“For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.”                                                        Romans 9:3-5.

The Basic and fundamental reason for God choosing Israel was to use them as His servant people - His servants.  Whether we like it or not, or whether or not we chose to believe it, we are, both as a nation, and as individual Israelites, in the service of Jehovah, the Lord God of Israel, OUR GOD!
 This was never intended to be based on favouritism.  We read in Deuteronomy 7:6-10;
 

“For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.”

“At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” 

This is not a statement made simply to individuals, as applicable it may sound in relation to those who love God.  It is specifically addressed to “the families of Israel”.  This is a national promise made to a literal national people.  When Jeremiah was inspired to write these words, there was no such thing as a “spiritual Israel”.

 This relationship was made with a literal nation - Israel - and it was made with just one specific purpose in God’s mind and intention.  This purpose was one of Kingdom Service!
Before we enumerate this purpose, let us clearly understand the words of God as stated in Isaiah 14:24-27;
 

“The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.
This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”

We find this principle supported in Isaiah 55:11;

 
“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

This Kingdom service involved three aspects.  Firstly, Israel was to become a blessing to all other families and nations of the earth. We read in Genesis 12:3, and 18:18;
 

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

“Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?”

Secondly, they were to be the living proof that Jehovah/ Jesus is OUR God - the only true and living God.  We read in Isaiah 43:9-12;

“Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.”

Thirdly, Israel is to become God’s Servant people by virtue of their position as “The Sons of God”.  There can be no doubt as to this fact, for we read in Exodus 4:21-23;
 

“And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.  And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.”

 Thus we read in Romans 8:19-21;  (NIV).
 

“The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”      

Let us keep very firmly in mind the fact that nowhere else in the entire Bible is any mention made of God using any other nation than the Adamic/Israel people as His Servant Nation!!!  At no time did He ever train any other nation for this purpose.

That the other nations of the world are to be finally benefited, and receive the full blessings of God, is quite obvious from the statement in Micah 4:1-2;
 

“And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it.
And many nations will come and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.  And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for war.”

So we readily see that this is not a matter of exclusion, but one of allocation of priority, status and authority.

This order of priority, and the penalty for breaking it, is also manifest in Deuteronomy 17:15, and 28:43-44;  (NIV).
 

“Be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite.”
“The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower.
He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.”

As we read the above mentioned Scriptures, it becomes totally obvious that Israel’s ability and capacity to achieve these Divinely appointed ends, is that first of all, she herself must become totally obedient to God’s Laws, Commandments, Statutes, and Judgments.  There is absolutely no alternative!!!
It will be achieved by the full implementation of the New Covenant, when God shall write His Laws upon our hearts and minds.
How on earth could we expect other nations to obey the righteous Law of God if we, His chosen servants, despise and reject them ourselves?  The situation becomes totally absurd, and it becomes obvious that those who today preach from the pulpits that God’s Laws have been done away with are in for a very rude shock in the very near future.  Don’t just take my word for it.  Read Matthew 5:19-20;
 

“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

I leave it to the reader to make their own choice.  If you reject God’s Laws you have two alternatives.  At best you will end up among the least in the Kingdom.  At worst, you will not even gain access into the Kingdom.  It’s your choice.

This is why it is so vitally important that we recognise our High Calling in Christ, not only as individuals, but also on a national scale.
Let me repeat the fact that God has a specific priority in His Plans and Purposes.  Israel is to be trained and perfected first in order that she may then pass on God’s blessings to the other nations.  Isaiah 60:1-3 informs us;     (NASB)
 

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness will cover the earth, And deep darkness the peoples;
But the LORD will rise upon you, And His glory will appear upon you.
And nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.”    

But in addition to this, these other nations will be our servants, just as we will be God’s servants.  We read in Isaiah 60:10-12;
 

“And foreigners will build up your walls, And their kings will minister to you; For in My wrath I struck you, And in My favour I have had compassion on you.
And your gates will be open continually; They will not be closed day or night, So that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, With their kings led in procession.
For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, And the nations will be utterly ruined.
The glory of Lebanon will come to you, The juniper, the box tree, and the cypress together, To beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I shall make the place of My feet glorious.
And the sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, And all those who despised you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet; And they will call you the city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”

The entire history of Israel - right up to the present day -has been a continual cycle of rejecting this calling and responsibilities. And every time, God has graciously dragged us back into the right paths.  We should never cease to praise Him for this gracious fact,  because He is not about to change His mind now.  As we read in Malachi 3:6;
 

“For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”

Being God’s servant nation and people is a special “calling” placed by God Himself upon His Israel people.  It has been “gifted” to us.  The word “gift” means, “a kindness or favour”, and we read in Romans 11:29;
 

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

Thus, God is granting us an inordinate favour by calling us, as a nation, to be His servants.
He has not done this for any other nation!!!
We should be asking ourselves “What are we doing to repay our God for this favour, or to be worthy of it?”
So at this stage of our study, let us examine four special aspects of our calling.

1. The Certainty of the Calling.

Isaiah 41:8-11;
 

“But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.”

“Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.”

Isaiah 44:1-3;

 
“Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.  For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:”

Isaiah 44:21
 

“Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.”

Isaiah 49:3
 

“And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

2. The Reason for the Calling.

Isaiah 42:6.
 

“I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations.”

Isaiah 49:3 and 8;
 

“And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

“Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;”

Isaiah 58:12;
 

“And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.”

Isaiah 43:21;
 

“This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.”

Jeremiah 51:20-23;
 

“Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.”

Isaiah 42:8;
 

“I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”

Isaiah 48:11;     (NIV)
 

“For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.”    

4. The Blessings of the Calling.

Isaiah 42:16;
 

“And I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone.”

Isaiah 43:1-13;
 

“But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.
For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west.
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth,
Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”
Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have ears.
All the nations have gathered together In order that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this And proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, In order that you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.  I, even I, am the LORD; And there is no saviour besides Me.  It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And I am God.  Even from eternity I am He; And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”

Isaiah 49:13-16;
 

“Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.  But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.”

Jeremiah 46:27-28;
 

“But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.
Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.”

Ezekiel 28:24-26;   (NIV).
 

“No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbours who are painful briers and sharp thorns. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.
This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will show myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.  They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbours who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.’ ”

In view of all the Scriptures which we have quoted above at some length, without adding any private interpretations, how can we possibly accept the modern God-dishonouring teaching that God has cast away His true Israel people and nation and substituted in its place either a Godless people who revile His sacred Name at every opportunity, or what is today referred to as “the church” as a form of “spiritual Israel”?

God’s Word is inviolate, as are His sacred laws, the keeping of which assures Him of our dedicated obedience to Him, which in turn gives us the power of becoming in every sense of the word, His chosen servants.