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Almighty
God, Christianity & Israel, Pt.1
God's Covenant with Israel Is
Never-Ending
by Pastor John Hamel
“BUT NOW THUS SAITH THE LORD THAT CREATED THEE, O JACOB, AND HE
THAT FORMED THEE, O ISRAEL, FEAR NOT: FOR I
HAVE REDEEMED THEE, I HAVE CALLED THEE BY THY NAME; THOU ART MINE. When
thou passest through the waters, I will be with
thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt
not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord
thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast
precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable,
and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for
thy life. FEAR NOT: FOR I AM WITH THEE: I WILL BRING THY SEED FROM THE EAST,
AND GATHER THEE FROM THE WEST; I WILL SAY TO THE NORTH, GIVE UP; AND TO THE
SOUTH, KEEP NOT BACK: BRING MY SONS FROM FAR, AND MY DAUGHTERS FROM THE
ENDS OF THE EARTH; Even every one that is called by My name: for I have
created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” (Isaiah
43:1-7)
This is the first of a two-part study on the subject of
Almighty God, Christianity and the Nation of Israel. There is much
that could be said concerning God’s love for Israel and the Jewish
people.
In our text Scripture alone we see that He formed them for
Himself, He redeemed them, calling them by name. (Verse 1) He has
promised to stay with them when the waters of adversity overwhelm. He
has promised that the fire of strife and calamity will not consume them.
(Verse 2) He loves them and will punish anyone in preference to them.
(Verse 4) He created them for His Glory and actually called them by
His Name. (Verse 7)
The Almighty is under Covenant oath to preserve the Nation and
the people of Israel. He is under
Covenant oath to gather all the tribes of Israel back to the
land of
Palestine. (Isaiah 11:10-12;
Jeremiah 30:1-31:40; Ezekiel 37:1-28; Matthew 24:31) The Almighty has
promised to eventually force off of their land every enemy who has ever
harmed Israel. (Isaiah
49:17-18) He has promised to clothe Israel with returning
exiles. They will decorate the land as His ornaments. (Isaiah
49:18) So many will come back to Israel, the land will be
too small for them. Many will be amazed at how many have returned and
from where they came. (Isaiah 49:21) The Almighty will put and is
even now putting it into the hearts of the Gentiles to help gather Israel back to
Palestine. (Isaiah
49:22)
From these few verses of Scripture anyone can see that Israel holds a special
place in the heart of the Almighty that no other nation holds. As
Christians and as Americans we must do whatever is in our power to maintain
favor with the Almighty by showing favor to Israel.
It
Is Essential that America & Christians Bless Israel
“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country,
and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and
I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt
be a blessing: AND I WILL BLESS THEM THAT BLESS THEE, AND CURSE HIM THAT
CURSETH THEE: AND IN THEE SHALL ALL FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED.”
(Genesis 12:1-3)
Anyone in America, Christian or
otherwise, is guilty of latent anti-Semitism by sitting back and doing
nothing to help Israel. Whether we
believe it or not, refusing to help Israel places individuals
and nations under a curse. The Almighty told Abraham that He would
bless those who bless Israel and He would curse
those who curse Israel. (Genesis
12:1-3) People who think that they will be unaffected by remaining neutral concerning Israel could not be more
wrong. Anyone who remains neutral concerning Israel is guilty of
cooperating with her enemies and is on a collision course with the
Almighty.
Most Christians in America are acquainted
with deceased Jews only. They love to read the writings of Moses, the
Prophets, Paul and other physically expired Bible authors. But the
Almighty is also calling us to relationship with the Jews who are living
today. We must do something, anything practical, to help the Jewish
people of the world, as well as pray for peace in Israel and Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6-9; Isaiah
62:6)
If your prayers are not being answered or you are not
prospering, the first thing to look for should be unforgiveness.
(Mark 11:25) The next
thing to look for should be whether or not you are faithfully praying for Israel and
Jerusalem. The
Almighty promises prosperity to anyone who will pray for or help them in
any way. (Genesis 12:1-3; Psalm 122:6)
In a nationwide survey released in June of 2002 by the
Anti-Defamation League, it was revealed that an undercurrent of Jewish
hatred is growing in America. In a poll
conducted with 1000 adults, it was determined that 17% of Americans –
approximately 35 million adults – hold unquestionably anti-Semitic views.
This reversed a ten-year decline and should raise concern for any saved or
unsaved American.
We know from our text Scripture that difficult days lay ahead
for the Jewish people. We must keep in mind that the Almighty has
promised that any nation that gathers themselves together against Israel or
Jerusalem “will injure themselves.” As a
matter of fact, there is a curse on anyone who comes against Israel or
Jerusalem for any reason at
any time. I call it “The Little
Pieces Curse” because God promises to cut into little pieces all who are foolish enough to do so. (Zechariah
12:2-3) This has always been the case and always will be.
Every world power who ever attacked, tampered with or refused
to help Israel and
Jerusalem has ceased to be a
world power. There are no exceptions to this. Whether it is the
Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Egyptians, Syrians, Romans,
Turks, French or British, all have suffered fatal blows as a direct result
of making wrong decisions concerning the Almighty’s favored little
Nation. America will not be the
exception to this rule. In the same way that the Almighty can form a
nation in a day, He can dismantle one in a day. (Isaiah 66:8) He
promises to beat down and plague every foe of Israel. (Psalm
89:23)
Some
Wrongly Say God Ended His Covenant with Israel
“HE HATH REMEMBERED HIS COVENANT FOR EVER, the word which
he commanded TO A THOUSAND GENERATIONS.” (Psalm 105:8)
Those who say that the Almighty has ended His Covenant with Israel simply need to
read the Bible. When the Almighty says that He has covenanted with Israel to a thousand
generations, it is an expression of an eternal Covenant. (Genesis 9:12;
Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalm 105:8) Israel and
Jerusalem are forever
covenanted with the Almighty. (Genesis 15:18; 17:7,8; Leviticus 25:23;
2Kings 19:34; 21:7; Psalm 132:13,14; 137:5,6; Isaiah 49:15,16)
Christians and Americans must never forget this.
Christians who say that the Body of Christ is “spiritual Israel” apparently are
unfamiliar with the Almighty’s eternal promise to Israel. Israel will always be Israel. There is no
such doctrine as “spiritual Israel” even alluded to
in the Bible.
Psalm 89 is a good place to start for those who need revelation
of the Almighty’s eternal Covenant with Israel. Here He
promises that His mercy and His Covenant will never end with them. (Verse
28) His Covenant will last as long as the days of Heaven. (Verse
29) Although He promised to visit their sin with harsh judgment, His
loving-kindness for them and His faithfulness to them will never fail.
(Verses 33-34) He has sworn by His holiness to David that his seed
and his throne would endure for as long as the sun and the moon. (Verses
36-37)
Christians, who insist that they are now “spiritual Israel because God has
ended His Covenant with Israel,” simply need to
go outside and look up at the sky and discover their error. The sun
and the moon remain, therefore God’s Covenant with Israel remains.
Yes, Israel has received two
millennia of judgment for unbelief, but do not make the mistake of
misinterpreting that as His rejection. (Jeremiah 16:14-15; Romans
11:20)
The Almighty has spoken. You cannot un-ring a bell.
(Isaiah 55:11)
America
Desperately Needs the Blessing of The Almighty
“And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly,
saying, that he was worthy for whom he should do this: FOR HE LOVETH OUR
NATION, AND HE HATH BUILT US A SYNAGOGUE.” (Luke 7:4-5)
One day Jewish elders came running to Jesus with a
problem. They said, in essence, “Jesus, there is a Roman Centurion
who has a sick servant. He is dying. This Centurion has been a
great blessing to the Nation of Israel. He actually built us a
synagogue. Please come and heal his servant.” These elders told
Jesus that the Centurion was a blessing to the Nation of Israel for a
reason. These elders were familiar with the Almighty’s promise to Abraham
to bless those who bless them and curse those who curse them. (Genesis
12:1-3) They knew that Jesus was familiar with the promise as well,
and they knew that He would see it as a debt owed to the man. Jesus
immediately healed the sick servant.
Whenever a Gentile (non-Jew) blesses Israel or a Jew, the
Almighty becomes immediately indebted to them. America must maintain
alliance with Israel no matter what
happens in the future in order for the Almighty to protect and to provide for her. The Almighty is
indebted to any nation that steps up to the plate and goes to bat for Israel. (Genesis 12:1-3;
Psalm 122:6)
America must realize that
she owes Israel a debt as well. During the Revolutionary
War, when George Washington and his troops were freezing and starving at
Valley Forge, a Jewish banker by the name of Haym
Solomon stepped up to the plate to pinch hit for America. This man
took it upon himself to gather together American and European Jews who
would be willing to invest in supplies for the American troops at Valley Forge. Had Haym Solomon stayed neutral, the Revolutionary War
would have turned out much differently and “America” would not be America today.
Once he became President, George Washington took it upon
himself to rightfully memorialize what those Jewish investors had done for America on the one-dollar
bill. If you will look at the back of a one-dollar bill you will
notice a circle to the right side of the bill. Inside of that circle
you will find a multitude of stars making up a single Star of David.
By turning it upside down, you will discover that there is a Menorah at the
base of the Star of David. You will also notice that the Shekinah Glory of the
Almighty surrounds the entire scene. President Washington recognized
the debt that America owed to the Jewish
people. We must also recognize the debt America owes to Israel and the Jewish
people.
Christians
Are Especially Indebted to Israel
“For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my
brethren … Who are Israelites; TO WHOM PERTAINETH THE ADOPTION, AND THE
GLORY, AND THE COVENANTS, AND THE GIVING OF THE LAW, AND THE SERVICE OF
GOD, AND THE PROMISES; WHOSE ARE THE FATHERS, AND OF WHOM AS CONCERNING THE
FLESH CHRIST CAME, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.” (Romans
9:3-5)
Had the Nation of Israel not opened the door of salvation to
the Gentile nations by backsliding, you would not be reading this web study
today. (Romans 11:17-27) Christians could not experience adoption.
(Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:4-6) The Glory of God would not be
available to us. (1Kings 8:10-11; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:16-17; Romans 9:23) There would be no covenanting with
the Almighty for us. (Ephesians 2:12) We would know nothing about the
purpose of the Law or human conscience. (Romans 2:12-16) We would
have no promises from the Almighty. (Romans 15:8; 2Corinthians 1:20; 7:1; Galatians 3:16)
We would not be spiritual descendants of Father Abraham and
eligible for his blessing. (Genesis 12:1-3; Galatians 3:13-14,29)
Certainly we would have no Savior in Christ Jesus. (Romans 1:3) There
would be no America and there would be
no Gentile salvation without the Jews. The Jewish people gave us Mary,
Joseph, Jesus, Paul and other Apostles and Prophets as well as the Word of
God. (John 4:22; Romans 15:9)
Have you ever stopped to realize that the Nation of Israel does
not need Christianity to explain or to define their heritage? But
Christianity certainly needs the Nation of Israel to explain and to define
theirs. We must never forget this.
Why
Do the Jews Want to Go Back to a Violent Land?
“Fear not: for I am with thee: I WILL BRING THY SEED FROM THE
EAST, AND GATHER THEE FROM THE WEST; I WILL SAY TO THE NORTH, GIVE UP; AND
TO THE SOUTH, KEEP NOT BACK: BRING MY SONS FROM FAR, AND MY DAUGHTERS FROM
THE ENDS OF THE EARTH;” (Isaiah 43:5-6)
The answer to the above question is simple. The Almighty
is supernaturally drawing them to do so even as Isaiah prophesied. As
stated in the introduction to this study, He is under Covenant oath to draw
all the tribes of Israel back to the
land of
Palestine. (Isaiah 11:10-12;
Jeremiah 30:1-31:40; Ezekiel 37:1-28; Matthew 24:31) This is a
supernatural beckoning similar to the way birds migrate at certain times
and in certain directions with a certain determination.
Somebody said, “Well, Israel is just dumb for
letting all of those people come back in there with all the problems they
are having.” If you think Israel is dumb for
obeying the Almighty, then you think the Almighty is dumb for impressing
them to do so. You should not talk like that unless you are
volunteering for “The Little Pieces Curse.” The Almighty has stated
that He would not allow tongues that speak against Israel to prosper.
(Isaiah 54:16-17)
Israel became an
independent, sovereign Nation on May
15, 1948 and can do as she pleases. We must understand that Israel’s turf is not up
for grabs. The Almighty gave every square inch of that land to
them. Anyone else who occupies that land is either an alien or a
tenant. (Leviticus 25:23) It belongs to Israel and no one can
force them to give it up or share it with anyone. (Genesis 15:18;
17:7-8) Does your neighbor have the right to tell you that he is
going to build a garage on your lawn and if you try to stop him, he is
going to blow up your children’s school bus?
There needs to be moral clarity on the issue of the “Israeli
Palestinian Conflict.” Israel is not an
aggressive nation. Israel is a defender of
democracy, identical to America. Israel has a right to
defend herself against terrorists even as America has a right to
defend herself against terrorists. No other democratic nation
in the world has to put up with persecution for defending their democracy
like Israel does.
We do not need to “understand” Al Qaeda or Hamas
any more than we needed to “understand” Nazi Germany. These
organizations do not need to be understood. They need to be
destroyed. Some foolish,
Bible-ignorant, American leaders wanted to force Israel to join hands with
Yassar Arafat when his hands were covered with
Jewish blood. Had that happened, we would have had our first American
endorsed terrorist head of state.
Still, at the time of this web study being written, American
leadership is trying to force Israel to give up
portions of her land to terrorists in exchange for “peace.” American
Christians must pray and ask the Lord to open the eyes of our President and
Secretary of State to what the Bible says about Israel. It is wrong
for our American government to try to force Israel to cooperate with
terrorists when we ourselves would never do so.
American Christians and
non-Christians alike must come to the defense of Israel. American
Christians and non-Christians alike must stop referring to Israel’s retaliation
against homicide bombers as “aggression” and “over reacting.” Any
Christian who refers to Israel’s defense of what
the Almighty has given her as “aggression” or “over reacting” simply needs
to repent of anti-Semitism.
Satan controls the media in this world. (John 14:30; 2Corinthians
4:4) In spite of his broadcast propaganda and spin, America and Israel share one common
enemy, terrorism. It does not matter what OPEC, the United Nations,
the Soviet Union or the Vatican wants. It
matters only what the Almighty wants. The Almighty has put it on the
hearts of Jewish people around the world to come back to Israel and occupy their
land in spite of demonic resistance. We have a Scriptural obligation
to help them. To not help them is to oppose them. To oppose
them is to incur a curse. (Genesis 12:1-3)
Will
You Be a Watchman for Israel?
“I have set
watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace
day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, KEEP NOT SILENCE.” (Isaiah
62:6)
Setting watchmen on walls was an ancient custom to protect
against the approach of enemies. Christ-professing Bible Believers
are called as watchmen in prayer to protect Jerusalem and Israel from their
enemies. Someone said, “I wouldn’t even know where to begin to pray
for Israel and
Jerusalem. That situation is
such a mess.” Well, praying for Israel and
Jerusalem is far less
difficult than one would think.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall
prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls,
and prosperity within thy palaces. FOR MY BRETHREN AND COMPANIONS' SAKES, I
WILL NOW SAY, PEACE BE WITHIN THEE. Because of the
house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.” (Psalm 122:6-9)
Here the Almighty boils it down to one simple faith statement,
“Israel and Jerusalem, I say peace be within
thee. In Jesus’ Name.” You may think that I am over
simplifying but this is not my idea. It is the Almighty’s idea.
My wife and I do this continually. When we see pictures of Israel or
Jerusalem on television, we
say, “Israel, Jerusalem, we speak peace to
you in Jesus’ Name.” When we see another homicide bomber headline, we
say, “Israel, Jerusalem, we say peace be
within you. We speak peace to your people in Jesus’ Name. We
bind the spirit of anti-Semitism and the spirit of murder
from you in Jesus’ Name.” (Matthew 18:18; John 14:13; James 4:4) Of
course, we pray for Israel and
Jerusalem more specifically
as the Holy Spirit leads us, but basically this is how we pray for them
continually.
We also put our faith on trusting the Almighty to send Gospel
laborers to the Jewish people. (Psalm 2:8; Matthew 9:37-38; Romans
10:14-17) We also thank Him for sending laborers to our President and
all political leadership, who can show them from the Scriptures the
importance of America’s alliance with
and full blown protection of the Israel of God. (Romans 10:14-17; Galatians
6:16)
It is essential for Americans and Christians to help Israel. God has not
ended His Covenant with them and America desperately needs
His blessing. Americans and Christians are forever indebted to Israel. The
Almighty is drawing the Jewish people back to their homeland.
If we will be watchmen, praying for them and helping them in
practical ways, He will bless us and protect us individually, as families
and as a nation. (Genesis 12:1-3; Numbers 24:1; Psalm 122:6) If we
refuse to do so, the reverse application is apparent.
 Be blessed as you bless Israel ... John and
Barbara Hamel
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