Israel Is Sent to be Ethically Distinct
Genesis 12:1-3, Deuteronomy 9:4-5, Ezekiel 36:22-23, Psalm 86
The moment sin was introduced into the world, God made his first promise. He pledged to send a perfect Messiah to mend the broken relationship between God and his beloved children. In an act of wisdom, God made another promise to Abraham that through him, all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). How could this be when Abraham was one man? Through Abraham’s descendants, the nation of Israel was established, and the lineage of Jesus took root. Jesus, being the ultimate blessing to all nations, would bring redemption to every family, tongue, tribe, and nation.
After making his promise to Abraham, God continued to pursue a relationship with His distinctly chosen people. In this relationship, He established a set of rules to live by. Did you know that there are 613 God-given commandments in the Old Testament? Though they were called to a higher ethical standard, the Israelites still lived in unrighteousness, often comparable to their pagan neighbors. In one instance, the Israelites are commanded to enter a foreign land and conquer a sinful people. However, God wants to remind them that it is not because of their righteousness that these people will be overtaken.
“After the Lord, your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land. Still, on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 9:4-5).
Let’s not forget that the nations mentioned here were ones practicing immense wickedness that was unacceptable in the eyes of God.
But God did not bring justice to these nations because Israel was more ethical than them, but because a God of justice and He chose Israel as the people He would work through to display His glory. It is important to remember how often the Israelites disobeyed God and turned their hearts away from Him. Even so, God could never abandon the promise of blessing He made to Abraham.
Yes, the Israelites were called to ethical purity. But when they failed, God’s love never did. The Israelites had no excuse for not knowing right from wrong as the recipients of his instructions throughout the Old Testament. Because of this, the failure to obey God’s command led the Israelites to testify to the surrounding nations even more greatly of God’s love and forgiveness.
In Ezekiel 36:22-23, we see God choosing to display His holiness through the failures of his chosen people.
What if God wants to use our failures to bring him glory? Let’s face it, we all fall short of the glory of God. Though we are called to live holy and blameless lives, worthy of the manner to which we have been called, we always seem to fall short.
Though the Israelites did not obey the commandments of our Lord, Jesus did. Jesus took a posture of obedience to His Heavenly Father and lived in perfect unity with him. He was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Knowing our tendency to disobey, He did this for us!
Just like the Israelites, we also struggle to obey God. And yet we are sent to be lights in a dark and twisted generation. In our weakness, let us boast in God’s power all the more. May we be sent into the world as a living testimony of the goodness of our gracious God, that though we sin, his love never ends (Psalm 86).
How does Israel’s disobedience remind you of your own? How does God’s unconditional love for His people remind you of His love for you? In what way can you obey Him today from a posture of gratitude?
