DVD Bible Study series
Israel A Journey Through Time
Newspaper
Why Israel? As a Christian pastor serving a busy congregation, I’m often asked why I choose to have the additional stress that comes from working with a pro-Israel ministry like Christians for Israel. Behind the question is the thought that pastoral ministry is demanding and controversial enough without adding Israel to the mix, especially when there are so many opinions and positions on Israel, both within the Church and beyond it. Some Christians believe they should pray for, and support Israel no matter what, while others, having strong mercy leanings, tend to be critical of what they see as Israel’s harsh treatment of the Palestinians, many of whom are Christians.
Middle East crises, such as the recent war in Lebanon, add fuel to the fires of this seemingly insoluble Israeli-Palestinian question, and the tensions it produces. Christian supporters of Israel will admire her restraint in a war fought over the unprovoked killings and kidnappings of her soldiers. Christians apt to be more critical of Israel will view these terrorist (some prefer militant) attacks as desperate measures taken by the lunatic fringe of an impoverished Palestinian population, the spillover from a pot that’s been boiling for far too long; and the result of a refugee problem Israel created with a so-called Israeli land grab back in 1948 when the modern state of Israel was established.
Wherever Christians are on this spectrum of opinion, all can no doubt agree that Israel is a subject they cannot ignore. Our Christian faith is deeply rooted in the soil and traditions of Israel. The Jews gave us the Bible as we know it; the One we call Lord and Savior has Jewish genes; and all prophetic roads lead ultimately to Jerusalem and to a valley called Armageddon, in Israel.
Over the next six issues of Evangelical Christian, and throughout 2007, I invite you to come with me on a journey of discovery as together we ask: Why Israel? Why does this tiny nation, located as it is along a sliver of land at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, demand so much of the world’s time and attention these days? Why has Israel been the subject of numerous debates at the United Nations, most ending with resolutions condemning or censuring the Jewish nation for one thing or another? And why does Iran’s radical Islamic president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad feel so compelled to declare that soon and very soon “Israel will be wiped of the map”?
As Christians, we have always been aware of the natural enmity that exists between Arabs and Jews, roots of hostility extending as far back as Isaac and Ishmael, but why are Persians (Iran) also calling for the annihilation of Israel as part of an anti-Semitic chorus now echoing around the world? And why is Israel is the focus of so much national hate? Put another way: why are Jews so unpopular in the eyes of the world?
God chooses: Perhaps one reason Israel has failed to achieve favored nation status in the world is because she was first of all granted favored nation status by the Almighty God:
“For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples of the earth…”
(Deut. 7:6).
If you believe, as do most evangelical Christians, that Satan continues to meddle in the affairs of men, then it’s not hard to imagine that he is busy stirring up national jealousies and hatred of Israel precisely because of Israel’s favored status before God, and because, as Jesus declared: “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22b).
But why did God choose Israel over other nations? The simple answer would be to say that since God is Sovereign He can do as He pleases; however, the Scriptures are more specific than that:
“The Lord did not set His love on you or choose you(Israel) because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers…” (Deut. 7: 7, 8)
God promises: Clearly, the foundation of God’s favor is love. But it was precisely because of His love that God made promises to Israel as spelled out in the Covenants He made with the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and other leaders of Israel such as Moses and King David. It’s important to recognize that those Covenants were both conditional and unconditional. Where conditional covenants were concerned, Israel’s blessing and well-being were dependent upon her obedience; however, the unconditional covenants were less about Israel’s obedience and more about God’s faithfulness, that He would keep His covenant promises regardless of what Israel did or did not do!
For example, when God gave the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants, He gave it to them as an everlasting possession:
“Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
(Genesis 17:8)
While the borders of the land may be in dispute, ownership, biblical speaking, is not!
God keeps His promises: It’s also true that God warned Israel that her disobedience would lead to exile – and it did! But exile would not be Israel’s permanent condition, for God also promised to gather His ‘Chosen Ones’ out of exile (Isaiah 43:1-7; Jeremiah 32: 37-41). And how can we explain the rebirth of Israel in 1948, especially following the decimation of European Jewry during the infamous Holocaust, as anything other than the miraculous fulfillment of God’s covenant promises?
In conclusion: As evangelical Christians, we are not called to blindly support any or all of the decisions made by Israel’s elected officials. We are urged to be peace-makers and to pray in particular for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). Moreover, it is Isaiah who urges: “For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace. And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest…I have set watchmen on your walls O, Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent. And give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
Isaiah 62:1, 6, 7)
The Bible makes it clear that God is not neutral where Israel is concerned. He is, and always has been, pro-Israel as revealed in His choice of Israel above all other nations. Nor has God finished with Israel. His plans and purposes for the Jewish nation continue to unfold before the eyes of those discerning enough to recognize it. The exiles have and are returning; the land is once again giving her fruit in season (Ezekiel 36). When I began to understand this, both as a Christian and as a pastor, I knew that, as one who loves God, I must also love Israel because God loves Israel. Now, when I’m asked why I work for the benefit of the people of Israel (Arabs and Jews), the answer comes more easily:
I have no other choice!
Rev. John Tweedie is the Chairman of Christians for Israel.