The Suffering of Israel

Despite God's choice of Israel, giving them huge end-time promises (Isaiah 61),  He prophesied that great suffering would precede their final redemption (Deuteronomy 4:25-31).

Often His disciplining of Israel was very consequential (Isaiah 63:10), especially in their 70 years of exile in Babylon and 2,000 years throughout the world that also exposed them to extensive anti-Semitism.  But whilst the hardship of the centuries cannot be overstated,  it caused them to preserve their identity and eventually precipitated their return to their historic land.

God's uncompromising judgment of Israel did not, however, mean they were more sinful than any other nation.  On the contrary, it proved their significance.  As Satan also recognised, motivating him to try to exterminate them as early as the time of Esther,  and then taking every opportunity since then to harm them, if not to thwart God's purposes through them.

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever!" (Romans 11:36)

All this has to be set within the mystery of why God permits Satan to oppose the righteous  (Job 1 & Psalm 73).   And why He allowed "a partial hardening"  of Israel so that "the fullness of the Gentiles"  can precede the "saving of all Israel"  (Romans 11:25-26).  Also, why Israel will have to go through the fire before finally recognising their Messiah (Zechariah 12-14).  Leading to questions about election and predestination that have prompted much to be written, but about which Paul only spoke of bowing our knee to things that exceed our understanding (Romans 11:33-36).

Despite the mystery and extent of Israel's ongoing suffering, this does not invalidate what it points to, which is Israel's ongoing place in God's eternal purposes.