Why Israel?

Israel has been a land that I’ve loved for most of my life. On our visit there in 2008, Jerusalem was the only other place on earth besides Michigan that felt like home to me. Perhaps that sounds strange because I’m not Jewish, but I am a follower of a Jewish Rabbi, Jesus the Messiah. And for that reason alone, Israel will always hold a special place in my heart.

I’ve spent many, many years studying the people of the Bible, the cultures, the archaeology, the history of the people and people groups named in Scripture. Stories from the Bible are the stories that capture my imagination. No other book has so intrigued me, shaped me, or changed me as God’s Holy Word.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers to the questions surrounding this ancient text. The Bible is still the #1 bestselling book of all time, was written over thousands of years by different authors, yet tells a singular story of Jesus that flows as though one author had written it. Of course, there are things in its pages that are not easy to understand. There will always be debates about parts of the Bible. And in truth, we cannot grasp the spiritual message it contains without eyes of faith.

That said, the Bible has proven to be prophetically accurate, archeologically pertinent, and spiritually transforming to those who believe in its message.

The Bible carries the story of creation and redemption and gives an accurate history of the Jewish people. God chose to give the message of His Redeemer and coming King Jesus, to the people of Israel. From the beginning, God chose a lineage of grace that would bring hope to the world, and that hope would come first through Adam to Noah to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and from then on in the Old Testament, God is known by that Name – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was later named Israel by God Himself.

God made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Genesis to give them the land of Canaan. But before that ever happened, enmity arose between Abraham’s sons Isaac (forefather to the Jews) and Ishmael (forefather to the Arab nations). Jacob and Esau were also brothers whose descendants became enemies of each other. Israel has never enjoyed long-term peace, except perhaps under the reign of King Solomon.

During Solomon’s reign, God promised Israel that if they obeyed Him, they would flourish in the land He’d given to them. If they disobeyed and worshiped foreign gods, He would scatter them over the face of the earth. They disobeyed Him and they were scattered. God keeps His word.

God also promised to bring Israel back to the land from which He’d scattered them. (Deuteronomy 30:3-5; 1 Kings 8:33-34; 2 Chronicles 6:24-25; Jeremiah 30:2-3; Jeremiah 32:37-38; Ezekiel 37:20-22; Ezekiel 36:7-11)

Israel was taken captive by Assyria and Babylon but eventually returned to the land of promise. But they had a bad habit of continually doing what was right in their own eyes and eventually God scattered them again. They did not return as a nation with their resurrected Hebrew language until 1948. They became an official nation (in the eyes of the world) on May 14, 1948.

God also gave Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the land as an everlasting covenant. (Genesis 17:6-8; 1 Chronicles 16:16-18; Psalm 105:9-11)

Israel is the apple of God’s eye. (Deuteronomy 32:9-11; Zechariah 2:7-9)

God made a promise to Israel that whoever touches them touches the apple of His eye and He will surely raise His hand against them. God promised Abraham that those who blessed him would be blessed. Those who cursed him would be cursed. That promise rings true through the Scriptures and even today. Consider this a cautionary tale. Be very careful of provoking God to anger by hating His people. Those who want to wipe Israel off the map – and yes, this is a real desire of some of their enemies today – who chant “from the river to the sea”, which means that very thing, and who would curse them are taking a huge risk before Almighty God. Be careful.

Israel’s Messiah is the Savior of the world. (John 4:41-43; 1 John 4:13-15)

God chose to use one man, Abraham, to bring forth a nation through the promised son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob not because of anything good that they had done. He did so because He wanted to. (Psalm 115:3; Psalm 135:6) He chose one specific nation through whom He would send His Son, the Redeemer promised to Adam and Eve from the beginning. God wanted Israel to represent Him to the world, but they failed to do what He wanted. They couldn’t keep His laws (no one can), so He sent His Son through David’s lineage to do what only God Himself could do. Make a way to save the world.

And yet, the world hates Him and His followers and Israel because of Jesus. The world (humanity) belongs to the devil – he is the prince and the power of the air – but God sent Jesus to rescue us from our sin and the devil’s schemes. We are living in a world that is far more than the human eye can see. If you cannot see the spiritual realm that is behind all of this hatred and anti-semitism and dividing the land God calls His own, then you are missing the point of God choosing Israel in the first place.

He did not choose them because He loved them more than He loves the rest of the world. He didn’t choose them because they are perfect or do everything right. No one does. He chose them as a people, a nation, to show the rest of the people, other nations, the way to Him. (John 3:16) He sent His Son to come through them, and His Son will return one day to rule the world from Jerusalem, that place that felt like home to me.

Jesus is not coming back to America or Europe or Asia or any other continent or country. His feet will touch down on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Israel. A place no bigger than New Jersey is the place where God has put His Name.

That’s really why the world hates Israel so much. Unless you love the God of the Bible, you aren’t going to see why Israel matters. If you love God and you know Jesus, you will see Israel in a completely different way than most of the world does right now.

Israel matters to God. Israel is not going away no matter how many nations turn against her. God promises to defend that land and those people and one day when everyone else turns against her, He will be her defense. It is pointless to curse the apple of God’s eye. We only find ourselves fighting God and He always wins.

~Selah