ISRAEL (Town)

PEOPLE OF ISRAEL,
This name is given to all of Jacob’s descendants throughout history. They assumed the name that had been given to his father while he was still alive (Gen. 34:7).

This name is frequently used in the pilgrimage in the desert (Ex. 32:4; Deut. 4:1; 27:9), but it is also said “sons of Israel.” Until the death of Saul, these two expressions, “Israel” and “children of Israel”, taken in a national sense, encompassed the whole of the Hebrews, without distinction of tribes.

But there were various causes, particularly geographical ones, that already tended to separate Judah from the rest of Israel. The distinction was already recognized before the distinction between the two kingdoms was made (1 Sam. 1:8; 17:52; 18:16). As long as the monarchy remained united, the use of the general term “Israel” continued (1 Kings 11:42).

In the typical parallelism of Hebrew poetry, the name of Israel, placed in a second verse, frequently corresponds with the name of Jacob appearing in a first verse (Num. 23:7, 10, 21; 24:5; Ps. 14:7). After the exile, the expression “Israel” frequently refers to the various tribes represented in Jerusalem by the return of residues from them (Ezra 9:1; 10:5; Neh. 9:2; 11:3; cf. 2 Chron. 30:5-11).

However, after the split of Israel into two kingdoms, the name Israel refers to the ten tribes making up the northern kingdom that became independent from the house of David. Already in the time of David there was a split, upon the death of Saul.

The northern and eastern tribes proclaimed Ish-bosheth, son of Saul, king, while the tribe of Judah supported David. Since then, the name “Israel” is frequently given to the ten tribes. Ish-bosheth reigned for two years, but was killed. However, seven more years passed before all of Israel offered their allegiance to David (2 Sam. 2:10, 11; 5:1-5).

The current of rivalries persisted in such a way that, upon the death of Solomon, the nation was definitively divided. Ten tribes followed Jeroboam while the tribe of Judah remained faithful to the house of David.

As for the tribe of Simeon, they had their inheritance “in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Judah” (Josh. 19:1). The ten tribes that separated from the Davidic dynasty were: Reuben, Gad, the half tribe of Manasseh, located east of the Jordan, and west of this river the other half tribe of Manasseh, Ephraim, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, Asher , Dan, and, ultimately, Benjamin, of which a part of the territory with its main towns of Bethel, Gilgal and Jericho belonged to the northern kingdom.
The causes of this national schism were the following:

(A) The birthright conferred on Joseph (1 Chron. 5:1) and the ancient jealousy between the two powerful tribes of Ephraim and Judah. This rivalry had led to a temporary rift in the kingdom, after Saul’s death.

The differences were evident again after Absalom’s defeat, because Judah was the first tribe to welcome the king when he returned (2 Sam. 19:15, 40-43). By beautifying Jerusalem in a sumptuous manner, Solomon gave rise to a revival of jealousy between Judah and the north, which led to the final separation at the death of the king.

(B) The sovereign’s excessive luxury excited discontent. The people groaned under heavy burdens. To support the splendor of his court, as well as for the execution of great public works, Solomon multiplied taxes and applied a system of compulsory levies (1 Kings 4:22, 23, 26; 5: 13-16).

(C) Idolatry, favored by marriages with foreign women (1 Kings 11:1-13). The corruption of customs, subtly encouraged by the followers of false cults, infiltrated all classes of society. As loyalty to Jehovah’s religion weakened, the main factor leading to unity was destroyed.

(D) Rehoboam’s foolishness in refusing to grant the people their reasonable demands for tax relief. Royal harshness favored tendencies toward disintegration, and precipitated secession (1 Kings 12:3-5, 12-16).

The northern kingdom, with its ten tribes, had twice as many inhabitants as Judah, and almost three times as large. But its situation was more exposed to invasion, and it had a less defensible position than Judah. Furthermore, the northern kingdom was an apostate nation, and the abandonment of God inexorably undermined the stability of the states.

In the northern kingdom (Israel) the level was extremely low, and the best elements of its population renounced following the practices of a false religion: the priests and Levites emigrated to the kingdom of Judah (2 Chron. 11:13, 14) . Shechem was at first the capital of the northern kingdom; then Tirzah; Omri founded Samaria and made it his capital (1 Kings 12:25; 14:17; 15:21; 16:23, 24).

Jeroboam, the first king of northern Israel, feared that his people, by going to Jerusalem to worship God, would turn to the ruler of the legitimate dynasty. For this reason he erected two sanctuaries, one in Dan, on the northern border, and the other in Bethel, in the south of the kingdom. In each of these locations, Jeroboam set up a golden calf, which he joined to the worship of Jehovah (1 Kings 12:26-32).

God had his judgment proclaimed upon Jeroboam and his descendants, because of this partial apostasy. Nadab, Jeroboam’s son and successor, was killed by Baasha in the second year of his reign, and all of Jeroboam’s descendants were wiped out (1 Kings 15:25-31). There were nineteen kings who succeeded each other on the throne of the kingdom of Israel.

The whole of his reigns spans 210 years; seven of these kings did not reign more than two years or less; Eight of them were killed or committed suicide, passing the crown to other families.

In only two cases were four members of the same family succeeding in royal power. None of these rulers caused the calves of Bethel and Dan to disappear. Ahab, influenced by his wife, the wicked and idolatrous Jezebel, took the apostasy to its deepest point, replacing the schismatic worship of Jehovah with the worship of Baal.

But at this time God raised up prophets who fought incessantly, at the risk of their lives, to maintain the cult of Jehovah. The most notable were Elijah and Elisha. After the suppression of the cult of Baal there were other prophets, particularly Hosea and Amos, who endeavored to work for the moral healing of the nation.

There were numerous wars between Israel and Judah. The two kingdoms only became allies when the dynasty of Omri occupied the throne of Israel; Jehoram, the firstborn of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, married Athaliah, daughter of Ahab king of Israel.

The rise of Syria, whose capital became Damascus, necessarily influenced the politics of the kingdom of Israel, its immediate neighbor. The two states warred frequently, but allied themselves against the Assyrians in the time of Ahab. 120 years later, Syria and the kingdom of Israel allied themselves with the purpose of taking Jerusalem.

Ahaz, king of Judah, was terrified at the prospect of losing the kingdom, and even his life. Not wanting to trust in Jehovah or listen to Isaiah’s exhortations, he did not hesitate to ask Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, for help at the price of his own independence. Judah had to agree to pay an annual tribute to Assyria, and Ahaz had to submit to Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings 16:8-10).

The latter liberated Judah from the invaders, plundered Israel, defeated the Philistines, laid siege to Damascus, which he seized, and killed Rezin. The king of Assyria deported the inhabitants of Naphtali and the Israelites established east of the Jordan; He participated in or ordered the murder of Pekah, placing Hosea on the throne of the kingdom of Israel, around 730 BC.

After the death of Tiglath-pileser, Hosea rebelled against Assyria. The Assyrian armies invaded the kingdom of Israel again. In the year 722 B.C. Samaria fell, and a large number of its inhabitants were taken into captivity to Assyria.

Settlers from five Assyrian districts came to live in the places that the deported Israelites had been forced to abandon. These foreigners, who mixed with those Israelites from central Palestine who had escaped deportation, gave rise to the Samaritan people.

The deportation of the Israelites was retribution for their sins against Jehovah, whom they had abandoned; They had given themselves over to the worship of false gods and to following the customs of pagan nations, influenced by their evil kings (2 Kings 17:7, 8). The Israelites, fallen into infidelity, had broken God’s covenant (2 Kings 17:15; cf. Ex. 20:22; Hos. 6:7; 8:1) and despised his laws.

Their apostasy was manifested in two ways: they adopted the customs of the nations rejected by the Lord (2 Kings 17:8, 15, 17; cf. Is. 2:13; 4:2, 11, 15; Am. 2: 6-9); then they gave themselves over to the cult of the golden calves, instituted by the kings of Israel, and to the general idolatry that followed (2 Kings 17:8, 16; Hos. 8:4-6; 10:5, 8; 13:2-4).

They continued to sin, no matter how much God warned them through tribulations and dramatic interventions (2 Kings 17:13; Hos. 12:10; Am. 2:9-11; 4:6-13). His sin caused schism, debasement, judgment. Separated from the tribe of Judah, and weakened as a result, they were defeated by their enemies.

Idolatry, intemperance, and dissolution caused the demoralization of his men, taking away their will to resist. Lacking character and moral ideals, the soldiers of northern Israel were no better than the Egyptian, Assyrian and Babylonian warriors.

(A) Vocation and prophetic destiny of Israel.

1. Israel’s vocation is to be the chosen people, raised after the triple tragedy of the fall in Eden, the Flood and Babel (Gen. 2-11) to bring the divine Revelation and the promised Savior to the world. By calling Abraham, God promises him:

(a) that he will possess forever one country, Palestine,

(b) that his descendants will be a particularly privileged nation,

(c) that they will become the channel of a universal blessing (Gen. 12:1-3).
The alliance offered to Abraham (Gen. 15:18; 17:3-8; 22:16-18) is solemnly confirmed to the entire people of Israel gathered at Sinai (Ex. 19:4-6; 24:7- eleven).

Paul summarizes in these terms the distinguished graces granted to the chosen people: To them belong “the adoption, the glory, the covenant, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises; of whom are the patriarchs, and of whom, according to the flesh, came Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever” (Rom. 9:4-5).

We can never show sufficient recognition to Israel for having given us both parts of our Bible, and above all the knowledge of the true God and our Savior Jesus Christ, therefore, we must not forget that “salvation comes from the Jews” (John . 4:22).

2. The deportation, the return from exile, the crucifixion of the Messiah and the global dispersion of Israel. The rejection of theocracy, disobedience to the Lord, and idolatry brought judgment upon the nation, its loss of national independence, and deportation for the ten tribes to Assyria, and for Judah to Babylon (2 Kings 17:1-23; 2 Chron. 36:14-21).

The ten tribes remained dispersed, while after 70 years a minority part of Judah returned to Jerusalem (cf. Ezra and Nehemiah). The reconstruction of the temple was undertaken, and the Jewish community was reconstituted, but the people never found their unity again and the “throne of David” was no longer restored.

However, through the trials of captivity, the Jews were freed from their tendency toward idolatry and clung as never before to the monotheistic faith. It is among them that the Messiah could be born. Recognized and accepted by the remnant, by those who “waited for the consolation of Israel” (cf. Luke 2:25-32, 38; John 1:45, etc.)

Jesus, however, was not received by his people but was finally crucified (John 1:11; 5:18; 7:5; 8:59; 9:22; 10:31; 11:47-50; 12: 10-11; 37:40; 19:6-16; cf. Mt. 13:3, 10-15, 21-38; 22:2-7; 23:37-39; 26:59; 27:20- 25; Luke 11:29-32; 19:14, etc.).

The prophets had already clearly foretold the rejection of the Messiah by his own people (Is. 49:7; 52:14; 53:1-8; Ps. 2:1-2; cf. Acts 4:25-27 ; Ps. 22:7; Zech. 11:12-13; 12:10, etc.).

Christ’s words directly relate this event to the destruction of Jerusalem and the worldwide dispersion of the Jews (Mt. 21:38-43; 22:7; 23:36, 38; 24:2; Lk. 19:41-44 ; 21:20-24; 23:28-31). The dispersion of Israel throughout the land, also announced by the prophets (Deut. 4:27; 28:64, 68; Jer. 9:16; cf. Jer. 29:14; 31:8; Is. 43:5 -6), was greatly intensified after the capture of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 AD.

From this tragic event, three biblical predictions are fulfilled in a wonderful way:
(a) God has preserved the very existence of a people, whom he has promised to preserve until the end of time (Jer. 31:35-36; Lev. 26:44-45; Ezek. 11:16);

(b) this dispersed people have known great suffering, but God will judge all those who have afflicted them, according to Gen. 12:3; Deut. 28:65-67; Lv. 26:36, 38-39; Jer. 30:11; You. 3:4; Zac. 2:8. The persecutions launched against the Jews constitute a shame for supposedly Christian countries.

(c) during the absence of the Jews, Palestine became a desert (Lev. 26:33-34; Deut. 29:22-25; Is. 5:6; 6:11-12; Zech. 7:14 ).

3. The resurrection and conversion of Israel.

Ezekiel had a thrilling vision of the national reunion and resurrection of Israel, dispersed among all nations (Ez. 37:1-14). God has formally promised that he will return his people to the country of their fathers (Ez. 34:13-14; 36:24; 37:25; Is. 14:1-2; 34:16- 17, etc.).

It seems that he has already begun to do so under our gaze with the return of Jews to Palestine. The desert and aridity are flourishing again (Is. 35:1-10; Ezek. 36:10, 11, 33, 38), millions of trees have been planted and agriculture is developing in the Negev desert itself.

This outward renewal prepares Israel’s final conversion to its Messiah, a conversion announced by both the OT and the NT (Ez. 36:24-27; 39:28, 29; Zech. 12:10; 13:8-9; Acts 3:19-20; Rom. 11:11-15, 23, 25-31). This conversion will be the sign of wonderful blessings to the world, and the prelude to the establishment of the glorious kingdom of the Lord.

The believer has reason to rejoice, seeing how God’s plans are beginning to materialize, and he has renewed reason to pray, with faith, “for the peace of Jerusalem” (Is. 62: 6, 7).

(B) The State of Israel.

Since the late 19th century, Jews have established numerous agricultural colonies in Palestine, encouraged in part by the Rothschild family. The Zionist movement, founded in 1897, did much to prepare for the return of the Israelites to their homeland.

An additional impetus was the famous “Balfour Declaration”, promising the Jews in the name of Her Gracious Britannic Majesty that, after the First World War, a Jewish National Home would be established in the land of their fathers.

After the Nazi persecutions, in which around 6 million Jews were murdered, there was an even more intense migratory flow to Palestine, despite the growing opposition of the Arabs and the British.

Finally, at the moment when England abandoned its mandate over the country, the independence of the State of Israel was proclaimed on May 15, 1948. Since Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest, Israel had known 2,555 years of subjugation and dispersion.

However, the armies of five Arab nations, Lebanon, Syria, Transjordan, Iraq and Egypt, launched an assault on the young nation. Israel’s troops were able to resist the onslaught, but Transjordan troops, commanded by British officers, were able to take the old city of Jerusalem, and hold the territories of Judea and Samaria.

The United Nations intervened, and a precarious armistice was established in 1949. In 1956, Israel faced Egypt, due to the blockade to which the Egyptians had subjected the Israelites in the Gulf of Akaba.

Israel occupied the Sinai, which was abandoned in the face of firm international guarantees of freedom of navigation. On June 5, 1967, after a series of escalating tensions and a prolonged blockade of the Gulf of Akaba by Egypt, and with Arab troop movements indicating an imminent attack, Israel launched a lightning attack on Egypt. , Jordan and Syria, which in less than a week took its armies to the Suez Canal, occupying the entire Sinai Peninsula, conquering all of Judea and Samaria, dislodging the Jordanian troops from there, also liberating the old city of Jerusalem and finally returning it to Israel, and evicting the Syrians from the Golan Heights, from where they had been intermittently cannonadeing the Jewish agricultural colonies in the Upper Galilee.

Again, United Nations intervention imposed an armistice, although Israel refused to abandon the conquered territories. The international guarantees of the past had always been a dead letter.

The fourth war was triggered by a surprise attack by the Egyptians, crossing the Suez Canal on October 6, 1973, in the hope of recovering the territories lost in 1967.

The Syrians opened a second front, supporting this attack. However, the Israeli reaction of crossing the Suez Canal in turn, cutting off the supply lines of the Egyptian army, and pocketing the attacking troops, led to the collapse of the offensive.

A peace initiative by President Anwar al-Sadat, traveling to Jerusalem to meet with Prime Minister Menahem Begin in 1978, led to a process of return of the Sinai, and the signing of a peace treaty in 1979 between Israel and Egypt.

But tensions remain between Israel and the surrounding Arab countries, especially with the problem of the displacement of the Palestinian Arabs, a consequence of a war unleashed by the Arabs in 1948, and which, instead of resolving, as the Jews resolved, that of their refugees. in the fields of Europe after the Second World War, they have wanted to maintain, to exploit it politically, appealing to the enormous emotional burden that a human problem of this type entails.

The resurrection of the nation of Israel has brought about the resurrection of Hebrew, which was a dead language, and which is now a modern and flourishing language. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is a center of cultural activity of great global prestige.

Despite its economic problems, caused by the military expenses it is forced to maintain, Israel has a buoyant industry and agriculture, and competes aggressively in the European citrus market with countries such as Spain and Italy. The riches of the Dead Sea are subject to commercial exploitation, and constitute, in material terms, the greatest wealth of Israel.

However, the day has yet to come when Israel nationally recognizes its greatest treasure, the rejected and returning Messiah. The prophets announce that the day of Christ’s coming, for Israel, will be preceded by the day of Jacob’s trouble.

In this period, the nation will go through very harsh tests, at the end of which the Lord Jesus Christ will appear. Zechariah describes the exciting scene of Israel’s recognition of “him whom they pierced” (Zech. 12:10-14), with the deep national repentance of the remnant of Israel.

Then Israel will enter into the enjoyment of the millennial kingdom under the reign of the Messiah, who loves them so much, and who gave himself “for the nation; and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the children of God who were dispersed (John 11:51, 52).

The unfruitful fig tree, an image used by the Lord, cursed for its lack of fruit (Mt. 21:18-19; Mark 11:13, 21), is later presented as a parable of Israel Dry to death for a long time, from the trunk Leaves are sprouting again from this nation. This is an obvious sign that the coming of the Lord is near.