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| Anti-Semitism is at an all-time high in America and abroad. |
In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. There was no sin. There
was no death. But it did not last. Eve was deceived by Satan, tricked into
sinning against God. But Adam sinned willingly, joining her in eating from the
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Sin entered the world that day, and
death spread to all things. (Romans 5:12) However God promised that a
savior would come to break sin's curse:
"... And I will cause hostility between you (Satan) and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
~ Genesis 3:15 New Living Translation (NLT)
This
is the first time in the Bible that Jesus is mentioned, and it happened three
chapters into the very first book of the Old Testament. Later on in Genesis
12:2-3 God chose Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, to be the instrument
of His divine plan for the redemption of mankind. But God also issues a warning
to those who would oppose His chosen people saying that He would bless those
who blessed Abraham and his descendants and curse those who cursed them. And
this is exactly what we see throughout history. Nations and people who hate and persecute
the Jews are ultimately destroyed. From the Pharaoh of Egypt in Moses’
day all the way to Adolph Hitler and his Nazi regime, God has continued to
rescue His people from slavery and extermination time and time again, even though
many of the persecutions suffered by the Jewish people have been as a
direct result of their disobedience. (I go over this in greater
detail in my two-part series: God of Wrath or God of Mercy?)
However,
despite this overwhelming historical evidence, some continue to argue that
God's warning in Genesis 12 only applied to Abraham, and that
God somehow went back on His word after the Jews rejected Jesus and had him
crucified by the Roman authorities. But the Bible makes it abundantly
clear in verses like 1 Kings 6:13, Psalms 89:33-34, and Romans 9-11 that
God will never abandon His people Israel.
Therefore,
for one to argue that God has rejected Israel, one must also argue that God can
go back on His word and/or break His covenants--even the "everlasting covenant"
He made to Abraham in Genesis 17. Which would of course bring the validity
of the entire Bible into question, since this would imply that neither God nor
His Word can be trusted. At which point the entire argument is nullified since
neither God nor His connection to Israel has any bearing without a belief
in the infallible aspects of God and the divine nature of Scripture.
That
being said, it is also important to note that Jesus was himself a
Jew. According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus was
circumcised when he was eight days old; observed the Sabbath and the
Passover; worshiped in the synagogues and even read the Torah; thus fulfilling
the promise God made to Abraham when He said that He would use the Jewish
nation to bring salvation to all people. And while it is true that the
Jews were responsible for Jesus' death, I want to remind you that this was
God's plan from the very beginning. God sent Jesus to die for the sins of
mankind. The Old Testament is full of references to the crucifixion, and
even Jesus himself predicted his death time and time again. The only reason we
have any hope at all is because of Jesus' death and resurrection. (1
Corinthians 15:1-19, Romans 8:1-4, 31-39) So if you blame the Jews
for Jesus' death then you might as well blame God, too--seeing as how it
was His idea to kill Jesus in the first place.
So
then, does God hate the Jews, His "Special Possession?" (Deuteronomy 7:6,
Exodus 19:5, Isaiah 19:25, Psalm 135:4 etc.)
No.
Has
He changed His mind and broken His "everlasting covenant" with the
decedents of Abraham?
Hardly.
In
fact, I would argue that God has done the exact opposite. In 1948 God kept His
promise once again and restored the nation of Israel, fulfilling the
words of the Prophet Isaiah, written 2,600 years ago:
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| "He will raise a flag among the nations..." Isaiah 11:12 |
to bring back the remnant of his people—
those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt;
in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam;
in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant
coastlands.
He will raise a flag among the nations
and assemble the exiles of Israel.
He will gather the scattered people of Judah
from the ends of the earth.
Then at last the jealousy between Israel and Judah will end.
They will not be rivals anymore."
~ Isaiah 11:11-13 New Living Translation (NLT)
God
has not abandoned Israel, nor does He hate her. Even in rebellion the Jews are
still God's Chosen People. God doesn't change, He will keep His promise to
Abraham. It is only when we abandon God's Word for the opinions of men and our
own self-righteousness that we begin to think that God has favorites; that He
hates one group of people while loving the other, when the Bible clearly says
otherwise. (Romans 2:11) This is why it is so important to test
everything against God's Word. There are many false teachers out there who
strategically manipulate the Scriptures, omitting or altering passages that
conflict with their theologies in order to justify their beliefs and/or
actions. The only way to spot the lies is to know what God's Word really says.
And the only way to know what God's Word really says is to study it daily.
As
the Apostle Paul, a Jew, said in his second letter to Timothy:
"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true
and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are
wrong and teaches us to do what is right."
~ 2
Timothy 3:16 New Living Translation (NLT)
