Who Exactly Is Israel
Written by Elinor Montgomery – emontgomery@cogeco.ca
May 04, 2002
The Church has failed miserably in teaching the Word of God. Generally, she has touched the surface of the Bible, read into it a moral code, and has missed the message of life and death, blessing and cursing, as given to the nation Israel. Until she goes back to the beginning and understands the pattern Israel has put before her, she shall lead her sheep to the edge and allow them to go over the cliff to destruction.
Who is Israel? Israel is made up of two companies, which are only identified as such after Jacob crossed over the Jabbok with his staff, the symbol of the shepherd. As Jacob left his father-in-law, Laban, for the last time, and departed for the land of his father Isaac, he made a pact with Laban, swearing on the Fear of Isaac, the Fear of God, which placed the judgment of death on Abraham’s first son, only to have God relent when Abraham showed faith and obedience to Him. God, Himself, provided the sacrifice that would have been required of the sons of man, if He were not to provide His own Son in their place. The angel of God met Jacob as he went on his way, and he called the place of meeting “Mahanaim”, which meant the double camp. Fear of the enemy, Esau, the first son and his brother, caused Jacob to divide his family into two companies, with the split being between the maidservants and Leah and their children as the first company, and Rachel and her only son Joseph, as the second company coming last.
Jacob sent all of them ahead of him, and a Man wrestled with him all through the night, touching the socket of his hip to put it out of joint, henceforth causing him to walk with a limp. This was Man with a capital ‘M’. This was no ordinary man. It was the only ‘Man’ that ever lived who was God. This was the pre-incarnate Jesus, who is showing through Jacob exactly who Israel is. He is the one who has struggled with God and men and has won the battle as an overcomer. This is the person who stands tall under the suffering of the cross and comes out of the battle, victorious over the lures of Satan. Israel is the believer, and every man who enters the Kingdom shall face the same struggle as Jacob did between God and man. Israel means ‘prince with God’, and that is the name given to the overcomer. The point, at which the struggle takes place, is when man comes into relationship with the living Christ, desiring intimacy with Him. The struggle can be for nothing less than the desire to know the Lord intimately in a face-to-face relationship as did Jacob, and as did Moses after him.
Joseph is the son of the second company, who receives the mantle of his Father, Jacob, or the inheritance that the oldest or first son should have received by tradition, who would have been the first son of Leah, or the first son of the nation. Joseph blesses his brothers, once he becomes designated ruler over all of Egypt, but he gives the greater blessing to the son who is born after the struggle of Jacob with the Man, and after the waters are crossed over. He is Benjamin, his full brother, born near Bethlehem, and not one of the half-brothers who gave Joseph over to Egyptian slave traders, in all likelihood expecting that their actions would culminate in their brother’s death, with the probability that his family never would see him again. Though they thought they took his life from him, the great god Pharaoh eventually made him ruler over his entire kingdom, making him second in power only to Pharaoh, himself. All of his brothers’ lives were saved by the mercy and forgiveness of Joseph, who through his undying faith and obedience to his God, was positioned by Him to be in the right place at the right time. The act of the brothers, by which they intended to do evil, was turned around by God to serve His purposes and to do good.
This is the picture of Israel, the first company of half brothers, the nation, and Israel, the second company of the full brothers, the church. Benjamin becomes as the second son, and receiver of the crossover blessing or greater blessing, through his shared inheritance with Jesus. Jacob worked seven years for Leah, which is symbolic of God’s dealing with the nation Israel for 2,000 years, before the birth of Jesus. He then worked another seven years for the love of his life, Rachel, which is symbolized by another 2,000 years of working with the church, Israel, before finally receiving his bride unto himself. The children of Israel, though intimate with God, chose not to be obedient to the Law or faithful to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The institutional church today, having the opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit and be intimate with Jesus, chooses not to be a torch bearer any more than the children of Israel chose to be such. The bride of Jesus or the son of Rachel will be born of great love and desire that accompany the intimacy with Jesus as His ‘born again believer’ sister and spouse. Not only will she keep the law, but also she will worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. This is the true church and the inheritor. The jealousy that existed between nation and church shall disappear, when the nation too, will participate in the blessing of life, upon being given the opportunity one more time to recognize that Jesus is their brother and ruler, in the same way that the brothers finally recognized Joseph (see Ezekiel 37 and the two sticks become one, never to be parted again in the Kingdom that is inherited by all of Israel). The princes are also priests, but the tribes shall dwell around the tabernacle and be free to worship, as they will. However, the priests never leave the presence of their Lord, for they follow Him wherever He goes (see the great multitude dressed in white of Revelation 7:9).
The synagogues of Israel and the Christian institutional churches are not the two sticks of Ezekiel; but rather the believers within the nation and the believers that are functioning as the apostolic church functioned at the time of Jesus, are the two sticks. The others are nothing more than the institutions of man. Within the two lies the true Church, which must come out of them as wheat being separated from the tares. This is the coming together into the one stick of Ezekiel. The bridegroom is calling his bride out of the danger zone, as he calls her to come out lest she goes down with the institutions of man with which she has struggled all through the night until the light of the dawn returns. She cannot remain in the darkness of the false religions set up by a false rabbinical system that evolved out of Israel and a false church priesthood, which has come straight out of the Roman Empire. The true priesthood and church know the voice of her bridegroom, and she will call the others with a voice in harmony with that of her bridegroom. Those who cannot hear the deeper understanding of the Word and are satisfied to remain comfortable in their pews shall surely go down. Those who compromise with men rather than struggle to the end of the night, shall surely go down. Those who care more for self than the face of God shall surely go down. Those who worship the beast shall go to the burning ovens seen by Abraham.
The job of the bride, of the crossover blessing is to be a light to the nations of the world by being the torchbearer of Israel. We are not going to be victorious by appeasing and joining with the Muslim faith that comes out of the Ishmael-Esau line, or any other false religion that seeks to become one in a last, all-out attempt of Satan to blot out Israel, the nation, and the Church of Jesus Christ, by bringing forth one big stew of religion. It can be likened to the stew, which Esau chose over his inheritance, causing him to lose the blessing that would have been his if he had desired it as much as he desired to feed the flesh. But he preferred to give in to the lures of the flesh. This is a time to not bow to the enemy. God will struggle with us when necessary, in order to make us more dependent on Him in our walk. It is time to depend only on God and not the plans of man, as the true Israel comes out of the captivity of Egypt. The King wants a bride whose thighs will ultimately be like jewels, the work of the hands of a skillful workman, so that she walks with a perfect walk (see Song of Solomon 7:1)
This is the time when all of mankind has the opportunity to be part of the true Israel on the Way and Kingdom bound, by passing through the cross. You may be a half-brother, but by recognizing Jesus and repenting, you may also receive His blessing of salvation. But the opportunity is there to be an overcomer in close relationship through a rebirth in the Spirit coupled with repentance, and followed by the evidence of good fruit. There must be an obvious life change like there was with the apostles when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and all cowardice disappeared as they spoke with a new Holy boldness. This is the true apostolic church, the woman birthing who wears the apostolic crown, for it is her child that shall be snatched up to the very throne of God, as she is born again into the adopted family of God, sister and bride of Christ, where she shall rule and reign with Him, with an iron rod.
Are you Kingdom bound, or are you going straight to the throne of God? (Song of Solomon 6:8-9) There are 60 queens and 80 concubines and virgins without number. My dove, my perfect one is the only one. The perfect one of the mother, the favorite of the One who bore her. And the daughters saw her and called her blessed. The brothers watched as Benjamin received five times that which the other brothers received. The cup was placed in his sack. You are as climbers on a stairway, going up the ladder to His chambers. Just as Jacob was shown in a dream, angels pave the Way to the Kingdom. On which step will you stop, or will you go up and over the top straight to the throne of God? The choice is yours, now is the time of decision.