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WHY STAND WITHISRAEL TODAY?

by Jack Hayford

Israel is a land about which God says—uniquely, prophetically, redemptively, andrepeatedly in the Bible—“This is Mine.” Godrefers to Israel as He does to no other land onEarth. Israel was raised up to be a light to theGentiles.

The Church at its inception was virtuallyentirely Jewish, and it remained so until theGospel began to spread. Ultimately the Gospelspread to Antioch—where the first Gentile con-gregation began—the base from which theGospel spread into all the world.

In the book of Romans, chapters 9 through 11,the Apostle Paul deals with the question of theJews in God’s providence and purpose. Thesethree chapters virtually stand alone, within thewhole of the Bible, as an elaboration of the the-ology of God’s dealing with Jews. The Jewswere the “firstfruit”…the “first people”(through Abraham) to understand a covenantGod. They then relayed the riches of that truthto the world, and through their agency, theMessiah came into the world. The Word of Godcalls Jews the “root” and Gentiles the “branch-es.” We’re reminded that while “because ofunbelief, some of them were broken off and youstand by faith,” we are not to become haughtybut to fear: “For if God did not spare the naturalbranches, He may not spare you either.” When thefullness of the Gentiles is completed, “all Israelwill be saved.” (v. 11:16-27)

We are called to stand with Israel today becausewe could be people of the last hour. The Lordhas called us to be people with moral and bibli-cal conviction, walking wisely and knowingHis Word. He will honor those who make anabiding commitment to stand with the landHe’s called uniquely His. (Psalm 122:6).

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO “STAND UP FOR

ISRAEL”

1. Equip yourself with reliable information,avoiding bigotry and disallowing “blindspots.” Recognize the disposition of thepopular press. Assess reports cautiouslybut not with paranoia. Become familiarwith the basics of history in the MiddleEast, and understand the past century.

2. Accept with continuing faithfulness theBible’s call to “Pray for the peace ofJerusalem” (Psalm 22:6), and pray that ourNation will govern in the light of Genesis12:1-3 … “I will bless those who bless you…”

3. Prayerfully consider visiting Israel as apoint of practical support.

4. Show friendship toward Jewish friends.Affirm that you, as a believer, stand withIsrael as a point of your Bible-based commitment to God.

5. While acknowledging the terrorist habitsof radical Muslims, be gracious to others.

Take action because it’s such a pivotally impor-tant time. Today, the showdown that we face isso close to being the nations of the earthagainst Israel and whoever is left that standswith them.

The final issue will be “Who is for Christ andHis way and who isn’t?” The Lord has calledus to be a people who will touch people andwill stand with moral and biblical convictionsfor critical issues…and this is one.

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by Jack Hayford






ISRAEL”








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WHY STAND WITH ISRAEL TODAY?

We are living in a sobering moment in historythat calls us, as believers in Jesus Christ, to takea stand with Israel. We could be people of thelast hour. We are not to be passive in the faceof prophecy; we are called to pray with pas-sion, to intercede, and to minister according tothe words of the Savior who said it is not ourtask to speculate when the end will be. It is ourresponsibility to do Kingdom business until Hecomes (Luke 19:13).

This is not about politics, this is about the Word ofGod…but the political ramifications are extremelydramatic. Scripture declares there will come atime when all the nations of the world willturn against Israel. It is so highly conceivablethis could happen in our time that it is criticalto outline: why we should stand with Israel today.

EIGHT REASONS FOR STANDING WITH ISRAEL

1) Every believer is charged to make the Jewsa priority in their value system and to ren-der thanksgiving from their hearts forGod’s work via them as a people.

Understanding the basis of the attention thatwe give to the Jews has to do with understand-ing God’s divine order and things that Godsaid. It involves a people and a land.

◆ Every believer is charged to make Jews apriority in their value system because Godhas.

◆ The Lord selected a people…He began byselecting a man named Abraham. The Lordsaid that through the seed of Abraham (inrelation with his wife, Sarah, giving birthto the promised child, Isaac) all the nationsof the Earth will be blessed…every humanbeing having access to the divine blessingof Almighty God.

◆ In Genesis 12:3, the Lord says in the

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require an anti-Arab stance and doesn’t requireus to be loveless toward other peoples.

6) The relentless animosities of sectors of theArab world are not merely political causesbut are driven by spiritual powers that willnot be satisfied until Israel ceases to exist.

The forces opposed to Israel are not simply thoseof people who don’t like Jews. We are caught inthe stream of spiritual forces greater than humani-ty, forces that cannot be overthrown politicallyor by the power of persuasion. These forces canonly be broken by intercessory prayer where princi-palities and powers are cast down.

7) The same spirit driving these animositiesis equally opposed to Christians as toJews and in time will eventually bring per-secution to both.

Just as Scripture states there are two witnessesthat will be put to death in Jerusalem at the veryend of time (Revelation 11), there have been twowitnesses that have stood for God throughouthistory—the Jews and the Christians.

The hostilities and animosities are just as lev-eled at believers as they are at Israel, becausethere is a spirit in the world that is against allthat is called God and everything about Him.◆ God as Creator—to Whom we owe our

worship.◆ God as Judge—to Whom we owe our

accountability.◆ God as Redeemer—Who has shown

Himself through His Son, Jesus.◆ God as the moral Lawgiver of all humani-

ty—to Whom we owe a responsibility interms of our behavior.

8) A biblical assignment and a divinepromise summon our stand in faith, ourintercession with expectancy, and our sup-port with promise.

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whom He’s given the land. It is a major issuewith the Creator of all things, and it is non-negotiable. Things that God has said, uniquely,about Israel have never been rescinded.

◆ Not only does the land belong to God, butalso God has committed the land toAbraham and his offspring via Isaac forev-er. (Genesis 17:7-8)

◆ “With a little wrath I hid My face fromyou…but My kindness shall not depart fromyou, nor shall My covenant of peace beremoved…” (Isaiah 54:8-10)

◆ The loss of governance by Israel throughsin and dispersion has not altered God’sannounced commitment to make it theirsforever. (Read Ezekiel 37:1-28).

4) Israel’s present conflict is neither by theirinitiative nor perpetuated by expansionismor racism on their part.

The general attitude of the world todayregards the Palestinians as the underdog, butIsrael is defending the land covenanted to them in1917 and established by the United NationsAssembly in 1948. The Palestinian goal is notto secure a homeland but to drive Israel out alto-gether. For the sake of mounting public opinionagainst Israel, surrounding, well-resourcedArab nations have never offered refuge to thePalestinians. The majority of the world doesn’tknow this, and nobody is bothering to tellthem because sympathies are so overridden byother forces.

5) To stand with Israel is not to oppose Arabpeoples as an entity or to oppose the rightsof Arabs living in Israel to a peaceful,politically secure, and prosperous life.

God has no disposition against any humanbeing, certainly not Arabs who are the off-spring of, Ishmael, the other son of His chosenleader Abraham. Standing for Israel doesn’t

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covenant He makes with Abraham: “I willbless those who bless you, and I will curse himwho curses you; and in you all the families ofthe earth shall be blessed.”• This relates not only to a people (the

Jews), but it also relates to a land (Israel).• God will judge nations and deal with

them for their decisions, just as Hedoes individuals.

◆ The Lord chose them for purposes: “…whoare the Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption,the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law,the service of God, and the promises; of whomare the fathers and from whom, according to theflesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternallyblessed God. Amen.” (Romans 9:4)■ The Adoption: God’s divine choice of

the seed of Abraham as a people.■ The Glory: the manifest presence of

God revealing Himself.■ The Covenants: commitments that God

makes:• The Abrahamic Covenant…God

says, “I will give you a people and aland, and through this seed thenations of the Earth will be blessed.”(Genesis 17)

• The Mosaic Covenant…the revela-tion of the law, given as a teachingmeans to lead us to Christ:redemption through the blood ofthe Lamb.

• The New Covenant…In Jeremiahand Ezekiel, God says in wordsalmost parallel: “For the time willcome that I will take My law and Iwill make a new covenant with you,and I will put My Spirit within you.”

• The Greatest Gift: the wonder of thegift of Jesus to mankind. God so lovedthat He gave His only begottenSon…He gave Him through the Jews,and He came as a Jew. Jesus Himself,speaking to the woman of Samaria,said, “Salvation is of the Jews.”

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◆ Psalm 85:1-2 — “Lord, You have been favor-able to Your land; You have brought back thecaptivity of Jacob. You have forgiven the iniqui-ty of Your people; You have covered all theirsin.”

◆ Isaiah 8:8 — This land belongs to FatherGod and it is the land of His Messiah:“…and the stretching out of his wings will fillthe breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.”

◆ Jeremiah 2:7 — The Lord tells the peoplewhy there will come the loss, the destruc-tion of the city of Jerusalem. “I brought youinto a bountiful country…but when youentered, you defiled my land and made my her-itage an abomination.”

◆ Ezekiel 38:16 — God is speaking to peoplein the end times who rise up against Israel.God is speaking of a confrontation thatwill take place in His land. “You will comeup against My people Israel…I will bring youagainst My land, so that the nations may knowMe, when I am hallowed in you…”

◆ Joel 1:6, 2:18, 3:2 — Three times in thisbook, the land is referred to as belongingto the Lord. “For a nation has come upagainst My land…” (1:6) “Then the Lord willbe zealous for His land…” (2:18) “I will gatherall nations, and bring them down to the Valleyof Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgmentwith them there on account of My people, Myheritage Israel, Whom they have scatteredamong the nations; they have also divided upMy land.” (3:2)

◆ Hosea 9:3 — This refers to the scattering ofIsrael: “They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land,but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and shalleat unclean things in Assyria.”

◆ Zechariah 9:16 — “The Lord their God willsave them in that day, as the flock of His people,for they shall be like the jewels of a crown, liftedlike a banner over His land…”

When we talk about Israel, we are dealingwith: 1) a piece of property that God has madepronouncements about and 2) God’s people to

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So Scripture speaks to us very clearly: we’redealing with the roots of everything that has to dowith the revelation of God to humankind. Theproof of this is in the very existence of the Jewsas a people and the fact that they’ve beenrecovered as a nation. Today the struggle isover Jerusalem, over Israel, and over the pres-ence of Jews and their right to have a land.There are few nations willing to make an abid-ing commitment to stand by the Jews andIsrael, but the Bible says God will honor thosewho do.

2) Our place in God’s present order inextrica-bly links us with the Jews as a people andthereby the land of Israel according to theWord.

When we put our faith in the Redeemer whocame through the Jews, we enter into a line ofthose who have trusted God according to Hisrevealed grace and redemptive purpose.

◆ Scripture declares that, spiritually speak-ing, when you receive the Lord, youbecome a Jew (Romans 2:28-29; Galatians3:26-29).

◆ If you are a believer, you cannot be consistentwith the whole of Scripture and take a positionthat is passive toward the Jews and Israel.

3) God has made unique declarations regard-ing the land of Israel which have neverbeen rescinded:

◆ Leviticus 25:23 — The land is the Lord’sland, and it is His to assign and dispose of:“The land shall not be sold permanently, for theland is Mine…”

◆ Deuteronomy 32:43 — “Rejoice, O Gentiles,with His people…He will provide atonementfor His land and His people.”

◆ 2 Chronicles 7:20 — God says if the peopleviolate Me “…I will uproot them from Myland which I have given them…”










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by Jack Hayford






ISRAEL”








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by Jack Hayford






ISRAEL”








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9209 bro.indd 1 7/30/12 9:08 am9209_bro).pdftant time. today, the showdown that we face is ......

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