A Crucial Moment For IsraelThe history of the Jewish people has been a painful one. Just in the past century alone, the Nazi Holocaust destroyed six million Jewish lives. Israel, under the constant threat of attack, surrounded by enemies, has been a home and a haven to formerly dispossessed Jews.
The so-called “BDS movement” (which means “boycott, divest, and sanction" Israel) has found widespread support on the Left, both in America and internationally. A number of mainline, liberal denominations have joined in. This movement says that what Israel has is too much and they should shrink their borders even further. It portrays Israeli Jews as oppressors, while declaring hostile enemies who surround them the victims.
It’s dangerous for Christians to forget their common heritage with the Jewish people, and even worse to disregard them. According to the inspired New Testament, salvation has come to the world through the Jews. The Bible describes Jesus Christ, foretold by the law and the prophets, as the root of the tree. The Jewish people are the natural branches, and believing gentles are like branches that are not natural, but that have been grafted into the root through faith in Christ. Our heart for His people according to the flesh should be for their welfare, their protection, and most of all, their salvation—their “re-grafting” back into the root. As Paul says,
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” |
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