What two kinds of salvation did God plan for Israel?
God's plan for Israel included a physical salvation—deliverance from their physical enemies, a physical kingdom, peace, and prosperity—and a spiritual salvation—the remission of their sins through God's tender mercy. Both were necessary: the nation was to experience political and physical fulfillment alongside the spiritual salvation that gave knowledge of salvation to His people.
Les explains that throughout the Old Testament Israel had two parallel hopes: the king and the kingdom, and a suffering Savior. Every Jew wanted the king and the kingdom, but they did not want to deal with the Savior, and that was their problem. God planned for Israel to be saved from their physical enemies and to have a physical kingdom, physical peace, and prosperity, but they also had to have a spiritual salvation—the remission of their sins through the tender mercy of God. As they would come to spiritual as well as political and physical fulfillment, Israel was then to give light to the Gentiles who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death.