Israel; God's Prized Possession

These days Israel is in the news nearly every day. We are in a position right now to watch as prophecy unfolds before our very eyes.

Matthew 24:6–8 says, “And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.”

Did you realize that Christians should have a heart for Israel and that Israel is still dear to God’s own heart? The one thing I hope you’ll go away with today is that Christians have a responsibility to pray for the salvation of Israel (Romans 10:1) and for the peace of Jerusalem (Ps 122:6a). In Nehemiah 1:9b God says of the Jewish people, “……even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.” The Jews call this making Aliyah back to Jerusalem.

How much does the Lord love Jerusalem? Zechariah 2:8b says, “Anyone who harms you harms my most precious passion” and Chapter 8:2 says, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem!” Verses 7-8 say, “……You can be sure that I will rescue my people from the east and from the west. I will bring them home again to live safely in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be faithful and just toward them as their God."

Verse 11 says, “But now I will not treat the remnant of my people as I treated them before, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. In verses 14-15, “For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: I was determined to punish you when your ancestors angered me, and I did not change my mind, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. But now I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid.”

Zechariah 12:3b, 10 prophecies, “…..All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves. For on that day I will begin to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.” Right now for the most part the Jewish people’s eyes have been blinded of the truth and they don’t understand what they have done to their ‘unrecognized’ Savior, but one day they will understand and there will be untold grieving for what they have done.

Romans 9:27 says that “Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will be saved.” Why only a remnant if Israel is the apple of God’s eye? (Malachi 1:2a) It’s because when Jesus died He died for all men making “….peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups,” (Eph 2:15b) or as some might say ‘one new man’. “Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.” (Eph 2:18) And this is where the problem begins for the Jewish people.

Paul speaks about his Jewish brothers in Romans 9, 10, and 11 saying that “the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved.” (Romans 10:1) He goes on in verses 2-4 saying, “I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.” Remember, Christ fulfilled the law when He died for our sins as the ultimate sacrifice.

In verse 16 Paul continues to say that not everyone welcomes the Good News. He goes on to ask in verse 18 whether the people of Israel have actually ever heard the message of Christ and then answers, “Yes, they have: “The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world.””

“Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people!” (Romans 9:6)

Let’s go back to the beginning and find out how we Gentiles were fortunate enough to be ‘grafted’ in as Children of the Most High God. The book of Jeremiah predicted the fall of Jerusalem long ago and tells of God’s promise to restore her. Let’s look now at the book of Ezekiel at a short version of how Israel turned her back on God and brought disappointment to Him and shame on His Holy Name.

Ezekiel 36:17a, 18–27 says, “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by the evil way they lived. They polluted the land with murder and the worship of idols, so I poured out my fury on them. I scattered them to many lands to punish them for the evil way they had lived. But when they were scattered among the nations, they brought shame on my holy name. For the nations said, ‘These are the people of the Lord, but he couldn’t keep them safe in his own land!’ Then I was concerned for my holy name, on which my people brought shame among the nations.

“Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land." Last year alone over a million Jews made Aliyah back into Israel from all across the world mostly from Ethiopia and Russia.

In Romans 11:1, 2b, 11, 13-15, 17b-23, 28 Paul says, “I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel....... Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles (which of course is us). But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves.

I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! …..And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.

“Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either.

Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Some of the Jewish customs and feasts have blessings that can enrich our lives deeply. They are God’s holy days, not theirs, and there are many benefits for the believer even today. He promises to bless every believer who blesses Israel. (Psalm 122:6b) Christians, should feel honored that according to Romans 11:25, “…blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” Praise be to God that he loves us as well!!!.

God reminds us that Israel’s rejection is not final (Romans 11:29), that His plan for Israel and the Jewish people is irrevocable and can not be changed. The year 1948 opened the door for all these prophecies to come to pass as they became a State. In 1967 the Jewish people were finally able to go back into the city of Jerusalem for the first time in over 2,000 years.

According to various sources including Wikipedia, Israel is the world’s only predominantly Jewish State with an estimated 7 ½ million population. Israel is a democracy, as we are, with a parliamentary system called the Knesset serving as the legislative body.

Israel has the 41st largest economy in the world and has one of the highest life expectancies. They rank in the top 20 of most economically developed nations. Jerusalem is the largest city and the capital; Tel Aviv is Israel’s main financial center and Haifa is her main industrial center.

Israel is a little over 8500 square miles which is a little bit bigger than the size of New Jersey, and is now one of the leaders in technology, computer science, medical research, space technology, and more.

Israel has a draft policy at the age of 18; 2-3 years for women and 3 years for men. They have a high-tech weapons system and including the reservists almost 600,000 man their army called the Israeli Defense Force or IDF.

Israel is largely self-sufficient in food production, except for beef and grain. Israel is a leader in water conservation, geothermal energy and is compared to Silicon Valley and others for their cutting edge technologies in software, communications, and life sciences.

Over 3 million tourists visit Israel each year, largely religious tourism. Israel has a diamond industry and houses the world’s largest diamond trading floor.

So see, God is already busy blessing and prospering them. They are not a third world country; they rival the best with their blessings from God Himself. Psalm 87:2 says, “He loves the city of Jerusalem more than any other city in Israel.” John 4:22 reminds us that “….salvation comes through the Jews.” They are the root and we are fortunately grafted in as branches.

The bottom line? Paul talks about the people taking up an offering for the poor believers in Jerusalem. Romans 15:27 says, “They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially.” God will bless us when we bless them financially and one way to do that is help Jews make Aliyah back to Jerusalem through various ministries and programs.

In Genesis 12:3 we’re reminded that God said of Israel, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.” How many times have you seen Israel treated with contempt in the news lately? Joel 3:2 says, “….I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land.” Now that you know that it is God’s intention to protect Jerusalem, it’ll be interesting to watch as news events unfold before our very eyes and you can tell those around you that you know the end of the story! Jerusalem will continue to be the apple of God’s eye and we must continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the salvation of Israel. Shalom Marvin and Diana.