Occasionally people ask my opinion on various personal or church issues. I recently received the following question which I have reprinted below, followed by my response.

QUESTION

Dear Bob,

I recently signed up to receive your blogs, and thoroughly enjoy reading, sharing, and re-reading them. I hope you can help me, a new Christian, understand what the U.S. stance should be on Israel’s actions as a government. Should America always support and endorse any and all of Israel’s actions toward other countries? Are they always in the right as God’s chosen land and people?

MY ANSWER

All Christians agree that God selected Israel to be the chosen nation through whom He would send the Messiah, Jesus, to save the world from sin.  Zechariah 2:8 calls Israel the “apple of God’s eye.”  Some theologians believe that after Christ’s resurrection, the chosen people of God became those who are a part of the “Body of Christ” or the “Church.” This “Replacement Theology” holds the view that the promises to Israel in the Old Testament are fulfilled figuratively through the Church, and God no longer regards Israel as a distinctive nation.

I believe God used Israel to bring the Messiah into the world, and the Jews are still His chosen people. I also believe they will play a key role in God’s plan for the future.  The Apostle Paul asked, “Did God reject his people? By no means!” (Romans 11:1).  And, “Did they stumble beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious” (v. 11).  Paul added, “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of Gentiles has come in….” (v. 25).  And, “As far as the gospel is concerned they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned they are loved on account of the patriarchs for God’s gifts, and his call are irrevocable” (v. 28-29). To me, that doesn’t sound like God is finished with the nation of Israel.

However, just because the Jews are God’s chosen people doesn’t mean everything they do is right, and that Israel should never be opposed. In the Old Testament, God often chastised the Jewish people for their sinful ways and warns that in the future, they will be brought back to the Holy Land and chastened for their unbelief. “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins’” (Romans 11:26-27). 

God promised to bless those who bless the descendants of Abraham, and I’m thankful America considers Israel a strong ally.  But that doesn’t mean we are obliged to put our stamp of approval on every decision made by the Israeli government.  We need to measure all governments’ decisions according to the plumb line of God’s Word.  That’s the standard of truth, not the nation of Israel.

– Bob

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