Co authored with David Pope
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 ESV
I had faith in Israel before it was established, I knew it was based on the love of freedom, which has been the guiding star of the Jewish people since the days of Moses.-President Harry Truman ¹
Christians, Jews and Muslims all look to Abraham as the patriarch of our respective faiths. He was the man who God used to give us the revelation of the one true God. He is mentioned more than 300 times
throughout the Bible, including in 11of the 27 books of the New Testament as well as in all four gospels. Jesus speaks of him frequently, and Paul describes him in Romans 4 as “the father of us all.”
In Genesis 12, God promises Abraham that he will be the father of many nations. Yet, as time passes and Abraham and Sarah remain childless, impatience leads to human intervention—Sarah gives her servant Hagar to Abraham, and Ishmael is born (Genesis 16).
Despite Ishmael’s birth, God later reaffirms His covenant with Abraham, declaring that Sarah herself will bear a son, Isaac (Genesis 17:15-21) who was the actual covenant son. This, of course, meant that his bloodline would eventually produce the Messiah.
Ishmael is a very tragic figure and it is important to learn his story as well. After Isaac was born, Sarah becomes jealous and sends Hagar and Ishmael away (Genesis 21:8-21). As heartbreaking as this event was, God still meets Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness, provides for them and reaffirms His plan for Ishmael.
This is a very touching account of God’s providence for this child Ishmael, who is literally cast out of the family and consequentially, out of the covenant. Nonetheless, he is not forgotten. For lack of a better term, we could call this a “consolation prize.” God promised that He would also make a great nation of Ishmael’s descendants, who we now know as the Arab people.
At the same time, God also says that Ishmael would be a “wild man” and that “his hand will be against every man and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”Some translations word that along the lines of “he will live in hostility toward his brethren.” So we see that the tension we see today between the Arabs (Ishmael’s descendants) and the Jews (Isaac’s descendants) can be traced all the way back to Bible days.
This is reflected in the controversy over who the Land of Israel rightfully belongs to and what its proper name should be. Historically speaking, Israel was known as Israel from 1680 BC until 70 AD, when the Jews revolted against the
Roman rulers of the Land. As punishment for this revolt, Rome changed the name of the area
from Judaea (Latin, “land of the Jews”) to Philistia (Latin, “land of the Philistines”). Over time,
Philistia evolved into Palestine.
However, Biblical history notwithstanding, the Jewish people still have a strong claim to the Land for a variety of other reasons. Consider the following:
- In the summer of 2000, Israel offered the Palestinian Arabs 97% of the land they claim to be fighting for, making Israel the first and only country ever to offer the Palestinian Arabs a homeland. This offer was rejected with no counter-offer from the Palestinians.
- Like the United States, Israel is a democracy. Israel’s Parliament includes men, women, Jews, and Arabs.
- Israel ensures complete equality of all individuals irrespective of religion, race or sex. These civil rights are granted in Israel’s Declaration of Independence and Declaration of Establishment.
- The West Bank and Gaza Strip are disputed territories, claimed by Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. (UN Resolution 242)
- Israel gained control of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza (sometimes referred to as the “disputed territories”) in 1967 after defeating Egypt, Syria and Jordan in a pre-emptive strike after those countries surrounded Israel with troops, launched repeated terrorist attacks, and threatened to “put an end to Israel.”
- Three major attempts to destroy Israel have been carried out by the Arab World: in 1947, 1967, and 1973. Although many neighboring Arab countries today still wish to destroy Israel, Israel still seeks peace. Israel has forged peace agreements with Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994), and has lived in peace with these countries ever since.
- The West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza were never controlled by any Palestinian government or organization until 1993, when Israel agreed to give the Palestinian Authority certain controls under the Oslo Peace accords.
This is why the U.S has always been a strong supporter of the Jewish state ever since it was reestablished in 1948 (which, as we will see, was a direct fulfillment of many
biblical prophecies). In fact, the aforementioned President Truman directly cited Genesis 12:1-2 as the basis for his support of Israel.
At the same time, it is important to note that our support for Israel is not to be unconditional or uncritical. We simply cannot turn a blind eye to the genuine human rights violations that have occurred. In addition, failure to recognize this has alienated a great many Palestinian Christians as well as hindered our Gospel witness to others in the region. A low point in America’s relationship with Israel came in 1967 when Israel accidentally attacked the USS Liberty spy ship during the Six Day War. Reparations were made but the incident did occur.
Fortunately, it is possible to support Israel’s right to exist without endorsing all of the political baggage that often goes along with the Zionist cause. We must never forget that Jesus Himself was Jewish, as were all twelve of His original disciples. The early church was made up entirely of Jews until In fact, Christianity was originally considered to be a sect of Judaism known as “The Way.” They did not become two separate faiths until AD 70, when Jerusalem fell to the Romans. This is why antisemitism in any form must be denounced in the strongest terms possible.
Every Christian is to love, support and pray for the Jewish people. Regardless, we must acknowledge that genuine peace and healing can only happen as all parties involved encounter the Prince of Peace. Thankfully, we are seeing that come to pass in our own lifetime! As previously stated, this miraculous modern day return of the Jews to their homeland is a direct fulfillment of many prophecies. Here are a few of them:
- In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.-Isaiah 11:11-12f ESV
- I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.-Ezekiel 36:24 ESV
- I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.-Amos 9:14 ESV
These events will ultimately culminate as all of Israel finally embraces their Messiah:
- I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.-Ezekiel 36:25-26 ESV
- And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.-Zechariah 12:10 ESV
- Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.-Romans 11:25-27 ESV
Exciting things are also happening among the descendants of Ishmael as many Muslims have been coming to faith in Christ, often through prophetic dreams. Some say they wish they had lived in Bible days. Friends, that is exactly what we are living in! God is doing things in our time that those who came before us longed to see. Furthermore, He invites you to be part of it! If you have never given your life to Jesus, there is no better time than now!
Keep It Real,
James and Dave
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Herzog, Michael. Truman and the Birth of Israel. Speech given at the Truman Presidential Library. May 11, 2023.
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