Standing with Israel

Psalm 48 describes Jerusalem as a place of rejoicing; testifying to the greatness of our God.  We can
see these verses:
(1b) Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised In the city of our God, In His holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King.
3 God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge.

The Bible shows us a wonderful narrative of God's love for and faithfulness to His people.  His dealings with Israel are well-documented and tell us the story of a God who continues to reach out His hand to the nation He established through a covenant with Abraham.  We see a God who is intent on keeping His promises; and that is informative and inspiring to us today as we exercise dependency on our loving, highly reliable God.

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In Psalm 122, we see a passage that indicates support and love for the city of Jerusalem.  We can
read:
3 Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together,
4 Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the Lord, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you.

During the course of a week, the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives was able to essentially flip the script, from considering a resolution to rebuke anti-Semitism to turning it around into a resolution denouncing so-called "hate" of a variety of groups, including Muslims, the group to which one particular representative at the center of the controversy belongs.  It was truly breathtaking.  No mention, as I understand it, of not showing this "hate" toward Christians, who become easy targets in some political circles.

This all began in response to comments by a new Representative from Minnesota, Ilhan Omar.  Author Joel Rosenberg states on his blog:

A Muslim born in war-torn Somalia, she and her family immigrated to the United States when she was a child. She became a naturalized citizen, grew up in the Midwest, and now serves in the most powerful legislative body on the planet. It’s a beautiful personal story, yet she has chosen to leverage it against Jewish Americans.

Comments Rep. Omar made resulted in bi-partisan criticism. Rosenberg points out examples:

• “Israel has hypnotized the world — may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”
• “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby,” she recently Tweeted, referring to the image of Benjamin Franklin on the $100 bill and accusing American lawmakers who support Israel as only doing so because they’re being paid.

Another example:

• “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country,” Rep. Omar then said in a town hall forum, accusing Jewish Americans who love and support Israel as having a “dual loyalty” — having an allegiance to Israel and not to America — and thus duplicitous and illegitimate.

Rosenberg related that he had said to Fox News: “I mean, she has a great story, a great personal story, and yet she has unleashed of remarks. And let me just quote from the Democratic leadership — ‘vile, hateful, hurtful, classically anti-Semitic’ — I could go on. And that’s just from Speaker Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Eliot Engel, and I agree with them. And she has apologized, except that she keeps doing it. There needs to be a penalty for this. They need to take her Foreign Affairs Committee seat to make it clear this is not business as usual. This is really ugly behavior, and you don’t want it permeating the Democratic Party.”

Omar's supporters certainly fought back, resulting ultimately in a watered-down resolution.  The Family Research Council website stated that Rep. Rashida Tlaib felt that she and Omar were being targeted because “we are Muslim.” FRC says that was "a charge so ridiculous that even the Washington Post cried foul."  It pointed out that Senators Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren stood in solidarity with Omar. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts said, “We need to have an equity in our outrage.”

FRC stated:

So what did Democrats do? In typical fashion, they turned the party’s denouncement of bigotry into a protest of Islamophobia. “What we’re against is hate,” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) tried to explain. But what he means is that they’re against hate from everyone else. Most liberals have no trouble maligning Christians or their beliefs. In fact, religious intolerance is the price of admission these days, as Joe Biden illustrated so clearly last week. Now, apparently, bashing Jews is “considered acceptable in the Democratic Party -- as long as it gets subsequently laundered as mere criticism of Israel,” Philip Klein fumes. Even more amazing, liberals seem to be suggesting that not only will anti-Semitism “be tolerated within their party, but the more unapologetic somebody is about their anti-Semitism, the more likely they are to be defended.”

By the way, Biden came under fire because he made complimentary comments about Vice-President Mike Pence, which he felt he had to backtrack from.

Greg Laurie was on Fox and Friends this past weekend discussing Israel and anti-Semitism.

He had written on Facebook a few years ago:

...all the world has been blessed because of the Jewish people. God delivered His Word through Hebrew prophets to the Jewish people. The Jewish people have the Ten Commandments that are the basis of morality. And God gave us our Lord, the Messiah Jesus, who was a Jewish man. Our Christian faith came through a chosen people – the Jews. The gospel is a Jewish message about a Jewish Messiah given to Jewish disciples.

We Gentiles are “grafted in” to the promises God made to His people.

He also discussed the roots of anti-Semitism:

This is why Satan hates the Jews and is the author of anti-Semitism – because Satan hates what God loves. The anti-Semitism that has been directed toward Jews historically by “Christians” is sinful and wrong. It wasn’t the Jews who put Jesus on the cross; it was our sin.

We see this anti-Semitism going back thousands of years. It goes back to Exodus, with Pharaoh killing Jewish baby boys. Then in Esther, we see the plot to destroy Jews by ancient Iran. Fast-forward to the Holocaust, where 6 million Jewish people died. Those who have “cursed Israel” and the Jewish people have paid a price.

He notes, "The United States has been an example of how God can bless a nation that stands by Israel."  And, Laurie highlighted the significance of modern-day Jerusalem:

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; with many Arab leaders worldwide insisting that Jerusalem and the entire West Bank are rightfully Palestinian territory and must ultimately be given back as a condition of peace. But we must understand that God gave this land to the Jewish people. They have returned, against all odds, to this land and have shed a lot of Israeli blood. They will not give up Jerusalem. Nor should they.

There are numerous, Biblical reasons for showing support for Israel, the people called by God.  Now, it can be contended that spiritual Israel is different than political Israel, and political leaders in that nation will not always make Biblical decisions.  But, the concept of "praying for the peace of Jerusalem" is consistent with the concept of a land being set aside for God's chosen people; expressed in a covenant relationship with Abraham.  But, as Laurie points out, others have been allowed to share in God's promises

Three things come to mind.  First of all, we serve a faithful, covenant-keeping God.  Throughout the Old Testament, we see the story of a God who was passionately reaching out to His people, many of whom had strayed from Him.  He loved them so much that He was willing to point out their sin but who shared the invitation to repent. 

We also recognize the lovingkindness of our Lord.  For even though His people deserved justice and punishment, He extended mercy.  And, He promised a Messiah who would come to be their, and our Savior and deliverer.

Finally, we know that Jerusalem is at the center of the fulfillment of God's plan on the earth.  Bible prophecy is centered on nations' relationship with the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem.  We can see Jerusalem as a barometer on the prophetic timetable on which our faithful, loving God operates and know that there is an urgency as we see events unfold.