“As I was praying through my sermon last Sunday morning and reading the news I noted the struggle going on in Gaza. One of the stories I read was of an Israeli bomb hitting a Hamas police station. The explosion also destroyed a Baptist Church across the street.
The train of thought that followed has changed my view on Israel and how I will pray for their peace in the future…
My first thought was – “oh no, not a church, I hope no Christians were killed.” That thought quickly disappeared as I realized any Christians who died would immediately be in the presence of their Father experiencing the peace and Joy of heaven. Their life of faith would be rewarded and they would be worshipping the Lamb! My next thought was “oh no, the Hamas leaders that died are going to hell apart from Jesus Christ,” which led to my immediate next thought, “oh no, all the Israelis that have died from Hamas mortars are also going to hell apart from Jesus Christ!”
At that moment my mind changed, praying for the peace of Israel will no longer be a political or military peace – but only the peace that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Frankly put, the blind friendship that most Christians give Israel is supporting them in their cause against Jesus Christ. We don’t bless Israel with blind support of policies and free money to wage war and protect borders, we bless them by bringing the blessed hope of Jesus Christ – the Prince of Peace. I will no longer be one of the Christian lemmings who celebrates the war that Israel wages against the enemy of Hamas and prays for the destruction of Palestinians – Jesus Christ died for each one of them and he desires their repentance, not their destruction.
No lasting military or political peace will come to Israel until the Jesus Christ returns. The only peace I can give Israel today is the peace of God that surpasses all understanding through a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Ok, one of the lemmings is out of line – somebody better put me back in my place…”
January 8, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Hey Ryan,
Praying for the peace of Israel would mean to pray for their ultimate salvation.
But let’s not forget Gen 12: 1-3, and one thing we’ve learned is that God’s promises to Israel are not conditional unless stated as such. They are still His chosen people, not saved, but still chosen.
Hamas, on the other hand, has cursed Israel and they are now accursed by God.
Sorry, but this lemming is playing it safe.
“I bless Israel!”
January 8, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Jim J…my post was mainly to get us thinking. I’m wrestling with some of these issues and I just don’t want to blindly follow those that say, “this is what Gen. 12-13 mean” this is what “pray for the peace of Jerusalem means”
We all have blind spots and I think that the Evangelical Church often just blindly supports Israel.
Again I love Israel and cannot wait to go back (went in ’01) but I want to think critically about these things.
January 8, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Ryan…I know what you mean, I think.
But I have to keep it simple.
God is certainly able to deal with His “Stiff-necked” people, and He has done so in the past, many times.
I think I would be a bit presumptuous to think that I, or even the U.S.A. would be able to hinder any of God’s judgments. And on the other hand God certainly doesn’t need me to help Him either.
So since I am not aware of any scripture that suggests that I need to take some other action, I fall back on “I bless Israel” and let God do His own Chastisements.
January 8, 2009 at 3:30 pm
PS.
I always wonder is this the war that might be the beginning of the End.
Recently I have had a difficult time thinking about my plans for the future.
There are lot of things going on.
January 8, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Jim J,
I wholeheartedly agree with your 2:25.
January 9, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Jim J,
What if Jeremiah or Isaiah took that tact.
“Sure Israel is at fault. Sure there is wrong being perpetrated. But since they are God’s chosen seed I’ll just bury my head in the sand and proclaim ‘God bless Israel’”.
That is called being a false prophet.
Not saying that you are. Just showing that line of thinking.
Israel needs to be called on the carpet even if they are God’s people. In fact, especially if they are God’s people. Just like we say to our kids, “You’re not like everyone else”.
Evangelical delusion on this matter is leading to countless lives being unnecessarily shattered.
Even the Evangelical has the duty to point the finger when necessary and say, “This is not acceptable. Thus saith the Lord”.
January 9, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Genesis 12 is not talking about Israel. God is speaking to Abram (2 generations before a man gets the name Israel and 500 years before the nation of Israel covenants with God). When God says “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.” This is separate from the promise of a nation – and the purpose of that nation is to bring us to Jesus – one who will bless “all the families of the earth.”
Gen. 12:1 ¶ Now the LORD said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
Gen. 12:2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
Gen. 12:3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
January 10, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Pete…sorry you were in moderation so long; I’ve been out of town and both my laptop was having issues and my blackberry wouldn’t log into my blog properly. (nerd problems)
good comment!!
Shaun…good insight.
January 12, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Pete,
You wrote: “Evangelical delusion on this matter is leading to countless lives being unnecessarily shattered.”
Could you elaborate on that please?
January 13, 2009 at 9:31 am
Sorry, work has picked up, again … Praise God!
My thoughts are that you don’t try to discipline another’s kid, especially if they are capable of doing it themselves. And my point is that God is big enough, and fully capable of taking care of His own.
As far as a prophet is concerned, like the Apostle Paul after debating the intellectuals in Athens, I too choose to only preach Christ and Christ crucified. I do want to be a prophet in any other way.
And as far as father Abraham is concerned, I think it is a stretch to say that those promises do not apply to his ancestral nation, Israel.
Sorry again, but work calls, I’ll try to check back this evening.
January 14, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Bill,
Sure. The delusion that Israel must never be called on the carpet. All nations are sinful, whether the Elect or not, and thus must be corrected. Especially by those that claim to love them.
January 14, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Pete,
In what way would you seek to correct Israel? How would that correction, if heeded, keep countless lives from being unnecessarily shattered? If they heeded your correction, what alternative might you suggest?
Thanks, blessings…
January 15, 2009 at 11:45 am
Bill,
The question I ask myself is, “Would Jesus be behind this incursion?”.
I hope that doesn’t sound cliche’.
Even if one sees Israel figuring predominately in End Times Theology, even a full restoration…
To blindly swear allegiance could be catastrophic. Not just to Israel, to any nation. To swear allegiance under any circumstance is what CS Lewis was warning Britian about in his day.
I believe we (the US) should stand by Israel. Along with our Billions of dollars, we also reserve the right to say, “This is acceptable and this is not” if you want our aid. That’s is only reasonable.
Now back to Jesus.
How would He view the Palestinian situation, Bill?
That’s an honest question.
I just don’t see the center of the Gospel, the reason Jesus came, as being little children buried in rubble. Sorry, no land is worth that. None.
Now in my novice opinion, both sides are at fault. The Hamas more so, no doubt, with that damn charter.
But there’s another way. Diplomacy. Compassion. Empathy. Understanding the other side. Loving your neighbor. Sure, mushy sounding terms. But it’s what I believe Jesus would demand if He were walking through Israel today.
In fact, He’d ignore the situation altogether if possible.
He made it clear to His disciples. God will restore Israel. Let it alone. There are more important tasks at hand than land grabs. “You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, …”.
January 15, 2009 at 11:48 am
I’ve made my case. Thanks for the discussion. Grace and Peace.
January 15, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Pete,
I completely agree with you about blind allegiance to any nation, even our own. I have read that from C.S. Lewis. I think Tozer says it too. I am in agreement with you there. Our allegiance is to The Kingdom and Its influence over Planet Earth.
While I am emotionally attached to Israel because we are of the same root, I do believe they should be corrected if they are wrong.
As I understand it though, they seem to bend over backwards to be civil in their military actions. I have been told they drop leaflets, warning civilians to flee certain areas before they bomb them. Israel could sneeze Hamas off the map in Gaza if they wanted to. Why they don’t is not for us to know. Maybe they are good hearted folks, or maybe they do it for political posturing, etc. Don’t know.
I do not believe that any diplomacy will ever work with Hamas or any Palestinian terrorist organization. It never has. I know you don’t intend on sounding cliche, and that you really believe what you write, but I disagree with you. I remember the Munich Olympic Games back in 1972. They were (Arab terrorists) were going after Israel then. 36 years later they are still at it. They play dirty. They are the highest degree of murderers. Trace the history of Arab terror worldwide. I believe that Israel acts with great civility compared to Arab terrorists offensive actions.
Jesus didn’t use diplomacy when He cleansed the Temple. He used a measured, controlled, righteous anger. Diplomacy wasn’t going to do it.
If your across the street neighbor was firing rifle shots into your home at your precious family, and only you were left to deal with it, and they didn’t want to talk, and you had no where else to live…well, I’d shoot back as a last resort, but I would shoot back.
I don’t believe that Israel invading Gaza is about a land grab. It is about survival.
I am all for reaching out to Muslims as well as Jews. The Gospel is central, and for all people. That is our priority. We don’t display Israeli flags in our foyer, lest an Arab join us for a service. We don’t have an overtly display of pro-Israeli sentiments. And yes, God will restore the land w/o the help of the IDF. But I will never condemn Israel for defending itself.
I guess we all need to keep in mind that this is a spiritual war. It won’t stop until Jesus ends it, IMO. Until then, Israel ought to defend itself.
Pete, one more question if I may. The statement that stirred me up was when you said:
“Evangelical delusion on this matter is leading to countless lives being unnecessarily shattered.”
If the evangelical church wasn’t deluded, as you suggest it is, (I agree w/you to some degree on that)…if the church wasn’t deluded, what difference would it actually make in the saving of lives?
Would the church then become a lobbying group and pressure Washington to tell Israel to stop defending itself? Does the church have that much power to stop the violence? If they did, wouldn’t Hamas and other overrun Israel?
Not trying to be contentious. But maybe there is a delusion in the other direction, about how things could be different if the church wasn’t “blindly supporting Israel”. Maybe we are over-reacting to the “blind allegiance” of the church to Israel, and imagining that if it were different, the violence would stop.
Thanks Pete…not trying to argue here.
BTW, hope your legs don’t tremble again any time soon. That was funny.
January 15, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Pete,
I missed your 11:48. I would not have responded again.
If you’re up to answering that one last thought, great. If not, blessings on you too.
January 15, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Great discussion guys…I appreciate what both of you are saying.
January 15, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Bill,
When I was a kid, Undercover was the coolest band ever!
Blessings.
January 15, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Pete,
Blessings on you too.