Previous Section: Blessing and the Curse
So who receives the blessing and the promise? As seen previously in faith above lineage, in the eyes of God, all are welcome regardless of their lineage. Lineage does not define God’s people, it is merely a tool used to demonstrate His will, nothing more. If one boasts in their lineage, they are placing their confidence in the wrong place, and are at risk of building their foundation on sand.
We see in scripture that placing our confidence in anything other than our faith and belief in Him will prove a stumbling stone. If we stumble and forsake His voice in our lives, we are scattered from Him, and the land we inhabit will be unyielding. Israel was to Love God and keep His commands as a sign of respect for God. God does not define any other people beside Israel as His own (Deut 32). The divisions of land are contrasted with God’s division of His people. The scripture states that the Most High divided up the nations and fixed the borders in His eyes according to the sons of God, but then contrasts this division of land with a division of people, for God did not receive a specific land with borders, but a people, Israel (or Jacob), which are His allotted heritage
7 Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. 8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. 9 But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.
Deuteronomy 32:7-9 ESV
The foreigner or gentile is included with His people, Israel. They are not a separate beloved group within scripture (Exodus 12:49, Numbers 15:15,29 and Deuteronomy 29:11). God’s people are not defined by their lineage or their land, they are defined by their faith in Him and their desire to follow in His ways.
So God’s people are His heritage, but we know they do not stay true to Him. They repeatedly violate His statutes, and this does not please Him.
Continuing on with Deuteronomy 32, we see the scripture defines the nature of their transgression against God. They worshiped the creation as though it were a god, and this made God jealous. They followed after the ways of foolish nations, so God describes their just reward. For their transgression, they will be made jealous with those who are not a people. They will see rewards and blessings given to those who they cannot define as a specific nation, and God will give His blessing to this foolish people.
21 They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
Deuteronomy 32:21 ESV
Where it says ‘foolish nation’, the word gentile is used for nation. So in essence, God will make Israel jealous with gentiles. God then states His purpose through this jealousy:
36 For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.
Deuteronomy 32:36 ESV
So God will make His people jealous with gentiles in order that they may be vindicated or saved. Indeed, we see in Romans 11 when Paul is speaking of the Jews:
”So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “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.”“
Romans 11:11-14, 25-27 ESV
So as we’ll see, the gentiles are an aspect of Israel, and integral to God’s plan for salvation for His people. They are not a separate beloved group in the eyes of God. For Paul states that when the fullness of the gentiles come in, then all Israel is saved. Furthermore, that making the remnant of Israel jealous of the gentiles, is part of his ministry in fulfillment of Deuteronomy 32!
All told, despite Israel’s warnings of being scattered from God’s presence if they do not follow His ways, they go after the gods of foreign nations and break His commandments. As a result, Israel starts to break down.
So as disorder increases for the 12 tribes, Joshua takes over for Moses. After Joshua dies, another generation arose and followed after Baal/Ashteroth. As such, Israel’s idolatry is described as whoring after other gods.
“And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so.”
Judges 2:17 KJV
We see this is only the beginning of the downfall of Israel, who forsake God after being brought to the promised land. We know that God will bless those who keep His commandments and scatter those who do not (Lev 26:33, Deut 28:62-64, Deut 30:1-4). In the next section, their downfall hastens as they forsake God’s heavenly rule and seek earthly rulers to guide them as the other nations had.
Next Section: An Earthly King Desired