In the process of the divine self-revelation that began during the Bronze Age, God did a truly remarkable thing. He established a kingdom, a nation, what one theologian refers to as His meditorial kingdom. Israel was that nation. It was, until it was taken from them (Matthew 21:43-44.) It will someday be restored to them (Acts 1:6-7– Note: Jesus did not challenge the premise of the apostles’ question in this context). And it was to and through this nation that God would reveal Himself to them and the rest of mankind.
Some resent the Biblical teaching that the Jews are the chosen people. But it should be noted that the Jewish people have paid an enormous price for the pivotal role they have played in human history. No people have been so hated. No people have been so persecuted. No people have suffered so much.
Dennis Prager and Rabi Joseph Telushkin have discussed this in their excellent book, Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism. Quoting Catholic theologian, Jacques Maritain, they write:
“Israel…is to be found at the very heart of the world’s structure, stimulating it, exasperating it, moving it. Like an alien body, like an activating ferment injected into the mass, it gives the world no peace, it bars slumber, it teaches the world to be discontented and restless as long as the world has not God, it stimulates history…It is the vocation of Israel the world hates.” (my emphasis)
I think Prager, Tulushkin and Maritain are correct. Theirs is the best explanation for antsemitism I have found. It just makes sense to think that the world, which hates God, also hates His people, this people through whom He has revealed Himself and His ways to the world. On the other hand, it behooves those of us who have love God his ancient people too, and to ponder well the things God has revealed through them. [i]
Specifically, this series of posts is intended to direct our attention to the economic and governmental principles that marked the only civilization, the only nation, the only political and economic system that God Himself has thus far set up.
The Torah serves as its foundational document, its constitution, if you will. It reveals to us the laws that governed this nation and even the laws that governed its kings (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). In fact, Israel was the world’s first constitutional monarchy. This in itself is instructive.
The idea of a king who was not above the law was revolutionary. In the culture of the day this was unheard of. It would continue to be so in a practical sense for thousands of years. But what a principle it was, that men, even the king, are under the authority of the law of God.
Moving past the Torah we come to the historical narratives which record the history of the kingdom, and the struggles of Israel and its rulers to submit themselves to the law, and the consequences of their disobedience. The difficulty was due, in no small part, to the revolutionary nature of the kingdom of God. Truly, there was not anything like it anywhere else in the world.
Before discussing the political and economic principles to be gleaned from the history of God’s kingdom in Old Testament times, I need to throw out a few caveats:
- God established His earthly kingdom during the Bronze Age, and in doing so he made certain concessions to the culture. The laws concerning divorce are a good case in point. In his teaching on divorce, Jesus explained that not every law is a revelation of moral will of God. Jesus explained that these regulations are a concession to “the hardness of men’s hearts”. There are other laws like this. Why the concession? The changes brought in by the law were radical enough and very hard for bronze age men and women to swallow. For example, it took Israel over a millennium to buy into the first two commandments. The problem was; mankind was not ready for the full revelation of God’s moral will. Had certain concessions not been made Israel might well have carried out a plan they once considered; killed Moses and Aaron and returned to Egypt.
- These divine concessions help explain many of the problems critics have with the Old Testament. For example, critics note that slavery — like divorce — is allowed under the Law. But they fail to notice that it is regulated far differently than in the surrounding cultures. In fact, it is regulated in such a way as to set a direction for its eventual elimination. This can be seen in such things as God’s constant reminders to Israel that that they too were slaves in Egypt.
- It is not that easy to determine between laws that were revelations of God’s moral will and concessions. The easiest way is to see how the subject is developed in subsequent revelation. But it can also be seen in the fact that in the case of the concessions, God regulates without comment, as in the case of divorce. On the other hand, he often explains his reasons for things that pertain to his moral will (saying he finds certain things abominable, for example). The wisdom for foolishness of availing oneself of the concessions another way of determining whether or not something is within the moral will of God. This can be seen in the consequences. Take polygamy for an example. Certainly the Law did not forbid it, but the narratives make it clear that polygamy is not a good idea (Jesus would finally make the case against it — in its serial form, divorce and remarriage — by referring to the creation narratives).
- Thus, not everything we see in the law or the history of the Old Testament Kingdom has a direct application to our time and situation. After all, God did create the kingdom of Israel during the bronze and iron ages. It should not surprise us, then, to discover that many of the laws God gave them, and the History He preserved, reflect ancient cultural and historic situations. Nevertheless, “these things were written for our instruction”. This being the case, there are timeless principles in the Hebrew scriptures that should inform our understanding of political science and even economics.
[i] The Jewish people are still God’s chosen people. God did not use them only to disregard them when He was through. God is not so fickle. On the contrary, Paul reminds us that even if they are presently enemies of the gospel they are still, “beloved for the sake of the Fathers; for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable”. (Romans 11:28-30) And so we love the Jewish people, and we are grateful for the role they have played in the history of God’s self-revelation, and we look forward to their restoration and the even greater role they will play in the future. Paul speaks of this greater role in Romans 11:12, 15: “If their transgression be riches for the world and their failure be riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be…For if their rejection be the reconciliation of the world what will their acceptance by but life from the dead?”
