THE BIBLE'S VIEWPOINT - Was Jehovah the Tribal God of the Jews?

Jehovah-The God of All People

The Bible acknowledges the intimate association of Jehovah with the Israelite nation.  But this is no reason to consider him a mere tribal god.  The Christian apostle Paul asked: "Is he the God of the Jews only?  Is he not of the people of the nations? Paul's clear answer? "Yes, of people of the nations also." (Romans 3:19)  Who was the God that Paul referred to?  Well, in this same letter to the Romans, the name "Jehovah appears 19 times.  The apostle, quoting the ancient Hebrew prophet Joel, noted that not just the Jews but  "everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved." -Romans 10:13; Joel 2:32. 

The Israelites did not choose Jehovah as their God; rather, Jehovah chose them to accomplish his purpose-that is, to prepare the way for the Messiah. Furthermore, a tribal god's destiny is bound up with that of its people. When the tribe is vanquished, the god too suffers defeat.  This has not been the case with Jehovah.

Jehovah's covenant with Abraham-put into effect centuries before the Christian era-promised blessings for people of all nations, showing God's interest in all mankind. (Genesis 12:1-3; Acts 10:34, 35; 11:18) Israelite King David showed that Jehovah was proprietor of  more than just the land of Israel:  "To Jehovah belong the earth and that which fills it, the productive land and those dwelling in it." -Psalm 24:1. 

Later when David's son Solomon dedicated a temple of worship to Jehovah, he showed that there was a way by which Jehovah could be approached  by humble people of any nation. In his dedication prayer, Solomon said:   "Also to the foreigner, who is no part of your people Israel and who actually comes from a distant land . . . and prays toward this house, may you yourself listen from the heavens, your established place of dwelling, and you must do according to all that for which the foreigner calls to you; in order that all the peoples of the earth may get to know your name so as to fear you the same as your people Israel do." -1 Kings 8:41-43.  

Next time: THE BIBLE'S VIEWPOINT - Was Jehovah the Tribal God of the Jews?/Israel Rejected 

From the Awake! magazine