Faith Through the Journey

For as long as I can remember, my parents taught me to respect the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. Interestingly enough, they both went to a high school in Denver where the Protestant population was outnumbered by Catholics and Jews. They had relationships with and knew many students of both groups. They taught us that the Jews were, and still remain, God’s chosen people. My opinion has never changed because I’ve studied God’s Word enough to know that God has never forsaken His chosen people. Jesus was Jewish, and He came to His own people as their promised Messiah. God chose Abraham long ago, entered into a covenant relationship with him and his descendants that has never been changed. When God made this covenant, it was an eternal and unconditional one. God initiated the covenant, God made the terms of the covenant unconditional, and therefore it is still in effect today.

When Jesus came to be the final sacrifice for sin, He was the fulfillment of the covenant. But because His own people rejected Him as their Messiah, He was willing to bring in anyone who would accept His sacrifice as the final payment for their sins. Still, God never negated His covenant with the nation of Israel. To this day, they are STILL His chosen people. How, then, can we possibly turn our backs on the Jews and Israel?

I remember very well reading the book “The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom, a woman who courageously worked to help Jews escape from the Nazis when they occupied Holland in World War II. Although not Jews themselves, Corrie’s family assisted in the rescue of many Jews from being delivered to Nazi concentration camps. Once the Nazi plan became clear, Corrie’s father uttered these words: “I pity the poor Germans, Corrie. They have touched the apple of God’s eye.”

We will do ourselves, and our nation, a great injustice if we refuse to stand with the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. To this day, God has protected His people and allowed them to enjoy great military success in the face of great opposition. Lamentations 2:18 says: “…let not the apple of thine eye cease.”  Deuteronomy 32:10 says of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham: “…He kept him as the apple of His eye.”  That sounds as though God takes His Word and His promises very seriously! Whenever there has ever been any wavering regarding our loyalty to the nation of Israel, I have been very uneasy. To find ourselves on the opposite side of the God of the universe is a very uncomfortable position!

The people of the United States should hold Israel and its leaders in high esteem.  Israel has been loyal to us, and we should always stand ready to protect Israel against anyone who would seek to harm them. This year, I had the privilege to visit the land of Israel, and I feel even more passionate about standing with, and doing all we can to protect, these very special people. Ever since the country was reestablished in 1948, the people have had to live on constant alert, knowing where the closest shelter is to wherever they are at any given time. The infrastructure of Israel isn’t complete because the people have had to constantly stop building and fight off the enemies who want to destroy them.

Revelation 21:1-4 says: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among  them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. ”

God will always protect His people Israel; may we always be on God’s side!