I am not a big fan of getting into political discussions, but this topic is one which I feel strongly about and is needful for followers of Christ to be mindful of.
Gen 12:1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
In the news lately there has been much talk of not supporting Israel and the Jews. The scandal with the Presidents of France and our own nation America, speaking with much disrespect and cruelty of the Leader of Israel has stirred up many emotions in me. I keep thinking of the words that so many of the prophets speak about how God would never reject the Jewish people completely. In Zechariah 8 God clearly speaks of a remnant of the People of Israel being dealt with graciously and God being Jealous for them and Zion.
Several reasons I think that Christians should support Jew are as follows.
First, I know that because the Bible speaks only truth and it says that followers of Christ must be supporters of the people of Israel. Beyond that our own savior and all the early converts (our great heroes in the faith) were all Jewish. The early believers were just as connected with us as we are to Christ and our faith directly flows in and out of the Jewish faith. Obviously most of them digress from Christian faith as many are waiting for the messiah to come in power and glory not as a servant and savior, but that shouldn't change our attitude toward them (just because they disbelieve doesn't mean we have the right to reject them out of hand). Plus, God says to Abraham who ever blesses you I will bless and whoever curses you I will curse! I think that obedience is a pretty good excuse for loving the people that God chose, not that believers aren't just as equally chosen, but a remnant of the Israelites will always be preserved.
Secondly, they are people and because God is a lover of His creation and a valuer of life we must value the lives of the people in the middle east (and all life) who belong to God with a heritage this pig eating gentile cannot claim. We must value life. The state of Israel was created out of the massacre of the Holocaust, the ultimate battle in western history where life and right to life was undermined and degraded not simply for the victims but also for the perpetratiors. It was created by very militant and proactive Jews, who had endured the horrors of WWII under the regime of Hitler and seen most if not all of their family members murdered (usually right before their eyes) and ultimately changed by that experience. So even if we don't like the militant nature of their desire for a nation of safety--I think we can as humans understand their significant feeling of alienation from the world and the force their witness to a lack of human feeling altered their vision. I don't believe that a people who have been forced at every turn to live a life of fear from almost all men cannot command our compassion. They should be more assured of our support and not our rejection.
Finally, This is not a political issue for a follower of Christ. It is a faith issue for those who love Him most. We cannot follow the tenure of the world which says to leave them alone, they are pains in the rear, they have no right to their nation. We should not condone their acts of aggression, but I think we can have mercy on them for their perceived need to protect themselves, as even their closest allies abandon them. I know that their sufferings for the name of YhWh will one day come to a conclusion and that may not look like an embracing of Christ, but a remnant of the Jewish people will embrace Him in the end as promised by the prophets. And we today cannot allow past abandonment become true again for Christ's church. We cannot reject any peoples and especially ones whom God has commanded us to love. We are neighbors to everyman and I can find a whole lot of language from Christ speaking of loving others no matter the cost to ourselves.
As believers we must stand for what is right and treating a people with condemnation because of who they are historically isn't an option in my book. I fear that history will continue to repeat itself as we continue to be drawn into the world culture temperature. Believer must not retreat, but must live with Passion for Christ in this world, live like Christ created us to and not loving the historical people of God isn't an option.
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