Israel: Election & Identity

John Theodor

Introduction

Although the exact etymology is debated, the name Yisrael (H3478, "Israel") is commonly understood to mean "he struggles with God," "God strives," or "one who perseveres with God." Jacob wrestled with God's messenger throughout the night until receiving both a blessing and a permanent injury. "The man asked him, 'What is your name?' 'Jacob,' he answered. Then the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome'" (Gen. 32:27–28). Moses, the author of Genesis, later explained, "Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon" (Gen. 32:32). The account of God renaming Jacob as Israel appears again in Genesis:

After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel. And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you" (Gen. 35:9–12).

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Israel in the Old Testament

From this point forward, "Israel" refers not only to Jacob himself but also to his descendants, the covenant nation, the promised land, and ultimately the unfolding of God's redemptive purposes in Scripture. Why is this story so important? It shows how God chose the Hebrews to become the nation of Israel—a people who strive for God. He rescued them from slavery in Egypt and led them to live in the land of Canaan, at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and Africa. God intended Israel to serve as a visible witness among the nations, a role that continues to shape the Jewish people throughout history. Israel was called to be a "light to the nations," a vocation ultimately fulfilled in Israel's Messiah (Isa. 49:6). God renamed Jacob "Israel," and his twelve sons became the patriarchs of the twelve tribes (Gen. 49:28). But Israel is more than the name of an ancient country or the modern State of Israel. Israel remains God's covenant community, into whose blessings believing Gentiles are graciously incorporated through Israel's Messiah (Rom. 1:16; Eph. 2:11–22). Jesus embodies Israel's vocation, fulfilling the calling Israel was given while remaining its Messiah. Throughout Matthew's gospel, Jesus reenacts Israel's story by coming out of Egypt (Matt. 2:15), passing through the waters of baptism, enduring forty days in the wilderness, and succeeding where Israel failed.

In the Old Testament, the term Israel carries multiple layers of meaning, including geographical, ethnic, political, covenantal, and spiritual dimensions. Geographically, Israel referred to the land God promised to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 12:1–7; 15:18–21), often described as flowing with milk and honey (Exod. 3:8; Lev. 20:24). Ethnically, Israel also referred to the descendants of Jacob, who was renamed Israel after wrestling with God (Gen. 32:28). Jacob's twelve sons became the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen. 49:28), forming the foundation of Israelite society and identity (Exod. 1:1–5). Politically, Israel became a nation-state that reached its peak under kings like David and Solomon (2 Sam. 5:1–5; 1 Kings 4:20–21). The kingdom later split into the northern kingdom of Israel, with ten tribes, and the southern kingdom of Judah, with two tribes (1 Kings 12:16–24).

Covenantally, Israel represents God's chosen people and the special relationship he established with them. God made a covenant with Abraham, promising to bless him and his descendants and make them a great nation (Gen. 12:2–3; 17:4–8), which he reaffirmed with Isaac (Gen. 26:3–4) and Jacob (Gen. 28:13–15). Spiritually and symbolically, Israel signifies God's faithfulness, his sovereignty over the land and its people, and his redemptive plan for humanity (Isa. 49:6; Jer. 31:31–34). The prophets increasingly envision the nations joining Israel in worshiping the Lord (Isa. 2; Zech. 8; 14), thereby broadening Israel's covenant mission while preserving Israel's identity. Religiously, Israel is also a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exod. 19:6; cf. 1 Pet. 2:9). To understand Israel in the Old Testament, one must consider all these dimensions together—geographical, ethnic, political, covenantal, and spiritual—to grasp its full significance within the biblical story.

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Israel in the New Testament

Paul's fullest treatment of Israel appears in Romans 9–11, where he addresses Israel's election, unbelief, and future hope as one continuous argument. In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul strongly identified with his Jewish heritage:

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned" [Gen. 21:12]. In other words, it is not the children of physical descent who are God's children, but the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring (Rom. 9:1–8).

Paul also wrote clearly about the Jews' current standing with God, showing how he, as a key teacher of New Testament theology, referred to Israel in the present tense when speaking of the Jewish people:

I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. . . . I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. . . . As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable (Rom. 11:1–2, 25–26, 28–29).

Many theologians argue that replacement theology fails to account adequately for Paul's teaching in Romans 11. Classical supersessionism claims that the church has replaced the Jewish people as God's chosen. However, Paul teaches that Gentiles are grafted into Israel's family tree as branches (Rom. 11:16–24). Paul never describes God planting a second olive tree or replacing the first. Instead, believing Gentiles are grafted into the existing covenant people while unbelieving branches are temporarily broken off. The result is one olive tree nourished by the same covenant promises. Paul's olive tree remains one covenant people, consisting of believing Jews together with believing Gentiles who have been grafted into its covenant blessings through the Messiah.

Commonwealth theology understands the people of God as one covenant community composed of believing Jews and Gentiles who remain distinct in heritage yet are united in the Messiah as fellow citizens of the commonwealth of Israel (Eph. 2:12–22). Unlike replacement theology, it does not view the church as replacing Israel but sees believing Gentiles as graciously incorporated into Israel's covenant blessings through Christ. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (Eph. 3:6). Paul also affirms this reality:

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (which is done in the body by human hands)—remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world (Eph. 2:11–12).

Together, these passages present Jews and Gentiles not as two separate peoples of God but as one reconciled covenant community united in the Messiah. This same pattern appears throughout the Acts of the Apostles, where the gospel is consistently proclaimed "to the Jew first" before extending to the Gentiles, illustrating one covenant people expanding through the inclusion of the nations rather than the replacement of Israel (Acts 1:8; 13:46–48; 15:12–21; 28:28).

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The Faithful Israelite

Two questions arise when Christians consider God's election of Israel: 1) Why would God choose one nation over another? 2) Why did God choose the Hebrews, even when they were unfaithful and rejected Jesus as their Messiah? Although the prophets use divorce imagery (e.g., Jer. 3:8), Hosea ultimately portrays God's covenant faithfulness leading to Israel's restoration (Hos. 2). The prophet Isaiah writes:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn (Isa. 61:1–2).

Jesus himself read this passage in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth, which angered his fellow Jews so much that they wanted to kill him (Luke 4:16–30). In announcing the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, Jesus identified himself as the anointed Servant who accomplishes the mission Israel was called to fulfill. Why were these Israelites so offended, even though they were supposed to await God's favor? They realized Jesus was claiming to be Israel's promised Messiah and the faithful representative of God's covenant people. We know Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords, but he is also the Israelite of all Israelites. When God chose Israel as his elected nation, he acted sovereignly, fully aware that sin enslaves human free will (Rom. 8:7–8). God called Israel to reveal his covenant faithfulness to the nations. Israel's repeated failures ultimately pointed to the need for the Messiah, who fulfilled Israel's calling through his atoning death and victorious resurrection. Matthew underscores this fulfillment by applying Hosea's words, "Out of Egypt I called my son" (Matt. 2:15; Hos. 11:1), presenting Jesus as the faithful Israelite who succeeds where Israel failed.

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Bibliography

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Trotter, Perry, and Steve Murray. "Replacement Theology: Time-Honoured Error."↗ Israel in the Biblical Worldview. Video, January 1, 2016.