It is that time of year where I return to my second occupation of mowing lawns. This means my time will be limited in writing blog articles but I will do my best to be faithful in writing them. However, today was a very tiring day for me, so I'm simply going to post some quotes from O. Palmer Roberston in his book "The Israel of God." Hopefully they will be thought provoking and as helpful to you as they have been for me.
"The concept of land that belongs to God's people originated in Paradise. This simple fact, so often overlooked, plays a critical role in evaluating the significance of the land throughout redemptive history and in its consummate fulfillment. Land did not begin to be theologically significant with the promise to Abraham. Instead, the patriarch's hope of possessing a land arose out of the concept of restoration to the original state from which man had fallen. The original idea of land as paradise significantly shaped the expectations associated with redemption" (p. 4).
"In speaking of Israel's land under the old covenant, it is necessary to think in categories of shadow, type and prophecy, in contrast to reality, substance and fulfillment under the new covenant" (p.4).
"AS the Israelites journeyed through the desert, God provided them with manna from heaven, water from the rock, and a serpent on a pole. All these images found their new covenant fulfillment, not in more manna and water, or in a larger serpent on a taller pole, but in redemptive realities that these old covenant forms foreshadowed (see, e.g., John 3:14, 6:51; 7:37; Rom. 15:16). The very nature of the old covenant provisions requires they be viewed as prophetic shadows , not as permanent realities. This principle has great significance when it is applied to the idea of land as experienced by Israel under the administration of the old covenant" (p. 6).
"...the covenant promise of land made to Abraham takes on a much greater significance when it is viewed from the perspective of fulfillment in the age of the new covenant. Now the patriarch's promise is understood to imply that he is heir of the cosmos, not merely the land of the Bible (Rom. 4:13). Because God is Lord of the whole universe, he will fulfill his covenant promise of redemption by reconstituting the cosmos. The blessing of land that humanity first experienced will finally be graciously be given back to him" (p.10).
"The holiness of the land is inescapably related to the fact that the holy God dwelt there...In other words, the holiness of the land is derived from the presence of the holy God. But once his person has been removed, as is implied by the withdrawal of the Shekinah glory in the days before the captivity of Jerusalem, the land is no longer holy and so becomes subject to human devastation" (p.11).
"The possession of the land under the old covenant was not an end in itself, but fit instead among the shadows, types, and prophecies that were characteristic of the old covenant in its presentation of redemptive truth. Just as the tabernacle was never intended to be a settled item in the plan of redemption but was to point to Christ's tabernacling among his people (cf. John 1:14), and just as the sacrificial system could never atone for sin but could only foreshadow the offering of the Son of God (Heb. 9:23-26), so in a similar manner Abraham received the promise of land but never experienced the blessing of its full possession, in this way, the patriarch learned to look forward to 'the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God' (Heb. 11:10)" (p.13).
"Yet many theologians in the present day continue to interpret the promise of the land in the old covenant in terms of its shadowy, typological dimensions, rather than recognize the greater scope of the new covenant fulfillments. Many would view the modern state of Israel as a fulfillment of the promise as it was originally given to the patriarch" (p.27).
" Evangelical Christianity in particular should take care to apply the implications of Pauline theology to the current situation with regard to the land. For Paul emphatically notes that 'if you let yourself be circumcised (an old covenant institution), Christ will be of no value to you at all' (Gal. 5:2). In a similar way, if the promised land of the old covenant becomes the blessed object to be achieved, then it tremendous fulfillment in the new covenant could be missed.To claim the 'city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God' (Heb. 11:10), Abraham had to look past the shadowy form of the promise, which he never possessed, to the realities that could be perceived only by faith. How sad it would be if evangelical Christians who profess to love the Jewish people should become a primary tool in misdirecting their faith and expectation" (p. 31).
This is, perhaps, the best book that I have read on the subject (I'm still reading through it) and I heartily recommend it for anyone seriously interested in the subject. Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
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