God of Israel
and said: "LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below--you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. (1 Kings 8:23)
The reading of many of the Old Testament books are littered with little secret truths that could change our entire perception of the Word of Yahweh. One of those things is how often the term “God of Israel” is used in the books such as Kings, Chronicles and the Psalms. The usage of such a term is so important to understand the Father and who true believers are supposed to be serving every single day.
To understand that saying one must understand the history of the people of Israel. The Father YHWH came to Abraham in the book of Genesis and eventually made a covenant with him and his children (Genesis 12, Genesis 15:1 - 21). Within this covenant that He made with Abraham and his descendants, there is the Law. The book of Deuteronomy says that within this law, there is life (Deuteronomy 30:15 - 20). It is critical to understand that the Father only presented Himself to Israel: another example of this is Moses (Exodus 3), a proud Israelite from the tribe of Levi. This thought is espoused upon in the book of Psalms, where it is written:
He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws.
- Psalm 147:19 - 20
It is without a doubt that the covenant that the Father made with Israel is one that cannot be changed, as seen in the previous article. The replacement theory is a false doctrine that was made to erase the Israelite and to “open” the doors to salvation to everyone.
However, salvation was and is attainable for all people, that was never an issue. We must understand that at the time of Kings such as Solomon and David, there were strangers on the land of Israel. They were the remnants of mixed multitudes (Exodus 12:38), the remnants of the nations of the Land (1 Kings 9:20), workers (1 Kings 7:13, 9:27) and people who loved the Father (1 Kings 8:41) to name but a few. They were called to respect the same laws and be attached to Israel and were treated with love and gentleness. If they accepted the laws and the Father - what He meant and stood for in His righteousness and justice - than they were within the promise as well. They did not replace Israel, but were attached to Israel. This is proven by the fact that they were invited to eat the Passover meal if they were circumcised (Exodus 12:43 - 44) and even intermarriages like in the case of Rahab and Ruth. For salvation came first from the Jews (John 4:22)
But for them to be a part of the promise, they needed to, just like many people do today, need to acknowledge that the Father is the God of Israel beforehand and be happy for the grace that they have to follow His laws and to be within the promise. The verse that exemplifies this, and that will also end this article, is Ruth 1:6 - 7, which says: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.” May your God be the God of Israel, Abraham and Jacob.