Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 3
Israel is called a “kingdom of priests,” meant to do for the world what humanity failed to do after Eden; what would it actually look like (concretely) for a community to “mediate God’s presence” rather than merely hold correct beliefs?
Another way to ask: If Israel was meant to be a “kingdom of priests,” what would it look like in real life for a community to help others experience God’s presence, not just hold the right beliefs?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s description, mediating God’s presence means being a people who live in special access to God and then “spread that to the world,” participating in God’s project of restoring what was lost in Eden—not merely having right ideas.
- God calls Israel “a kingdom of priests…a devoted nation,” taking on humanity’s failed role.
- Priestly mediation is described as “having special access to God and then…spreading that to the world.”
- Israel’s calling is part of “bringing Eden back…God and humanity dwelling together.”
- The kingdom theme is “not an abstraction,” but a “relationship that God enters into with Abraham and then with Israel.”
- The prophetic hope includes God “forgiving them, changing their hearts,” and “bringing in the Gentiles”—implying a visible communal life shaped by God’s presence.