“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:2-3
Whatever the United States thinks of the Jews, we had better bless the nation of Israel – that is, if we want to be blessed. Without going into the politics or the rights of the Arab nations, I will tell you why I will support Israel’s battle to protect her land.
1. God gave Israel her land.
“The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.” Genesis 13:14-15
The Lord doesn’t lie, and he keeps his promises. The Lord gave the land of Israel to Abraham, the father of the Jews, and he promised that Abraham’s descendants would have it forever. The land of Israel belongs to the Jews. Not only that, the Lord was quite specific as to the boundaries of Israel.
“Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord. Genesis 13:17-18
2. God promised Israel that she would be a blessing to all the families of the earth.
“They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 9:4-5
Just look what the Jews have given to this world! We would not have the Bible today if it were not for God’s people Israel. And, don’t forget that Jesus was a Jew – God’s greatest Blessing to the world. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “You worship what you do not know, we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” John 4:22
3. Israel will be saved.
“God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew….So too at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.” Romans 11:2-5
Someday all God’s elect Jews will bow the knee to Jesus Christ. In the meantime, we Christians need to pray for not only the safety of the Jews in Israel, but for the salvation of all Jews wherever they live. Each believer in Jesus Christ as Messiah is precious in God’s sight.
And that includes my son-in-law whose first name is Israel. He is a Jew who came to saving faith in Jesus because a Christian flight attendant knew her Bible and talked to him on his flights from Miami to New York. God may use you to present the gospel to a Jew. I can tell you that I received a wonderful gift when my son-in-law became the son I never had. I gave birth only to daughters!
This is a wonder, and a wonderful thing to remember, Rosemary. Thank you for this reminder at this particular time. And, I am so glad that your son-in-law Israel is His.
ReplyDeleteShared with dear friends! Today so pertinent!!
ReplyDeleteI believe America has been blessed because we have blessed Israel. Unfortunately we stand in danger of losing that blessing as we mistreat God's people and his land.
ReplyDeleteWhy raise this subject?
ReplyDeleteMany people consider that the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 was a fulfilment of prophecy)
and heralds the near return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Others expect to see the Jews turn to Him in large
numbers shortly before His return.
We therefore set out to state some clear principles on this subject.
What is a Jew?
God's Word gives us a definition in Romans 2:28-29. True Jewishness is not a question of national
privileges or of physical signs (2:l7-27) but of the heart being right with God, and of living to His praise.
In God's eyes these are the only Jews that exist.
See also Romans 4:11-13, 22-25, Galatians 6:14-16, Philippians 3:3, Hebrews 12:22.
What is Israel?
It is not the earthly nation. God has left that desolate (Matthew 23:38), wrath has come upon it to the
uttermost (1 Thessalonians 2:16), and the kingdom of God has been taken from it and given to the Gentiles
(Matthew 21:43). This explains Paul’s agony in Romans 9:1-5.
TRUE Israel has never been composed of earthly descendants of Abraham but of the individual men and
women chosen by God to share his faith. Most of them today are Gentiles (Romans ch 9).
Has God completely finished with the Jews?
This question is answered in Romans chapter 11. Within the earthly nation God has always had a few who
belonged to Him - an elect remnant (which included Paul himself). Unbelieving Jews have been stripped
from God's olive tree, and replaced by believing Gentiles. Every person in God's true Israel is a believer,
and there will always be some Jews amongst them.
What about the 'restoration prophecies'?
Many of these were fulfilled at the end of the Babylonian exile, and many others carried conditions
which the earthly nation never kept. But what shall we say about the rest?
The apostles did not interpret the Old Testament as do some modern prophetic 'scholars'. They knew
that the prophets wrote about things they did not fully understand themselves, and used the only language
open to them.
What the prophets wrote regarding the Jews, the apostles interpreted of the TRUE Israel - the church.
What the prophets wrote concerning the Promised Land the apostles Interpreted of the spiritual privileges
of the gospel (of which the Land was but a picture). For two excellent examples of this compare Joel 2:28-
32 with Acts 2:14-21 and Amos 9:11-15 with Acts 15:13-17.
In what ways should this teaching affect our attitudes?
We should witness to Jews. They need the Gospel to be saved. God has His elect amongst them, and
some of them will be converted.
We should not take any special interest in the modern state of Israel, and should certainly not identify
the gospel with pro-Israel politics Instead; our energies should be harnessed to building up the church of
the Lord Jesus Christ - world wide. Taken from sermon notes by REV Stuart Oyott