Great question! It demonstrates how important it is to take everything the Bible says on a topic, instead of selecting a verse here and there and building your thinking on them. It will also demonstrate how important it is to take a verse in its context.
First of all, the term “Israel” is used in more than one way. It first appears in Genesis 32:28 where God gives the name to Jacob. It means “one who struggles with God.” In Genesis 45:21 we find the phrase “the sons of Israel,” referring to Jacob’s boys. This idea will be carried forward to the descendants of Jacob, who are called the “children of Israel” (Exodus 3:10). The “tribes of Israel” are the descendants of the actual sons Jacob (Genesis 19:16). Once the Hebrews left Egypt under the leadership of Moses they maintain a tribal formation. So it is probably most correct to speak of them as the tribes of Israel instead of the nation of Israel. These people became a nation under King Saul. They remained a united kingdom until the death of King Solomon. Under his son, Rehoboam, the kingdom divided into two kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom was knows as Israel. The Southern Kingdom was known as Judah. The Kingdom of Israel struggled mightily in terms of their faith and finally abandoned the true God completely. They were conquered by Assyria, deported, assimilated in the pagan culture around them, and are never heard from again. The few faithful people migrated to Judah. Judah also struggled in their faith relationship and eventually was conquered by Babylon. It was during this time that the word “Jew” began to be used. It is derived from the name “Judah.” Babylon was in turn conquered by the Persians and the Jews were allowed to return to Canaan. After the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the name “Israel” pretty much ceases to be used in a national sense and instead refers to the people of God. In the New Testament the word “Israel” is taken over as a reference to the Church and it is maintained that that meaning is the ultimate and full meaning of the word (see Paul’s development of this idea in Romans 9-11 as an example). So we have an “Israel of the flesh,” who are physical descendants of the man Israel, and simply “Israel” who are all true believers. Moving forward, the Jews revolted against the Romans and lost. They were deported and prohibited from living in Jerusalem. The history of the world runs forward and the land remained empty of Jews until 1948 when the modern state of Israel was formed. This modern Israel is not referred to in the Bible. Any promises made to “Israel” in the Bible are not made concerning the modern nation of Israel. The New Testament definition of “Israel” is key in understanding Old Testament promises. So, when God promises Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, and that promise is carried forward in the Children/Tribes/Nation of Israel (really Judah) and then Jews, it is not a promise of physical descendants but a promise of descendants who share a true faith in the true God (Genesis 15:5-6). This allows non-Jews to come to faith and become part of “Israel” (just a few examples include Rahab, Ruth and Naaman; Joshua 6:25; Ruth; 2 Kings 5).
Aside from these general considerations, there are some very important passages in the Old Testament.
Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. Joshua 21:45
“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. all have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. But just as all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you, if you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.” Joshua 23:14-16
Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 1 Kings 8:56
We see in these passages two important things. The promises to physical Israel were contingent on them being more than just physical Israel, they were to be spiritual Israel. When they broke their end of the promise they invalidated the promises to physical Israel. However the promises to spiritual Israel, that is believers in the true God, remain. The second important point is that all the promises to physical Israel were actually kept. We should not look forward to them being fulfilled because they already have been fulfilled.
Many of the promises to physical Israel have spiritual overtones and those still hold true for spiritual Israel. So, for example, in Genesis 12:2 God tells Abraham “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” That blessing is received by grace through faith in Jesus and the atonement he achieved. We have this promise restated in Genesis 18:18; 22:18; etc. The promises of an eternal homeland are understood in terms of heaven, especially the new heavens and the new earth following the Second Coming of Jesus (Genesis 13:15; Exodus 32:13; etc.) The ordinances that were established “forever” are carried forward in the sacraments of the Church or in Christ in general (Exodus 21:13; Leviticus 3:17; etc.)
This approach has been the standard view of the Christian Church up to the 19th century. At that point in time a lot of unbiblical ideas began to surface that gave birth to a lot of unbiblical religious movements (Jehovah’s Witnesses; Mormons; Zionism; Christian Scientist; Dispensationalism; destructive historical criticism; etc.). These movements have given rise to confused thinking on the subject of “Israel.”
This is a long answer (though it could be much longer). The short answer is that all who believe in Jesus, from Adam to the last child baptized, is “Israel.” Therefore Paul can write, “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, … was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory” (2 Corinthians 1:19-20).
If you have any specific promise in mind, let me know and I can respond to it. This is a general response because the question is a general one.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert
