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Israel and the nations from the Old Testament viewpoint
K. Hruby
As we intend to demonstrate the problem of the relationship between Israel and the nations from the point of view of concrete reality, we shall make no historical and critical analysis of the biblical source from which we learn of this reality; rather, we shall approach the question through biblical theology. Our starting point is a concrete situation, its understanding and interpretation in the consciousness of the people, not an analysis of the stages by which that consciousness evolved.
Within this concrete situation, the people par excellence can only be Israel, cornerstone of God's action in mankind's history and therefore the "chosen people" for the purposes of that action. Understood in this way, the concept of "election" takes on from the start a very particular meaning, which excludes any notion whatsoever of superiority; Israel has been chosen by God as the privileged instrument of his eternal plan. In order to be and to remain worthy of its mission, the people must give evidence of an absolute and unconditional faithfulness to the will of God as expressed in the Torah. This permanent submission to an exacting law involves also the uncomfortable position of being set apart from the surrounding world, and so from the neighbouring nations. This separation is demanded by Israel's task of giving witness to a divine plan, the ultimate objective of which is always the recognition by the whole of humanity of the malkhut shamayim, the sovereign lordship of the one God over all the nations of the earth: the God of Israel, certainly, in a particular sense, but also and at the same time, the God of the universe.
From the beginning, as she became more clearly conscious of her mission within God's plan, Israel was to fluctuate between two extremes which marked out her existence: on the one hand, her particularism and the need to assert her own identity, as a necessary condition of her testimony and, on the other hand, her universalism in tune with the ultimate objective of that testimony.
Throughout the Old Testament literature, Israel is 'am YHWH, "the Lord's people", the community of Israel seen from the angle of its mission within God's plan. In the course of her history, Israel continually experiences this task and mission which is fundamental to her existence, and it is this experience which enables her to become more and more consciously aware of its nature. That which gives Israel her specific identity is her special relationship with God, who has set Israel apart as segulah mi-kol ha-'amim, "the Lord's own possession among all peoples" (Ex 19; 5); and God, who is pre-eminently elohim gedoshim, "a holy God" (Jos 24:19), makes of Israel in her turn 'am qadosh, 'the holy people" (Deut 7:6), 'am qerovo, "the people who are near to him" (Ps 148:14), to whom he listens whenever they call on him with trust (ibid. 20: 10), the people who enjoy God's special protection (Is 45:17).
This unique relationship between God and Israel is the result of a free choice on God's part, owing nothing to any particular qualities possessed by the people (cf. Deut 7:7). Through this initiative, which is a mystery of divine love, Israel, a people of no account numerically, becomes the focal point of a unique experience: her own individual history is transformed into "Sacred History", prototype of the history of God's action on behalf of men. In this way, Israel becomes the prototype of God's love for mankind, and of God's fidelity to his promises (cf. Deut 7:8).
Israel and her Land.
At this point, another element comes into the picture, helping to form Israel's historical experience, and inseparable from it: that is, the intimate connection between the people and a particular country, Canaan, which through this link becomes eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel.
In biblical theology, the land of Israel constitutes the unifying factor between the vocation and the mission of the people of God. God chose this people from among the nations and, in the Torah, marks out for them a rule of life which is to be put into practice in a particular setting, specifically the land of Israel. There is no coincidence in the fact that time and again the mitzvot, the commandments of the Torah, are, as rabbinic tradition will have it, teluyot baaretz, "tied to the land", and presuppose, for their practice, that the people are established in their land. It is for this very reason that, for Israel, any other mode of existence as, for instance, the galut, or exile, appears fundamentally defective in the light of the Torah, and one of the deepest yearnings of the people in exile is. to return to the Promised Land.
The Role of the Covenant.
The berit YHWH, the divine covenant, involves some veryprecise terms for the life of Israel. The covenant, which is at once a free and sovereign choice on the part of God, and an acceptance and ratification by- the people, establishes between God and+the -people very:. special links of dependence, duties and precise responsibilities, all of this being fundamentally rooted in love and fidelity. God delivered Israel from Egypt in order to be her God (Num 15:41), and it was he who set the people apart for his service (Lev 20:26). For her part, Israel must accept this condition to the full and give God proof of her love and devotion by her fidelity to the mitzvot of the Torah (Deut 7:9). It remains true that God has sanctified Israel once and for all by his election, but the people must constantlyratify this fact by their conduct and must be holy (Lev 19:2).
The intervention of the prophets 'becomes necessary precisely because Israel, in her conduct, does not observe this basic requirement of the covenant. God, then, intervenes directly once more and punishes his people severely, sending them into exile in Babylon and dispersing them to the four corners of the earth. Nevertheless, the purpose which God has in view in all this is not the destruction of his people, but their return to him: in spite of everything, Israel remains God's people. In the end, through the series of trials which are brought to bear on his people, God will transform them interiorly, in such a way that a wholly new relationship will be established between himself and his people (Jer 31:33). It is in this way. that, from a biblical point of view, we must understand the beritb hadashab, the "new covenant" referred to in the text (ibid. v. 31).
Here we have also come to the starting point of what will become the eschatological expectation, so closely linked to the ultimate object of Israel's mission: the salvation of all the nations of the earth through submission to the sovereign kingship of God.
As to the progressive development of Jewish eschatology, it can be said that, to the extent to which it remains truly biblically inspired and is not unduly influenced by apocalyptic, it springs from events and therefore from history, deeply rooted in real life. Thus, it is inconceivable without the Jewish people; always standing as a specific reality at the centre of events.
Israel and the Nations.
It is true that, both in the books of the Bible and, later, in documents of rabbinic literature, the impression given of other peoples is often severely pessimistic. Nevertheless, theologically speaking, Judaism never lost sight of the fact that God's design involves the whole of humanity, and that the true purpose of Israel's movement through history, with pail the vicissitudes which this involved, remains always — we have already stressed this — the spiritual advancement of mankind. From the start, the biblical doctrine of creation involves the idea of the basic interdependence of all men, since all, by equal claim, share a common ancestor. Moreover, the first revelation was addressed to man as such, whose protoype is Adam. In the second revelation, by which God established a covenant with the whole of humanity, man's representative is Noah, and rabbinic tradition would place particular emphasis on the idea of "noachic commandments". Later, the call addressed by God to Abraham finishes with these words: "By you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves" (Gen 12:2). Although Abraham became, through God's call, the father of a particular people, having a particular mission in history, still Scripture insists on the ultimate purpose of this vocation as embracing the whole of mankind.
We have just said that the very real hostility between Israel and the nations arose from a concrete situation. In fact, in biblical and post -biblical times, there is on the one hand Israel and her mission and, on the other hand, the "nations of the world" or, as rabbinic tradition would prefer it, umot ba-'olam, an entity which, though its conception of the world, is fundamentally distinct from Israel.
The nations appear as enemies of God's plan, of which Israel is the privileged instrument. Despite this, that plan, which becomes clearer and dearer in biblical tradition, continues to involve the other nations as well, although at a different level and with Israel remaining at the core of events.
As well as the religious seductions to which Israel was exposed in a cultural environment which was often highly developed — such as Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, the Persian Empire — the nations applied pressure on the people with a constant political threat. This threat, interpreted by contemporary biblical authors as the judgement of Gold for the infidelity of Israel towards Godand his Torah, took effect in two great national disasters: the capture of Samaria, in 721 before Jesus Christ, by Sargon II, King of Assyria, and the capture of Jerusalem, in 586, by the King of Babylon, Nabuchodonosor II.
At first sight, this view of opposition between Israel and the nations predominates in the books of the Old Testament. The occasions when the nations also appear as having a direct part in the progress of God's plan are rare and usually cursory. Nevertheless, God is not only the God of Israel, although he makes himself known generally in this light and desires to bring all nations to a recognition of his supreme Lordship through her; he is always, also, the God of the universe.
God's universal plan finds its dearest revelation in the prophets in the image of judgement which, conceived as an eschatological reality — but also profoundly realized in concrete history — is an essential element in the preaching of the great seers of Israel. This notion of judgement also has its place in the oracles against the nations (Is 13-21; 46-51; Ez 25-32). It bears a strict relation to the "Day of the Lord" which, more particularly in the post-exilic prophets, is painted in increasingly apocalyptic colours.
But this judgement, both of Israel and of the nations, is also a promise of salvation. God's plan is essentially that of saving his people (Is 35:4), but, beyond Israel, it embraces the whole earth with all its inhabitants (ibid. 45:22).
God's eschatological activity is summed up in the trilogy justice--judgement—salvation and God's salvation will be the heritage of all those who place their trust in him (Joel 3:5). Through God's judgement, and the salvation to which it is the indispensable prelude, his plan comes to its fulfilment. It is the moment of the great unification of all God's children, the return to the original order which was interrupted by man's sin. This unification will certainly be centred upon Israel, but Israel will, by then, have completed her task as a witness in history, and members of other peoples will be turned equally towards the living God (Is 45:14-17) and will Rock to Jerusalem to learn the law of God (ibid. 2:2-4). Sion will be a mother to them all (Ps 87) and the Lord's mountain shall be a place of adoration (Is 56:7). Then "the Lord will become king over all the earth; on that day, the Lord will be one and his name one" (Zach 14:9).
