Salvation+for+the+Nations

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= 1. Introduction =

Israel has always been identified as God’s chosen people, yet the question arises, how do the Gentiles have salvation if it was originally only promised to the Jews? A theme in the Minor Prophets is God’s specific plan for the nations. In Obadiah, the warning of destruction of the nations is seen. In Joel, Israel is included in this destruction. God offers repentance to the Gentiles in Jonah. And finally, in Amos, God shows that His judgment is balanced. There is still hope for the world. These books all point to salvation being for all nations, and therefore, the world may one day have peace.

= 2. Psalm 22 =

In Psalm 22, David writes a psalm of anguish as well as a song of praise. David could not save Israel because He could not fulfill the roles of priest and king over Israel. There would have to be someone greater, which is what the first part of this psalm is pointing to. Before Israel could hope to be saved, the kingship would have to be saved by the ultimate Davidic king. And once Israel is saved verse 27 says, “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD'S and He rules over the nations.” Yahweh will rule over all because He is the ultimate ruler.

a. Prophesy of Crucifixion
This chapter is full of Messianic prophecies. Verse 1 contains the words Jesus later cries out to His Father, verse 6 contains the emotions that were felt against Him be the Israelites, verse 16 contains the description of the nailing of Christ’s hands and feet, and finally, verse 18 contains the prophesy of what the soldiers would later do with Christ’s garments. This is pointing to the fact that Christ is the Davidic king. HE experienced all that David had experienced accept at a far greater level. He actually died for His people after living a completely righteous and blameless life.

b. Salvation to the Jew first, then Gentile
Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” This is what is seen in Psalms 22. David first speaks to Israel in verses 19-26. He calls Israel back to the worship of God. He reminds them of His strength to save and His power to protect. In verses 27-29, David addresses all nations. The salvation from the Lord is not just for Israel, but for all those who “turn to the LORD” (vs. 27).

= 3. Obadiah =

a. Day of the Lord – Demise of Gentile and Jew
In Obadiah Yahweh displays His vengeful judgment. The book focuses on God’s revenge against Edom for his sins against Israel, his brother. But toward the end, the target changes from Edom to all Gentile nations. Verse 15 says, “For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations.” There will be no survivors as they become like they never existed (vs. 16). This is referring to the Day of the Lord. “Two basic features characterize the day of the Lord: judgment against God’s enemies and the salvation of God’s people”. The demise of the Gentiles is in this first half, but as we also see, “Amos declared judgment would also fall on God’s own people who failed to see their own sin (Amos 5:18-20)”[i]. We see from other prophets that in the day of the Lord, God would judge sin no matter where it was found, whether among the nations (Obadiah 15) or among God’s people (Joel 3:14).

b. “Saviors”
Verse 21 says, “The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau. The saviors must save in order to judge. The result of this judgment is the kingdom becoming the LORD’s. These deliverers are judges, not Christ. And they will judge the Gentiles in their stronghold (mountain). New Testament connections are found in Revelation 11 and 19, referring to the two witnesses and the host that rejoices over Babylon’s fall.

= 4. Joel =

a. “Army”
The beginning of Joel talks about an army of locust that are coming bringing with them Israel’s doom. They were going to destroy the nations prosperity and land, and leave them with nothing but ruble. They were going to look as if they had never existed. Joel 1:7 says, “It has made my vine a waste and my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; their branches have become white.” Both the fig tree and the vine are symbols of Israel’s prosperity and health as a nation. After the “army” sweeps through, there will be nothing left. Their doom is sure. Yet, Joel does not end there. There is still hope for Israel.

b. Forgiveness of Jews
Although the theme of Joel is the power of God’s judgment, it is not an end unto itself. God uses the warning of coming judgment to point Israel back to Himself. In 2:12-17, God calls Israel to return to Him with all their heart because He is gracious and compassionate. Yahweh presents in verses 13 and 14 a hope that repentance might change His mind. Verse 14 says, “Who knows whether He will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him”. This verse is saying God must pass through and judge, but if Israel repents, He will return and bless them. His judgment is inevitable, but the only way that they could survive is if they genuinely returned to Him. Israel’s survival is the lifeline of the Nations hope for survival, because, as have seen above in Psalms, if Israel doesn’t survive there is no Davidic king who will bring salvation to not just Israel, but to the entire world.

= 5. Jonah =

a. Salvation extended to Gentiles
When God came to Jonah and told Jonah to take a message to Nineveh that Jonah knew would save them, he didn’t want to go. Many would say this is because it was a long journey, or because “The Lord’s willingness to save Nineveh shows that his //hessed// (‘covenant love’) cannot be predicted or confined to Israel.”[ii] Jonah is used, however unwillingly, to bring the fear of Yahweh to the Gentile sailors. God uses Him again to bring a door of escape to the doomed Assyrian Gentiles in Nineveh. God asks Jonah, “should I not be concerned about that great city?” (Jonah 4:11) Salvation is now no longer for the Jews only, but as Romans 1:16 said, it is now for the Gentiles as well.

b. The Repentance of Gentiles (the connector of Obadiah and Amos)
But the book of Jonah is not just about the message that he brought to the city, but also the reaction to the message, which was repentance. This connects Obadiah and Amos because their repentance is what brings them out of destruction (Obadiah) to forgiveness (Amos). The forgiveness of the Jews (Joel) allowed for the repentance of Gentiles (Jonah) to even to come about, yet the Gentile’s repentance is what cause God to forgive them. They returned to Him just as He had asked the Jews to (Joel 2:12).

= 6. Amos =

a. Forgiveness of Gentiles
In Amos 9:11-15, the epilogue is shown, which contains the forgiveness of the Gentiles. These verses deal with the restoration after judgment. Here, the fulfillment of the judgment on Israel is assumed because it has been described throughout the entire book leading up to this ending. The events of “that day” in verse 11, “are events full of promise instead of death and destruction” (//Amos Commentary//). God promises in verse 11 that He will raise up the booth of David, referring to the tents used to represent the exile as well as the wilderness wanderings. The reason He does this is so that Israel may repossess the land He had promised (vs. 12). This is significant for two reasons. First, this shows God’s judgment is balanced because He still remembers His promises. Second, if God did not restore Israel, then what hope would the Gentiles have to be saved? The only way the world can be at rest as described in verse 15, is if Israel is restored. And the only way this can happen is if the Messiah, the rightful Davidic king would return.

= Additional Resources = Charles Lee Feinberg, Th.D., Ph.D. //Jonah, Micah, Nahum.// New York, New York: American Board of Missions to the Jews, Inc., 1951. O'Brien, Andreas J. Kostenberger and Peter T. //Salvation to the Ends of the Earth.// Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter Varsity Press, 2001. (Highly Recommended) Page, Billy K. Smith and Frank S. //The New American Commentary: Amos, Obadiah, Jonah.// Edited by E. Ray Clendenen. Vol. 19b. United States of America: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995. Re'emi, Richare J. Coggins and S. Paul. //Nahum, Obadiah, Esther: Israel Among the Nations.// Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1985. Smith, Gary V. //Amos: A commentary.// Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1989. Walton, Bryan Beyer and John. //Bible Study Commentary: Obadiah, Jonah.// Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988.

[i] (Walton 1988)

[ii] (O'Brien 2001)

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