Friday, 19 March 2021

What advantage has the Jew?

Tweet

"Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?" (Romans 3:1-2, ESV)

Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. The verse above may lead to the question of how is this an advantage for the Jew? And, similarly, what does this have to do with eternity?

Part of the answer, I think, is demonstrated by scripture early on when God chose Abraham to make a covenant with and Isaac and Jacob. The nation of Israel coming out of Egypt, as a nation freed from slavery, was the result of God's promise to those patriarchs. That this nation was then entrusted with the "oracles of God" was a demonstration of God's faithfulness to his covenant (another way to put that is God's righteousness).

Therefore, the advantage of being Jewish, besides having this heritage (this by itself has much meaning) is that the Jew, by his living existence, is a demonstration of God's faithfulness (also a big responsibility) to keep us in Yeshua this is a living demonstration. This is also like asking, what advantage does your hotel on the tropical island have of over this other hotel in the Iowa corn field? The answer is defined by its mere existence in its location.

This is a demonstration, more specifically, of God's faithfulness from eternity past to the present. Concerning the question of eternity, we see that part of the Jewish responsibility for eternity is to be Jewish in Yeshua, because this is part of what reflects God's faithfulness for eternity future.

Everyone who is saved, whether Jew or Gentile is also a miracle reflection of God in eternity present. Thus, we have the link between past present and future of God's faithfulness - the meaning of "I am".