4) Israel’s Roles and Responsibilities

Introduction

The Bible's narrative is intricately woven with the story of Israel, revealing a profound connection between the Jewish people and the scriptures. Romans 9:1-5 underscores this bond, as the apostle Paul expresses profound concern for his fellow Jews, highlighting their unique place in God's plan. As we delve into the Bible's narrative, it becomes clear that understanding Israel's role is critical to unlocking the scriptures' true meaning.

Understanding Israel's Central Role in the Biblical Narrative

Israel as the Custodian of God's Promises

The Bible is all about Israel, and it belongs to the Jewish people. In Romans 9:1-5, the apostle Paul addresses the condition of the Jewish people concerning God’s promises and salvation. Paul expresses deep sorrow and concern for his fellow Jews who had not accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Paul has a strong sense of kinship with his fellow Israelites. He even says that he would be willing to be separated from Jesus himself if it meant the salvation of his people, his fellow Jews: 

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 9:1-5, ESV Bible)

Paul has summarized the Bible by listing everything that “belongs” to Israel. Well, that is, the only Bible that existed in the time of the writings of Paul, the Hebrew Bible, or what we call the Old Testament. The early Church did not canonize the New Testament in a single event. Still, its canonization was a gradual process that spanned several centuries. During the first century, Christian communities read and circulated writings that make up the New Testament books as we know them today. The New Testament books were officially canonized at the end of the 4th century.

The Covenantal Relationship and Its Implications

When Paul says, “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever,” he emphasizes several things. Their adoption identifies Israel as the people of God. This adoption refers to God treating the Jewish people as His children. For example, in Exodus 4:22:

Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, (Exodus 4:22, ESV Bible)

The glory is a way of speaking about the presence of God. The same presence that dwelled in the sanctuary among the Jewish people:

I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God. (Exodus 29:45-46, ESV Bible)

The covenants represent God’s covenant promises to Israel, including the forefathers, the nation, the house of David, and the new covenant. The giving of the law is the Torah, God’s instructions to Israel for holy living given at Mount Sinai. The Torah was given to Israel and no other nation. The worship is another way of speaking of the temple service, meaning the sacrifices or Levitical worship. Worship did not mean gathering before a band of musicians singing praise and worship songs. In the Bible, worship means sacrificing at the Temple. The promises are about the land, the future redemption, and the coming kingdom. They are the prophecies for Israel. The fathers or the patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To Israel belongs the Messiah. “According to the flesh” speaks of Jesus being Jewish and also being God as a human man. 

The Bible tells the story of the Jewish people. It is a book about the nation of Israel and the God of Israel. It is about the Jewish people and written by the Jewish people. That is why the Jewish people are also called “the people of the book.” 

God did not give all of this revelation to the Jewish people so they could hoard it up for themselves. He chose Israel to be a nation of priests that transmits the revelation of God to the rest of the world. That has happened through the Bible. Thanks to the Bible and the good news about the coming Jewish Messiah, the revelation of God has spread to all nations. But if we want to understand the Bible, we need to read it from the perspective of the Jewish people. Interpreting the Bible without respect for the Jewish people results in misinterpretation. Understanding and appreciating the people of Israel is the first step to correctly understanding the scriptures of Israel. In addition to understanding the people of Israel, we must also understand the land of Israel. 

Israel is a Holy Priesthood, A Light to the Nations

All of the things Paul mentioned in Romans 9:1-5 belong to Israel. Not to the church and not to only the believers of Jesus. The Bible is the story of Israel, and the Jewish people write it. They are also responsible for transmitting the message of the Bible to the world at large. In Exodus 19:5-6, we see at Mount Sinai God establish his covenant with Israel: 

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” (Exodus 19:5-6, ESV Bible)

In Isaiah 42:6-7, we read a segment from a more extensive section called “Songs of the Suffering Servant,” a series of prophecies describing a special servant of God who will bring about salvation and fulfill God’s purposes. These verses are often attributed to the Messiah: 

“I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 42:6-7, ESV Bible)

In 1 Peter 2:9, we see the apostle Peter reemphasizing the role of God’s people as a nation of priests and a light to the nations. He also mentions that some Jews have not yet accepted Jesus as Messiah and “stumble”: 

“They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:9-12, ESV Bible)

We also see this priestly imagery extended to all followers of Jesus, as the apostle John states in Revelation 1:4-6:

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. (Revelation 1:4-6, ESV Bible)

Israel is to be a nation of priests to transmit the revelation of God to the rest of the world. This reality began with Israel in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) stories. It continued with the coming of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus. It spread through the work of the Jewish disciples and apostles of Christ. This transmission of the revelation of God continues to grow and spread to all parts of the world today through the acts of all believers of Jesus. 

Israel Interprets the Laws of God

The Bible does not contain advice for every possible situation in human life. And in today's world, believers in Christ are not unified in thought or in how they interpret the Bible. For the most part, we often see believers interpret the Bible for themselves or based on their church's theology. The world around believers has continuously operated on its own standards. Still, the God we serve should define a believer's standards. If each believer interprets the Bible their way, we have different standards for everyone. Not every believer can be right. There is only one truth. As believers, we cannot make our own rules and exempt ourselves from the truth of God when his ways do not align with our own. An interesting passage in Deuteronomy 17:8-12 provides instructions for dealing with legal matters and disputes among the Israelites. It reads: 

"If any case arises requiring decision between one kind of homicide and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another, any case within your towns that is too difficult for you, then you shall arise and go up to the place that the LORD your God will choose. And you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall consult them, and they shall declare to you the decision. Then you shall do according to what they declare to you from that place that the LORD will choose. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you. According to the instructions that they give you, and according to the decision which they pronounce to you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside from the verdict that they declare to you, either to the right hand or to the left. The man who acts presumptuously by not obeying the priest who stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall purge the evil from Israel." (Deuteronomy 17:8-12, ESV Bible)

This passage is clearly about adjudication. It records a mandate from God, given through Moses, to create an essential part of the framework for a civil judicial system in ancient Israel. So, when a disagreement arose between two or more Israelites, it needed to be addressed. The Torah was the land's actual code of law for all Israelites, not a personal manual for living, but an actual code of laws for a real nation. Breaking the Torah was a severe offense and required someone to be brought before the court. When someone broke the Torah, they were brought before a local court. When the case was too difficult for the local court, the case would be argued at the highest court in the land, in "the place that the LORD your God will choose" (we later learn that this is Jerusalem). Deuteronomy 17 states Israel's ancient "Supreme Court" comprised judges and Levitical priests. What they decided was required to be followed. And it says they will "declare" a verdict. Why would they have to "declare" their decision? It is safe to assume that whatever the priestly court decided became a part of case law for Israel. Every time a decision was made, a precedent was set, and from that point on, throughout the whole land, the law—the Torah—had to be interpreted according to that decision. 

It is essential to recognize that God delegated or gave away the responsibility of adjudicating the Old Testament law. God delegated making official decisions based on the laws He gave Israel. This responsibility of making official decisions lay with the Levitical priesthood, but it was all set up by God Himself. God gave up control over how the Law of Moses would take shape and left Israel to take part in that responsibility. So, we see that this delegation and spiritual authority given to the Levitical priesthood takes place outside of the text of the Bible. 

This governing body would eventually be known as the Sanhedrin. Israel was required to obey whatever they ruled regarding obedience to the law. We can read about the Sanhedrin in the time of Jesus in Acts 23:6. This is where we find Paul on trial before the Sanhedrin: 

Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. (Acts 23:6, ESV Bible)

We can read that the Sanhedrin comprised two groups, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Of these two groups, the Sadducees were composed of Levitical priests. Of course, at this time in the Biblical narrative, the Jewish people were controlled by a Roman government. Rome would govern even the Jews when it came to civil law. However, the Sanhedrin would still rule the Jewish people concerning religious expression. 

It is of note that even Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, recognized the Sanhedrin as the proper adjudicating body of Jewish law even though he also criticized the hypocrisy and misguided practices of the religious leaders: 

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice." (Matthew 23:1-3, ESV Bible)

Even as Jesus rebuked these leaders of the Jews as failing to live up to the same standards to which they held everyone else, Jesus commands his followers to obey the rulings of the Sanhedrin because they sit in the "seat of Moses," alluding to how Moses commanded the Israelites to obey the directives of the Levitical priests and judges in Jerusalem. 

There is no Protestant equivalent to Jewish "case law." We often cannot get around the fact that God commanded the Jewish people to obey the decisions of the judges and priests. We must accept that God delegates and that spiritual authority, in this case, exists outside the text of the Bible, though it draws its legitimacy directly from the Bible. 

Summary

The Bible is not merely a collection of stories and teachings but a testament to Israel's journey and God's covenant with His chosen people. As we explore its pages, let us remember that the Jewish people are the custodians of this sacred text, entrusted with sharing its message with the world. By embracing Israel's story, we understand God's plan and purpose for all humanity.