Are We Commanded to Support Israel?
A Christian asks, “Are we commanded to support Israel?” In the churches of Christ, it is well understood that the modern secular state of Israel is not akin to the nation of Israel we read about in the Bible. Many of our religious friends hold varying understandings regarding the biblical promises made to Abraham. In recent months, Senator Ted Cruz (TX) said that “we are commanded to support Israel, those who support Israel will be blessed.” This is clearly a loose reference to Genesis 12:3, which reads, “and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” When Mr. Carlson asked if in Genesis God was referring to the modern political entity ruled by Benjamin Netanyahu, Sen. Cruz responded, Yes.
Mr. Cruz's View is Typical of A Flawed Interpretation Among Evangelicals
Sen. Cruz’s remarks are equally as wrong as they are a commonly held view, particularly among evangelical premillennialists. A cursory study of the New Testament would help us to understand that claiming to be something does not make it so. Jesus had an interaction with the Jewish leaders at one point and explained this very detail.
I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; yet ye seek to kill me, because my word hath not free course in you. I speak the things which I have seen with my Father: and ye also do the things which ye heard from your father. They answered and said unto him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I heard from God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the works of your father. They said unto him, We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I came forth and am come from God; for neither have I come of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.
(John 8:37-42)
From this text, we recognize that while the Jews of Jesus' day were in a physical sense the descendants of Abraham, they did not do what Abraham did, so they were not fathered by Abraham in a spiritual sense. Their desire to kill Jesus was from the playbook of their true father, the Devil.
Based on this, we can learn that all who hate Jesus hate the Father. Those who deny Jesus as Messiah deny the Father. Those who would do those things do not have Jehovah as Father, but Satan. Which one sounds like the secular nation of Israel?
Jesus also presented the parable of the wicked tenants that described the Jews as ones who rejected the messengers of God in the past and present.
And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first, and they did unto them in like manner. But afterward he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But the husbandmen, when they saw the son, said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and take his inheritance. And they took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him…Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
(Matthew 21:35-39;43)
Based on the fact that the context of that text shows that Jesus was speaking to the chief priests and Pharisees, some have suggested that Jesus’ comments are focused only on the leadership of the Jews. Consider, if you will, that leaders often manipulate people into carrying out their policies. What does the Bible say that leadership persuaded the Jewish crowds to say in Matthew 27:20-22? So based on this, we understand again that anyone who rejects Jesus rejects God, and thus by definition is a child of the Devil. It would be safe to say that the Jews in the first century and those who are by religion today are lost and not the children of God. In fact, the Lord made it clear that the kingdom was taken from them and given to a nation bearing fruit, which is the church of Christ.
God Desires All Men to Be Saved
The question was, should we support the secular nation of Israel? Unfortunately, many people have shaped the foreign policy of the United States based on flawed biblical interpretation. If you are asked, should “we”, the church, support the secular nation of Israel, I have determined that we should biblically support Israeli citizens. We should have the attitude that Paul had for his fellow countrymen. We can hope that they will obey the Gospel. (cf. Romans 9:1-5)
We can pray for that nation, that all Israelis will come to the truth. The Spirit reminds us how and why we do so (cf. 2 Tim 2:1-4). God’s desire is for all men to be saved through the Gospel of Christ. He desires Israelis, Palestinians, etc., to be saved. The Bible does not teach that we, the church, should support the secular government of Israel through voting for Zionist candidates who fail to handle aright the word of truth (cf. 2 Tim 2:15). Rather, we pray for our leaders, and leaders of foreign nations where our brethren live. Moreover, we must love the lost enough to show them the Word of truth by which they will be judged (cf. John 12:48; Romans 13:8).
