Why America Must Stand By Israel!
I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you...(Gen 12:3)
He that touches [Israel] touches the apple of [My] eye (Zec 2:7-13).
I will gather all nations and enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land Multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision (Joel 3:1-14).
America is at an epochal crossroads. Will we believe God and stand by Israel? Or will we equivocate and sympathize with Israel s enemies? Having already turned our back on God in America, we are feeling the sting of His gracious remedial judgments. Yes, we still have a form of religion, but we have lost the moral and spiritual power we once possessed. We now find ourselves in an unprovoked, worldwide war with militant Islamist terrorists and our homeland is vulnerable. Yet, while our President has vowed to act against terrorists and those who harbor them, he has ironically pressed Israel not to retaliate against Palestinian terrorists. And the cornerstone of his Middle East policy is to divide the land of Israel to create a terrorist-ruled, Islamist Palestinian state. Because God’s Word speaks so clearly to this issue (Joel 3:1-17) and because there will be grave consequences if we fail to heed Him, no greater moral or political issue faces our nation at this moment in history than this (see Jer 12:14-16; Zech 2:7-13). There are two absolute reasons why America MUST stand with the Jews and their claim to the land.
First: God gave the Land of Israel to the Jewish People!
Unlike the historic claim other people may have to their homeland, the Jews have an overriding, stronger claim. God Himself gave the title deed to the land of Israel to the Jews. The earth is the Lord s and the fullness thereof. Any human ownership of land is but a lease, subject to His overriding authority. God establishes the boundaries of nations (Dt 32:8-10; Nu 34:10-15; Josh 11:16-22:14; Acts 17:26).
1) God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendents forever by a solemn oath and covenant (Gen 15:18; 17:2-8). He renewed the covenant with Abraham s son, Isaac (note: not Ishmael c Gen 17:19-21; 21:12-13), and his grandson Jacob (note: not Esau c Gen 28:13-16; 35:11-13).
2) The Land Record is found in Scripture. God’s covenant with the Jews regarding the land and the drama of His covenant promises, Israel s slavery, deliverance, sin, wanderings, possessing of the land, national glory, cycles of sin and repentance, captivities, returns, defeats, dispersions and ultimately permanent possession of the land are an over-arching, grand theme of scripture. That we live in the day when God has brought the dispersed Jews back to Israel and restored the land to them should be a matter of awe and wonder for the entire world, but especially for Bible-believing Christians. It is a sign that helps us believe and not doubt His even grander promise, that the Jews, who rejected Christ as their Messiah during the first century, will yet embrace Him as their Savior and Lord, just as God promised (Gen 12:7; 26:2-5; 35:9-12; Ex 6:1-8; Nu 34:2-15; Dt 32:8-10; Josh 11:16-23; 13:1-22:14; Eze 47:13-48:35).
3) God’s Promises Are Clear For All to See. His promises to the Jews regarding the land of Canaan are stated and repeated in scores of Bible verses. The major and minor prophets proclaimed them (e.g., Gen 12:7; 13:14:15; 26:3b; 48:4b; Ex 3:8; 6:2-4, 8; Lev 25:23; Is 11:11-12:2; Jer 23:7-8; 30:30; 32:37-44; 33:7-26; Eze 11:16-20; 34:13; 39:27-29; 34: Joel 3:1-20; Amos 9:13-15; Zec 1:13-21; 2:1-13; 7:14; 8:1-8).
4) God’s Promises Regarding the Jew s Land Inheritance are Unconditional. God’s promises of blessing and continuity in the land to Moses and David were conditional (e.g., be careful to obey so that it may go well with you Dt 6:3; Dt 30:1-8; 1 Chr 28:8). But His promises through the prophets of the Jews ultimate, permanent possession of the land and their embrace of Jesus as Messiah, were unconditional. You may protest, These Jews are anti-Christian, ungodly. They practice abortion, homosexuality, all the sins of the other secular western nations. True, God has bound them over to disobedience so that like us, He may have mercy upon them all (see Rom 11:all, but especially vs. 27-36). The fulfillment of God’s promises to the modern Jews is not dependent upon their faith, obedience or righteousness, but entirely upon God’s sovereign power and the immutability of His Will (Is 2:2-5; Jer 23:7-8; 30:3; 33:7-26; Eze 11:16-20; 20:41-44; Am 9:14-15; Zech 8:1-8). God promised that after regathering the Jews to Israel He would reveal Himself to them (Eze 20:42-43; 36:24-36; Zech 10:8-10; 12:8; 13:9). They will embrace Him and be marvelously saved (Eze 39:29; Rom 11:24-36). We must believe God with and for them.
5) Our Sovereign God Has Kept His Promise & Brought the Jews Back to Their Homeland! After WWI, when the Allies ceded control of Palestine to the British, they controlled multiplied thousands of square miles of Middle East land. They could have given the Jews any of a hundred pieces of real estate for their homeland, but the God of History long ago ordered the return of the Jewish People to the land of Canaan (Jer 16:14-15; 24:6; 30:3; 32:37; 50:19). Later, in 1948, after the Holocaust had created world sympathy for the Jews, God used the U.N., now a chief opponent of Israel, to create the nation (Is 66:8-13).
6) Every Christian Should Know What God’says About the Jews & His Covenant Land, especially in this hour of decision. Each of us, like the Bereans, must search the Scriptures to know what God’says, and to tell others. We must see and feel the weight of the Scriptural record and not allow our understanding to be darkened by doctrines with strained and skewed conclusions that nullify the plain promises of God (Acts 17:11-12; 1 Pet 1:19-21).
7) God has warned the nations: All who try to move [Jerusalem] will injure themselves. God promises to punish the nations that come against Israel (Gen 12:3b). America, the Arabs, the European Union, the United Nations, Russia, China, indeed all the nations are in the valley of decision. Every nation that presumes to interfere with God’s plan for Israel, including the U.S., stands not only against Israel, but against Almighty God! God is rising to judge the nations (Eze 38:1-39:29; Zech 2:8-9; 12:2-9).
Second: God Demands Justice, Righteousness & Truth (Is 59:4, 14-19)
God made transcendent promises to the Jews as to their ultimate possession of land, but He will hold the nations accountable to deal with Israel with truth, righteousness, and justice. These have been conspicuously absent. Even America, Israel s closest friend, has helped engender the present crisis by recognizing terrorist Yasser Arafat and his murderous regime as the legitimate government of the Palestinian people. By dealing with liars and murderers, and requiring Israel to do so, we have not acted righteously. Now, under pressure from the Arabs, the Bush administration wants to give Arafat and his radical terrorists a country, carved from tiny Israel, from which they will launch future Intifadas (Ex 23:32; Jdg 2:2-3; Ps 64:all; Pr 26:17-28).
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Seven Reasons Why Israel Has the Right to Their Land"
In March, when White House rhetoric was moving against Israel, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) gave an important speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate: Seven Reasons Why Israel Has the Right to "Their Land" (3/4/02). Six of his reasons are simple truths that appeal to common sense; the seventh, his most important, is an appeal to faith in God of the Bible and His covenant with the Jews. Here is our abridged version.
1) The Archeological Evidence says it s Israel s Land
Every new archeological dig supports the fact that the Jews have had a presence in Israel for 3,000 years - coins, cities, pottery, other cultural artifacts The Jew s claim predates the claim of any other people in the region. The ancient Philistines are extinct as are other ancient peoples. They do not have the unbroken line the Israelis have. The first modern Israelis are direct descendents from the original Israelites.
2) Israel Has a Historic Right to the Land
Israel existed as a nation until the time of the Roman Empire. Even after the dispersions of 70 A.D. and 135 A.D. a strong Jewish presence remained. The Turks took control 700 years ago and ruled until they were defeated by Great Britain in WWI as allies of the Germans. British Field Marshal Edmund Allenby took Jerusalem without firing a shot. Grateful for the contributions Jewish scientists and businessmen had made to the war effort, Britain promised in 1917 to set aside certain captured lands (all of present day Israel & Jordan) for a Jewish homeland. There was no outcry over the plan because the land was considered worthless, unable to sustain any sizeable population. Arabs began to repopulate the land only after the Jews reclaimed it and the land had begun to prosper. No nation in the region has a longer standing historic claim to the land than Israel. Saudi Arabia was not created until 1913, Lebanon until 1920; Iraq, 1932; Syria, 1941; Jordan, 1946 and Kuwait, 1961.
3) Israel s Practical Value to the Middle East
Israel is a marvel of modern agriculture. She has brought more food out of a desert than any other land. The Arabs should befriend Israel, import Israeli technology, and make the Middle East, like Israel, a food exporter.
4) Israel s Land: The Ground of Humanitarian Concern
Six million Jews were slaughtered in Europe in World War II. Jews were persecuted in Russia under the Czars, under communism and even now. For their own protection and development the Jews need their homeland. If not there, where? The entire nation of Israel would fit into my home State of Oklahoma seven times.
5) Israel Is a Strategic Ally of the United States
Israel is an impediment to groups hostile to America. Were it not for our strategic ally, Israel, they would overrun the entire Middle East. We have only one friend in the region we can count on. Israel votes with us in the U.N. more than any other nation, including England, Canada, France and Germany.
6) Israel Is a Roadblock to Terrorism
The war we face is not against a sovereign nation, but against a fluid group of terrorists who move from one country to another. They are almost invisible. We need our alliance with Israel. If we do not stop terrorism in the Middle East, it will be on our shores. I believe the spiritual door was opened for an attack against the U.S. because the policy of our Government has been to demand and pressure the Israelis not to retaliate in a significant way against terrorist strikes launched against them.
Since its independence in 1948, Israel has fought four wars: The War for Independence (1948-49), the 1956 war, the Sinai campaign; the Six-Day War in 1967; and the Yom Kippur War in 1973. In all four cases, Israel was attacked. They were never the aggressor. They won all four wars against impossible odds.
7) We Must Support Israel s Right to the Land Because God’said So!
In Genesis 13:14-17, the Bible says: The Lord said to Abram, ’Lift up now your eyes, and look from the place where you arefor all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever... "
(Sen. Inhofe s speech, unedited, can be viewed at http://www.senate.gov/~inhofe/fl030402.html).
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Only God Can Solve the Middle East Crisis
America must concentrate on doing what is right. Does that mean blind approval of anything Israel may do? No! But Israel s restraint toward its Palestinian enemies, so far, has been exemplary. Our support for Yasser Arafat (even financial support), our pressure on Israel not to retaliate against its terrorist enemies and our compelling Israel to endure endless assaults against its civilian population (all in hopes of bolstering negotiations with these terrorist leaders) are foolish and immoral (Pr 19:27; Ps 1:1-2; 2:2-12; 33:10-22; Is 9:16; Jer 23:32).
But the problem goes far beyond Arafat and the Palestinian people, to the heart of the Muslim faith and its opposition to Scripture. Muslims believe that the land of Israel belongs to the Arabs through the lineages of Ishmael and Esau. They reject the Bible record of God’s covenants with Isaac and Jacob, believing that Ishmael and Esau, the first-born sons of Abraham and Isaac, are the legitimate heirs. This lie, held by the Arabs long before Mohammed founded Islam in the 7th century, is now enshrined in the Koran. This problem can never be resolved apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and/or the return of the Lord, Himself.
God’s Word provides for the law-abiding Arabs and other non-Jews who live in Israel. He commands the Jews to let them live among them peacefully (see Eze 47:22-23 - Christians & Muslim Arabs would enjoy far greater political & economic prosperity under Israel than under their Muslim terrorist leaders). But this does not mean Israel should accept the immigration of millions of self-proclaimed refugees" or to divide up Israel and Jerusalem, forever compromising Israel s security. God holds the Israeli government responsible, as He does all governments, to protect its people and to bring criminals to justice, especially those guilty of shedding innocent blood (Gen 9:6; Dt 19:11-13; Rom 13:1-4).
That the world (U.N.) community interprets Israel s use of military authority for self defense (Rom 13) as morally inferior to the Palestinian suicide (homicide) bombers and other terrorist acts simply reveals the world s enmity toward the Just and Righteous God of the Bible.
President Bush cannot both appease the nations and serve the God of the Bible. America is in the valley of decision. Will we simply do what is just and right (as defined by God’s Word), or yield to the political circumstances and threats against us? Our only hope is in GodAlmighty. We must, as a nation, self-consciously put our trust in God, and stand with Israel. May God help us to do so!
Please Join us in Unceasing, Prevailing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Draw America & our President close to you. May We HEAR your voice, LEARN Your Word and DO Your Will. Give President Bush Godly advisors who love You & understand your Word & will guide him aright regarding the land of Israel. Stir your people steadfastly to pray for Israel. Intervene & Make Jerusalem a Praise to all the earth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen (1 Kg 3:5-15; 2 Kg 22:18-19; Ps 1:1; 119:24; Pr 11:14).
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A Worldwide Resurgence of Anti-Semitism
Let not those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; let not those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye. Theydevise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land. (Ps 35:19-20).
The orgy of savage, Palestinian suicide bombings against Jewish civilians (babies, schoolchildren, teenagers, grandmothers & grandfathers, etc.) since the Palestinian Intifada" was launched in September 2000, has elicited sympathy and support for the Israelis here in the U.S., but sleeping demons of anti-Semitism are stirring, even raging, elsewhere around the globe.
Pro-Palestinian propaganda, brandished by the liberal media, has served to fuel an international resurgence of Anti-Semitism, especially in Europe, Russia and the Arab world. One Arab newspaper stated as fact, that Jews kill Arab children during Purim to obtain their blood for ritually prepared holiday pastries. An Egyptian paper called the Holocaust a huge Israeli plot," its author sighing to Hitler, If only you had done it, brother, if only it had really happened, so that the world could sigh in relief." Anti-Jewish rhetoric, attacks on Jews, and vandalism of Jewish homes, schools and synagogues have been reported in every European country. A newly published book by a French anti-racism group chronicles 400 recent attacks against Jews and Jewish sites in that country alone.
Official Approval? - Denunciations of Israel by the U.N. and many nations have fueled the fires. Protests by tens of thousands, boycotts of Israeli goods, and other political efforts to punish Israel have taken place in Europe and the Arab world. A French ambassador called Israel a shitty little country dragging us all into war." France s Prime Minister said France cannot guarantee" the safety of the Jews. Not since WWII has such anti-Jewish sentiment been publicly aired.
Looking Away - Anti-Semitism has always existed. It was present in the early church and blossomed in Roman Catholicism. The focus on Scripture during the Reformation brought a new appreciation for the Jewish people, but new strains of anti-Semitism were born among Protestants. Anti-Semitism was a force in Europe and the U.S. before Adolph Hitler. The failure of the Church effectively to denounce it was a major factor in its rise. Had Great Britain and America acted earlier, millions of Jewish lives lost in the Nazi Holocaust may have been spared. Will we again look away?
The Church s Contribution - Some Christians believe natural Israel was permanently cast off by God and wholly replaced by the Church in God’s plan; that the rebirth of Israel as a nation today has no part in God’s spiritual economy. But they ignore or twist scores of Bible promises to the contrary. Formed when the physical restoration of the Jews seemed unthinkable, these doctrines now paralyze some of America s best Christian thinkers. New heresies intended to neutralize the natural affection Bible-reading Christians have for Israel and the Jewish people are on the rise.
The Destiny of Nations is tied to their response to God’s Will as revealed in Scripture. He holds nations uniquely accountable for their actions for or against the Jews and His Covenant Land. How will he deal with America, with our Christian heritage, if we look away from the demonically inspired anti-Semitism growing around us? We cannot be silent. America and the evangelical Christians are the only true friends Israel has. Forces are working day and night to turn our political leaders against Israel. American Christians must pray and act to be sure that America stands by Israel!
