“I will also make You a light for the Gentiles, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6) “I will give you as a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations.” (Isaiah 42:6)
These words, spoken by God through the prophet Isaiah, reveal Israel’s ultimate purpose. Israel is not to be a fortress isolated from the world, but to be a lighthouse of illumination in the darkness. She is the repository of God’s blessings, that she may share them with every tribe, tongue, and nation.
The concept of light in Scripture is rich with meaning. Light reveals truth, exposes darkness, provides guidance, and offers the opportunity to know God. When God called Israel to be a light to the nations, He was commissioning them to be all of these things to the world.
First, Israel was to reveal truth about God’s character. In a world filled with false gods and corrupt religious systems, Israel was to demonstrate what the one true God is really like. Through their laws, their worship, their treatment of the poor and marginalized, they were to show the nations that their God is just, merciful, and loving.
Second, Israel was to expose the darkness of sin and idolatry. Not through condemnation, but through contrast. When the nations saw how God’s people lived — with integrity, compassion, and righteousness — it would reveal the emptiness of their own religious and moral systems.
Third, Israel was to provide guidance for the nations seeking truth. The psalmist declared, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Israel was entrusted with God’s word not just for their own benefit, but to share it with a world stumbling in darkness.
Fourth, Israel was to offer the opportunity for all nations to know God and become his people. The Lord is God, and he desires that all nations come to him. Just as physical light is necessary for biological growth, spiritual light is necessary for spiritual growth. Through Israel, the nations would have access to the knowledge of God that would enable them to grow in relationship with Him. They will one day become his “sons” just as he told Moses to tell the Pharoah in Exodus 4:22; “Israel is my firstborn son.” For all nations, this will one day be the commonwealth of Israel. Ephesians 2:12
This mission was not optional — it was central to Israel’s identity. They were not chosen because they were better than other nations, but because God wanted to use them to bless other nations. Their election was for service, not superiority.
Throughout Israel’s history, we see glimpses of this mission being fulfilled. When the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon, she declared, “Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you” (1 Kings 10:9). When Naaman was healed through Elisha, he proclaimed, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel” (2 Kings 5:15). When Ruth chose to follow Naomi, she said, “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16).
But Israel’s mission to be light finds its ultimate fulfillment in Yeshua. He declared, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). In Him, all the purposes of Israel’s calling are perfectly realized.
Yeshua reveals the Father’s character perfectly (John 14:9). He exposes the darkness of sin while offering forgiveness and redemption. He provides guidance through His teachings and His Spirit. He enables spiritual growth through His death and resurrection, making it possible for people from every nation to be born again. Afterwards, all are invited to live by his word.
But the mission doesn’t end with Yeshua. He passed it on to His followers: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). Both Jewish and Gentile believers in Yeshua are now called to continue Israel’s mission of being light to the nations.
This means that the Church and Israel are not competitors but collaborators in God’s plan. Together, we are called to demonstrate God’s character to the world. Together, we are commissioned to share the good news of salvation. Together, we are sent to be light in the darkness.
The mission to be light is not about religious superiority or cultural dominance. It’s about love in action. It’s about demonstrating through our lives that God’s way is better than the world’s way. It’s about being so filled with God’s light that it naturally overflows in acts of sacrificial love to bless others. Greater love has no one except that one lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13, see 1 John 3:16.
As we understand Israel’s true mission — to be light to the nations — we begin to see our own calling more clearly. We are not called to withdraw from the world but to engage it. We are not called to condemn the darkness but to shine light into it**, to be light in the midst of it.** We are called to be what Israel was always meant to be: a people through whom God’s love reaches every corner of the earth.
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