Are we supposed to support Israel? I had a long discussion with someone recently. This all started over the whole Obama news about the pastor of his church saying we are at fault for many things, for several reasons including that we have supported Israel. I think what my problem in this is that I do not know any scripture from the bible to support/not support this fact. Anyone have any suggestions? any verses you know of? thanks!
Hi Desertdancer,
We have to remember that Israel, the nation, is very special to God. In Deuteronomy 7:6-8 we read: " 6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. 7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt."
God's eternal purpose is to bless the world through Israel. Already He has done so in measure, for "salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22), but we see the fullness of future blessing in the promise of Isaiah 27:6: "6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit."
The declaration that "salvation is of the Jews, suggests our great debt to Israel. All that we have worth having has come to us through the Jews. Our Bible is a Jewish Book, and our Savior is a Jewish Savior. Israel, today, is in the place of rejection. The nation today is a secular, unbelieving (as to the claims of Scripture and their Messiah, Jesus Christ) nation but "5So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace." (Romans 11:5). Some Jews are being saved and are becoming members of the body of Christ, the church.
Jews are, biblically speaking, the chosen people of God and clearly loved by Him. Another reason for Christians to support the nation of Israel is because of the Abrahamic Covenant. We read in Genesis 12:2-3: "2 I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you." (see also Genesis 27:29; Numbers 24:9).
This is not to say that we support necessarily the methods they use in their relationships with the Arab nations. The Bible warned that conflict would always characterize the relations between the descendents of Isaac and Ishmael. Sadly, this conflict will continue until Jesus comes back to judge the nations and sets up his 1,000 year reign of peace on earth. We need to look at the "big picture with a biblical worldview. While we do not have to support everything Israel does as a nation, we most definitely should support Israels right to exist. God will fulfill His promises and covenants with Israel. God still has a plan for Israel. Woe to anyone who seeks to defeat God's plan:
2 "I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:2-3).
) If God is punishing us for anything, it is for marginalizing Him.
! Jerusalem had many, many Christians in it until the Israelis kicked them out because they are not Jewish. Many of the villages in the West Bank were at one time 80-90% Christian (that may not be true anymore because many had to leave in order to protect their families from the Israeli armies. I remember one story written by a Palestinian Christian who told about the obstacles of getting her children to school in another village, including being stopped by Israeli guards and being held at gunpoint. She said the worst part was that rifles being held in the hands of the Israeli soldiers were American when she was raised here in the States. I will not support a country that persecutes Christians and kicks them out of Jerusalem and Bethlehem and other cities that they were in for centuries. 
