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It’s amazing how a country as small as Israel; a country which has little or no strategic interest, as far as its
location is concerned, yet it seems to always be the focus of world news and interest.
Although the secular media writes about Israel almost on a daily basis, there are many, including Christians, who
cannot understand what all the fuss with Israel is all about. There are many areas of the world that seem to have
greater problems than Israel on a daily basis, yet rarely do you read about these problems, and when you do see an
article on these overlooked areas of the world, they just don’t seem to get the medias respect, as far as priority
is concerned.
In many cases, such as the recent uprising in Nigeria, with its alleged fraudulent elections, many innocent people
were dying everyday from the governments crackdown on its citizens. Christians were being singled out and persecuted
for their religious beliefs. I’ve received reports of Christian churches being burned, pastors wives and daughters
being brutally raped, yet the media has largely overlooked these tragedies.
Many people I’ve spoken to were not even aware of these kinds of problems in Nigeria. Oh sure, they may have heard on
the news of the alleged fraudulent elections, but, for the most part, not knowing the ruthlessness that was being
perpetrated against innocent people there.
So, why is there so much interest directed toward the tiny nation of Israel? The one word answer to that, is Jerusalem!
Jerusalem is looked upon as the holiest site for two of the worlds three biggest religions in Christianity and Judaism,
and looked on a the second holiest site by the religion in Islam.
In the Judeo-Christian faith, the God of the Bible has claimed Jerusalem to be His home in Isaiah 2:2,
“Now it shall
come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains
(referring to Jerusalem).”
Isaiah also prophesies in the latter part of this same verse that all eyes will be on Jerusalem, “And all nations shall
flow to it.” The secular media doesn’t even realize why they are so enamored by there coverage of Israel.
Let’s take a look at Scripture and see why we should care about Israel and what happens to those who go up against her.
We need to go all the way back in time to God’s Covenant with Abram. In Genesis 12:7, we read, “To your descendants I
will give this land.” The land that God has blessed to the descendants of Abram (later renamed Abraham by God) encompassed
a lot more territory than that which they have recovered with the prophesied rebirth of the nation of Israel, which was
fulfilled in 1948.
Sadly, there are many Christian groups that misinterpret Scripture and believe that Israel or the Jews are no longer
accepted by God, and that Christians have replaced them as the apple of God’s eye. In accepting this false doctrine
even Christians are setting themselves up for God’s wrath.
Within the Covenant between God and Abram, God establishes some very important points that we need to understand and
agree with or we are not living within the will of God. If we look back at Genesis 12, verses 2-4, we can find the basic
foundation for this Covenant:
1) God establishes that Jerusalem will be His home.
2) All nations shall flow to it.
3) Out of this land shall go forth God’s law.
4) From there God will judge the nations, whether they were established within His will for the land.
5) God ensures Israel’s protection.
We already established that the Israelites, Abram’s descendants, are the recipients of this Covenant. God confirms this
same Covenant with Abraham’s son Isaac in Genesis 21:12, and also with Isaac’s son Jacob in Genesis 26:2-4.
There is never a point throughout Scripture that even alludes to God separating Himself from Israel on a permanent basis.
On the contrary, There are many Scriptures which confirms that this Covenant was for eternity. God does remove His
blessing from the nation of Israel because of their unfaithfulness to Him, but He also promises their restoration, which
I mentioned above, was fulfilled in 1948.
Oddly enough, my strong belief is that the bulk of Christianity throughout the ages, are descendants of the lost ten
tribes of Israel. Those tribes who have been scattered throughout the world after the demise of Israel as a nation. Many
were scattered when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Israel and took many into captivity back to Babylon, which
is modern day Iraq.
Once again in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, much of the remaining Israelites were scattered
throughout the world, losing their identity. Today, many a scholar has tried to determine the whereabouts of those lost
ten of the twelve tribes of Israel, but with no clear answer.
I believe when Christians are united with the Jews of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, when Jesus returns, it will be the
reuniting of the twelve tribes of Israel. So although many believe that only the tribe of Judah, the Jews, have received
God’s blessing, I don’t believe this to be true. I believe that God has blessed all twelve tribes of Israel, but ten of
those tribes are under the covering of Christianity.
I do understand that the Bible says that God has now turned His focus to the Gentiles (non Israelites), at least for the
time being, but scattered among the Gentiles were those ten tribes of Israel who have lost their identity. The tribe of
Benjamin merged with the tribe of Judah, so we know their identity. God Himself, preserved the identity of Judah, because
they were the lineage of Jesus Christ.
Are you starting to see the importance of accepting biblical authority and blessing Israel
today? If not you may want to re-read Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you,
and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Not only must you bless Israel if you want to live in the will of God and not receive God’s wrath, we find in the final
part of that verse that only through the people of the nation of Israel can you and your family be blessed.
In conclusion, Israel in the news is not going to go away anytime soon. As a matter of fact as we progress into the end
times, Israel will become even more front and center, as it already is. If you hold any resentment toward Israel or the
Jewish people, I would highly recommend you reconsider and seek repentance.
I am not talking about condoning the Israeli government, that is a manmade government who does seek the face of their
God in their political processes. If they did they would not be under the pressure of giving away land that God has
covenanted to them.
I am talking about praying for God’s will for all twelve tribes of Israel, because for all you know, you may be
descended from them.
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