Israel, May They Prosper Who Love You

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. -Psalm 122:6

Some Christians today say we should not support the Jews or Israel. Incredibly, some say the Israelis are no different than the terrorists they fight.

Israelis and the terrorists they fight, however, are no more equivalent than the USA and the terrorists we fight. We are not always right, but we are assuredly more right than those we oppose.

* Israel does not send suicide bombers, including children, to blow up innocent people.
* Israeli soldiers do not hide in, and shoot from, the homes of innocents and force the other side to fire on them there.
* They do not use women and children as shields during battle.
* Israel has many Arabs living within the borders of Israel proper. They live there in relative peace and security, and prosper. They are Israeli citizens. On the other hand, when Israel pulled out of Gaza they had to evacuate all the Jews, or they would have been murdered by the militants.
* Israel is a democracy, surrounded by dictatorships.
* Israel has a tiny sliver of land; the Arabs have incredible amounts of territory compared to Israel.

The answer to both sides is personal faith in Jesus Christ as Messiah and Savior. I’m all for sending missionaries to both sides. There are certainly good and bad in every race. There are wonderful Jewish Christians, and wonderful Arab Christians. I do not believe all Palestinians, all Arabs, or all Muslims are terrorists. But I certainly oppose those who are. Recently it has come to light that some Arabs protected Jews during Nazi control of North Africa and the Middle East; God bless them.

Israel is not always right, and we should oppose them when they are wrong. Don’t blindly support them, or us. But be sure about the facts, before you speak up and oppose the Israelis.

It has been asked how exactly can Christians support Israel. How can we keep our support for Israel from just being a platitude? Good question.

Ways We Can Be Supportive of Israel1. Pray for them, their safety, their security. They live in an entirely different world than we do and while they have a tenuous treaty or two, they are basically surrounded by enemies. Enemy tanks could roll across their entire country in much less than a day. They have to always be on guard. Get a Middle East map and see the size of their country as compared to the surrounding nations and the Arab and Muslim controlled lands.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” -Psalm 122:6

2. Pray for their salvation.

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.” -Romans 10:1

3. Support them by voting for candidates that support our aid to, and our friendship with Israel. Support their right to exist and defend themselves.

I believe God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants in Genesis 12:3 is still true, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you.” One of the reasons God has blessed America is we have blessed His chosen people.

4. Encourage people to go visit Israel as tourists. It helps their economy; tourism is one of their biggest sources of income. You will also learn more about the modern day country of Israel and the difficulties they face. You will come to love the Holy Land as never before.

5. Speak up for the Jews, Israel, and against anti-Semitism. Teach what the Bible teaches about them. Remember everything about Christianity comes from the Jews and their faith.

“In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” -Genesis 12:3

6. Some Christians support Israel in other financial ways.

7. Support trade with Israel. When you have a chance, buy what is produced in Israel.

We should love, pray for, and witness to all people. But God’s chosen people are still special.

-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, April 6, AD 2010.