ISRAEL
Ex 4:22-23
22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
23 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.
KJV
Ex 4:22-23
22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
23 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.
KJV
Isa 43:1
43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
KJV
43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
KJV
Rom 9:4
4 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;
KJV
The nation Israel is God’s “son” because of creation. God performed a special creative act in the person of Jacob (Isa. 43:1); and, as a result, not only Jacob, but his descendants through his twelve sons – forming the nation Israel – are viewed in Scripture as God’s “son.”
Then, the nation of Israel is more than just God’s “son.” This nation, because of a subsequent adoption, is God’s firstborn son. That is, God, at a time following His creative activity surrounding Jacob and a nation emanating from his loins, adopted this nation, placing the nation of Israel in the position of His firstborn son (Exo. 4:22, 23).
Note Isa. 43:5-7 relative to both creation and sonship:
Isa 43:5-7
5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
KJV
The reference is to a future regathering of the Israelites from a worldwide dispersion. The Israelites, in connection with creation mentioned in verse one and seven, are referred to as God’s “sons,” with “daughters” used contextually within this same thought – i.e., within the thought of creation resulting in “sonship.”
(With respect to both males and females viewed in relation to sonship, the nation as a whole is almost always spoken of in the sense of a son, or in the sense of sons when referring to individuals comprising the nation [which would include both males and females].
For example, expressions used in verses such as Exo. 1:1, 7, 9 or Acts 5:21; 7:23, 27 to describe all those comprising the nation [both males and females] is “the sons of Israel” [NASB (The Hebrew word translated “sons” in Acts 5:21; 7:23, 27 and other similar NT passages is huios. These respectively are the Hebrew and Greek words for “son,” and both should be so understood and translated)].
Thus, the use of “daughters” in connection with “sons” in a verse such as Isa. 43:6 must be understood in the preceding respect. It must be understood in a similar respect to the way God’s wife [Israel] is also viewed – as God’s son.
The way in which the government in God’s kingdom was originally established, only sons could rule. Then, in relation to man and the earth, two things are seen in this respect: only firstborn sons can rule; and there has to be a husband-wife relationship within this rule. With the wife, of necessity, also being a firstborn son.)
Isa. 43:7 clearly states that every descendant of Jacob is himself a special creation, as Jacob is seen as a special creation back in verse one). Whether this is understood as a passing on of he sonship status through birth, or as God stepping in at the time of birth and performing an individual, creative act, is immaterial. The fact remains that, because of creation, Jacob is seen as a son of God; and, through procreation, all of his descendants are seen in Scripture individually as sons of God, with the nation as a whole seen collectively as God’s son (Exo. 4:22, 23).
This entire thought of creation and sonship, followed by adoption, is what separates and set apart both the Jewish people individually and the nation of Israel as a whole from all the Gentile (individually or nationally). Scripture makes a sharp distinction between Israel on the one hand and the Gentile nations on the other. The Jewish people comprise a separate and distinct nation which is not to be “reckoned among the nations” - the Gentile nations (cf. Num. 23:9; Deut. 7:6; Amos 3:1, 2).
4 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;
KJV
The nation Israel is God’s “son” because of creation. God performed a special creative act in the person of Jacob (Isa. 43:1); and, as a result, not only Jacob, but his descendants through his twelve sons – forming the nation Israel – are viewed in Scripture as God’s “son.”
Then, the nation of Israel is more than just God’s “son.” This nation, because of a subsequent adoption, is God’s firstborn son. That is, God, at a time following His creative activity surrounding Jacob and a nation emanating from his loins, adopted this nation, placing the nation of Israel in the position of His firstborn son (Exo. 4:22, 23).
Note Isa. 43:5-7 relative to both creation and sonship:
Isa 43:5-7
5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
KJV
The reference is to a future regathering of the Israelites from a worldwide dispersion. The Israelites, in connection with creation mentioned in verse one and seven, are referred to as God’s “sons,” with “daughters” used contextually within this same thought – i.e., within the thought of creation resulting in “sonship.”
(With respect to both males and females viewed in relation to sonship, the nation as a whole is almost always spoken of in the sense of a son, or in the sense of sons when referring to individuals comprising the nation [which would include both males and females].
For example, expressions used in verses such as Exo. 1:1, 7, 9 or Acts 5:21; 7:23, 27 to describe all those comprising the nation [both males and females] is “the sons of Israel” [NASB (The Hebrew word translated “sons” in Acts 5:21; 7:23, 27 and other similar NT passages is huios. These respectively are the Hebrew and Greek words for “son,” and both should be so understood and translated)].
Thus, the use of “daughters” in connection with “sons” in a verse such as Isa. 43:6 must be understood in the preceding respect. It must be understood in a similar respect to the way God’s wife [Israel] is also viewed – as God’s son.
The way in which the government in God’s kingdom was originally established, only sons could rule. Then, in relation to man and the earth, two things are seen in this respect: only firstborn sons can rule; and there has to be a husband-wife relationship within this rule. With the wife, of necessity, also being a firstborn son.)
Isa. 43:7 clearly states that every descendant of Jacob is himself a special creation, as Jacob is seen as a special creation back in verse one). Whether this is understood as a passing on of he sonship status through birth, or as God stepping in at the time of birth and performing an individual, creative act, is immaterial. The fact remains that, because of creation, Jacob is seen as a son of God; and, through procreation, all of his descendants are seen in Scripture individually as sons of God, with the nation as a whole seen collectively as God’s son (Exo. 4:22, 23).
This entire thought of creation and sonship, followed by adoption, is what separates and set apart both the Jewish people individually and the nation of Israel as a whole from all the Gentile (individually or nationally). Scripture makes a sharp distinction between Israel on the one hand and the Gentile nations on the other. The Jewish people comprise a separate and distinct nation which is not to be “reckoned among the nations” - the Gentile nations (cf. Num. 23:9; Deut. 7:6; Amos 3:1, 2).
Taken from Arlen Chitwood's book God's Firstborn Sons, pg. 11
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