God's relationship with his people

410 God's relationship with his peopleIn ancient tribal societies, when a man wished to adopt a child, in a simple ceremony he uttered the following words: “I will be a father to him and he will be my son. “During the marriage ceremony, a similar phrase was spoken: 'She is my wife and I am her husband'. In the presence of witnesses, the relationship they entered into was denounced and by these words it was officially validated.

Like in a family

When God wished to express His relationship with ancient Israel, He sometimes used similar words: "I am the father of Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn son" (Jeremiah 3 Cor1,9). He used words that describe a relationship - like that of parents and children. God also uses marriage to describe the relationship: "He who made you is your husband...he called you to himself as a woman" (Isaiah 54,5-6). "I will betroth you to all eternity" (Hosea 2,21).

Far more often the relationship is phrased in the following way: “You shall be my people, and I will be your God.” In ancient Israel, the word “people” meant that there was a strong relationship between them. When Ruth said to Naomi, "Your people are my people" (Rut 1,16), she promised to enter into a new and lasting relationship. She was declaring where she would belong now. Affirmation in Times of Doubt When God says, "You are my people," He (like Ruth) emphasizes relationship more than belonging. "I am attached to you, you are like family to me". God says this many times in the books of the prophets than in all previous writings combined.

Why is this repeated so often? It was because of Israel's lack of loyalty that questioned the relationship. Israel had ignored his covenant with God and worshiped other gods. Therefore, God allowed the northern tribes of Assyria to be conquered and the people led away. Most of the Old Testament prophets lived shortly before the conquest of the nation of Judah and their passage into slavery by the Babylonians.

People wondered. It's all over? Has God forsaken us? The prophets repeated with confidence: No, God has not forsaken us. We are still his people and he is still our God. The prophets foretold a national restoration: the people would return to their land and, most importantly, return to God. The future tense is often used: "They will be my people and I will be their God". God has not cast them out; he will restore the relationship. He will bring this about and it will be better than it was.

The message of the prophet Isaiah

“I have raised and cared for children and they have prospered through me, but they have turned their backs on me,” says God through Isaiah. "They have turned away from the Lord, have rejected the Holy One of Israel, and have renounced him" (Isaiah 1,2 & 4; New life). As a result, the people went into captivity. "Therefore my people must go away, because they are without understanding" (Isaiah 5,13; New life).

It seemed like the relationship was over. "You have cast out your people, the house of Jacob," we read in Isaiah 2,6. However, this was not to be forever: "Fear not, my people that dwell in Zion... For there is only a little while left, and my disfavor shall be at an end" (10,24-25). "Israel, I will not forget you!"4,21). "For the Lord has comforted his people, and has compassion on his afflicted" (Num9,13).

The prophets spoke of a huge repatriation: "For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob, and choose Israel once more, and set them in their land" (Gen4,1). "I want to say to the north: Give me!, and to the south: Don't hold back! Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth" (Num3,6). "My people shall dwell in peaceful meadows, in secure dwellings, and in proud rest" (Lev2,18). "The Lord God will wipe away tears from every face... At that time they will say, 'Behold our God, in whom we hoped to help us'" (2 Cor5,8-9). And God said to them, "You are my people" (Deut1,16). "You are my people, sons, who are not false" (Deut3,8).

There is good news, not just for Israel, but for every human being: "Foreigners will join them and will be joined to the house of Jacob" (Gen4,1). "Let no stranger who has turned to the Lord say, 'The Lord will keep me apart from his people'" (Deut6,3). "The Lord of hosts will make a rich meal for all peoples on this mountain" (2 Cor5,6). They will say, "This is the Lord... let us rejoice and rejoice in his salvation" (2 Cor5,9).

The message of the prophet Jeremiah

Jeremiah combines the family pictures: “I thought: How do I want to hold you as if you were my son and give you this dear country... I thought you would then call me “Dear Father” and not leave me. But the house of Israel has not been faithful to me, just as a woman is not faithful because of her lover, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 3,19-20). "They did not keep my covenant, although I was their lord [husband]" (Lev1,32). In the beginning, Jeremiah prophesied that the relationship was over: “They do not belong to the Lord! They despise me, says the Lord, the house of Israel and the house of Judah" (5,10-11). "I punished Israel for her adultery and dismissed her and gave her a bill of divorce" (3,8). However, this is not a permanent rejection. "Is not Ephraim my dear son and my dear child? For no matter how often I threaten him, I must remember him; therefore my heart breaks, that I must have compassion on him, says the Lord" (Lev1,20). "How long will you go astray, you apostate daughter?" (Lev1,22). He promised that he would restore them: "I will gather the remnant of my flock from every country where I have driven them" (2 Cor3,3). “The time is coming, saith the Lord, when I will turn the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord” (30,3:3). “Behold, I will bring them out of the north country, and will gather them from the ends of the earth” (Lev1,8). "I will forgive them their iniquity and will never remember their sin" (Lev1,34). "Israel and Judah shall not become widows, forsaken by their God, the Lord of hosts" (Deut1,5). Most importantly, God will change them so that they will be faithful: "Return, backsliding children, and I will heal you from your disobedience" (3,22). "I will give them heart, that they shall know me, that I am the Lord" (2 Cor4,7).

"I will put my law in their hearts and write it on their minds" (Lev1,33). "I will give them one mind and one conduct... and I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me" (Lev2,39-40). God promises a renewal of their relationship, which amounts to making a new covenant with them: "They shall be my people, and I will be their God" (2 Cor4,7; 30,22; 31,33; 32,38). "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people" (Lev1,1). "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (Lev1,31). "I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not fail to do them good" (Lev2,40).

Jeremiah saw that the Gentiles would also be part of it: “Against all my evil neighbors who touch the inheritance that I have given to my people Israel: behold, I will uproot them from their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. …And it shall be, when they shall learn of my people to swear by my name: As the Lord liveth! ...so they shall dwell in the midst of my people" (Gen2,14-16).

The prophet Ezekiel has a similar message

The prophet Ezekiel also describes God's relationship with Israel as a marriage: “And I passed by you and looked at you, and behold, it was the time to woo you. I spread my cloak over you and covered your nakedness. And I swore to you and made a covenant with you, says the Lord God, that you should be mine” (Ezekiel 1 Cor6,8). In another analogy, God describes himself as a shepherd: "As a shepherd seeks his sheep when they stray from his flock, so will I seek my sheep, and will rescue them from every place where they have been scattered" (Lev4,12-13). According to this analogy, he modifies the words about the relationship: "You shall be my flock, the flock of my pasture, and I will be your God" (Lev4,31). He predicts that the people will return from exile and God will change their hearts: "I will give them a different heart and put a new spirit in them, and I will take away the heart of stone from out of their body and give them a heart of flesh, so that walk them in my commandments and keep my statutes and do them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God" (11,19-20). The relationship is also described as a covenant: "But I will remember my covenant that I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you" (1 Cor6,60). He will also dwell among them: "I will dwell among them and will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Lev7,27). “Here I will dwell among the Israelites forever. And the house of Israel shall profane my holy name no more" (Num3,7).

The message of the little prophets

The prophet Hosea also describes a break in the relationship: "You are not my people, so I do not want to be yours either" (Hosea 1,9). Instead of the usual words for marriage, he uses the words for divorce: "She's not my wife and I'm not her husband!" (2,4). But as happened with Isaiah and Jeremiah, this is an exaggeration. Hosea is quick to add that the relationship is not over: "Then, saith the Lord, you shall call me 'My husband'... I will betrothed to you for ever and ever" (2,18 and 21). "I will have mercy on Lo-Ruhama [the unloved], and I will say to Lo-Ammi [not my people], 'You are my people,' and they will say, 'You are my God.'" (2,25). “I will heal their apostasy again; I would love to love her; for my anger shall turn from them" (1 Cor4,5).

The prophet Joel finds similar words: "Then the Lord will jealously over his land and spare his people" (Joel 2,18). "My people shall no longer be ashamed" (2,26). The prophet Amos also writes: “I will turn the captivity of my people Israel” (Am 9,14).

"He will have mercy on us again," writes the prophet Micah. “You will be faithful to Jacob and show mercy to Abraham, as you swore to our fathers of old” (Mic 7,19-20). The prophet Zechariah provides a good summary: “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I come and will dwell with you, says the Lord” (Zechariah 2,14). “Behold, I will redeem my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them home to dwell in Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God in faithfulness and righteousness" (8,7-8).

In the last book of the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi writes: “They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, on the day that I will make, and I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves" (Mal 3,17).

by Michael Morrison


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