Israel is a land about which God says – uniquely,
prophetically, redemptively, and repeatedly in the
Bible – “This is Mine.” God refers to Israel as He does
to no other land on Earth. Israel was raised up to be
a light to the Gentiles.
The Church at its inception was virtually entirely
Jewish, and it remained so until the Gospel began to
spread. Ultimately the Gospel spread to Antioch –
where the first Gentile congregation began – the
base from which the Gospel spread into all the
world. In the book of Romans, chapters 9 through 11,
the Apostle Paul deals with the question of the Jews
in God’s providence and purpose. These three
chapters virtually stand alone, within the whole of
the Bible, as an elaboration of the theology of God’s
dealing with Jews. The Jews were the “firstfruit”…the
“first people” (through Abraham) to understand a
covenant God. They then relayed the riches of that
truth to the world, and through their agency, the
Messiah came into the world. The Word of God calls
Jews the “root” and Gentiles the “branches.” We’re
reminded that while “because of unbelief, some of
them were broken off and you stand by faith,” we are
not to become haughty but to fear: “For if God did
not spare the natural branches, He may not spare
you either.” When the fullness of the Gentiles is
completed, “all Israel will be saved.” (v. 11:16-27)
We are living in a sobering moment in history that
calls us, as believers in Jesus Christ, to take a stand
with Israel. We could be people of the last hours. We
are not to be passive in the face of prophecy; we are
called to pray with passion, to intercede, and to
minister according to the words of the Savior who
said it is not our task to speculate when the end will
be. It is our responsibility to do Kingdom business
until He comes (Luke 19:13).
This is not about politics, this is about the Word of
God…but the political ramifications are extremely
dramatic. Scripture declares there will come a time
when all the nations of the world will turn against
Israel. It is so highly conceivable this could happen in
our time that it is critical to outline: why we should
stand with Israel today.
EIGHT REASONS FOR STANDING WITH
ISRAEL
1) Every believer is charged to make the Jews a
priority in their value system and to render
thanksgiving from their hearts for God’s work via
them as a people.
Understanding the basis of the attention that we give
to the Jews has to do with understanding God’s
divine order and things that God said. It involves a
people and a land.
Every believer is charged to make Jews a priority
in their value system because God has.
The Lord selected a people… He began by
selecting a man named Abraham. The Lord said
that through the seed of Abraham (in relation
with his wife, Sarah, giving birth to the promised
child, Isaac) all the nations of the Earth will be
blessed…every human being having access to the
divine blessing of Almighty God.
In Genesis 12:3, the Lord says in the covenant He
makes with Abraham: “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.”
o This relates not only to a people (the Jews),
but it also relates to a land (Israel).
o God will judge nations and deal with them for
their decisions, just as He does individuals.
The Lord chose them for purposes: “…who are
the Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the
glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the
service of God, and the promises; of whom are
the fathers and from whom, according to the
flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally
blessed God. Amen.” (Romans 9:4)
o The Adoption: God’s divine choice of the
seed of Abraham as a people.
o The Glory: the manifest presence of God
revealing Himself.
o The Covenants: commitments that God
makes:
The Abrahamic Covenant…God says, “I
will give you a people and a land, and
through this seed the nations of the Earth
will be blessed.” (Genesis 17)
The Mosaic Covenant…the revelation of
the law, given as a teaching means to lead
us to Christ: redemption through the
blood of the Lamb.
The New Covenant…In Jeremiah and
Ezekiel, God says in words almost parallel:
“For the time will come that I will take My
law and I will make a new covenant with
you, and I will put My Spirit within you.”
o The Greatest Gift: the wonder of the gift of
Jesus to mankind. God so loved that He gave
His only begotten Son…He gave Him through
the Jews, and He came as a Jew. Jesus
Himself, speaking to the woman of Samaria,
said, “Salvation is of the Jews.”
So Scripture speaks to us very clearly: we’re dealing
with the roots of everything that has to do with the
revelation of God to humankind. The proof of this is
in the very existence of the Jews as a people and the
fact that they’ve been recovered as a nation. Today
the struggle is over Jerusalem, over Israel, and over
the presence of Jews and their right to a have a land.
There are few nations willing to make an abiding
commitment to stand by the Jews and Israel, but the
Bible says God will honor those who do.
2) Our place in God’s present order inextricably
links us with the Jews as a people and thereby the
land of Israel according to the Word.
When we put our faith in the Redeemer who came
through the Jews, we enter into a line of those who
have trusted God according to His revealed grace and
redemptive purpose.
Scripture declares that, spiritually speaking, when
you receive the Lord, you become a Jew (Romans
2:28-29; Galatians 3:26-29).
If you are a believer, you cannot be consistent
with the whole of Scripture and take a position
that is passive toward the Jews and Israel.
3) God has made unique declarations regarding the
land of Israel which have never been rescinded:
Leviticus 25:23 – The land is the Lord’s land, and
it is His to assign and dispose of: “The land shall
not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine…”
Deuteronomy 32:43 – “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with
His people…He will provide atonement for His
land and His people.”
2 Chronicles 7:20 – God says if the people violate
Me “…I will uproot them from My land which I
have given them…”
Psalm 85:1-2 – “Lord, you have been favorable to
Your land, You have brought back the captivity of
Jacob. You have forgiven the iniquity of Your
people; You have covered all their sin.”
Isaiah 8:8 – This land belongs to Father God and it
is the land of His Messiah: “…and the stretching
out of his wings will fill the breadth of Your land,
O Immanuel.”
Jeremiah 2:7 – The Lord tells the people why
there will come the loss, the destruction of the
city of Jerusalem. “I brought you into a bountiful
country…but when you entered, you defiled my
land and made my heritage an abomination.”
Ezekiel 38:16 – God is speaking to people in the
end times who rise up against Israel. God is
speaking of a confrontation that will take place in
His land. “You will come up against My people
Israel…I will bring you against My land, so that
the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in
you…”
Joel 1:6, 2:18, 3:2 – Three times in this book, the
land is referred to as belonging to the Lord. “For
a nation has come up against My land…” (1:6)
“Then the Lord will be zealous for His land…”
(2:18) “I will gather all nations, and bring them
down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will
enter into judgment with them there on account
of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they
have scattered among the nations; they have also
divided up My land.” (3:2)
Hosea 9:3 – This refers to the scattering of Israel:
“They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land, but
Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and shall eat
unclean things in Assyria.”
Zechariah 9:16 – “The Lord their God will save
them in that day, as the flock of His people, for
they shall be like the jewels of a crown, lifted like
a banner over His land…”
When we talk about Israel, we are dealing with: 1) a
piece of property that God has made
pronouncements about and 2) God’s people to
whom He’s given the land. It is a major issue with the
Creator of all things, and it is non-negotiable. Things
that God has said, uniquely, about Israel have never
been rescinded.
Not only does the land belong to God, but also
God has committed the land to Abraham and his
offspring via Isaac forever. (Genesis 17:7-8)
“With a little wrath I hid My face from you…but
My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall
My covenant of peace be removed…” (Isaiah 54:8-
10)
The loss of governance by Israel through sin and
dispersion has not altered God’s announced
commitment to make it theirs forever. (Read
Ezekiel 37:1-28)
4) Israel’s present conflict is neither by their
initiative nor perpetuated by expansionism on their
part.
The general attitude of the world today regards the
Palestinians as the underdog, but Israel is defending
the land covenanted to them in 1917 and established
by the United Nations Assembly in 1948. The
Palestinian goal is not to secure a homeland but to
drive Israel out altogether. For the sake of mounting
public opinion against Israel, surrounding, wellresourced
Arab nations have never offered refuge to
the Palestinians. The majority of the world doesn’t
know this, and nobody is bothering to tell them
because sympathies are so overridden by other
forces.
5) To stand with Israel is not to oppose Arab
peoples as an entity or to oppose the rights of Arabs
living in Israel to a peaceful, politically secure, and
prosperous life.
God has no disposition against any human being,
certainly not Arabs who are the offspring of Ishmael,
the other son of His chosen leader Abraham.
Standing for Israel doesn’t require an anti-Arab
stance and doesn’t require us to be loveless toward
other peoples.
6) The relentless animosities of sectors of the Arab
world are not merely political causes but are driven
by spiritual powers that will not be satisfied until
Israel ceases to exist.
The forces opposed to Israel are not simply those of
people who don’t like Jews. We are Caught in the
stream of spiritual forces greater than humanity,
forces that cannot be overthrown politically or by the
power of persuasion. These forces can only be broken
by intercessory prayer where principalities and
powers are cast down.
7) The same spirit driving these animosities is
equally opposed to Christians as to Jews and in time
will eventually bring persecution to both.
Just as Scripture states there are two witnesses that
will be put to death in Jerusalem at the very end of
time (Revelation 11), there have been two witnesses
that have stood for God throughout history – the
Jews and the Christians.
The hostilities and animosities are just as leveled at
believers as they are at Israel, because there is a
spirit in the world that is against all that is called God
and everything about Him.
God as Creator – to Whom we owe our
worship.
God as Judge – to Whom we owe our
accountability.
God as Redeemer – Who has shown Himself
through His Son, Jesus.
God as the moral Lawgiver of all humanity –
to Whom we owe a responsibility in terms of
our behavior.
8) A biblical assignment and a divine promise
summon our stand in faith, our intercession with
expectancy, and our support with promise.
We are called to stand with Israel today because we
could be people of the last hour. The Lord has called
us to be people with moral and biblical conviction,
walking wisely and knowing His Word. He will honor
those who make an abiding commitment to stand
with the land He’s called uniquely His. (Psalm 122:6).
ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO “STAND UP
FOR ISRAEL.”
1. Equip yourself with reliable information,
avoiding bigotry and disallowing “blind
spots.” Recognize the disposition of the
popular press. Assess reports cautiously but
not with paranoia. Become familiar with the
basics of history in the Middle East, and
understand the past century.
2. Accept with continuing faithfulness the
Bible’s call to “Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6), and pray that our
Nation will govern in the light of Genesis
12:1-3… ”I will bless those who bless you…”
3. Prayerfully consider visiting Israel as a point
of practical support.
4. Show friendship toward Jewish friends. Affirm
that you, as a believer, stand with Israel as a
point of your Bible-based commitment to
God.
5. While acknowledging the terrorist habits of
radical Muslims, be gracious to others.
Take action because it’s such a pivotally important
time. Today, the showdown that we face is so close
to being the nations of the earth against Israel and
whoever is left that stands with them.
The final issue will be “Who is for Christ and His way
and who isn’t?” The Lord has called us to be a people
who will touch people and will stand with moral and
biblical convictions for critical issues…and this is one.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
If you have enjoyed this article from Dr. Jack Hayford, you
can find more information in the Watchmen on the Wall
Training Manual by co-authors Miriam Rodlyn Park,
Robert Stearns, and Dr. Jack Hayford.
The Watchmen on the Wall Training
Manual is a broad-based but
structured curriculum written by
knowledgeable Christian Leaders,
with a variety of relevant material
and practical assignments. Our goal
in writing and compiling this practical
guide is to equip the believer for effective articulation to
people and “informed intercession” to God, regarding
Israel, her people and some of the political issues
surrounding her. The Training manual is made up of
approximately 15 chapters divided into three main
sections: Foundational Topics (including topics such as
God’s Everlasting Covenant with Israel, The Jewish Roots
of Christianity, The History of Christian Anti-Semitism, The
Timeline of Israel, etc.), Talking to God about Israel and
Her People (How to Pray for the Jewish People in Israel
and How to Pray for the Arabs in Israel), and How to Talk
to Others ( Scriptural Rebuttal to Replacement Theology,
Responding to Media Myths, How to Share Israel with
your Pastor, FAQ by Jewish People to Watchmen,
Important Facts about Israel, etc.) The manual is designed
to be a broad based foundation, with concise but meaty
chapters, that include statistics, facts, and insights from
knowledgeable Christian Leaders in the land. At the end
of each chapter, there is not only a list of additional
resources for people who desire to delve deeper into a
topic, but also, a series of Study Questions to reinforce
the key information and to use for group study and
discussions.
By Jack Hayford
