Behind the Headlines...
Israel: Small but Significant

"This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her"- (Ezekiel 5:5, New Revised Standard Version).

by John Ross Schroeder

"The future of the world may depend on the Middle East talks beginning today in Washington."; These were the sober words of William Rees-Mogg in The Times (London). But how could our future possibly even be partially dependent on the fortunes of a nation as small as Israel? How could this be so?

Americans visiting Israel are usually amazed at how small the country is. As Mark Twain once said while visiting the Holy Land, "I could not conceive of a small country having so large a history" (Innocents Abroad, Literary Classics of the United States, New York, 1984, p. 385). Visitors are surprised because we normally equate a state's size with its significance.

How could a country so prominent on television news be so insignificant on the world map? The United States is enormous by comparison, yet many Americans have an awareness of Israel far out of proportion to its geographical size.

As Mark Twain also observed: "I have got everything in Palestine on too large a scale . . . The word Palestine always brought to my mind a vague suggestion of a country as large as the United States."

The modern nation of Israel occupies nearly 11,000 square miles in comparison to some 160,000 square miles in California alone. Israel is only 40 miles wide and about the size of Wales. So why does this tiny nation get so much global attention?

The historical answer

The answer, of course, ultimately lies in Israel's spiritual, historical and literary legacy. As author Amos Elon put it: "Even more extraordinary is the fact that the [Hebrew] Bible, as it was written in Jerusalem, unlike the books of other ancient peoples, was not the literature of a major or regional power nor even of a ruling elite, but the literature of a minor, remote people" (Jerusalem: City of Mirrors, Fontana, London, 1991, p. 19).

Elon's view is perceptive, but consider: The New Testament itself talks of this outsized historic contribution to mankind. "So what advantage has the Jew?" asked the apostle Paul. ". . . Much in every way. In the first place the Jews were entrusted with the messages of God" (Romans 3:1-2, The Translator's New Testament throughout article unless otherwise stated; emphasis added throughout).

Much of the New Testament was likewise composed in the Holy Land, which stands as the geography from which the Scriptures sprang. Truly this is the land of the Book, populated by the peoples God used to author and preserve both the Hebrew Scriptures and apostolic writings that form the Holy Bible.

Palestine is also where human frontiers tend to touch the infinite. And here they blur. According to the Bible itself, spiritual salvation is not dependent on national borders whether determined through wars, conquests, peaceful negotiations or simple passive acceptance of the realities of history.

American novelist Saul Bellow captured the spirit of this theme in his book To Jerusalem and Back: "Certain oddities about Israel: Because people think so hard here, and so much, and because of the length and depth of their history, this sliver of a country sometimes seems quite large. Some dimension of mind seems to extend into space" (Penguin Books, Middlesex, 1977, p. 58, emphasis added).

The world of the Hebrews

This concept is embedded in the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses. What God originally revealed to the Jews and the other 11 tribes of ancient Israel was intended for a much larger eventual audience, far beyond mere national borders and ethnic identities-transcending territorial or political considerations.

Moses said to Israel concerning God's laws: "Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, 'Surely this nation is a wise and understanding people'" (Deuteronomy 4:6).

As Ariel and D'vorah Berkowitz have written: "God equipped Israel for this task in many ways. For example, He chose to situate the nation at the crossroads of the world! The Promised Land was an ancient and natural landbridge between Japan, India and China in the Far East, Africa in the south, and Europe in the north." The land of Israel sat astride or near many of the major trade routes crucial to the ancient world.

It was from Jerusalem that the apostles took the gospel to the then-known civilized world: The 12 apostles went first to the House of Israel, and later Paul traveled by way of Antioch, Asia Minor and Greece to Europe-faithfully carrying out the personal commission given to him by Jesus Christ (Acts 9, 22, 26). Perhaps primarily because of the preaching and writing of this apostle-not of the 12, but one called "out of due season" (1 Corinthians 15:8)-the early Church was able to address the controversial issue of who ultimately could be defined as a Jew and what was required for a gentile to receive salvation.

Who is a Jew-spiritually?

Mining the inspired wisdom given of God, Paul was moved to write to Roman Christians in Europe: "For it is not the outward appearance that makes a true Jew; his circumcision is not an outward physical matter. No, the inward reality makes the true Jew; his circumcision is an inward state. It has to do with the spirit, not with the written Law. It is God, not man, who recognizes him" (Romans 2:28-29).

The apostle to the gentiles never seemed to tire of this basic theme. He told the churches of Galatia: "There can be neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free man, man nor woman; you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's people, then you are Abraham's offspring, and God's gift is yours because of the promise" (Galatians 3:28-29).

Paul explained this understanding to gentile and Jewish Christians at Colosse: "In this new life there is no difference between Jew and Greek, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free man. Christ is all, Christ is in all" (Colossians 3:11).

He summarized this identical wonderful truth to his brethren in Rome: "There is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for all have the same Lord and his riches are available for all who call on him for help" (Romans 10:12).

This is how God views every nation, race and color. It is in this remarkable light that God wishes His followers to consider others. Though we all fall short of this wonderful ideal, we should always strive to attain it. This is the golden rule in action.

Peter and John also understood

Contrary to the views of some, Paul was not the only apostle to grasp this marvelous truth. Others also understood. Peter, Paul and John agreed on fundamental matters. Their theology was not different.

Of course, Peter's and John's backgrounds were not the same as Paul's, and they would naturally express the same truths in a different style.

For instance, Peter told Cornelius: "In truth I realize that God has no favourites, but in every nation whoever fears God and does what is right is accepted by him" (Acts 10:34-35). Here Peter encouraged disciples from all countries to obey God and gain His acceptance.

God's work through humans usually starts in the smallest way. God told the Israelites that they had begun their national history as the least of all peoples (Deuteronomy 7:7).

Nonetheless God did give Israel His law and began to reveal His great purpose on earth to these relatively obscure people residing in a small, narrow country. Yet the Israelites began a significant spiritual work that was to expand to include representatives of all peoples in the modern age. Speaking of Jesus Christ, the apostle John later quoted the angelic host as saying, ". . . You purchased for God men out of every tribe, language, people and nation" (Revelation 5:9).

The Israel of God

To Christians, what is the ultimate significance of the nation of Israel? Just this: In His marvelous wisdom God used physical Israel to help bring forth spiritual Israel-a spiritual nation called out from among all peoples for a great purpose. Paul told us in another context that "the spiritual does not come first, but the physical, and then the spiritual" (1 Corinthians 15:46).

As he concluded to the Galatian churches, "whether a man is circumcised or uncircumcised does not matter; what matters is that he can be created anew [become truly converted]. Peace and mercy be upon all who follow this rule, that is, upon the Israel of God" (Galatians 6:15-16).

"The Jews constitute but one percent of the human race," wrote Mark Twain in 1869 (Twain, p. 398). And the Israel of God today is also insignificant and small in numbers. But Jesus Christ encouraged His people with the words: "Do not be afraid, little flock; it has pleased your Father to give you the Kingdom" (Luke 12:32).

Remember, Christ also said that "repentance and forgiveness of sins must be proclaimed in his name among all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47).

The spiritual work that began in first-century Jerusalem continues as the 20th century draws to a close. The contributors to The Good News face the future with hope, challenged by the awesome task of continuing to bring this message to all countries in the waning days of this century and into the next. This is a great work for the Israel of God. GN