and puts her trust in the only one who can save her, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now let’s apply this same lesson to ourselves. We all go through times of trouble, times when we are stretched beyond our ability to endure. Sometimes these situations involve others treating us unfairly. In these times our natural reaction can often be very similar to that of Israel. We think “God loves us” (which of course He does), we are in deep trouble, we are being unfairly treated, therefore He will help us. But very often we forget about the sin in our own life, about the work of change that the Holy Spirit is seeking to do within us. So we remain frustrated, God seems to be far off and there is no sign of an answer. Often times, the answer will come, God will suddenly be close at hand, when we recognise the need for change within ourselves, rather than everyone else’s need for change!