TheCrazySquirrel

Mission is many times viewed solely as a New Testament idea. But the Bible clearly shows that God’s heart has always been for everyone to come to know him, and his “chosen” people have always had the task of sharing his name to others. The Old Testament helps us to fully understand mission.

The book of Ezekiel is a good example of God seeking to be known by all nations, and wanting Israel to be His example. Ezekiel was written during a period of exile. Exile occurred primarily because Israel was not following God’s commandments of living a pure and holy life. They were not following their missiological purpose and lifestyle.

Israel’s mission was to be something, as opposed to idea of mission as going somewhere. This is not to say that Israel did not interact with other nations. We see in scripture throughout the Old Testament of the relationship between Israel, the nations, and mission.

Ezekiel 36:22-32 has several missiological connections. In this section, God tells Israel that they have been unclean and God is going to rectify the situation by cleansing them. It is very important to understand why this is happening. In verse 22 God tells Israel “not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.” Israel “profaned” God’s name to the other nations. God is purifying them so that they can be His missionary vessel to the nations. God goes on to say that He will “vindicate” His name that was profaned among the nations and that “the nations will know that I am the Lord” and that He will “prove Himself holy in their sight.” We can see that God desires for the nations to understand His holiness.

After discussing the cleansing of Israel, God says in Ezekiel 36:31 that Israel will remember their evil ways and their deeds, and they will loathe themselves. What were their evil deeds? As God says in verse 22, their evil deed was profaning God’s name among the nations. God desired for Israel to bring others to know Him and to show the power of the Lord to everyone.

Israel instead became selfish and sinned against God, tainting their witness to the world. In order to be His witness, God says He will have to purify them again. God ends in verse 32 by saying that it is not for the sake of Israel that He is acting but for the nations, and Israel should be ashamed of themselves.

Ezekiel’s contribution to mission theology of Israel shows that God’s work in the world aims at something larger than one nation. We can see here that Israel is not the sole desire of God; He wants the nations to know Him as well. In order for the nations to know God, Israel must be a pure witness, cleansed of their sin. Israel was to operate with the awareness that God’s range of vision is decidedly on all the world’s nations. At the time of the exodus, God’s intention with Pharaoh was made clear: Pharaoh, and also “all peoples of the earth,” were to acknowledge Yahweh (Exodus 14:18).

We read in Ezekiel and many times throughout the Old Testament that God desired for the nations to “know” Him. What does this phrase mean? In what sense are nations to “know” Yahweh? At a minimum, for nations to know “that I am Yahweh” means that nations will have an exposure to, and hence an awareness of, this deity called Yahweh. According to Hebrew usage “to know” means an intimate familiarity with someone. A more maximal interpretation of “know” is to see it as entailing obedience. Jeremiah 9:23-24 states that knowledge and intimacy with God are the highest of priorities. Knowing God entails knowing of his loving-kindness, justice, and the righteousness of God. Walther Zimmerli states “A recognition of God will always simultaneously include acknowledgment and response in the form of confession, worship, and obedience.”[1]

The New Testament tells us that we are to make disciples among all the nations. To be a disciple one must know God. Israel was to make sure that the nations knew God. This is the task in both the New and Old Testaments. We are given, just as those in the Old Testament were, the command to make God known to all the earth, to proclaim his name, to sing praises to Him, and to make people know, understand, believe, and worship in the Lord. Understanding mission and its role in the people of Israel challenges our understanding of mission today. Israel was called to be the people of God where they were and to share the good news of God with the nations. Mission is about reaching those around us, no matter where we are. God send us out, not to arrive somewhere, not to sit on some pew, but to go forth into the nations, into the world, into our friendships, and into our family. God has, from the beginning of forming his people intended for us to share Him throughout all the earth. From creation to Abraham, from the Old Testament to the New, we can see God telling his children to proclaim his name among the people.

[1] Knowledge of God According to the Book of Ezekiel, pg. 29-98.