16) What are Christians to do with the Old Testament view of the nations?

One of the surprises that lies in store for Christian readers is the focus on the people of Israel on the one hand, and the negative portrayal of the nations on the other. It is disconcerting to encounter texts that call on God to punish the nations.The Psalms speak of the living God who punished the nations and displaced them so that the people of Israel could inherit the land.

Psa. 135:10  He struck down many nations

and killed mighty kings— 

Psa. 135:11  Sihon, king of the Amorites,

and Og, king of Bashan,

and all the kingdoms of Canaan—

 Psa. 135:12  and gave their land as a heritage,

a heritage to his people Israel.

Deut. 3:3 So the LORD our God also handed over to us King Og of Bashan and all his people. We struck him down until not a single survivor was left. 

We find ourselves wondering about the nations we hear about in the Old Testament and whether God has any care for them at all. If God is the God of all creation how come it is only the covenant people that seems to have any claim on God's mercy and love?

These are confronting texts and it is no surprise that many Christians are uneasy with such sentiments in the Old Testament and wonder how we can use them, if at all, in a constructive way.

These uncomfortable texts forcefully remind us that when we read the Old Testament we are reading the sacred literature of the people of Israel, and it is written unashamedly from their perspective, and they preserved these traditions and we should expect them to reflect their sentiments and view of the world. Like so many themes in the Old Testament one question leads to more questions,  and all this highlights the need for a more subtle and nuanced perspective from which these texts can be interpreted and used by another readership, namely, ourselves!

One thing to be aware of is that the people of Israel were often not the ones in power as one superpower in the Ancient Near East replaced another. There was always a battle for power across the Fertile Crescent between Egypt or Mesopotamia. As one or the other extended their influence the trade routes that traversed biblical Israel were often battle grounds in these power plays.  Armageddon (Har-Meggido, the hill of Megiddo) was deemed to be the place where the final battle would take between good and evil. It was strategically located, and controlling it was critical in order to gain access to the land. It was on that plain that King Josiah would die in battle (2 Chr 35:22).

Meggido  (sourced from http://www.dstaylor.me/?p=318)

Given that the people of Israel were often powerless, or subjects of more powerful nations, their literature and stance towards the nations reflects this negative experience.  One of the key elements behind their lack of respect for the nations was their idolatry and worship of false gods.

Deut. 12:3 Break down their altars, smash their pillars, burn their sacred poles with fire, and hew down the idols of their gods, and thus blot out their name from their places. 

Such a text as this clearly expresses Israel's point of view of the nations that surrounded them, and their worship. At the same time we need to be aware of other Old Testament texts  where the nations are not excluded from God's saving plan. In Gen 12:3 Abram is told that " in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."  In the book of Tobit 14:6 the hope is expressed that all the nations will come to believe in the living God "Then the nations in the whole world will all be converted and worship God in truth."  One of the most surprising texts comes from the prophet Isaiah when Cyrus of Persia is spoken of as an instrument of God, and as God's anointed one (messiah).

Is. 44:28 who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd,

and he shall carry out all my purpose”;
and who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”
  

Is. 45:1   Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus 

These texts provide a counterpoint to the passages where the nations are evaluated negatively within Israel's sacred literature. Of course these passages are exceptions to the general rule, and they are all the more surprising given the generally negative view of the nations.

Where does that leave us as Christian readers? The first thing is not to be confused into thinking that the attitude of the biblical Israel towards the nations has to be ours. As Christian readers there are texts that demonstrate how difficult it was even for the first Christians to develop a wider perspective. Matt 15:24 testifies that some Christian communities preserved traditions indicating Jesus' own sense of mission was to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, before directing the disciples to go to the nations in Matt 28:19.

The text of Eph 2:14 is certainly one to bear in mind as we reflect on these matters, speaking as it does of the dividing wall that has been broken down between Jews and Gentiles by means of the death of Jesus: " For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us."

Such texts as these remind us that we need to be mindful of the development of ideas within the formation of the Bible and not to take a particular text without being conscious that often within the Scriptures, as in our lives, there is growth and development. Thank goodness for that!