Genesis 12:1-3 - “Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Why do we stand with a small Middle Eastern nation roughly the size of the U. S. State of New Jersey? We stand with Israel because the Jewish people are the covenant people of God. In a world filled with antisemitism and hatred for the Jewish people, we stand together with them against an enemy who seeks their destruction.
In Genesis 12:3, the Lord promises to bless those who bless the children of Israel, and He will curse those who curse them. Is this curse real? On October 7, 2023, Hamas brutally attacked Israel and killed innocent civilians, babies, and the elderly. The Taliban in Afghanistan, another terrorist organization made this statement, “The Taliban has reportedly asked Iran, and Jordan to grant them passage to Israel so that they can “conquer Jerusalem”. “A statement widely circulated online suggests Taliban's foreign office has contacted Middle Eastern governments requesting passage, seemingly to aid Hamas terrorists and promising to take control of Jerusalem.”(1)
What happened? On October 7, 2023, two powerful earthquakes struck Herat, the third largest city in Afghanistan. It leveled buildings and now the Taliban are reporting over 4,000 were killed and 9,000 were injured. Forbes said, “It was one of the deadliest earthquakes to strike the country in two decades.”
The Psalmist writes in Psalms 105:9-11, “The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac, And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, Saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance.’”
John P. McTernan writes in his book, As America Has Done to Israel, “The everlasting covenant God made with Abraham four thousand years ago is a direct relationship between God and the Jewish people. God created this covenant for several reasons, one of which was to bless all the families of the earth. Abraham’s descendants are the vehicle for this blessing. The complete fulfillment of this blessing associated with Abraham comes through the Lord Jesus Christ.”(2)
We stand with Israel because the Bible instructs us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalms 122:6-9 says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces for the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, ‘Peace be within you.’ Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.”
In Zechariah 6:8 the Lord calls the Jewish people “the apple of His eye.” He gives this warning in Zechariah 6:9 from the New Living Translation, “I will raise my fist to crush them, and their own slaves will plunder them.” Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.”
In Amos 9:14 the Prophet Amos writes, “I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.”
Israel is a modern day miracle. The Jewish people were dispersed throughout the world, yet today the covenant people of God are back in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We stand with Israel and the Jewish people because the Lord Himself stands with them.
(1)https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1821152/taliban-israel-palestine-jerusalem
(2)McTernan, John, P. As America Has Done to Israel, Kindle Edition, Location 495.
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