What About Those Germans?

by

Philip du Nard

What led up to our discussion of David's throne in what has been a series of articles studying neglected truths in the book of Genesis was an examination of the blessing that Jacob prophetically bestowed upon Judah and his descendants in the 49th chapter of Genesis.

Once again, that blessing in verses 8-12 reads, "Judah, thou [art he] whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand [shall be] in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah [is] a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the people [be]. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes [shall be] red with wine, and his teeth white with milk."

The parallel prophecy rendered by Moses in Deuterononomy 33:7 reads, "And this [is the blessing] of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help [to him] from his enemies."

Previously, it has been stated that whereas the U.S. and the British Commonwealth possess the blessings bestowed upon Joseph's descendants, we cannot be as certain in making other tribal identifications; but so long as we recognize that we are entering the realm of educated speculation, it can be still be edifying to meditate upon these prophetic blessings.

We have already discussed at length the aspect of Jacob's blessing of Judah as it relates to the scepter and David's throne. But the people of the tribe of Judah were to be characterized by more than possession of the scepter.

Recalling again that these tribal blessings were to be primarily realized in the period known in the Scriptures as "the last days", and the descendants of Abraham were to become "many nations" and the God of the Bible would be "their God", we can narrow our search for the fulfillment of these blessings to the nations of Christendom in the last days.

The title of this article should give the reader a clue as to where we are headed with this and it is inspired by the fact that among those who believe that the tribes of Israel are to be found among the British and certain other European peoples and their cousins around the globe in America, etc. there are two, widely divergent views as to what conclusion to come to with respect to the German nation. More often than not, this is accompanied by two conflicting views regarding where the Jewish people fit into the scheme of things.

One view teaches that the Germans, as rivals and, at times, enemies of the British and Americans in two world wars, show similarities with the ancient Assyrians and are to be identified prophetically with them and proponents of this view believe they can make the historical connection that show the Germans, particularly the North Germans and East Germans are descended from the Assyrians of the Bible and are cast into the same role as their ancestors.

The other view, which I accept, is that, as one of the historical nations of Christendom upon which God poured out His Spirit during the Protestant Reformation and whose people are related ethnically to the English and from whom the monarchs of Britain trace much of their ancestry, Germany is, by and large, an Israel nation.

Though secularists and skeptics cannot appreciate this, out of all the stars and planets in the vast universe, Earth is unique in that this is where the Son of God died for the sins of mankind. Out of all the cities and villages that exist and have existed, Bethlehem is where the Savior was born. Likewise, though people tend to think of the negative history of Germany, out of all the countries of the world that exist and have existed, though there were preliminary stirrings in other countries, Germany is where the Protestant Reformation really took off and spread to other countries. This represented a return to the truth pertaining to personal salvation and Biblical teaching. Protestant Christians should have some appreciation for this. The Reformation was not God pouring out His Holy Spirit upon the Assyrians. This was God pouring out His Spirit upon His Israel people. God's promise in Isaiah 44:3 reads,, "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:". The promise to Israel recorded in Zechariah 10:9 states, "And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries: and they shall live with their children and turn again." They that have eyes to see and ears to hear will realize that Germany was one of those far countries where there was a great turning by the Israel people and the Biblical teaching that emanated from that time and region influenced the course of history. And so it is that there was a corresponding Satanic effort to subvert the German nation.

It is strange that some British Israelites consider themselves to be more akin to Jews than to Germans. If an Israel presence in Germany is acknowledged by them, there is a tendency to exclude Prussia because this historic German state formed the backbone of Germany's military tradition but Prussia came into being as a result of the Reformation and was a stronghold of Lutheran Christianity and while it is true that the distant ancestry of the people in East German lands is traced in part to non-Germanic peoples who became Germanized, much of their ancestry is from the Germans who migrated there from western German lands many centuries ago.

It should also be noted that in the United States which many acknowledge to be a great Israel nation, that people who trace their ancestry to the British Isles collectively still make up the bulk of the white population but if one breaks this down into Scots, Irish, English, Welsh, then whites of German or mixed German ancestry are the most numerous. And whites of German ancestry make up much of our rural, agricultural population. What would the state of American agriculture be if not for the farmer of German ancestry? God's blessing upon our food supply is one of the marks of our Israel identity.

There have been various tribal identities assigned to different European nations including Germany and some of them conflict with each other and the reader should bear in mind that such identifications only represent the predominant tribe within a given nation, not the only tribe represented. Those who believe the Germans to be of the covenant race of Israel frequently judge them to be the true descendants of the tribe of Judah. This would be one of the great ironies of history given their past notorious relations with the Jewish people who claim to be of Judah.

So let us reconsider the tribal blessing upon Judah.

In previous articles, we have seen how that the northern house of Israel went into the Assyrian captivity in the 700s B.C. while the southern Judah kingdom went into the Babylonian captivity 130 years later. However, in II Kings 18:13, we learn that the bulk of the tribe of Judah from the southern kingdom of Judah went into the Assyrian captivity as well along with the tribes from the northern house of Israel. But they must have retained a degree of distinctiveness from Israel as it was to be far in the future that they would be truly reunited. See Ezekiel 37.

In Genesis 49:8, Jacob declares, "Judah, thou are he whom thy brethren shall praise." Perhaps this ultimately refers to the praise that would be accorded the Lord Jesus Christ Who came from Judah. After two world wars involving Germany and the reproach that the German people have borne as a result, this blessing may seem to be a poor fit where they are concerned. But God also said He would give Israel to reproaches because of their sin Isaiah 43:28. However, the idea of praise and admiration for Germany would not have seemed strange a little over a hundred years ago. For those unfamiliar with this history, the following quotes from secular sources may be a revelation.

John Beatty, in his book, Iron Curtain Over America, first printed in 1951, summarizes in the first chapter of his book the history of the Teutonic Knights who formed the basis for the kingdom of Prussia, the most prominent of the German states. "Prussia's historic function, inherited from the Teutonic Order, of standing as a bastion on the Baltic approach to Europe, was never fully forgotten by the West. The Hohenzollern monarchy was the strongest Protestant power on the continent and its relations with the governments of both England and America were intimate and friendly. The royal family of England several times married into the Prussian dynasty....It was a Prussian Baron, Frederick William von Steuben, whom General George Washington made Inspector General (May, 1778), responsible for training and discipline of the green American troops. In 1815, Prussian troops under Field Marshal von Bluecher helped save Wellington's England from Napoleon.....The friendly relationships between the United States and Germany existed not only on the governmental level but were cemented by close racial kinship....Thus, in the early years of the twentieth century the American people admired Germany. It was a strong nation, closely akin; and it was a Christian land, part Protestant, part Catholic.... The terms Prussia and Prussian, Germany and German had a most favorable connotation."

Albert Lindemann, in his book entitled Esau's Tears, published in 1997 writes on p.106 concerning the state of things in the late nineteenth century that "Germans stood out in science, technology, and scholarship (here most strikingly of all, since German universities became models for the world); and in the arts, music, and literature -- indeed, in nearly every realm. Germany simply seemed more dynamic than France....Germans were gaining a new respect among nations; admiration for things German and imitation of German models spread throughout Europe." And on p.113 he writes, " Since the eighteenth century, Prussia had been considered one of the more rationally organized and progressive states in Europe; its unusual efficiency, its hardworking and relatively incorruptible officials, the impartiality with which it protected law and order, all were widely admired long before Bismarck's time"

It is well that we recognize that these were national blessings which God bestowed upon Germany including Prussia and during this time, other nations looked up to Prussia as Jacob said Judah's brethren would look up to Judah.

Jacob's blessing continues:"thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?"

A lion is a strong, aggressive animal and while this symbolism could have a variety of applications, the military realm is where our minds are naturally drawn by this kind of language. If this is the correct application, it should be plain that it could not be fully realized in a state of dispersion but mainly in a state of nationhood. Germany's lion like actions and military might of the past require little comment except to say that through submarine warfare in two world wars, Germany's hand was truly in Britain's neck. But as an old lion, it would be much harder to involve Judah in any wars. We may be witnessing that as well in the German nation today.

Verse 11 continues, Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes [shall be] red with wine, and his teeth white with milk."

This, of course, symbolizes God's blessing upon Judah with the good things of life and has had a literal fulfillment as well in that parts of Germany are known for wine making.

Moses pronounced this blessing upon Judah, "...let his hands be sufficient for him."One might consider this to be a characteristic of many peoples and not specific for any nation in particular but in any case, the people of Judah apparently would, in general, be strong, capable people who like to work with their hands. We have already noted the skill of the farmer of German ancestry. This would not seem to be the image of a people who are stereotypically known for their activities in the business and financial realm as is the case with those who claim to be Judah.

Moses continues blessing Judah by petitioning the Lord with the words,"...be thou an help to him from his enemies." As one of the leading tribes, evidently Judah would have a special problem with enemies. And who might they be?

While Israel of old often was at war with the surrounding nations, a source of conflict that many are unmindful of which was a result of national iniquity and wickedness is cited in Isaiah 9:21 which states, "Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still" While the blessing of Judah makes provision for the other tribes looking up to Judah with praise and admiration, this was not always the case as the record of Scripture shows. Isaiah 11 which is Messianic in scope speaks of the time when "the envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim."While these were brother nations, there was a good bit of rivalry, envy, and vexation and sometimes outright warfare between them and this would continue into the future until one day it would cease. Rather than regarding Germany as a revival of the Assyrian nation, it makes more sense to regard America and Britain contending with Germany in two world wars to be a latter day example of Manasseh and Ephraim together being against Judah. Nations of Christendom striving to destroy each other is the natural result of departing from the Living God and obedience to His statutes that govern the life of the nation and in the eyes of God, generally neither side can truly claim to have clean hands.

Anyone familiar with the brutal expulsion of Germans from their historic eastern homelands at the end of World War II at the hands of the Russians will know that a terrible judgment was visited upon the Germans by Almighty God. At the same time, anyone familiar with the plans to turn Germany into a pastureland which would have resulted in a massive depopulation and realize what happened instead should then understand that God's wrath was tempered with great mercy and He was a help to Germany from her enemies as He was to be a help to Judah from his enemies.

Those who have a futuristic interpretation of the book of Revelation, that is, those who believe that most of Revelation is yet to be fulfilled, believe that there will be a revived Roman Empire in Europe and they consider Germany to figure into all this in a negative way. Thus, they have blinders on to the thought that Germany is a part of God's Israel. The historical interpretation of the book Revelation, that is, the teachng that this book of the bible has been in the process of being fulfilled throughout church history, which I believe to be more scriptural, does not have this hindrance.

Secular writers have maintained that the historic German racial type has been modified over time with the classic Nordic type becoming less apparent due to several factors and that the Germans of today are not the Germans of the Reformation, etc. Also, It is acknowledged that, historically, there has been a difference in racial type between the so-called High Germans of the south who tended to be Catholic and the Low Germans of the north who tended to be Protestant. The conclusion that some have drawn from this is that the Israelite component of the German population is greatly decreased and the non-Israelite element is predominant. That this has happened to a certain extent is probable. The question is, is Germany still an Israel nation or is it simply one of the nations through which Israel was sifted in accordance with Amos 9:9?

It does not seem reasonable from a Scriptural standpoint that God's blessings upon Germany would become more evident and it would achieve full national development after the Israelite component had supposedly disappeared. I conclude that it is still one of the many nations that came from the loins of Abraham and, like many European nations, including Britain, is currently in a state of spiritual indifference and rebellion against God but, as with the case of the United States, God is covenant bound to bring that nation to a state of national repentance.