Israel - God's People

The Apple of Gods Eye

The Bible contains many stories of God’s own people, Israel, and His favour towards them. These stories are the stuff of legends, and the subject of countless blockbuster film epics. The escape from Egypt, the Red Sea, the wanderings, entry into Canaan, the seemingly endless battles and wars to establish their kingdom, and finally all the prophecies about Jesus, the whole story of Jesus, and the history of the first church. Finally there is the prophecy of the future, the end of time, and all of that.

Actually, the Old Testament is a blood-stained history of the birth and establishment of the nation and kingdom of Israel. It is the story of their countless slips into Godlessness, and of the Lords continual mercy and patience with them. Now look at available history and see how that, after the fall of Jerusalem in AD70, the Jewish people were dispersed throughout the known world, and the persecutions began. Even including the World War 2 holocaust, the Jewish nation was never wiped out, as so many had planned and tried to do. In fact, the holocaust failed so badly that Israel was able to re-enter their own land as early as 1948.

Roll forward to 1967 and the Six Days War. First there was mis-communication amongst the enemies leaders, both civil and military. Then the warning of the Israeli air force taking to the air never reached the enemy high command so their air force was wiped out on day one. Next, listen to the Russian and other generals who spoke of having the Israeli army in their sights and “sitting ducks”. Yet their bullets and rockets never hit the targets. According to the general’s reports, everything they threw at the Israeli army simply went wide of the mark. Then, as one commentator put it, in six days the Israeli’s defended themselves and on the seventh day they rested – how’s that for being Biblical?

So what is the point of this very brief history lesson? Well, I suppose it is this. God has had His hand upon Israel for well over 3000 years – 4000 if we go right back to Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac. He speaks of them as the “Apple of My eye”, and continually speaks of His love for them. They are His personal people. No matter what they have done, God has never completely abandoned Israel. If ever there was an example of a people of whom history never once taught their enemies a lesson, it is Israel.

Why is this do you think? In Genesis 12:1-3, God says this of them. “The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.  “I will make you into a great nation  and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you,  and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Along with every promise God has ever made, He has kept this one. “Whoever blesses you, I will bless. Whoever curses you, I will curse.”

When we look at the situation for Israel today, it is not very different from their situation at any time in their history. Have all those countries around Israel not read their history? Have they not benefitted from seeing how God protected His people – even as recently as the Six Day War and since then too – God is still protecting His people, the apple of His eye.

Yet there are still vast swathes of society who hate, or at best are prejudiced against the Jews. There are still very many sections of the Christian Church who hate the Jews. So many whole denominations curse the Jews – in rebellion against God’s very specific blessing for them.

WAKE UP CHURCH.

God, the same God whom so many of you profess and proclaim, loves and defends the Jews wherever they are to be found but especially in Israel. Yet you set yourselves against God, His Word, and all logic. Repent and turn away from this sin today. You cannot pick and choose those bits of God’s Word that you want to believe. You either believe the whole Bible as the given, inerrant, “God-breathed” Word of God or you believe none of it.

Choose you today whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.