The Mission of God in the Bible
PART 1
From the dawn of time to its fulfillment and climax—from Genesis to Revelation—GOD Himself has been on a mission! What is this passion that so captivates the heart of our Creator?
This post is the first of a series in which we will attempt to answer that question.
The mission of redeeming fallen humanity back to a relationship with Himself spans the centuries of history of God’s ongoing activity with man. Already, at the time of the fall in the Garden and the subsequent curse that came upon all of creation in that fall, God promised the human race a prophetic glimmer of hope (Gen 3:15). One day a Deliverer would be born through the seed of the woman! This Messiah would provide redemption for ALL of humanity.
The narrative continues.
When reading the story of God’s decision to separate Abram and make a covenant with him, sometimes we mistakenly think that God specifically chose the Jewish people to the exclusion of the other nations. But quite the opposite is true. God’s calling and choosing the nation of Israel instead declared His plan for the salvation and blessing of all nations (Gen. 12:1-3, 18:18, 22:18). A basic summary of these verses would be: “I will bless you, and in you and your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed.”
God then goes on to call Israel to be a “kingdom of priests,” which portrays the idea of together being what one priest was called to be to his own nation (Ex 19:6). In other words, the calling of an individual priest was to represent God to his people; however, the calling of a “kingdom of priests” was for them together to represent God as a nation to the many other nations dwelling around them!
God chose Israel and placed them in a strategic position of influence among the nations. The trade route of international commerce between the ancient superpowers (Assyria to the north, Babylon to the east, and Egypt to the southwest) ran directly through the coasts of Israel. God called them to this place of influence in order that the nations around them could behold for themselves the wisdom and glory of the God of heaven (Deuteronomy 4:5-8).
So did this ever happen? Watch for Part 2 where we will explore this question.
by Joel Martin, Executive Committee member
