Exodus 4:21-23 And the Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. (22) Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'thus says the Lord: "Israel is My son, My firstborn. (23) So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn." ' "
In the previous section where we discussed Israel after the flesh, we saw that God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, thus making him the father of the nation of Israel. In other words, the nation of Israel took its name from its founder. So what about the Israel of God? In other words, who is the Founder of the Israel of God? The above-quoted passage of scripture answers that question for us. The context of this passage is that God was instructing Moses what to say to Pharaoh when he approached him to let the people of Israel go out of Egypt. God’s specific words to Pharaoh were, “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me”. It is important to note that God does not speak about the descendants of Israel in this instance, but rather He specifically names Israel, and He calls Him His firstborn Son. Although Jacob was the founder of the nation of Israel, he was never God’s firstborn Son. And so we see that God was not referring to Jacob in this instance, but rather He was referring to the one who gave Jacob his name; the one that scripture reveals as being the firstborn Son of God, i.e. the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). So why does God say in this passage, “Let My Son go that He may serve Me”, instead of saying “let My people go that they may serve Me”? The reason is that God is not speaking about Israel after the flesh in this instance, but rather He is speaking about the Israel of God; i.e. the believing Jews who were part of Christ (Israel). And so in that context, God correctly speaks about Israel (Christ) His Son. We know that God is speaking about the Lord Jesus in this instance because He says to Pharaoh that if he refused to let His Son go free, God would kill Pharaoh’s firstborn son. God could legally do that because many centuries later His own firstborn Son would be killed as a ransom for the Israel of God (Mark 10:45). And so we see that Israel is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Israel of God takes its name from its Father, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.
Matthew 2:13-15 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him." (14) When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, (15) and was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."
The above-quoted passages of scripture confirm the truth that Israel is one of the names given to the Lord Jesus Christ. In the first passage, God names His Son Israel, for He says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son”. We know that God was referring to the Lord Jesus Christ in Hosea’s prophecy, because in the second passage, Matthew quotes Hosea’s prophecy as being fulfilled in the childhood of the Lord Jesus.
Psalms 129:1-3 "Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth," Let Israel now say-- (2) "Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; Yet they have not prevailed against me. (3) The plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows long."
The above-quoted passage of scripture is another account of the God naming His Son Israel, for the context of this passage is an account of the Lord Jesus’ persecution from His youth and ending at the cross, when the Roman soldiers scourged Him. And so these passages teach us that Israel is one of the names given to the Lord Jesus Christ. I have stated earlier that Israel after the flesh is the shadow of the Israel of God. That same truth applies to the name given to Israel after the flesh, for it was Israel Himself (Jesus Christ) who changed Jacob’s name to Israel. In other words, Israel (Jesus) gave Jacob His name. And so we see that Israel after the flesh ultimately gets its name from the Israel of God.
Michael E.B. Maher
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