Turning to the Word: Who Is Israel?

This week, I stepped away from our Genesis series to address something timely.

In the past week, I heard an interview between Tucker Carlson and Senator Ted Cruz. Senator Cruz said one of his motivations for foreign policy decisions was the conviction he learned in Sunday school to “bless Israel.”

This phrase—bless Israel—has shaped a lot of Christian thinking. Sometimes it’s invoked without much context. Sometimes it’s applied in ways that Scripture never prescribes.

And sometimes, in reaction to political controversies, you hear the opposite error: antisemitism, contempt, or dismissive attitudes toward Jewish people. That, too, is unbiblical and sinful.

We are called to love all people.

You hear this heart in Paul’s words.

He wrote that he could wish himself accursed if it would mean his Jewish countrymen would come to know the Messiah.

But it’s also true that in Scripture, God’s blessing upon ethnic Israel was never unconditional.

In the Old Testament, His covenant blessings were contingent on faithfulness.

When Israel rebelled, God sent prophets—like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel—who called them to repent.

Sometimes, those prophets were thrown into prison or persecuted precisely because they spoke judgment against their own nation.

Remember the encounter between Joshua and the angel of the Lord before the conquest of Canaan?

Joshua asked, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”

The angel answered, “No, but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”

In other words, God was not automatically “on their side.” He was on His own side. When Israel walked in sin, judgment followed.

Who, Then, Is Israel?

Today, there’s a lot of confusion:

Is “Israel” the modern secular state in the Middle East?

Is it ethnic descendants of Abraham alone?

Is it something broader?

I’m going to lay my cards on the table early:

Israel, in the fullest New Testament sense, is composed of both believing Jews and Gentiles who have union with Christ.

That may be new to some, but I’d ask you to test it carefully against Scripture.

As Paul says in Romans and Galatians,

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Gal. 3:29)

Why It Matters

This isn’t just a theological curiosity.

It shapes how we read the Old Testament.

It shapes how we understand God’s unfolding plan of redemption.

It shapes how we pray, how we relate to Jewish neighbors, and how we avoid both errors: mindless Zionism on one hand and antisemitism on the other.

Ultimately, it brings us back to the heart of the gospel:

Christ is the seed of Abraham, the fulfillment of the promises, the true King, and the cornerstone of the people of God.

In Him, God is building one new humanity—redeemed from every tribe, tongue, and nation.

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