Faith | Can God’s promises to Israel be counted on? See what the scriptures say
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper.” (Psalm 122:6, NLT)
City buses pass constantly through the German Colony in Jerusalem. Mom and I boarded one for the 10-minute ride to her office at Bridges for Peace, a Christian ministry helping Jewish people return home to Israel.
When the bus rolled to a stop, we stepped out of the bus onto the sidewalk. At that instant a massive explosion one block away nearly knocked us off our feet. Glass and metal, with boiling smoke, had instantly covered the entire area. Once we recovered and realized we were still intact, I urged Mom to go to her office quickly, and I would follow soon.
What I saw took my breath away. Both sides of the street, lined with cars, were a tangled mess of metal and glass. The windows on every building on both sides of the road were blown out. As police arrived, they moved me back and began setting up a tape barrier. The bomb had been detonated in a Mercedes Benz parked in the middle of the block.
Mom moved to Israel on September 29, 2000, one day after Arafat declared the second Intifada, killing over a thousand Israelis—most from suicide bombers on city buses full of civilians. Moms and dads, grandpas and grandmas, students and little ones. She lived in Israel for ten years, and loved every minute of it.
The first time I landed in Israel was in 1985. And across all those years, I can’t recall a time when Israel wasn’t fighting for her very existence. This latest murderous attack by Hamas (the Hebrew word for “violence”) on October 7 is an apex event, signaling that this genocidal terrorist group is holding with their 1988 charter to obliterate every Jew.
When people tell you what they are going to do, believe them.
So here is my question to my fellow Christians: What do you tell people you will do?
Do you pray for the peace of Jerusalem? Do you bless the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
Are you standing with the Apostle Paul when he declared that the Gospel is for the Jew first and that all of Israel will be saved?
And what about the apostle’s words in Romans 11:29, that God’s call and gifts toward Israel are irrevocable. Another translation says that calling is “under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded” (The Message).
That’s a good thing. Just think about it: If God were to change his mind and not fulfill his multitudes of promises to Israel, how could you and I in his Church have any assurance he wouldn’t change his mind about us, too?
Do you comfort God’s people, meaning Israel? When people tell you that “God is finished with Israel,” do you remind them that God scattered Israel over the Earth, and it was God who brought them back to their original and ancient homeland—a phenomenon the world has never witnessed before?
Do you tell people that Jesus will return to Jerusalem just as he promised? Have you shown how Isaiah 62:7 informs us that God will not give Israel any rest until he establishes Jerusalem as the pride and praise of all the Earth?
We hear a lot of political talk about climate change these days and how the Earth is in peril. But in Jeremiah 31:35-37 our Creator declares that he is as likely to abandon the laws of nature as he is to reject his people, Israel.
In other words, he won’t do either. The Earth will endure until that day when God finally pulls the curtains. And so will his love for Israel.
Rev. Micah Smith is president and founder of Global Gateway Network globalgatewaynetwork.org with offices in Richland. Questions and comments should be directed to editor Lucy Luginbill in care of the Tri-City Herald newsroom, 4253 W. 24th Ave., Kennewick, WA 99338. Or email lluginbill@tricityherald.com.
