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Reading Room ViewPoint Israel's Relationship
with the Nations The following ViewPoint was intended to provoke thought and discussion. Behold! it is a nation that will dwell in solitude and not be reckoned among the nations. These amazing words
were spoken not by a prophet of Israel but by the gentile prophet and
astrologer Balaam, son of Beor.1
Noteworthy is the fact that these words were not uttered by a prophet
of Israel, rather, they were spoken by Balaam, G-d's prophet to the
nations.2
The narrative continues and records the evil of Balaam's heart and,
as a result of his evil gainsaying, Balaam died an ugly death. He had
asked to die the same death that Israel would die, but instead he died
by the sword at the age of thirty-four.3
G-d gave the words to Balaam to speak to the wicked king of Moav, Balak.
Balak had already seen what had happened to the two mighty kings, Sichon
and Og, when they rose up against Israel. Seeing that they would not
be able to defeat Moshe and Israel by force, the Midianite elders The reason these words of Balaam seem so amazing is simple. G-d enjoined Balaam to speak the words so that all the nations would know the very special and unique relationship that Israel has with Him. No other peoples on the face of the earth could lay claim to this special relationship. Nor could they put Israel in the same category with themselves. Beyond any doubt, the Tanach (the Hebrew Scriptures) poignantly describes the status of the People of Israel. The Psalmist makes the declaration that Praiseworthy is the people whose God is Hashem, the nation He chose for His own estate.5 (and) ...He brought him [David] to tend to Jacob, His nation, and Israel, His estate.6 Devarim/Deuteronomy 7:6 emphatically states, For you are a holy people to Hashem, your G-d; Hashem, your G-d, has chosen you to be for Him a treasured people above all the peoples that are on the face of the earth. If the prophet Balaam sought to curse Israel and could not do it by the Word of G-d and boldly made the prophetic pronouncement given to him by G-d that Israel is a separate entity who cannot be reckoned or counted with the other nations, then by what right or by what authority can the nations and peoples who embrace Christianity or any other religion make the claim that Israel is included in the status quo? The audacity of theologians to completely ignore the Word of G-d in regards to His claim of a very special relationship with Israel borders on madness. Those who make the grave error of placing Israel into the same category and status as that of the pagan and idolatrous nations of the world show no traces of awe or fear of the Living G-d. In terms of salvation, of justification, of faith and grace, Israel is not involved in the same vocabulary and economy as the nations of the world. Israel's status is not the same as that of the nations. Israel was, and is, a nation of priests - priests to whom was given the obligation and responsibility to bring the Light of the Torah to the nations, to the world. Israel accepted this responsibility at Har Sinai when they accepted the Torah of Hashem, and they said, "Na'aseh ve-nishma [we will do, and we will listen]."7 They accepted the Torah before they ever heard what it contained. Speaking as G-d's prophet to the nations, Balaam's words to Balak should be noted in context; if the Word of Hashem was directed to a gentile king and his nation, as well as to the nations around them, and if the Word of Hashem is both a warning and a response to all who were involved in hostile aggression against Israel, then it stands to reason that the Word of Hashem has meaning even for today's modern nations. Why? Because Israel still has covenant with G-d, and the Word of Hashem, uttered through the mouth of the socerer Balaam, still stands immutable. The relationship established between G-d and Israel is an everlasting and unconditional covenant. The unconditional covenant was established through Abraham, and the psalmist declares, I made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David, My servant: "For eternity I will establish your seed; and I will build your throne for generations, Selah. And the psalmist continues later in his psalm, I will also make him first-born, supreme over the earth's kings. Forever I shall preserve My kindness for him, and My covenant shall remain true to him. And I shall establish his seed eternally, and his throne like the days of heaven. 8 The Jewish people have a unique relationship with the G-d of the Universe. The "prophet" Balaam recognized and spoke regarding this special relationship. If one cannot accept as a fundamental biblical teaching that observant Israel is already "saved," then one should listen to the mouth of the gentile prophet Balaam. He could not curse Israel, nor could he say that they were "lost." Israel is the priestly nation to the nations, and through Israel comes the Salvation of the World.
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