God’s Faithfulness to Israel

God created Israel as a unique nation, set apart from all others. Scripture declares, “Thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine’” (Isa 43:1). Here, God is identified as Israel’s “Creator” (בָּרָא bara) and the One who “formed” (יָצַר yāṣar) them. The word bara (create) is used in Genesis 1:1 for God’s unique, sovereign act of creation. In Isaiah 43:1, it highlights God’s initiative in bringing Israel into existence as a nation, both physically and covenantally. The parallel yāṣar (“form”) adds the imagery of craftsmanship or shaping, emphasizing God’s intentional design of Israel for His purposes (cf. Isa 43:21). Radmacher states, “The use of these verbs here suggests that the Lord’s creation of Israel as a people was as decisive an act as His creation of human beings at the beginning.”^[1] According to Young, “The participle creator suggests creation out of nothing. Yahweh chose the nation at Sinai, created it out of nothing, and made of it the theocracy. When He approached Israel in covenant, it was a slave people in Egypt, not even an independent nation able to stand on its own. What Israel has become, therefore, is due to the pure grace of God alone.”^[2]

Israel’s existence is no accident of history but the result of God’s sovereign purpose. He chose them not for their size or virtue but because of His covenant love and oath to the patriarchs: Abraham (Gen 12:1-3), Isaac (Gen 26:3-5), and Jacob (Gen 28:13-15). Moses declared, “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers” (Deut 7:7-8). Craigie states. “Negatively, they were not chosen on the basis of their numerical strength; they were numerically a very small people in the context of other Near Eastern peoples and nations. Positively, they were chosen because the Lord loved them; the reason for God’s special love, though it contained within it a purpose, remains essentially a mystery.”^[3]

At the heart of Israel’s identity lies the Abrahamic Covenant, in which God promised Abraham land, descendants, and blessing for all nations through him (Gen 12:1-3; 15:18-21; 17:7-8). These promises were unconditional, secured by God’s own oath (Gen 22:16-18; Heb 6:13-18). God regards Israel as “the apple of His eye” (Deut 32:10; Zech 2:8), and He loves them forever, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness” (Jer 31:3). According to Chafer, “An everlasting love includes a love from all eternity past and extends on into eternity to come. This nation is thus loved in spite of their evil and multiplied rejections of Jehovah. That everlasting love will yet prevail and this unworthy people will inherit all that Jehovah has determined.”^[4]

Israel’s continued existence rests on God’s covenant faithfulness, “For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name” (1Sam 12:22a), and, “the LORD will not abandon His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance” (Psa 94:14).[5] Paul states, for “to them belong the adoption as sons and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh” (Rom 9:4-5). So certain is their preservation that the Lord ties their continued existence to the stability of creation itself: “Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night… ‘If this fixed order departs from before Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever’” (Jer 31:35-36).

God originally entrusted Israel with a priestly calling, saying, “Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex 19:5-6). Their role was not only to serve the Lord in holiness but also to be a witness to the surrounding nations, for the Lord declared of His Servant Israel, “I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isa 49:6; cf. Deut 4:6-8). Yet rather than remaining distinct, Israel often adopted the corrupt values and idolatrous practices of the nations around them, as the Lord said, “They mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols, which became a snare to them” (Psa 106:35-36; cf. 2 Kgs 17:7-12). Ross notes, “It is hard to imagine how quickly the Israelites embraced these horrible sins of idolatry and murder of the innocent in the name of religion. But they did, and as a result they defiled the land with the shedding of innocent blood.”^[6] Because of Israel’s unfaithfulness, God had to discipline them, sending them into captivity and scattering them among the nations. Jeremiah wrote, “The Lord has done what He purposed; He has accomplished His word which He commanded from days of old. He has thrown down without sparing, and He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you” (Lam 2:17; cf. Judg 2:11-15; 2 Chr 36:15-17).

Tragically, Israel also rejected her Messiah when He came. The apostle John records, “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). Israel’s leaders even went so far as to accuse the Messiah of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Matt 12:24; Mark 3:22). Jesus Himself wept over Jerusalem, lamenting their stubborn unbelief, saying, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate” (Matt 23:37-38). Concerning Israel’s rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, Peter states, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (1 Pet 2:7). The “stone” refers to Christ Himself, whom Israel rejected. Fruchtenbaum states, “The stone is Jesus the Messiah who is both elect and precious according to 1 Pet 2:4. In this case, He is not merely a stone; He is the chief corner stone.”^[7] Because of this rejection, God brought judgment upon the nation, seen most vividly in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and their ongoing dispersion. Paul further clarifies that this rejection led to a “partial hardening” of Israel, which is temporary and will last “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom 11:25). This means that God has set aside Israel as a nation in the present age while He gathers a people from both Jews and Gentiles, but His covenant promises to Israel remain and will be fulfilled in the future (Rom 11:26-29).

God’s promises to Israel remain irrevocable. Paul affirms, “From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:28-29). Even when under divine discipline, the Lord will not cast them off entirely, for “when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God” (Lev 26:44). Israel remains the object of His covenant promises, including the coming New Covenant. God said, “Behold, days are coming… when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah… I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Jer 31:31-33). While the Church shares in spiritual blessings of this covenant (2 Cor 3:6; Heb 8:6-13), its national fulfillment awaits Israel’s future restoration.

That future will unfold when Messiah returns in glory, when “they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son” (Zech 12:10). In that day, “all Israel will be saved, just as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins’” (Rom 11:26-27). Christ will reign from Jerusalem (for a thousand years), the city God has chosen, “For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation. ‘This is My resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it’” (Psa 132:13-14). The nations will stream to Jerusalem for blessing and instruction, saying, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths” (Isa 2:3). Israel will at last fulfill her calling to be a light to the nations (Isa 49:6; 60:1-3), and the whole earth will be filled with the glory of God.

This unfolding plan warns the nations that how they treat Israel carries eschatological consequence, for the Lord declares, “I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel… and they have divided up My land” (Joel 3:2). Israel’s preservation is therefore not merely about Israel, but about the very integrity of God Himself. Paul wrote, “What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar” (Rom 3:3-4).

Christians, then, must resist the error of replacement theology, which denies Israel’s future and claims her promises for the Church. Paul warns Gentile believers, “Do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you” (Rom 11:18). The Church has not replaced Israel but has been graciously grafted in to share in Israel’s blessings through Christ (Rom 11:17). Therefore, Christians should love the Jewish people, resist anti-Semitism in every form, and anticipate with joy the day of their national restoration. Believers are exhorted to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you’” (Psa 122:6). This means praying for Israel’s present security, but more importantly for their ultimate peace in Messiah, the “Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6). To pray for Israel is to align with God’s covenant purpose, anticipate Christ’s coming kingdom reign (Zech 14:16-19), and bear witness to God’s faithfulness before the world.

Steven R. Cook, D.Min., M.Div.

If this article has enriched your understanding and walk with Christ, and you feel led to support my ministry, your generosity is greatly appreciated. Your gifts enable me to continue sharing the gospel of grace and providing in-depth biblical teachings. Thank you for partnering with me in this mission.

Related Articles:

• The Free Gift of God is Eternal Life 
• God Loves Israel  
• Pray for Israel, God’s Chosen People
• Why and How I Pray for Israel  
• The Faithfulness of the Lord 
• A Brief Analysis of Israel in History and Prophesy  
• Israel, Globalism, and the Rapture  
• Faith from Beginning to End 
• The Righteous Lifestyle of the Believer
• Walking Worthy of God’s Call to Service

–

^[1] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999), 851.

^[2] Edward Young, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40–66, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1972), 138.

^[3] Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), 179–180.

^[4] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993), 317.

[5] Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly acts for His name’s sake, preserving His reputation and covenant faithfulness despite the failures of His people. Moses appealed to this when interceding for Israel after the golden calf (Ex 32:12), and the prophets emphasized it in Israel’s restoration: “It is not for your sake … but for My holy name” (Ezek 36:22). The psalmists likewise prayed on this basis, asking God to pardon and guide “for Your name’s sake” (Psa 23:3; 25:11).

^[6] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms (90–150): Commentary, vol. 3, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2016), 291.

^[7] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Messianic Jewish Epistles: Hebrews, James, First Peter, Second Peter, Jude, 1st ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2005), 341.