Topical Bible: Citizens: Loyal: Israelites

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The concept of loyalty among the Israelites is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, reflecting their covenant relationship with God and their commitment to His commandments. Loyalty, in the biblical sense, is often synonymous with faithfulness, obedience, and devotion to God and His laws.

Covenant Loyalty

The Israelites were chosen by God to be His people, and this special relationship was formalized through covenants, beginning with Abraham and continuing through Moses. In Genesis 17:7 , God promises Abraham, "I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you." This covenant required the Israelites to remain loyal to God, adhering to His commandments and statutes.

Loyalty in the Wilderness

During the Exodus, the Israelites' loyalty was tested repeatedly. Despite witnessing God's miraculous deliverance from Egypt, they often wavered in their faith. However, figures like Moses and Joshua exemplified steadfast loyalty. In Numbers 14:24 , God commends Caleb, saying, "But because My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he has entered, and his descendants will inherit it." Caleb's unwavering faith and loyalty set him apart as a model for the Israelites.

Loyalty to the Law

The giving of the Law at Mount Sinai was a pivotal moment for the Israelites, as it provided a concrete framework for their loyalty to God. Deuteronomy 6:5-6 commands, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts." The Shema, as this passage is known, encapsulates the essence of Israelite loyalty—total devotion to God.

Loyalty in the Monarchy

During the period of the monarchy, loyalty to God was often reflected in the loyalty to the king, who was seen as God's anointed. King David is a prime example of a loyal Israelite, despite his personal failings. In 1 Kings 11:4 , it is noted that "when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been." David's loyalty to God, despite his sins, was characterized by repentance and a heart aligned with God's will.

Prophetic Calls to Loyalty

The prophets frequently called the Israelites back to loyalty and faithfulness. The prophet Hosea, for example, uses the metaphor of marriage to describe Israel's relationship with God, urging them to return to their first love. Hosea 6:6 states, "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." This highlights that true loyalty is not merely ritualistic but involves a deep, personal commitment to God.

Loyalty in Exile and Return

Even in exile, the loyalty of the Israelites was tested and refined. Figures like Daniel and Esther demonstrated unwavering faithfulness to God despite living in foreign lands. Daniel 6:10 records Daniel's loyalty: "Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before."

The return from exile under leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah was marked by a renewed commitment to the covenant and the Law. Nehemiah 8:1-3 describes the public reading of the Law, which was a reaffirmation of the Israelites' loyalty to God and His commandments.

Throughout their history, the Israelites' loyalty to God was a defining characteristic of their identity as His chosen people. This loyalty was expressed through adherence to the covenant, obedience to the Law, and a heart devoted to God, even amidst trials and challenges.

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Joshua 1:16-18
And they answered Joshua, saying, All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go.
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2 Samuel 3:36,37
And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them: as whatever the king did pleased all the people.
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2 Samuel 15:23,30
And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
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2 Samuel 18:3
But the people answered, You shall not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now you are worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that you succor us out of the city.
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2 Samuel 21:17
But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succored him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, You shall go no more out with us to battle, that you quench not the light of Israel.
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1 Chronicles 12:38
All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king.
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Library

The Training of a Statesman.
... why they proved on the whole so loyal to Jehovah. ... length, not from the acts of the
Israelites, but from ... Many of our states compel citizens to work in repairing ...
/.../kent/the making of a nation/study viii the training of.htm

The Foundations of Good Citizenship.
... the nation's obligation to be loyal to Jehovah. ... was probably intended to guard the
Israelites from imitating ... mental or the religious training of its citizens? ...
/.../kent/the making of a nation/study x the foundations of.htm

The Interpretation of the Early Narratives of the Old Testament
... necessary before they can again become citizens of the ... portraits of the two races
(the Israelites and the ... by the cultured Egyptians, he is loyal and considerate ...
/.../xiv the interpretation of the.htm

The Anglican Reform
... to time Pope her assurances of loyal obedience ... we read that one of the citizens
proclaimed in ... the language which God addressed to the Israelites, where speaking ...
/.../luckock/studies in the book of common prayer/chapter i the anglican reform.htm

The Holy City; Or, the New Jerusalem:
... It is, however, true, that a number of eminently pious, loyal, sober, industrious
citizens were immured, by the forms of law, within the walls of a small ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the holy city or the.htm

The Christian's Peace and the Christian's Consistency
... is the open-hearted friend, the helpful neighbour, the loving and loyal citizen
and ... far not only from the bodies but from the imaginations of citizens of Rome ...
/.../moule/philippian studies/chapter iv the christians peace.htm

The Hebrews and the Philistines --Damascus
... so is his strength." From this victory rose the first monarchy among the Israelites. ...
then fought against the city and took it, but the chief citizens had taken ...
/.../chapter iiithe hebrews and the.htm

A Traveler's Note-Book
... It is noticeable that Xenophon, the loyal disciple and biographer of Socrates, himself
of ... The national god of the Israelites, at the earliest time we know them ...
/.../merriam/the chief end of man/iii a travelers note-book.htm

The First Chaldaean Empire and the Hyksos in Egypt
... with the stone knives used by Joshua for the circumcision of the Israelites after
the ... They gave a loyal obedience to the officers sent them from the north, and ...
/.../chapter ithe first chaldaean empire.htm

Memoir of John Bunyan
... father"'Whether we were of the Israelites or no ... class of men"thus expresses his loyal
feelings"'I ... subscribed by thousands of our best citizens, with many ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/memoir of john bunyan.htm