God's Chosen: Chosen for
What?
Before Jesus died on the cross, did everyone who was
a part of the twelve tribes of Israel go to heaven
unconditionally? Did only
those whose blood-lineage was of the twelve tribes of Israel go to
heaven?
God laid out an extensive plan (His laws)
for living, repentance, and redemption delivered to His chosen
people--but was this only for the physical lineage of
Abraham? What about the strangers who dwelt among
them?
And when a
stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover
to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come
near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land:
for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
One
law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among
you. (Exodus
12:48-49)
ONE law shall be for the homeborn
AND to the stranger--for everyone: Why would God have done this? He
made of equal footing the people that God gave the land to, as
well as to the stranger in the land.
Why Did God Promise the Land to a Select
People?
"But what about the land? Why did God
promise the land of Canaan to Abraham's seed as an
everlasting possession?" you ask.
It was given to them so that they would not have
to concern themselves with being strangers in lands where the
inhabitants worshipped false gods and idols, and potentially
corrupting them. Instead God called His people to 'come out of
Egypt'. He encouraged them to be separate and marry within
their own (ie, to be equally yoked--spiritually).
And I will give unto thee, and to
thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou
art a stranger, all the land of Canaan,
for an everlasting possession; and I will be their
God. (Genesis
17:8)
The "and" is conjoining, meaning that we have an
"if/then" situation. "If" they follow God, which is what He set
them apart for, "then" they can possess the land.
It was a matter of who was following and obeying
the Lord. God's chose a people to be keepers of His
Word, His Commandments; to share testimony and witness of Him; to
serve Him; to be a light to the strangers.
God tried to make it easier on the Jews by
calling them away and setting them apart from the distractions of
the world. When the Israelites didn't keep God's commandments and
insisted on following the gods of the world, He cast them out,
chastised them, allowed them to be taken captive, etc.
It was the same with Adam and Eve. God
gave them everything they could possibly need or want, including
direct conversation and visitation with the Lord. Then Satan came
down and told them, 'oh, but you do not
have everything. God is holding back on you.' They
lacked just one more thing: the knowledge of good and evil--the
carnal mind.
And, for their choice, they, too, lost the
"land" which the Lord had given them.
The point of all of this, is that
there is no "replacement theology". Christians are not the "new"
Israel. And the semites are not the old Israel. Israel is
Israel is Israel. It is a spiritual issue. It has always been
about the spiritual Israel, the Israel of the heart (like the
circumcision of the heart, not of the flesh). God has always wanted
His people, (from Adam and Eve, through everyone today, to worship
Him and Him alone. Not to be swayed by idols and false gods,
not to be swayed by the customs of the world. To be equally yoked
with other believers, to be a light, to be a testimony, to be a
witness, to serve Him with an humble heart.
I have
primarily used the Old Testament above, primarily because most
Christians believe that God gave the Jews the land unconditionally.
They don't understand that what God wanted of His people in the
Garden of Eden and in the land that became Israel, is the very
same thing that He still wants of His
people/chosen today. And His chosen people have
always been those that follow Him and know His
voice.
Some valid questions brought up to me by a
friend on this topic: If only Jews were "God's Chosen" where would a
half-Jew, quarter-Jew, etc fit in? Isaac married Rebekah, whose
father was a Syrian. Joseph married an Egyptian woman. Then there is
King Saul. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, yet God departed
from him.
In the new testament, Acts 17:24-28 says:
God that made the
world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and
earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is
worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing
he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath
made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of
the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and
the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord,
if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not
far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and
have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For
we are also his
offspring.
Remember Romans 9:6-8
For they are not
all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed
of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be
called. That is, They which are the children of the
flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the
promise are counted for the seed .
Just like it has always been
since God created man, it is a matter of the physical versus the
spirital. You and every other person must choose where you will
place your treasure, your hope and your trust. I pray you will trust
in Jesus and not in family bloodlines, or a clod of
dirt.
(Thank you to two people for their wisdom and
counsel on this topic: Texe and Cathy)
Coming
soon: Patriotism:
Love of Country, or Zionism of a Different
Flavor?
Disclaimer: I hope you'll bear with me and
understand this article for what is intended and not for my writing
skills. As you can tell, my writing skills sorely lack--but I
promise to keep practicing on you. | 
