Clifford Denton begins a two-part study on what happened to Jews and Christians under the rule of Rome.
Every nation needs its own land. It is within its land that a nation establishes its particular way of life. Part of God's covenant with Israel was to give them the Land of Canaan. The people would be kept safe in this land providing that they followed the ways of God revealed through Moses. However, at their low times, Israel came under the rule of other nations.
This was the case at the time of Jesus and his first disciples: Rome ruled Israel. The climax of Roman occupation came with the fall of the Temple in AD 70. This coincided with the early days of the spread of the Gospel and so contributed to the separation of the Christian Church from its Jewish roots.
People and Land
After the wilderness years following their deliverance from Egypt, the children of Israel finally inherited their own land. Under Joshua they took possession of the Land of Canaan and established the nation, first under the judges and then under the kings. This was in fulfillment of the covenant promise given to Abraham:
On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates --the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. (Gen 15:18-21)
The conditions that the Lord gave for Israel's ongoing possession of the Promised Land were made clear through Moses. It is important to remember the precise terms of this Covenant.
Blessings for obedience:
Man tending grain, Israel.
Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. (Deut 28:1-7)
Curses for disobedience:
But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. The Lord will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me...
The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth...
Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them. Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand. A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually. (Deut 28:15-33)
These are not words to treat lightly. Christians should not stand in judgment over Israel, and use these words to support a persecution mentality towards Jews. It is in God's hands alone to work out his purposes according to the covenant that he made. He placed Israel at the centre of his covenant plan for the whole world. God's purposes are far higher, more complex and more loving than most of us realise, and so we must be careful how we read some of the harder scriptures, lest we misunderstand. Indeed, it is the role of those grafted into the Israel of God to comfort and pray for Israel the nation.
The covenant blessings and curses mentioned in Deuteronomy 28 are not words to treat lightly, but Christians should also be careful to not stand in judgment over Israel.
Israel itself must understand her own destiny as a nation and be aware of the covenant conditions that God has made. It is not for us to interfere in some of the major issues between Israel and God, especially regarding judgment. Indeed, we have already noted how this is understood by some leaders and interpreters of Torah. For example, in Popular Halachah: A Guide to Jewish Living,1 we read in the chapter entitled Serving the Creator:
Because of the sins of our forefathers, we were driven from our land, the land of Israel. Exile, dispersion and suffering caused many of our people to neglect the study of the holy language (Hebrew), to forget the Torah and to assimilate among the gentiles. But God has promised the eternity of the Jewish people: "And yet for all that, though they be in the land of their enemies, will I not cast them away, neither will I abhor them to destroy them utterly, nor will I break my covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God." (Leviticus 26:44) And it is said: "For I, the Lord, I have not changed; and you, sons of Jacob, you have not ceased to be." (Malachi 3:6)
Go forth and search for the nations of old; where are they today? They have vanished! Not so the people of Israel who live on forever more. What is the secret of their survival? There is but one answer: The Torah! "And you who cleave unto the Lord your god, you are alive, everyone of you, to this day." (Deuteronomy 4:4) Our sages explained it this way: The children of Israel who clung to God, the Source of Life, have come to possess life everlasting.
If Israel would return to God in true repentance, then will He fulfill unto us His promise which He gave us through the prophets, His servants, to gather in the remaining exiles from the four corners of the earth, to restore us to the land of our inheritance, and bring us the Messiah who will rebuild the Temple and restore Divine Worship and the holy mountain, in Jerusalem.
These covenant issues are between Israel and God alone. Indeed, when God has brought enemies to rule over Israel these enemies are on their own path to God's judgment. This, for example, is what we understand from the prophet Daniel. Right up to the end times, the nations that come against Israel will eventually be judged by God. In Daniel 11:45-12:1, we read of the antichrist movement of the last days:
...he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him. At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book.
When God has brought enemies to rule over Israel, these enemies are also on their own path to God's judgment, and will eventually fall.
Historically, the nations of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome came against Israel. They are now no more, while Israel survives and goes on to the end time purposes of God. Those who come against Israel have already built up reasons for God's judgements on themselves.
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream where he saw an image of a statue representing the world empires that would be used in Israel's history (see right). They would all disappear. The gold head represented Babylon, the silver upper body depicted the Medes and Persia, the bronze lower body stood for Greece and the iron legs were Rome (the feet of iron and clay represent the empire of last days).
It was into this context that Jesus, when Israel was under Roman rule, predicted the fall of the Temple and yet also, in Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 12, spoke of the continued purposes of God for Israel outworked through suffering.
For Study and Prayer
- Study Deuteronomy 28, 2 Chronicles 7:12-14, Jeremiah 31:31-37, Romans 11. What is the relevance of these covenant principles to the fall of the Temple in 70 AD?
- How should this make us reflect on Britain's relationship with the nation of Israel?
Next time: The Fall of Israel under Rome (Part 2)
References
1 Edited by Avnere Tomaschoff, and sponsored by the World Conference of Jewish Organisations (1985)
