A light, even in rebellion!

Who was the most successful prophet in the Old Testament?  Which book is listed among the prophets and yet has virtually no prophetic content? And which Old Testament individual spends most of the book named after him doing exactly the opposite of what God asked him to do?

If you didn’t get it on the first two, you probably got it on the third. Good old Jonah, a byword now for running off in the other direction. And yet it is more than just a personal story which we can apply to our circumstances.

All of you Bible students out there will know that Jesus refers to Jonah three times in the Gospels and it is always in the context of ‘a sign’ to Jesus generation. But why Jonah?

The weekly Torah portion places the Book of Jonah on the afternoon of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. Think about this: the sun is setting, worshippers have spent the whole day in repentance, fasting and prayer. As the light fades people’s thoughts return to their everyday life, a place where God’s presence may not seem quite as immanent as He is on the year’s most sacred day.  The attitude of repentance, which has been the focus of their attention, is fading too.  So here they are, presented with the account of Jonah, you cannot get away from the presence of God no matter how far you go.

Territorial deities were a common belief in Jonah’s time, powerless beyond their own borders. Did Jonah honestly think that Yahweh would lose him outside the borders of Israel? He was fleeing God, ‘he told them so’ (Jonah 1:10).

Had he forgotten who he was? His identity was not bound up in some local deity, but the God of the whole world. As Jonah said ‘I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land’ (Jonah 1:9).

Here, in Jonah, is where Jewish identity is summarised:

Ivri anokhi!  ‘I am a Hebrew’.

The identity of the Jewish people cannot be taken away, it’s a covenant thing. We always tend to think as we battle replacement theology, and contend for the covenant faithfulness of God with those believers that just don’t see it, that it’s about that aspect alone.  But of course, another side of this multifaceted mystery of God’s purposes with Israel is that the Jewish people cannot shake this promise either. God has bound the Jewish people to Himself, and they don’t have any choice in the matter.

The wicked generation, embodied in Jesus’ rejection by the religious authorities, had really suffered some type of collective amnesia.  They were supposed to be a light to the world, and yet they rejected the Light of the World. It was a case of identity crisis on their part.  What does it mean to be a Hebrew? To fear the Lord, the God of heaven.  The creator of all things.

God is to be found anywhere, at any time. It is the lesson taught by the book of Jonah, and its message to all who hear it on Yom Kippur is that we have to live our lives accordingly.

Jonah, wherever he goes, causes repentance and revival.  Now I know I’m blowing some revival theology out of the water here.  Isn’t it those who pray and fast and live in perfect obedience who do great things for God? So why is it that this sleeping prophet opens his mouth to say he is running from his God and then a load of idol worshipping sailors turn to the Lord with exceeding fear, offering sacrifices and making vows?

Following this our ancient Aquaman emerges from the Sea to give one prophetic utterance and 120,000+ people repent. A prophet he was indeed, no one had a success rate like him in one sitting.

Those who claimed to own the monopoly on religious knowledge in Jesus time must have understood the significance of the three days by their understanding of Jonah. Jonah’s watery experience would have reminded the people of Ninevah of not only their fish god Oannes, but also Inanna-Ishtar. A god, their legends told them, who rose from the dead after three days, and whose temple stood in their city.

For cultures at that time, 3 days was an accepted death to life timescale.  We see this in the Bible too. Abraham’s journey to sacrifice Isaac took 3 days; in Exodus the Israelites wander in the desert for 3 days without water before God provides it in Marah, another death to life experience. Hosea reminds us of the significance of three days:

He has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. ² After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. (Hosea 6:1-2)

3 days was an established concept in the time of Jesus. Jewish tradition states that it takes 3 days for a person’s spirit to depart their body after they die. Why else did Jesus leave Lazarus in the grave 4 days other than to make the point of His absolute power over life and death.

In Luke Jesus says: ‘For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation’ (Luke 11:30).

To me this is a picture of Israel today.  If you have travelled in Israel enough you will have met us, Jewish people who, though we may not always be the best example of humankind, carry a promise, one that we cannot escape.  I have known people who have said, ‘Do you know you are God’s chosen people?’, only to be met with the reply. ‘What, chosen to suffer!’, or ‘Why doesn’t He choose someone else?’.  Yet God chooses to use rebellious, stubborn and downright difficult people.  No one else can claim the glory but God alone as He works out His purposes.  

Despite their rebellion and disinterest in the Lord and His promises (over 50% of Jewish people in Israel do not believe in God), the Jewish people continue to be a ‘Light to the World’. Of course the most obvious way that light is demonstrated today is through technology and innovation. I don’t need to tell you about the fact that 20% of all Nobel prizes have been awarded to Jews, who make up 0.2% of the world’s population. The website israel21c.org showcases the amazing array of technological advances that Israel has blessed the world with in her short modern history.

Senor and Singer’s book Start-up Nation tries to answer the question about Israel’s success. They ask why a nation only formed in 1948, with a small population and very little natural resources produces more start–up companies than countries like Japan, Korea, Canada and the UK.[1]

In September 2017, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly and said these words:

‘As the prophet Isaiah said, “I have made you a light unto the nations, bringing salvation to the ends of the earth.” Today, 2,700 years after Isaiah spoke those prophetic words, Israel is becoming a rising power among the nations. And at long last, its light is shining across the continents, bringing hope and salvation to the ends of the earth’.

Of course the salvation he spoke of was physical, the impact of Israeli technology and research that has contributed to medicine, agriculture, technology, and the Israeli medical teams that are nearly always first on the ground at international humanitarian aid efforts.

The salvation we think of is so much more than that. When Paul speaks of stumbling Israel in Romans 11, we know that’s not the end of the story. Israel, even in her current situation of darkness to their Messiah is serving the purposes of God for the salvation of the whole world.

The Jewish nation has a calling upon it which cannot be taken away.  Jesus was trying to make them see that.  The original purpose of the covenants that God made with them was to be a blessing to the nations.

Even in their rebellion this has happened.

But what about this modern Jonah?  A nation, largely in rebellion against God’s purposes, and yet there as a physical, undeniable, obvious fulfilment of the covenant promises of God. The outcome of 4000 years of God’s faithfulness, in spite of their unfaithfulness.

Ultimately the sign of Jonah is death and resurrection. The only true power over sin is the glorious resurrection of the Messiah.  Jonah is a reminder to the Jewish people that wherever they go, God is there and He does not change. He is a reminder to the rest of the world that God will always do what He said He will do.

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[1] Dan Senor & Saul Singer (2011) Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle. Hachette Book Group.

The Sure Mercies of David

What are the most important texts in the Bible? As all the Bible is the inspired Word of God we should not seek to elevate one above another. However, there are pivotal points in the narrative of the Bible that we need to be familiar with, if we are to understand the sweep of Biblical and world history.

Scripture is of course Israel-centric.  Many nations, notably modern Western nations, would love to find their names in the Bible, but we need to understand that world history itself revolves around the story of Israel, and in particular Jerusalem. We know that Israel has been chosen by God, however they were not chosen for the sake of Israel itself, but for the nations. Chosen to be an example and a blessing, a light to the nations.

Psalm 87 says that ‘the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob’. And so it follows that whatever happens there will be importance to the nations, whether they like it or not. Ignorance of this fact does not excuse the nations from the inevitable outcomes detailed in the book of Zechariah.

A key and often neglected chapter, even amongst believers is 2 Samuel 7. I will just pause whilst you read it… One of the worlds most respected Old Testament scholars Walter Brueggemann said that 2 Samuel 7 is the “dramatic and theological centre of the entire Samuel corpus” and “the most crucial theological statement in the Old Testament.”¹ That is pretty emphatic. But what makes it so important? It is because it contains the Davidic Covenant, one of the most neglected covenants in the Bible.  An unconditional covenant that God gave to David, to Israel, and ultimately to the world.  The covenants are not just about Israel, they are public covenants, set out before the world, to demonstrate God’s grace and faithfulness, and also to serve as a reminder that Biblical history is in fact world history.

Another leading Old Testament scholar, Walter Kaiser, identifies four great moments in biblical history that supply both the impetus for progressive revelation, and the glue for its organic and continuous nature: (1) the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12, 15, 17; (2) the promise declared to David in 2 Samuel 7; (3) the promise outlined in the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31, and (4) the day when many of these promises found initial realization in the death and resurrection of Christ. ²

2 Samuel v13 and v16 declares ‘He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever’ and ‘And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever’. It’s a thrice repeated promise, given to David even though the Lord had told him (v12) that he would die before its realisation.

The Davidic Covenant points back to the Abrahamic covenant and forward to the Messianic Covenant. It is in fact, the next stage of the promise to Abraham, looking back to Genesis 17 when God said to Abraham ‘kings shall come from you’. Failure to understand this covenant means that we can miss out on the pattern of redemption history. This unconditional, unilateral promise then becomes the vehicle that carries the history of Israel through some very dark times.

Whatever happens the transmission to the lineal descendants cannot be broken.

David’s excursion into sin with Bathsheba a couple of chapters later does not invalidate the covenant, neither does the downhill slide of King Solomon, which ultimately led to the breakdown of the Davidic/Solomonic empire.  None of these affected Gods ultimate promise. David’s last words echo to us through history as a man who knew very acutely the weakness of man and the faithfulness of God. “Although my house is not so with God, Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, Ordered in all things and secure. For this is all my salvation and all my desire; Will He not make it increase?” (2 Sam 23:5).

We are familiar with the reinforcement of the Abrahamic covenant in Jeremiah 31, when the Lord intertwines it with the new covenant. However, a parallel of this unconditional promise of the Davidic covenant, is spoken through Jeremiah in 33:20-21. And if you are looking for yet another reinforcement that demonstrates its present realisation, consider Jeremiah 30:9, which sees its fulfilment after the time of Jacob’s trouble. Whatever school of mainstream interpretation you follow for the occurrence of that – it is still modern history. This Branch of Righteousness shall indeed in these last days, ‘execute judgement and righteousness in the earth’ (Jeremiah 23:5).

The Jewish people have always expected a literal fulfilment, and its literal fulfilment is key to God’s government on earth. It is the ultimate in the restoration of the Jewish people as a nation. The interesting aspect is that the promise belongs to Yeshua’s humanity. He is the seed of David and without going into detail here, we see his physical descendency down through the line of Mary in Luke’s Gospel. As we know from the Gospel narrative the people called Him Son of David, much to the annoyance of the religious authorities, many of who attributed this title to the Messiah.

Yeshua’s disagreements with the Pharisees are of course well documented. In John 9 and 10 we see Him reminding His listeners of Ezekiel 34, and the fact that Bad Shepherds will always be a problem, but also that He is the Good Shepherd. Verse 23-24 confirm that the Son of David will be that Good Shepherd, and again we see the divine and the human side of Yeshua – the seed of David and the great Shepherd of Israel (Psalm 80).

Bringing our narrative right up to date, the Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37 speaks of the present day restoration of Israel. We have seen this in our lifetime, and the endgame is playing out now.  Over the last couple of years, a marvellous thing happened, somewhat unnoticed. A shift in the world Jewish populations.  According to ‘United with Israel’ the Jewish population of Israel now stands at 6,697,000, a significant number, and if you ask the question: How many Jewish people there are in the US, the answer is of course another question, which is so typically Jewish – to answer a question with a question! The question is: What do you mean by Jewish?  However, Sergio DePergola at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said that the core Jewish population of the US was 5,700,000.

And so we have moved to a time when the largest single Jewish population is now in Israel, when for many years it was in the US. This is Biblical prophecy being fulfilled before our eyes, and not only that; in Israel we as a Messianic ministry based there for 40 years are seeing a new season of grace. People are more responsive now to believers than they have ever been.  In Ezekiel’s prophetic time clock the physical restoration will be followed by a spiritual one, with one king and one kingdom, they shall be His people and He will be their God. ‘David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd’ (Ezekiel 37:24).

This will include the restoration of the sanctuary ‘forevermore’ (Ezekiel 37:28) which is further confirmed by Zechariah 6:12-13.  We are in the days when this fourfold restoration of God’s chosen people is reaching culmination: occupation of the land, the Kingship of Messiah, the sanctuary and the covenant of peace.

Is there any wonder that Jerusalem is a battleground? Ultimately it is a spiritual battle. Yeshua is returning soon.  The deposed royal dynasty of David, called a ‘house’ in 2 Samuel, will be restored. The prophet Amos spoke of this Amos 9:11, and was quoted by James in Acts 15. It is a future event and the nations plot in vain if they think they can stop this. The covenant places of Israel, where altars were built and covenant made are contentious places today – Shechem, now Nablus, Bethel near to Beitin and Hebron, two of these are forbidden to Jews and the third is a place of severe contention.  God is a God of time, people and places, we cannot spiritualise the return of the Son of David, His eye is fixed on His throne in Jerusalem. The biggest struggle of all is about to reach its climax, the struggle for the location of David’s throne, the City of David.

1. (Walter Brueggemann, First and Second Samuel (Louisville: John Knox, 1990) 253, Robert P. Gordon, I & II Samuel: A Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986)
2.  Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., “The Blessing of David: The Charter for Humanity,” The Law and the Prophets: Old Testament Studies Prepared in Honor of Oswald Thompson Allis, ed. John H. Skilton (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1974) 298.