Mitch Glaser. God’s Plan and Purposes for the Jewish People. Chosen People, 2019.

This short book summarizes four significant items in God’s plan for the Jews according to the Bible. Each is well supported and appears to borne out in history.

First, basing his argument on prophecies from Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy, Glaser observes that God promised that the offspring of Abraham through Isaac would be set apart by Him. The people would illustrate God’s purpose and testify of Him to the rest of the world. Indeed, the survival of the Jewish people and their influence in spite of their history should be a sign that there is something different about them.

Second, mostly through promises given in Genesis, the purpose of the Jewish people was to live in the land of Israel. Even today, there have been more United Nations resolutions about Israel than any other country. It seems striking that such a small piece of real estate, relatively speaking, would even get such attention. This also perhaps points to the idea that the God of history is somehow behind this.

Third, Glaser writes that God has promised a king. He would rebuke the Israelites through Samuel for wanting a king like the other nations. God was supposed to be their king. But at the same time, he promised David that a descendant of his would rule forever. Jesus is both God and a descendant of David…hmm.

Fourth, the Jewish people were to have a mission. They were to be a “kingdom of priests” for the whole world, testifying of God and interceding on behalf of the world. We do read about a few people who did this, notably Solomon early in his reign and Jonah, though he was reluctant. One could argue that this really did not come to pass in any strong way until the coming of Jesus of Nazareth. His followers, at first almost exclusively Jews, began to tell non-Jews of their God and His Messiah.

Glaser then makes some interesting observations about how he sees the future of the Jewish people. It appears to be his hope that Jews will finally see themselves not simply as separated but as “missionaries” pointing the world to the God of the Bible.

God’s Plan and Purposes for the Jewish People is a short book, but it is packed with a lot of food for thought and, for those inclined, for prayer.