True Christians have always been Israel’s best friends, truly loving the Jewish people. I see in this a natural manifestation of the love of a truly believing person for God and for the Scriptures as His indisputable Word. Love for the very Scriptures that clearly and repeatedly speak of God’s unfailing love for His chosen Jewish people.
The Bible is very clear on the issue of chosenness:
“For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be His own people above all the nations that are on the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6 and 14:2).
Nowhere later in the Bible does God change His choice. In fact, God vouched in His name for the promises He made to the Jewish people. And He goes so far as to say to Israel, “For thus says the Lord of hosts: He who touches you touches the apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8). Thus, doing bad things to Israel is like poking God in the eye! A guy named Haman, the main bad guy from the Book of Esther, felt the consequences of this dubious activity firsthand!
This month, the Jewish people celebrate the holiday of Purim, established in memory of the very story that took place in ancient Persia. The main characters in it are Mordecai and Esther, and the main villain is a proud nobleman named Haman. Haman, enraged by Mordechai’s refusal to bow to him, obtained permission from the Persian king to destroy Mordechai – and the entire Jewish people along with him.
Haman’s advisors and even his own wife warned: “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!” (Esther 6:13). And he fell and was executed on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordechai with such malicious joy. Since then, every year Jews read the Book of Esther and remember those events, praising God for His protection and fidelity to His word to preserve His chosen people despite everything.
The path of history is littered with the corpses of people like Haman and Hitler, who tried to destroy the Jewish people and thereby made themselves enemies of God. And those who support the Jewish people, helping them to resist the rolling waves of hostility, are acting in harmony with God and His purposes. So, what does it mean to be at heart with the Jewish people today?
Jews are not just a nation, but a multinational people with an ancient history and a destiny determined by God. However, the small piece of land that is Israel geographically and where the majority of the world’s Jewish population is concentrated is certainly a value worth defending and for which the support of other nations is worth a lot to us.
First, having a heart with Israel in the biblical sense means experiencing and developing genuine love for the people God loves. This can be a challenging task. God did not choose our people (or anyone) based on how lovable we were in each other’s eyes. But God can share with all of us a piece of His deep love that He has for His chosen people. And all we need to be with Israel in our hearts is that very piece of God’s love. But love and support does not mean that you have to agree with every decision of the State of Israel or this or that part of the Jewish community. If love were based on complete agreement with a person or a group of people, then most of us would not experience this feeling at all in our entire lives!
Second, having your heart with Israel means that while you love this nation, you spend time praying for them. You’ve probably noticed that if you love someone, you don’t need to be persuaded to pray for them. As the psalmist urges: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.” (Psalm 122:6). A prayer for peace is a request to God not so much for the absence of war, but for the presence of shalom, spiritual integrity, the blessing of God’s salvation and the operation of His grace. Such prayers are answered through saving faith in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel.
Above all, having your heart with Israel means believing, praying, and working for the salvation of the Jewish people—a salvation that comes only through faith in Jesus the Messiah. As the Apostle Paul wrote: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.” (Romans 10:1).
Someone recently said to me, “David, it’s great that you care so much about your Jewish people, but to be honest, they’re not that important to me.” I understand that God places different priorities in the hearts of His children. Everyone has a ministry to which they feel most called. I do not expect all believers to carry in their hearts the burden of saving the Jewish people that we carry in “Jews for Jesus.” But anyone who loves and serves God should rejoice in how He remains true to His promises to the Jewish people, knowing that just as He has kept His word throughout history to the people He once chose, so He has kept His promises to the diverse people He has called to be His sons and daughters through the Messiah Jesus. I hope you will join me in praying that more believers will embrace and celebrate the full embodiment of God’s love and faithfulness, so that they too can say, “My heart is with Israel.”
Author – David Brickner / evreizaiisusa.org
Source: https://ieshua.org/purim-serdtsem-s-izrailem.htm
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