Tuesday, October 20, 2009

An overwhelming reason to respect Israel.

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I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.

Zechariah 10:6

Politics aside, there is a spiritual reason for protecting and supporting the interests of the Jewish people, particularly the state of Israel. What they have become is God’s purpose and design. When He regathered them to the Promised Land after the exile, He made it clear that this was all His work, and it would not fail. Read all 12 verses of this chapter carefully. God means to do something special and permanent in Israel (Zechariah 10:1-12). Respect God. Respect His work. Respect Israel.

I know that Israel and the Middle East conflicts radiating from there have been a political hotspot for generations now. That is probably as it should be. The place has been a political and religious volcano for millennia. That is not going to stop by the work of any kind of human diplomacy. God is strengthening and building the place. His plan is to jam more people in there than the land can hold. Really (Zechariah 10:10). It is only going to get more volatile.

I am disheartened when politicians diss Israel. I feel like they are striking at the root of the Abrahamic Covenant, where God said that He would curse those who curse Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:3). I will choose to respect and honor Israel in my thinking. I know God is doing something with His people Israel still. Romans 9 – 11 make it clear that although the perspective has changed with the work of the church, God is still clearly working among the Jews for His glory and purposes. Jesus is the Messiah of the Jews, and the Savior of the world. He is a shared Savior to all who will acknowledge Him. Proclaiming the Messiah, praying for the peace of Jerusalem, and respecting Israel are important when we look at biblical “Israelology”.

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