Being Christian, Supporting Israel Is Supporting A Family Member
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(2) <God said to Abram (later Abraham), “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. (3) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”’ (Genesis 12:2-3); ‘(28) A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. (29) No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.’ (Romans 2:28-29)
God has made several covenants with the Jewish people, with three being the foundation of Faith for the Christian. The first is the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 17, which God made to Abraham (changing his name from Abram) that enforces God’s promise in Genesis 12:2-3 that gives the land of Canaan to the legitimate descendants of Abraham (those of the lineage of Issac, not of Ishmael) and, as promised, would bless Israel and bless those who bless or support Israel, as long as the covenant was upheld by the Jewish people (including circumcision for the Jew).
The second is the Mosaic Covenant, which God made to Moses in Leviticus when he revealed the Levitical (or Mosaic) Law for the Israelites to follow after their release from captivity prior to their reinstatement in the Land of Canaan (today’s Israel). This provided the Israelites a means to atone for their sin and a basis on how to be obedient and stay in God’s will. It also showed the people that they themselves would always fall short of the Law, as no one could perfectly follow the Law or be reconciled without a sacrifice.
With the missing piece being a sacrifice that was worthy to eliminate further sacrifices, the New Covenant or the Covenant of Jesus came when Jesus, as the Messiah or Christ, God Manifested (God in the form of man), being perfect and without sin, became the Ultimate Sacrifice and fulfilled the Law and thus sealed the deal for the first two covenants, as stated in Galatians 3. The Abrahamic Covenant would be kept in perpetuity, eternal blessings of the people of Israel is through Jesus, and the Mosaic Covenant is also kept and fulfilled in Jesus as well. The New Covenant also brings to the forefront something not emphasized in the other two covenants (those it was spoken about in a light fashion), the Salvation of the Gentiles to God’s will.
In Romans 2:28-29, Paul points out the Gentile who accepts Jesus as Lord becomes a Jew for the purpose of Salvation; in other words, when one accepts Jesus that person is ‘adopted’ as a full member in the family of God. The adoptee, a Gentile, become a part of the family of Abraham and thus the Abrahamic Covenant is applied that person. The Mosaic Covenant is also applied; we do not necessarily need to apply the remedies for ‘infectious skin diseases’, per se, but we agree in our Salvation that we will be obedient and stay in God’s will.
As a Christian, we no longer need to do sacrifices as under the Levitical Law as we have accepted Jesus’ Sacrifice on the cross as the one to cover all of our sins, and in doing so we accept the New Covenant. We only need to petition Him in repentance to ask for His Sacrifice to cover our sins when we fail to remain obedient (which is inevitable, being humans).
Since we are full members of the Jewish family through our Faith, it is important as family members that we are to support Israel as we would a brother or sister. We who have siblings know we don’t always agree with them or their actions all the time. However, even though we can disagree with some actions Israel takes, like a brother or sister we should jump to their aid if they are in need of our help. This is increased by Genesis 12:3, which states those supporting Israel when it is needed will be blessed. So, we not only have an obligation to support Israel as a ‘sibling’ we also have a promise from God that as a Gentile people we are blessed when we show our support.
Does this mean we shouldn’t support, or have relations among those who are Israel’s enemies? We know through Jesus, He walked through Samaria and other places to visit, heal and bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. His command in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) and in His ‘last command’ before His Ascension (Acts 1:8) was to have the Apostles gain disciples through taking the Gospel to the Gentiles throughout the world in fulfillment of John 3:16. We should support Israel while having compassion for those in Gaza who have been displaced due to the war. It is acceptable to show support for the Gazans and their plight, but we also must not be blind to why Israel needs to act to attempt to eliminate the threat of another terrorist attack on a scale that occurred on 7 October 2023.
We can chastise Israel, or warn Israel of going too far, but as a sibling we must also support Israel and encourage them in doing what is right. We also must have the ability to understand why they believe they must act according to their own self-interests, even if we disagree, we still can support them. Let us not abandon our brother or allow him to be ostracized, but continue to be welcoming as a ‘big brother’ would to their wayward ‘little brother’.
