Israel of the Old Testament a role model?

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The ancient people of Israel of the Old Testament are often used as a model today. In fact, they are God’s chosen people. But the role model function for imitation should be treated with care. Rather, it is an example of the connection between God’s invitation and the certain consequences of human rejection.

God always stood by the people of Israel

In contrast to man, God keeps His promises without compromise. Even though the people of Israel, whom He has chosen, have deviated from His predetermined path several times, even completely apostatized, God sticks to His word. The covenant made by God with Israel has always been broken by the people. This would mean that the covenant (legally) would even be invalid, but each time it was reaffirmed or God made a new covenant (Info).

Any covenant broken by man never went unanswered by God. Any apostasy by mixing the statutes of God with the practices and teachings of the surrounding pagan nations resulted in sanctions after a period set for repentance and repentance. Be it drought and hunger, or the dominance of other peoples over Israel, the consequences for the unilaterally broken covenant were inevitable. After the actual return to God’s statutes, it did not take long before another apostasy began.

Relationship between God’s faithfulness and apostasy

The following graphic shows a (rough) overview of the timing of the faithfulness to God and the apostasy (idolatry, paganism, etc.) of the people of Israel and Judah according to the Old Testament. Not every detail in the historical process is taken into account.

The graphic can also be downloaded as a .pdf – here

Even the first glance shows that the constant loyalty of the people as a whole was not particularly good.
It is understandable that the people of Israel, who had only been freed from slavery in Egypt, had forgotten the word of God after over 400 years, i.e. over numerous generations. Plus all of God’s statutes. Even Moses knew nothing of the true Lord. Ultimately, Moses was abandoned as an infant, found by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised in the Egyptian manner. Moses could even have become Pharaoh. Only when the Lord appeared in the “burning bush” did Moses know and was promptly given the task of leading the people of Israel out of Egypt.

The 10 plagues against Egypt alone were obviously not enough conviction for the people of Israel. This was followed by the march through the divided shelf sea and only with the wailing after food and the beginning of the daily fall of manna from heaven did the songs of praise for the Lord begin. But not with sustainability. Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive God’s laws. But this lasted a lot longer than just a few hours and the people promptly fell away again. While Moses was away, the people cast themselves a calf of gold. The first idolatry just a few days after the expulsion from Egypt.

Prophets had a very difficult time

The Lord did not send His many prophets to praise the people of Israel all day long for glorifying God, but to point out their great apostasy and to persuade them to repentance and repentance. However, the people’s understanding was only the exception. Rather, God’s prophets had to fear for their bodies and lives. Many of them were driven away, abused and even killed. King Ahab even described the prophet Elijah as a troublemaker who would only bring ruin to Israel. Ahab himself married Jezebel, a woman from the “noble house” of pagan Phoenicia.

The prophet Elijah complained that he was the only one left in a completely apostate people. But there were (only) 7,000 more people in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Only after the proof of God on Mount Carmel did Israel come to their senses, recognize the true Creator God and abandon Baal. But that didn’t last long. Other prophets followed after Elijah and things were ultimately so bad for the northern state of Israel that God finally took away his protective hand and the Assyrians brought an abrupt end to northern Israel and the capital Samaria.

Judah also finally fell away

After the fall of the northern state, only Judah remained. However, the southern state did not have a clean slate either. The people, with their capital Jerusalem, were even worse at paganism than Samaria, which had already perished. The chastisement followed with the two deportations of the people from Jerusalem by the Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar to Babel, the capital of Babylon. The people in exile only found a recollection with the decree of the king of the Medo-Persians, Cyrus, and then under the king Artaxerxes. Both kings caused the return of the Judeans and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its temple.

But the loyalty they found again didn’t last long. While still in exile in Babel, Daniel received a vision from God of a “final deadline” for the people’s return and repentance (Daniel 9). This period (70-year week, 490 years) expired with the stoning of the Apostle Stephen in approximately 33 AD. Jesus Christ knew this in advance and called on the people listening on the Mount of Olives to heed the signs of the coming destruction of Jerusalem. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple took place in 70 AD. by the Romans during the second siege. The first siege was unexpectedly broken and this was the opportunity for all who believed Jesus’ words to escape to safety. In 135 AD. The final Bar-Kochbar riot occurred. This revolt was crushed by the Romans. The state of Judah was dissolved and its inhabitants scattered to the four winds. A large proportion of the Judeans ended up in slavery.

A general role model?

In view of the relationship between the periods of undivided fear of God and the paganism or idolatry of the people of Israel in the Old Testament, the question of which phase this actually refers to is justified in the argument of the role model function as the people of God. It would have to be a specifically stated time window. Such as a reference to the time of conquest of the people who had just arrived in Canaan, or within the year after the events on Mount Carmel, or within two years after the reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

The separation from the surrounding heathen peoples required by God was only temporarily observed. The mixing (syncretism) with pagan teachings and their rituals was never long in coming. Whether it was the Moabite women who turned the heads of the men of Israel, or the Babylonian women with their mini-skirts (which already existed back then) robbed them of their minds, the reasons for forgetting God’s actual mission were manifold. The real task of the people of God was to serve as a model for the fruitful life of God’s statutes and the evangelization of the Gentile peoples. This was only achieved to a small extent.

The waste begins with “little things”

God’s Word and His statutes are unchangeable. A complete apostasy from God does not only occur with the open worship of false gods and the practice of idolatry, but rather begins with the falsification of the written Word of God. During the times of the Greek Empire, Hellenism spread and reached not only Egypt, especially Alexandria, but also the city of Jerusalem.

Some scholars incorporated Hellenistic philosophy into the previously written Word of God and spread this mixture as new wisdom. In this way, many works that are now considered apocryphal came into being, especially the book of Sirach. The translation of ancient writings into Greek under the influence of Hellenism also had miraculous results. Today known as the Septuagint (LXX, Info).

Treat ancient “documents” with caution

With the apostasy from the pure Word of God and the introduction of paganism, a large number of “divine symbols” were also adopted. It is actually logical that this “false idolatry” can also be found in the symbols used in ancient places of worship and synagogues. It is therefore very questionable to automatically interpret such archaeological discoveries as if the symbols found in ruins were evidence of correct use.

If almost an entire people, including all priests, are addicted to Baal worship, then one must inevitably expect to find pagan Baal symbols on ancient buildings located in the midst of ancient Israel. As a rule, the questionable symbols are a sign associated with a “sun god” of the pagans. Can such a find be a justification for today’s correct use, since it was ultimately found in the area of ​​biblical Israel or Judas from that time? Rather not. Here, too, it is important to always compare such “discoveries” with the writing and not to immediately adopt any symbol and its assignment without checking it.

It is very important to know that God never abandoned His people and continues to do so today. The people of God, or the children of God, spiritual Israel, are the people who keep the commandments and bear the testimony of Jesus (Info).

Bible verses from King James Version