Lesson 8
"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" I Corinthians 11:1
The St. Paul School of Leadership and Discipleship
with Frank Eiklor, Eileen Young and Walter and Cecilia Contreras)
THE FATHER'S HEART FOR ISRAEL
INTRODUCTION
The Jews have survived for 4000 years. Today, Israel is once again a nation. Yet, antisemitism still occurs worldwide and Israel’s enemies call for her destruction. God’s Word is filled with His heart for His ancient people. From them have come our Scriptures and Savior.
The following points show the vast difference between the thoughts of God and those of the world—and the Church—toward the Jews and Israel. Since God promises to bless those who bless the Jews and curse those who curse them (Genesis 12:3; Numbers 24:9), every Christian should know what the Bible teaches on this important subject. Study each of the Scripture references and you will see the Father’s heart for Israel.
- In Israel’s groaning, God brought compassion. (Exodus 2:24-25)
- In His punishment of Israel, God promised their preservation. (Leviticus 26:44)
- In their tribulation, He offers mercy. (Deuteronomy 4:30-31)
- In their aloneness, He guarantees His presence. (Ruth 1: 16-17)
- In Israel’s vulnerability, God guaranteed their deliverance. (Esther 4:14)
- In their brokenness, He brings healing. (Psalm 147: 2-3)
- To those who curse the Jews, He brings the boomerang. (Isaiah 10: 5,12)
- For His friendless ones, He calls for friends. (Isaiah 40: 1-2)
- In their wanderings, He calls them home. (Isaiah 43:4-6)
- In Israel’s helplessness, He proves His nearness. (Isaiah 49:14-16)
- In His termination of all the nations, God guarantees Israel will not disappear. (Jeremiah 30:11, 16, 17)
- To Israel’s enemies He offers a challenge. (Jeremiah 31:35-37, 33:23-26)
- In their being mocked, he becomes the Jews’ defender. (Jeremiah 50:4-7, 11, 17-19, 33, 34)
- In Israel’s foolish choices, God insists that He is their only choice. (Ezekiel 20:32-38)
- In their spiritual whoredoms, God remains Israel’s suitor. (Hosea 11.1, 7-10, 14:4-9)
- In their weakness, God becomes their champion. (Micah 4:11-12)
- In their sense of insignificance, He proves to them their worth. (Zechariah 2:8)
- In their greatest danger, God promises to bring the Jews His salvation. (Zechariah 12:8-10)
- Jesus pronounced judgment on Jerusalem, but spoke of her restoration. (Mathew 23:36-39)
- Jesus and the apostles took for granted the future restoration of Israel. (Acts 1:6-7)
- Paul loved his people to such an extent that, with the Holy Spirit’s witness in his heart, Paul would have become a curse to secure their salvation. (Romans 9:3-5)
- God warns the Church not to become proud and arrogant against the people of Israel. (Romans 11:17-25)
- God likens Israel’s future salvation to a resurrection from the dead. (Romans 11:15)
- While God is able to graft wild branches (Gentiles) into His olive tree of faith, He still calls Jews the "natural branches” and guarantees their future restoration. (Romans 11:24)
- Israel ’s glorious future is assured by God. (Romans 11:26,27)
Jesus said many would come in His name and deceive the hearts of the simple, sinful and proud. Eastern mysticism and meditation is a big thing in the gullible West. And one day a “world leader” will appear on the scene with the persuasion of a god and the heart of a devil. Jesus warns His children to know the Scriptures, live in obedience to the Father’s will, and stay alert to the signs of the times. They laugh no more. Now God’s description of how He will destroy the old earth and create a
new one makes perfect sense. The splitting of the atom turned many skeptics into believers.
After all, look what man himself is capable of doing with the atom and hydrogen bombs. Now
the fear is that nuclear weapons are being placed in the hands of madmen who wish to annihilate
their enemies. God has blessed man with incredible genius. We stand in awe as we watch men and women in a room full of computers and high-tech instruments guiding and landing spacecraft on distant planets. At that moment, we appear invincible. But then a mammoth tornado comes—or a terrifying hurricane—or rains that flood whole regions and never listen to our shouts to “Stop!”—or the shake that removes from under our feet any confidence or pride we carry, and leaves us numb with hardly enough breath to even utter the paralyzing word “EARTHQUAKE!”. And man is helpless in the face of it all! |
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