What About Israel? Part I

Who is Israel? The Israel of the Old Testament Scriptures was a nation comprised of the physical descendents of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham. Today, Israel is a nation in the Middle East founded on May 14, 1948 as a homeland for Jews from all parts of the world. Its capital is Jerusalem and its official languages are Hebrew and Arabic. In 1897 Theodor Herzel announced the purpose of the Zionist movement “to create for the Jewish people a home in Palestine secured by public law.” That early dream was realized in the establishment of Israel as a nation.

Who are the Jews? The Jews are descendents of Abraham through his son Isaac. The word “Jew” is derived from the name “Judah”, a son of Jacob and a tribe of Israel. Both a common faith and a common history have helped to hold the Jewish people together. Over four thousand years ago God called Abraham out of idol- worshiping Ur of the Chaldeans (modern Iraq). He was told that he would be the father of a great nation and that in him all the families of the earth will be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3). That nation was Israel who was to be a witness to all the nations of God’s salvation and the channel through whom the Savior of the world would come. The impact of the Jewish people upon civilization has been phenomenal. The Old Testament came to us through Israel. Jesus Christ was born a Jew. The twelve apostles were Jews and the church was born in the womb of Judaism.

Should Christians support Israel in the conflict in the Middle East? Any nation that is attacked by another nation has a moral right to defend itself (Rom. 13:1-7). So, certainly in that sense Israel should be supported as it goes to war against those who would launch a military offensive against her. We would say the same if America were attacked as it was on September 11, 2001. The basis of this support of Israel, however, is not on Israel’s theocratic mandate in the Old Testament (Deut. 20). Today God is not Israel’s “commander-in-chief” as He was when Israel functioned under the Mosaic Covenant. The nation of Israel does not exist today as the kind of nation she was when called to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). Christians may differ on how Israel goes about defending herself against Islamic totalitarianism, but all should agree that a democracy, like Israel, in the Middle East is a good thing.

Is Israel’s nationhood a fulfillment of Bible prophecy? Another question is also involved here, namely, “Does Israel have a biblical claim to the land of Palestine?” There are evangelical Christians who say that Israel has a right to the land she now possesses because of the land promises delineated under God’s covenant with Abraham (Gen. 15:18-21). Israel’s presence in Palestine is biblically significant, but is not the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The promises in Scripture regarding the regathering of Israel await their fulfillment when Israel believes at the time of the return of the Messiah (Ezek. 36:14, Amos 9:15, a Zech. 10:8). At the present time Israel is experiencing a “partial hardening . . . until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom. 11:25). Some Jews are being saved, but most of Israel refuses to accept Jesus as their Messiah. But one day at the completion of God’s program with the Gentiles “all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:26). Ethnic Israel has a future, and it will be realized when Jesus Christ returns to earth in the splendor of His Second Coming. The nation as a whole will turn to her Messiah and believe in Him (Zech. 12:10). In summary, it can be said that Israel has the right to exist as a nation in Palestine like any nation does under internationally recognized legal rights. But there is no biblical claim to the possession of the Promised Land today. Christians are divided over how to interpret the Old Testament promises regarding Israel’s future restoration. Some say that these promises no longer apply to ethnic Israel but must be “spiritualized” and understood as applying to the church in this age. Many others believe that Israel does have a future as promised in the Abrahamic Covenant, Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant. A consistent literal hermeneutic (i.e. the art and science of interpreting the Bible) points to a literal fulfillment of the land promises in the Old Testament in the “golden-age” of an earthly millennial kingdom.

Why are so many nations of the world set against the nation of Israel? The reasons are probably as varied as the individual nations. But one very real possibility is the ugly specter of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is hostility toward or persecution of Jews because they are Jews. Haman’s attempted plot to destroy all the Jews in Persia is an early example of hatred of Israel (Esth. 3:6; 9:24). Satan has attempted to eliminate the Jewish people throughout their history. He wanted to keep the Messiah from being born and now wants to keep Israel from being in a position to experience the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant in the coming kingdom (Rev. 12:1-6). Islamic Jihadists are committed to driving Israel out of her place in Palestine and have drawn many into their virulent anti-Semitism. It has been correctly observed that “the anti-Semitism of Nazi Germany became the anti-Zionist propaganda of the Arab cause” (A Historical Survey of Anti-Semitism, Richard E. Gade). One example of this is found in a ninth grade textbook paid for and published by Saudi Arabia which says, “The hour of judgment will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them.” All this is not to say that Israel is above criticism. She has no divine carte blanche to do whatever she wishes. But the way in which the United Nations so often censures Israel while ignoring atrocities committed against her raises deep suspicions.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church