A Door That Never Closes.Part 2
In my last blog, I outlined the covenant cycle between God and Israel (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28-30) that always leave an open door for the Israelites to repent and return from dispersion and exile.
STEP 1: Obedience to God brings blessing in the land
STEP 2: Disobedience brings hardship to lead Israel to repentance
STEP 3: Failure to repent leads to Israel’s expulsion from the land
STEP 4: Israel’s repentance leads to her restoration to the land
That final step matters. If the door to restoration is never shut, does Israel still have a claim to the land today? Are God’s promises to Israel still in force?
The promise of the land did not originate at Sinai; it predated the law entirely. God promised the land to Abraham and his offspring centuries before Moses was born (Genesis 12.1, 7; 13.14–17; 15.7–21; 17.8; 28.4; 35.12), and as Paul said, the law does not negate the promise (Galatians 3.17–18). The promise of the land remains in force.
The covenant at Sinai does govern Israel’s enjoyment of the land in the four steps of the covenant cycle. While the promise of the land is eternal (Genesis 17.8), the enjoyment of the land is contingent upon covenant obedience.
The messages of the prophets, God’s covenant lawyers, are explications of the four-step covenant cycle. Prophets usually come on the scene either to announce a coming hardship (Step 2, e.g. a locust plague as in Joel) or to threaten expulsion from the land (Step 3, e.g. Jeremiah 25.8–11). At either stage, repentance can forestall the judgment, since each step of the covenant cycle presents a contingency.
But the prophets also refer to the final step—the hope of restoration based on God’s faithfulness in keeping the covenant cycle. Though the prophetic wording often looks like a prediction, restoration is a contingency tied to repentance because the prophet is operating within the covenant cycle. Israel’s repentance is not inevitable, but the hope of restoration upon repentance is.
The prophets express that exile does not need to be the end of the story. The covenant cycle always provides hope for restoration to the land (Isaiah 43.5–6; Jeremiah 30.3; Ezekiel 37.12–25; Hosea 3.5; Amos 9.14–15; Zechariah 8.7–8). The prophets are not introducing something novel in the message of restoration, nor are they guaranteeing a fixed historical outcome; that is, they are not predicting a necessary return to the land. They are reminding Israel of the certainty of God’s covenant faithfulness and reiterating the covenant cycle established in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28–30. The door always remains open. God is free to fulfill His covenant promise of the land exactly as He gave it.
In Romans 11.26–27, Paul echoes this covenantal hope of Israel’s future salvation, citing the prophets. “The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will banish ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
The faithful God promised the land to Abraham’s descendants, so there is always a hope of restoration to the land held out to Israel. There is no passage—Old or New Testament—that explicitly revokes the promise of God’s commitment to give Israel her land. The New Testament expands the scope of the promise (Matthew 5.5; Romans 4.13—“heir of the world”), but that expansion is not cancellation of the promise, but fulfillment of another part of the promise. “In you will all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12.3).
If, in the unfolding of His sovereign providence, the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11.15), then there is nothing implausible—biblically or theologically—about Israel being restored again to the land promised to the patriarchs. If that happens, it will not be because Israel has earned it. Scripture is explicit: it will be for the sake of God’s own name (Ezekiel 36.22, 32; cf. 20.42–44).
God’s faithfulness to His promises always insures hope for Israel. Exile is never the end of the story.
STEP 1: Obedience to God brings blessing in the land
STEP 2: Disobedience brings hardship to lead Israel to repentance
STEP 3: Failure to repent leads to Israel’s expulsion from the land
STEP 4: Israel’s repentance leads to her restoration to the land
That final step matters. If the door to restoration is never shut, does Israel still have a claim to the land today? Are God’s promises to Israel still in force?
The promise of the land did not originate at Sinai; it predated the law entirely. God promised the land to Abraham and his offspring centuries before Moses was born (Genesis 12.1, 7; 13.14–17; 15.7–21; 17.8; 28.4; 35.12), and as Paul said, the law does not negate the promise (Galatians 3.17–18). The promise of the land remains in force.
The covenant at Sinai does govern Israel’s enjoyment of the land in the four steps of the covenant cycle. While the promise of the land is eternal (Genesis 17.8), the enjoyment of the land is contingent upon covenant obedience.
The messages of the prophets, God’s covenant lawyers, are explications of the four-step covenant cycle. Prophets usually come on the scene either to announce a coming hardship (Step 2, e.g. a locust plague as in Joel) or to threaten expulsion from the land (Step 3, e.g. Jeremiah 25.8–11). At either stage, repentance can forestall the judgment, since each step of the covenant cycle presents a contingency.
But the prophets also refer to the final step—the hope of restoration based on God’s faithfulness in keeping the covenant cycle. Though the prophetic wording often looks like a prediction, restoration is a contingency tied to repentance because the prophet is operating within the covenant cycle. Israel’s repentance is not inevitable, but the hope of restoration upon repentance is.
The prophets express that exile does not need to be the end of the story. The covenant cycle always provides hope for restoration to the land (Isaiah 43.5–6; Jeremiah 30.3; Ezekiel 37.12–25; Hosea 3.5; Amos 9.14–15; Zechariah 8.7–8). The prophets are not introducing something novel in the message of restoration, nor are they guaranteeing a fixed historical outcome; that is, they are not predicting a necessary return to the land. They are reminding Israel of the certainty of God’s covenant faithfulness and reiterating the covenant cycle established in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28–30. The door always remains open. God is free to fulfill His covenant promise of the land exactly as He gave it.
In Romans 11.26–27, Paul echoes this covenantal hope of Israel’s future salvation, citing the prophets. “The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will banish ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
The faithful God promised the land to Abraham’s descendants, so there is always a hope of restoration to the land held out to Israel. There is no passage—Old or New Testament—that explicitly revokes the promise of God’s commitment to give Israel her land. The New Testament expands the scope of the promise (Matthew 5.5; Romans 4.13—“heir of the world”), but that expansion is not cancellation of the promise, but fulfillment of another part of the promise. “In you will all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12.3).
If, in the unfolding of His sovereign providence, the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11.15), then there is nothing implausible—biblically or theologically—about Israel being restored again to the land promised to the patriarchs. If that happens, it will not be because Israel has earned it. Scripture is explicit: it will be for the sake of God’s own name (Ezekiel 36.22, 32; cf. 20.42–44).
God’s faithfulness to His promises always insures hope for Israel. Exile is never the end of the story.