What Are We To Do With Israel?

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 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 12:1-3 (KJV)

God said He would bring forth a great nation out of Abraham (originally named Abram). That nation is Israel. If we read this passage and take it to heart, we can see that it is God’s will that we bless Israel. If we fail to do so, we lose out on the special blessing that goes along with supporting Israel.

Sometimes it can appear that Israel is wicked and is the bad guy in certain situations. Why would we want to bless such a people? Let’s break it down so we can understand what we are called to do.

First of all, God does not tell us to bless Israel based on her actions. It simply says that when we bless and support Israel, we are blessed by God. God has a heart for Israel and we should too. Many times throughout the Old Testament, Israel turned away from God and became very wicked. Because God’s kingdom operates through the vehicle of sowing and reaping, there came a point at which Israel had to reap what they had sown from their wicked actions. Then, God would raise someone up to come against Israel, usually militarily, to dispense the judgment that they had coming. However, most of the time, these nations and their leaders would go too far, severely oppressing the people of God. As a result, God would end up coming against that nation as well. And bear in mind, whenever Israel was being judged, God would promise them restoration. He never totally abandoned them.

Secondly, we must keep in mind that there is a difference between the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. We can view Israel as a nation state- with a government, military, and citizens of many different beliefs and faiths. We could call this secular Israel- the actual nation with boundaries, laws, and so forth. On the other hand, we must separate the true Israelites, the Jewish people with a true bloodline that goes back to Abraham, from the rest of Israel. This is the lineage of Abraham, whom we are called to bless. God called us to bless those who adhere to a belief in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob., not necessarily others who live in the boundaries of the nation of Israel.

Finally, we must understand that governments often do things in spite of what their people want and not according to the will of the citizens. Consider our own illegitimate government- ruling in ways that we never imagined and in complete contradiction to what we want. The same is true of many nations, including Israel. We cannot base our support of the Israeli people on the actions of their government leaders.

Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper. Psalm 122:6 (New Living Translation, NLT)

How do we bless Israel? First, we pray for her and her people. Speak peace to Israel and that they know and follow the one true God. Also pray that their eyes are opened and they see and receive their true Messiah, Jesus Christ. This is the most important thing they need- whether they know it or not. We can also support ministries financially that help Israel. There are reputable ministries that assist the people of Israel with medical support, bomb shelters, food, and other such physical necessities.

But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root. “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either. Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. Romans 11:17-23 (New Living translation, NLT)

As believers, we are the spiritual offspring of Abraham. We must love and bless our brothers and sisters who are His natural offspring.