The concept of “replacement theology” escapes me, though there are well-known Bible teachers and theologians who support it. The simplified explanation of the phrase is that since the ascension of Jesus and the infusion of the Holy Spirit into the hearts and lives of all believers in Christ, the church replaced the Israelites in God’s favor and His purposes. This misguided doctrine declares that God completely rejected the Jewish people after the cross—after they rejected Him. Sounds logical but is not scriptural.

The parable of the prodigal son comes immediately to mind—is there a point past which the Father would not come running to welcome His wayward child home? Before the final judgment of all mankind?

“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20)

The beauty of this story is that the Father did not demand that the son prove himself deserving before enveloping His barnyard-filth covered son in His compassionate arms.

I’m not sure how anyone can bypass this passage in Paul’s letter to the church at Rome:

“Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

‘The Deliverer will come from Zion,

He will banish ungodliness from Jacob’;

‘and this will be My covenant with them

When I take away their sins.’

As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:25-29)

It’s about a covenant God made with a man many centuries ago and the fact that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

“And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. …God said, ‘No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.’” (Genesis 17:7-8, 19)

“He is the Lord our God;

His judgments are in all the earth.

Remember His covenant forever,

The word that He commanded, for a thousand generations,

The covenant that He made with Abraham,

His sworn promise to Isaac,

Which He confirmed to Jacob as a statute,

To Israel as an everlasting covenant,

 Saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan,

As your portion for an inheritance.’”

 (2 Chronicles 16:14-18)

“Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.” (Jeremiah 32:37-40)

“They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Ezekiel 37:25-28)

God keeps His promises, and we wouldn’t want it any other way. In fact, how could we love and serve a God whom we could not trust? His faithfulness to the lineage of Jacob and the house of David serves to encourage everyone who, by faith, trusts Him and relies on His goodness and righteousness for salvation. There is much to learn about the character of God and His relationship to the Israelite nation—because it also speaks to His relationship with His church. He calls us, saves us, gifts us, and uses each person and congregation for a unique purpose. He is righteous, holy, and just—and He will not allow evil to prosper.

It has been an amazing journey to read through the minor prophets, recognizing that quite a few of the prophecies concerning the land and the people of Israel have not yet been fulfilled, particularly concerning Jerusalem and the millennial kingdom; however, because of the nature and faithfulness of God, we know they will be. We also read about 144,000 Jewish saints who receive the seal of God in the book of Revelation, confirming that God has more in store for the descendants of Jacob in the future. I find it interesting and sad that much dissention exists amongst Christians, to the point of some condemning those who do not agree with their opinions concerning biblical prophecy and the nation of Israel. It is difficult to deny God’s heart towards the Jewish people when taking a literal view of scripture and looking at the “big picture” of how God has interacted in the affairs of mankind throughout the ages. And we, as Gentiles, are much better off for the faithfulness of God to the descendants of Jacob!