IN DEFENSE OF ISRAEL

By Mike Taylor

In the world in which we live in, there are no other people that have been persecuted more than the Jewish people. People who claim to be Christians, believe that Israel has been replaced and has no place in the heart of God, even though God called them “His chosen people.” In Genesis chapter 12 we find the following proclamation by God:

12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:

12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (what is that blessing? God's final remark in verse 3 is the most fundamental reason God chose Abraham, and thus Israel and his descendants: to bless mankind in the Person of Jesus Christ. Christ is the center, the focus, of everything.)

12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Before God called Abram to leave his father and the family he had known, the human race was called the nations, until God made a covenant with Abram, who became Abraham and was called “a friend of God.” Throughout all of the bible, we see a personal, intimate relationship, both good and bad, that God had with this selected race of people that became the nation of Israel, named after Jacob, who became Israel after wrestling with the Spirit of the Lord. God dealt with these people to be a witness to the whole world. God spoke to Moses, His desire for a peculiar and special people:

19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

When studying your bible, you see a trend that develops with mortal man, even a special people. Man, when he is following what God says and obeys His voice, the blessings flow until in this ancient time, Israel became the greatest nation on earth in the time of David and into the reign of Solomon. But when man does not follow God’s commandments and obey His voice, then because of His disobedience, he experiences curses, exile, and death at the hand of his enemies. It happened many times to Israel and God was patient with them for hundreds of years and sent many prophets to warn them, but they failed miserably and were scattered to the four winds after Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD.

For almost 2000 years, the Jewish people (so named because of the tribe of Judah) were a nation no more. They were persecuted, hunted down, and killed because of Gentile nation prejudice of being “the killers of Jesus Christ.” Yes, the Jews did indeed have a indirect hand in the crucifixion and death, (right along with the Romans), of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as was His plan from the beginning. When Jesus was speaking about what would happen to the nation of Israel, which during the time of Jesus was being ruled in servitude to Roman conquerors, Jesus said in Matthew 21: 42

“Did you never read in the Scriptures: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone? This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes"? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.”

Jesus was speaking of a time coming when the nation of Israel would lose the commission that was given to them, to be a royal priesthood to all the nations of the earth and a peculiar people. They were to be a witness, or intermediary for the gentile nations though the Levitical priesthood, until the time of the revealing of their Messiah. But as we should know, they failed miserably. But they are no better, or worse than we are, because as humans, we fail miserably when looking to ourselves and not following God’s leadership through His Holy Spirit.

So, if God has rejected the children of Israel, what was their purpose? Was Israel God's failed trial run at ruling humans, or was there something more to it? Why did God choose Israel? What makes Israel so special? Where does Israel fit in the grand scheme of God's plan?

There is good news and bad news concerning what has happened to Israel for the last 2000 years. First, let’s discuss the good news of Israel’s failure to follow God and to accept His only begotten Son, as the Savior of their souls. The good news is that because Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah, and rejected the message preached by the apostles noted in the book of Acts, that the message was taken to the Gentiles, especially by Paul the apostle, who had been known as the Pharisee, Saul, before his conversion on a dusty road to Damascus. Paul writes

Romans 11:26-32:

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins." Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

That folks is it in a nutshell. In God’s eternal wisdom, He blinded the Jewish people to the truth and the revelation of Jesus Christ as their long awaited Messiah, so God could have mercy on us, the gentiles and eventually on us all. But is God done with the nation of Israel? Some in modern evangelical religions seem to think that God has abandoned Israel and has replaced her with the church. That contradicts the above scripture, and as we all know, God cannot lie. The church will be God’s first fruits into His kingdom, but as He says, “He will take away their sins.” But do they deserve it? Do you? Of course, we do not deserve the sacrifice Jesus made on His cross, almost 2000 years ago, during Passover season. But for the sake of His promise to the fathers of the Jews, namely, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and because of His Holy Name, He will confirm and honor the covenant He made with their father Abraham when He called him into the land of Canaan.

We read in Ezekiel the 37th chapter about the prophecy of the “valley of dry bones”. We won’t take time to quote the entire chapter, so take a moment and read that chapter and meditate what the meaning of the passage means to Israel. They were a nation scattered, lost as a people, blinded to the truth, and seemingly beyond hope. But God has called them again and they were prophesied to be a great nation again, a vast army. For 2000 years, this passage lay dormant in the annals of history, until 1948 when beyond all reason, beyond all human comprehension, and against all odds, Israel became a nation AGAIN. It has never, never, ever happened in all of the history of the world. There has never been a nation destroyed, scattered, and forgotten, and then reconstitute itself to be the same nation as it was centuries before with essentially the same customs, language, and culture. I repeat, NEVER!!

Why has this happened? Because God is not done with them, until He saves THEM ALL!! He wishes to show mercy, as it is written in Roman chapter 11:
11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

1 1:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Did you get that? He will have mercy upon all. That includes us, the church in the Age of Grace and upon the nation of Israel in the time of tribulation when He will purge them as a refiner of silver. Malachi chapter 3:

3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:

3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

3:4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

God has used Israel and its descendents, to move along the plan of God and introduce His salvation through the Hebrew people, namely the nation of Israel. He has now reconstituted that nation again into a nation long thought of destroyed for these end times we live in. Zechariah prophesied and wrote down what we have seen and will see in the near future. Turn over to the 12th chapter in your bible.

12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

God will defend His people and will in the end, reveal Himself to His people and they will believe as a nation.

Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

And that soon to be future event, God says this in Hebrews chapter 10:

10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Remember the beginning of the message? “I will bless them that bless you, and will curse them that curse you.’? Every member of God’s church, His true church, must pray for Israel, must stand with her, and must believe the Words of Almighty God. Anyone who lifts a hand against her will be cut to pieces. Anyone who thinks they are so powerful that they can undermine the nation of Israel in these last days, I believe, is going against God Himself. Look all around us. Have we not been blessed when we stood shoulder to shoulder with God’s chosen people? And if we try and divide His land, (as it belongs to God), and do evil to a people God has made an unbreakable promises to then I fear for that nation. My fellow Americans, I fear for us. We must stand up and make known our voice loud and clear, that we stand with Israel. Not because they deserve it, but because God said it. They don’t deserve, but then again, neither do we.

As we fast approach the coming time of Jacob’s trouble and seven year tribulation, John spoke of Israel as a people in the Revelation chapter 12, we see a symbol of the nation of Israel, as woman with 12 stars about her head, as a crown, and the moon under her feet.

12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

The next few verses, we see the Red Dragon, Satan the devil, appear to wait to devour the child, which is Jesus Christ, which he tried many times, but when he thought he had won at the crucifixion, his victory was his ultimate defeat.

12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Jesus has risen and been taken to the right side of God the Father waiting for setting up His kingdom, here on earth.

But notice the next lines? 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

All through this chapter, God protects His people, so to say that God is done with the Israelites, is to ignore scripture references to the contrary. We see many references to standing with Israel in the annals of this website, but we must continue to make our case known and our voice heard where we stand on the side of God’s chosen people and what He called “the apple of His eye.”

Pray for our leaders. And if they won’t follow standing with Israel, or live by what this nation was founded upon. Then pray for leaders that will. But as individuals that are responsible to God for our actions, our thoughts, and obedience to His Word. Pray for Israel, because she is the door to end time events, and Jerusalem is the key and the clearest indicator of how close we really are to the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to receive His church unto Himself. So come Lord Jesus.