Previous Section: Promises Beyond Boundaries
If specific boundaries do not define His nation, does God use specific lineages? Again, just as with land, lineage is used as a tool, but it does not define God’s people. We saw that God kept His promise through Isaac, not Ishmael, and through Jacob (Israel), not Esau (Ephrom). The one common thread through these lineage branch points, is that God chose to preserve His people based on their faith and obedience, not the land they lived on, or their rights to inheritance.
As we continue in Genesis, we see in the story of Joseph, one of Jacob’s (Israel’s) 12 son’s, the importance of faith and obedience. We first see that God sent Joseph afar, so that he could be used as an instrument to save his brothers and his people. After being left for dead and sold into slavery by his brothers, he ascends to power in Egypt, and his brothers are brought before him. Joseph then grants them mercy and states that he was protected because God needs his people and their ways to be preserved.
4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Genesis 45:4-8 ESV
So we see that God sent Joseph afar and saved him, so that he could preserve him and demonstrate His power to His brothers. The same brothers who rejected him, but were now saved through him. As we will see, this is an important story to the prophetic nature of God and His plan to unify His nation.
After reunification with his family, Joseph brings his sons to their grandfather, Jacob (Israel) so they can obtain his blessing. Yet again, God does something different to demonstrate His power. God does not always work according to rights of inheritance. His rationale for choosing who He chooses, is ultimately unknown to us, but we see faith as the underlying component. We see that Joseph, the scattered one, unites his brothers near to God. Jacob, then blesses his younger son, Ephraim, ahead of his elder brother Manasseh, and gives him the inheritance blessings of Israel. Indeed, Ephraim will become an important symbol of God’s people just as Joseph’s story plays out. It illustrates how those who are scattered abroad are protected and shown mercy in order to unify and bring in the fullness of God’s people, Israel. It also demonstrates that God chooses who He chooses, and it has nothing to do with first born rights or lineage. Just as Isaac was esteemed over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau, Ephraim is esteemed over Manasseh.
After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”
Genesis 48:1-6,17-19 ESV
In Gen 48:19, the word multitude is translated fullness, and nations is translated, gentiles. So we have Jacob blessing Ephraim and stating that through him will be a fullness of gentiles. Through Ephraim (not Manassah), God chose to act without regard to lineage rights. We also see these two sons of Joseph given the same rights as their native born uncles, Reuben and Simeon. God makes a point of choosing the 2nd born son of Joseph, who was scattered and reunified to save His people, to be a symbol of a great multitude of people, or a fullness of gentiles.
As we’ll see, Paul speaks to this fullness of gentiles coming in.
”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”
Romans 11:25-26 ESV
We will return to the concept of the fullness of the gentiles later on, but realize for now that while lineage is important, God chooses who He chooses, and the rationale is only known to God. God keeps His promises. So through Ephraim, a fullness of gentiles will come in. This is likely not tied strictly to lineage. Yet we also see that Christ (the lion of Judah) is to come through Judah’s line, one of Jacob’s (Israel’s) 12 sons. So given this prophecy, there is reason to hold Judah’s lineage intact for that sole purpose. Again, God uses lineage as a tool, but is not beholden to it. It ultimately does not define His people.
“8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.”
Genesis 49:8-12 ESV
If lineage is not of primary importance, but is used to demonstrate God’s faithfulness to His promises, what does God value in us? It doesn’t seem to be our genetics. And as far as we know, there is nothing intrinsically special about the genetic line of Judah which sets it apart from other lineages. The lineage was simply a tool God used to fulfill prophecy.
From Acts, we read that Peter describes God as being ultimately impartial to us, valuing one’s faith above all else. Your genetics don’t matter to God, unless he’s using them to demonstrate His power. What God cherishes, is your faith and your fear/admiration of Him. In Acts 10 we read, “34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. “ (Acts 10:34-36 ESV).
Continuing in Exodus, we see God cherishing the faith of foreigners grafted in as believers. We see those who keep His commands described as ‘near’, and that the ‘far’ off stranger and alien can likewise be brought near if they respect what God did at Passover. We know this now to be a prelude to Christ granting us our salvation, passing over our sins through His sacrifice. We also see again that those who stay faithful to God are brought near and unified into His people. We also see that there is to be one people, united by a single set of laws, not two distinct groups with different laws. Both those who are near and far will be examined later, as well as the importance of one united people to God.
13 Every native Israelite shall do these things in this way, in offering a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 14 And if a stranger is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently among you, and he wishes to offer a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he shall do as you do. 15 For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the Lord. 16 One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.”
Numbers 15:13-16 ESV
29 You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them.
Numbers 15:29 ESV
“If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”
Exodus 12:48-49 ESV
Again, we see a pattern emerging of those who are far off being brought near, unified under one single law into God’s people through faith and obedience. Isaiah writes:
6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—7 these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” 8 The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”
Isaiah 56:6-8 ESV
In another example of the near and far, Paul writes to the Church in Ephesus:
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
Ephesians 2:18-19 ESV
So we share one spirit with access to the Father. This one spirit is a shared faith and obedience to His Word, not lineage or land. We are not saved by who our parents are or our order in the family tree, for God chooses based on His purposes alone. And we are not saved by the land we occupy, for we will see that land is fleeting and ill-defined. God chooses who He chooses, and if He chooses to bless a lineage, we read that it is of secondary importance to God demonstrating His power and faithfulness to keep his promises.
15 Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 10:15-19 ESV
In Romans, Paul writes:
But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”
Romans 2:25 ESV
Paul goes on to state directly that God’s people are not to be viewed in terms of lineage:
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”
Romans 9:6-8 ESV
The same is echoed by Christ in Matthew 12 when questioning who is family is:
“But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.””
Matthew 12:48-50 ESV
So we see that God’s people are not strictly defined by land or lineage, but by their faith and desire to serve God in spirit. In Exodus, God describes His people as a Holy (or spiritual) Nation, a priesthood that heeds His voice and keeps His commands, and a treasure among all peoples, throughout the whole earth.
“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
And we see this same promise of a priesthood echoed in 1 Pet 2:9, “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.” (1 Pet 2:9 ESV).
Is 1 Peter 2:9 talking to those of a certain genetic lineage, or Christians? The book opens this way:
”Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,“. (1 Peter 1:1 ESV)
Peter is talking to Christian’s, and stating that they are a chosen race and holy nation. They are Israel, God’s people, and they are NOT defined by specific genetic lineages or national boundaries.
So to summarize some of the previous prophecies, we have a people that are to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation set apart by God, with lands that stretch far in all cardinal directions, are as numerous as the stars of the sky, the sand of the sea, and the dust of the earth, and in whom, all the families and nations of the earth are to be blessed. This people for His possession also hold to one law, which is applicable to both native born and foreigner alike. So who is this chosen people? Peter provides some clues in his writing in echoing Exodus 19 above. He states that ‘You’ are a chosen a race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for His possession. Peter clarifies who ‘you’ are in the next verse as he continues, “10 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.” (1 Pet 2:10 ESV). So the chosen people once had no mercy, but now received it through Christ. They were also not a clearly defined people, but are now God’s people.
Christians fulfill a unique role in Old Testament prophecy, as we’ll see later on, but some background needs to be understood before getting there. We will see that Christians fulfill the prophetic role of a people that once had mercy (Israel), then received no mercy, then received salvation. They were once a people (Israel), then not a people, then a people again. The falling away of God’s people, Israel, was also prophetic. God states that His people will be blessed if they keep the commandments, and cursed and scattered if they do not. In this way, Israel fell away. But God’s promises hold true, and through Christ, Israel is made whole again.
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