Israel, the Palestinians, and God

Multitudes of evangelical preachers are teaching that we must support Israel, and they say the Bible says "I will bless them that bless Israel, and curse him that curseth Israel."  But how many have thought to check if God really said what these preachers say He said?

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:3)

Check the context.  This is spoken by God to Abraham, not to the nation of Israel as is falsely stated by many TV preachers.  In fact the bible states that the promise is to Abraham and his seed (singular); that is to Christ:

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. (NAS Galatians 3:16)

God has never unconditionally blessed all the descendants of Abraham.  In fact the Arab nations are also descendants of Abraham according to the flesh.  Are we to support the policies of the government of Israel when they oppress the Palestinians in their midst?  Does God bless injustice?   Does God approve of fencing the Palestinians into what amounts to large ghettos and deprive them of access even to food as a collective punishment?

Evangelicals need to do some deep soul searching.  Do they really believe Jesus Christ is God?  That he that has seen Jesus has seen the Father?  Did not Jesus command, "Love your enemies?"  What is wrong with these preachers?  How can men like John Hagee claim to be followers of Jesus and preachers of the Gospel while they refuse to teach and preach the words of Jesus, and yet they faun over Rabbis who deny the Lord Jesus.  Is unbelieving Judaism blessed by God?  Is it more acceptable to God that Islam?  Does not the New Testament condemn both as being of the Antichrist?

Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. (1 John 2:22-23)

There are some who say the the U.S. was hit by Katrina because of the Israel withdrawal from Gaza.  But would the Lord Jesus be more angry over Israel leaving some settlements in Gaza, or Israel (with U.S. consent) fencing off Gaza while retaining control over access not only from Gaza to Israel, but access to Egypt, access to the sea, and access to the air.  In effect, Israel has created its own version of the Warsaw ghetto in Gaza.  One must wonder if God is not permitting the Jewish nation to oppress her neighbors in order to strip her of her self-righteousness.  Since Hitler, the Jewish people have stuck an accusing finger in the eyes of the Gentile world, saying "you shut us up in the ghettos and camps, you drove us out of our shops and homes, you stole our wealth for yourselves while you permitted six million of us to be killed and burned."  Now Israel is encircling the Palestinians in the same fences, barbed wire and machine guns.  Israel is confiscating land, houses and shops.  Israel engages in collective punishment.  And Israel sits on an arsenal of about 200 nuclear weapons.  And one must assume that if one builds nuclear weapons, one is also willing to use them and incinerate millions of human beings (the enemy).  Is God in fact allowing this to reveal to the Jewish people the fact that in their hearts they are no different from the Nazis?

They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."

Jesus *said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father."

They said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." 

Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me; for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. (John 8:39-44)

Some time before 9/11, while Mr. Clinton was still president, I heard on the news while we were eating supper that the U.S. was trying to find a solution to the Jerusalem problem.  Immediately I told my wife and son that the U.S. as going to be severely injured because the Word of God says, "And it will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it." {Zechariah 12:3}  I was not surprised by 9/11 but immediately understood that it was a terrorist attack.  God's Word is a "burning fire and a smashing hammer" and will not go away simply because we choose to stick our fingers in our ears!  God has made promises to the Fathers and He will faithfully keep His Word, but His Word also promises judgment on those that ignore His commandments.  The Jewish people are no more immune to the judgment of God than the rest of the world, including the United States.  Israel is going to suffer greatly (and justly) in the years to come as will the U.S. and the rest of the world.  The Kingdom of God is near and Judgement is at hand.  And judgment begins with the house of God.

Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him.

Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick, And the whole heart is faint.   From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, welts, and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil.  Your land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields-- strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.  And the daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman's hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.  Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah.

Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah.

"What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams, And the fat of fed cattle. And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.  When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?  Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.  I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me. I am weary of bearing them.

"So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you, Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.  Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless; Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.

"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword." Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers. Your silver has become dross, Your drink diluted with water.  Your rulers are rebels, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe, And chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widow's plea come before them.

Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel declares, "Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries, And avenge Myself on My foes. I will also turn My hand against you, And will smelt away your dross as with lye, And will remove all your alloy.  Then I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning; After that you will be called the city of righteousness, A faithful city."

Zion will be redeemed with justice, And her repentant ones with righteousness.  But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, And those who forsake the LORD shall come to an end. (Isaiah 1:4-28)

This Word was spoken to Israel, but also speaks to what calls itself the "Church."  Israel according to the flesh has not turned to God, but instead has put her trust in her military might.  And America has not turned to God, but has also put her trust in her military might.  Shall this be blessed by God? Nay, for it is written:

Thus says the LORD, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD. (Jeremiah 17:5)

Do we think the Holy One of Israel who is no respecter of persons will bless nations who rely of oppression and guile?  That He will bless those who oppress the aliens and the poor?  Those who forget the HOLY GOD and take up the sword against those who have not attacked them?  God says, "you shall not punish the father for the son's sins."  But Israel bulldozes the houses of the families whose sons attack it.  And uses collective punishment against whole towns and territories which is a violation of both God's Law and international law. The United States attacks whole nations for the acts of a few.  Be assured that that the blood of the uncounted thousands who are reckoned as "collateral damage" cries out to a HOLY GOD.  Those whom the United States does not deem worthy to even count are still numbered in Heaven as made in the image of God. 

It is said "the wheels of God's justice grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine."  The United States was founded in bloodshed and rebellion and began her days by driving out the peaceful and Christian Cherokee Nation and others.   She then in the lust for land and riches attacked, without provocation, Mexico and seized half of that land.  She was complicit in enslaving millions and perpetuated this crime in the service of her great god Mammon.  The MOST HOLY GOD brought vengeance for her acts through a civil war that set brother against brother and took 600,000 lives.   Did she learn?  NO!  Now in the name of Christ, she threatens the whole world with her weapons of mass destruction and rampages in the land of Babylon to ensure that her access to oil is secure.  Katrina struck as a warning from the Almighty, but did she heed? No!  The first concern of New Orleans was not to rebuild the homes of the poor, but to restore the French Quarter and the hotels in order that they could celebrate that abomination to God called Fat Tuesday.  You can be sure this has not passed unnoticed by the Almighty.

Israel suffered greatly through the centuries because she rejected Jesus, the Messiah of God, and suffered terribly under the Nazis.  But God remembered the promises He made to the Fathers and brought the Jews back to the land in preparation for the return of the Messiah.  Yet did they learn from their suffering?   Not at all!  Now they do (in part) what was done to them.  Forgetting that vengeance belongs to God alone they strike back twice as hard as they are struck and inflict injustice rather than justice on others.

As disciples of the Lord Jesus we are His ambassadors.  We must stand for His Word and His Righteousness.  God makes no distinction based on birth or wealth, nor can we.  When Israel acts unjustly it is at least as sinful as when Iraq or Iran or North Korea does the same.  Yet Israel ought to know better.  Since the time of her sojourn in Egypt she was been abused by her enemies, and since the time of Constantine by pseudo-Christianity and Islam.  If anyone ought to know what it feels like to be oppressed it is she.  Therefore, she bears a greater responsibility before God than do those without a knowledge of God.

Exodus 22:21 "And you shall not wrong a stranger [alien] or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:9 "And you shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:33 ' And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 'The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 26:12 " When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year -- the year of tithing -- and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled,

"But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

"Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

"Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

"And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.

"And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

"And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

"And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount.

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:27-36)