Chapter 10 - Israelite Age

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After the Postdiluvian Age had served its intended purpose, God proceeded to introduce the next part of His eternal plan to vindicate His nature and repopulate His kingdom through the redemption of fallen human beings. Therefore, He initiated the Israelite Age. It endured from 2166BC to 586BC.

Patriarchs

The Israelite Age began when God entered into covenant relationship with the original patriarch of Israel, Abram. Referred to as the Abrahamic Covenant, it was an unconditional covenant of promise that secured the presence of the kingdom of God on the degenerated earth. As a result, God could continue to vindicate His nature and repopulate His kingdom.

Through the Abrahamic Covenant God requested that Abram do two things. Both requests were accompanied by unconditional covenantal promises:

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Divine Requests	References
1. “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.”	Genesis 12:1
2. “And so you shall be a blessing …”	Genesis 12:2

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God’s first request was for Abram to leave his country, relatives and father’s house and go to the land where He would direct him. If Abram obeyed, God promised three things for him:

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Promises	References
1. “And I will make you a great nation,”	Genesis 12:2
2. “And I will bless you,”	Genesis 12:2
3. “And make your name great …”	Genesis 12:2

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The fulfillment of the three promises above would serve as the means by which Abram would fulfill God’s second request to “be a blessing” in the land of promise. By his willingness to obey, God would make him a source of divine blessing and fulfill three more covenantal promises for him:

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Promises	References
1. “And I will bless those who bless you,”	Genesis 12:3
2. “And the one who curses you I will curse.”	Genesis 12:3
3. “And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”	Genesis 12:3

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While Abram willingly traveled to the promised land, an extended passage of time without the satisfaction of covenant promises caused him to become skeptical. Therefore, he attempted to facilitate the fulfillment of the covenant promises for God. Consequently, God encouraged Abram (“exalted father”) by changing his name to Abraham (“father of many”). (Genesis 17:5) The name change provided reassurance to Abram that God would indeed fulfill His promised covenantal stipulations.

In time, God restated the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant to Abraham’s son Isaac and his grandson Jacob (after a night of wrestling with God, Jacob was renamed Israel, meaning “God prevails”). (Genesis 32:28) Thus, by divine appointment, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel) served as the patriarchs or forefathers of the nation of covenant promise.

The divine fulfillment of the unconditional promises of the Abrahamic Covenant would eventually lead to the birth of a nation populated with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Not only would it represent the kingdom of God on the degenerated earth but also provide the avenue through which the promised Messiah would descend to earth and bless all of its families (nations).

As recorded in Genesis 49-50, the Patriarchal Age concluded with the death of Jacob. His twelve sons (the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel) buried him in the land of Canaan. Afterward, they returned to Egypt and lived in subjection to Egyptian rule for 430 years. (Exodus 12:40-41)

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National Israel

About 400 years after the death of Jacob, God led the twelve tribes of Israel out of Egypt. His purpose was to initiate the covenant promises He made to Abraham and later confirmed to Isaac and Jacob. By then numbering in the millions, the twelve tribes of Israel would begin to learn through great trial and tribulation what it would mean to become one nation under God.

God had planned beforehand to form the nation through a series of interrelated covenants. They included the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant, the conditional Mosaic Covenant, and the unconditional Davidic Covenant. Collectively, they have been referred to as the Old Covenant.

By the unconditional stipulations of the Abrahamic Covenant God promised citizenry, land, protection, and blessing. (Genesis 12:1-3; 7; 13:14-17; 15:1-21; 17:1-8; 18:18; 22:18; cf. Deuteronomy 29:1-30:10) Through the conditional stipulations of the Mosaic Covenant He provided the nation with a constitution. (Exodus 20:1-31:18) Enacted in the Sinai desert outside of Egypt, it prescribed the nature, functions, and limits of representational religious and governmental practice. Leadership for the nation of Israel was initially appointed by God and subsequently promised according to His unconditional stipulations of the Davidic Covenant. (2 Samuel 7:4-17; 1 Chronicles 17:4-15; 2 Chronicles 6:16; Psalm 89:3-4)

The representation of God on earth through the nation of Israel endured from Moses to King Zedekiah (1446BC to 586BC). However, national disobedience to the conditional stipulations of the Mosaic Covenant resulted in the suspension of Israel from the covenant plan of God and their privileged role of kingdom representation.

The suspension of Israel from the covenant plan of God was temporary. “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29) Their irrevocability is not related to disobedient human conduct but to the unconditional covenant promises of God.

Nevertheless, the promises of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants were unconditional. Consequently, they would be fulfilled regardless of the actions of national Israel.

By design, the stipulations of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants would be fulfilled through the future, unconditional promise of Israel’s New covenant. The unconditional fulfillment of God’s covenantal promises to national Israel was guaranteed by the blood of the Eternal Covenant. As a result, Israel’s future restoration to covenant plan and kingdom citizenship is indisputable.

Indeed, the Bible reveals a period in the future when Israel will become a nation whose greatness is unparalleled in history. Shortly after His return to earth, the Messiah will assemble national Israel as one nation, restore them to covenant relationship through the unconditional New Covenant, and commission them to represent Him on earth. (Isaiah 54:5-7; 60:1-22; Jeremiah 30-31; Ezekiel 20:33-38; 37:24-28; Daniel 9:24-27; Acts 1:6; Romans 11; et al.)
The kingdom of God manifested on the degenerated earth through national Israel can be briefly summarized as follows:

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Category	Description
Primary Purpose:	The revelation of the authority of God for the benefit of human beings. The vindication of divine authority.
Plan:	The degenerated earth as a suitable habitat for human beings. Rather than the earth existing in the kingdom of God, the kingdom manifested on the degenerated earth within redeemed human beings legally representative and organically representational of God. Kingdom repopulation by human beings.
Realm:	The spatiotemporal degenerated earth.
Era:	From Moses to King Zedekiah (2166BC to 586BC).
Presentation:	Visible.
Citizenship:	Holy spatiotemporal human beings specifically descended from the Hebrew descendants of Seth to form the nation of Israel.
Character for Citizenship:	Glorious, holy and eternal (concordant with the nature of the divine king).
Qualification for Citizenship:	Holiness, spirituality, and immortality awarded by divine justification and regeneration. Human cooperation by willing submission to the beneficent revelation of divine authority. By grace through faith alone.
Governance:	Theocratic. In cooperation with human mediation. Through union of life between God and the elect of the nation of Israel.
Outcome:	By benefit of the future fulfillment of the Eternal Covenant, the elect of Israel justified and regenerated by grace through faith alone and consequently, made legally representative and organically representational of God. By the unconditional promises of the Abrahamic Covenant and Davidic covenants and the conditional stipulations of the Mosaic Covenant, the continued vindication of the divine nature and repopulation of the divine kingdom. The authority of God again challenged by human rebellion. Divine judgment leading to temporary suspension from the covenant plan of God and dispersion among the Gentile nations. The unconditional covenant promises to Israel remaining unfulfilled. The kingdom of God not completely repopulated. The nature of God not fully vindicated.

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