Standing With Israel

There is a spiritual connection that Christians enjoy with the Jewish people - now, all must come to God through Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but God's dealing with His chosen people, for whom His love and favor have not ceased, demonstrates to us His faithfulness. Romans 4 states:
16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
17 (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed--God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be."

These are challenging times for the nation of Israel - still fighting in Gaza in response to the brutal October 7 attacks, watching to see what Iran does in possible retaliation for Israel's taking out two terrorist leaders who are proxies for Iran, and the possibility that support for the Jewish state is in decline.  

That would include even among people of faith.  Frank Newport of the Gallup organization wrote recently:

Gallup’s 24-year history of asking each February about Middle East sympathies has consistently shown a much higher level of sympathy for the Israelis than for the Palestinians.

But as my colleague Jeff Jones summarized in his analysis of recent data, “While Americans have always sympathized more with the Israelis, the gap has narrowed in recent years,” reflecting a drop in the percentage of Americans saying they are sympathetic to the Israelis and an increase in sympathy for the Palestinians. Specifically, the attitudinal gap between sympathies for the Israelis and sympathies for the Palestinians has dropped from 42 percentage points in aggregated surveys conducted between 2001-2019 to 30 points over the past five years.

Newport states, "A number of complex factors are behind these changes in sympathies. One of the most interesting relates to shifts in Americans’ religious identities and overall religiosity." He zeroes in on a variety of faith groups, including Protestants, who "are among the most sympathetic to Israel." He notes: "Protestants have generally been a bulwark of support for Israel in the U.S. -- a relationship built on the historical centrality of Israel in the Judeo-Christian religious tradition from which Protestantism derives."

Newport goes on to say: "...although Protestants have retained their high level of sympathy for Israel, the number of Protestants in the U.S. has been shrinking. This trend lessens the impact of one of Israel’s core bases of support in the U.S."  He goes on to say...

...not only has the percentage of the U.S. population with no religious identity been increasing (popularized by some researchers as “the rise of the nones”), but nones have become increasingly likely to say their sympathies lie with the Palestinians rather than with the Israelis. In the past five years, in fact, “nones” have tipped to the point where they evince higher sympathy for the former than the latter -- the only major religious group with plurality sympathy for the Palestinians.

About two-thirds of American Protestants over the past five years indicate they are more sympathetic to Israel over the Palestinians.  That compares to 56% of Americans overall. 

The data shows a correlation between church attendance and support for Israel.  Gallup shows that among those who attend church once a week, 67% are more sympathetic to Israel. 

Christians support Israel for a number of reasons.  The Christian Post reported that just after the Hamas attack on Israel, David Jeremiah, heard on Turning Point weekday mornings at 6:00 on Faith Radio, released a prayer for Israel; the article stated:

“Israel is God's chosen people, and her borders are the boundaries of the Promised Land,” he said. “The loss of life, the bloodshed, and the destruction of property are heartbreaking.”

The pastor and author said that amid the chaos and terrorism, he is reminded of God's words to Abraham when He chose him to be the father of “this great nation”: "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you," (Genesis 12:3).

“As Christians, we recognize God's purpose for Israel, and we must stand with her,” he wrote, asking Christians to join him in “petitioning the Lord on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Israel.”

“The psalmist tells us to ‘pray for the peace of Jerusalem,’” reads Jeremiah’s prayer. “So I pray for peace for Your chosen people, Israel, and their beloved city today. You have planned for Israel, provided for Israel, and protected Israel for thousands of years.

As Israel braces for the possibility of more conflict, facing threats from Hezbollah to the north, Hamas to the south, and the pervasive shadow of Iran, the nation needs the prayers of the body of Christ.  God's faithfulness to Israel throughout the ages can also demonstrate God's love for us. He has not ceased to love the people He has chosen, and we, because of Jesus, the Messiah, have been given the tremendous gift of salvation. God continues to hold out His hand toward the Jewish people, as we see throughout the Scriptures, and He has extended His salvation to the whole world.