Even so, current events do not dictate our faith in God’s promises. Even if there were not a modern nation-state of Israel, God would still have plans for the nation of Israel. Again, remember that the “nation” still existed as a people when the nation-state of modern Israel did not.
Finally, although our focus is on the place of Israel and the church today, we would be negligent not to address this topic of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. So let me be clear on three things: First, Hamas is the enemy of good in the region. Second, all Palestinians are made in the image of God and worthy of dignity and respect. Third, we can support Israel as one of the few functioning democracies in the region. All these things can be true at the same time.
The Church and Israel
I think we can summarize much of the relationship of the church and Israel with three key points:
- The Jews are God’s chosen and covenant people. God did not end that relationship when he sent Jesus.
- Christians are grafted into God’s covenant program together with Israel.
- God has future plans to accomplish and promises to fulfill for the Jews and for the nation of Israel for the benefit of the world.
We can be thankful that God keeps his promises, including to Israel. We can rejoice that we are grafted into that covenant, and that one day the Jews will return to their Messiah in overwhelming numbers (again, see Romans 11).
And, finally, we can watch how God is at work in the world as we wait patiently for the return of the Jewish Messiah named Jesus, who will bring together men and women of every tongue, tribe, and nation.
That’s where the topic and conversation should lead us: back to Jesus.
Jacob and Jesus
In the Old Testament, Jacob had a famous dream of a ladder (or stairs) to heaven, with angels going up and down (Genesis 28:10-17). God was above this ladder, and he restated his covenant with Israel—promising Jacob land, descendants, and an ongoing relationship with him. The vision pointed to both a distance between heaven and earth and also a bridge between them.
But—and this is where it gets interesting—Jesus takes this dream and reinterprets it. In John 1:51, Jesus tells Nathanael, “Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Jesus explains that he is the true ladder, the bridge between earth and heaven. God’s promise to Jacob is made complete because the descendants of Jacob now have new people grafted in—followers of Jesus from every tongue, tribe, and nation.
Jesus was a descendent of Jacob (don’t miss those genealogies!), and now, in him others are grafted in. Jesus is the “firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29), so that the nations are now grafted into the covenant.
So, when we sing the well-known worship song, “Same God,” these words ring true:
I’m calling on the God of Jacob
Whose love endures through generations
I know that You will keep your covenant.
Christians can recognize that God still has plans and promises for Israel, particularly as many are promised to come to faith, and that we are also grafted into that covenant and that promise.
And we can look toward Jesus and point to Jesus, the crucified, risen, and returning Jewish Messiah, the author and perfecter of our faith.
The article in the Mariners Church book had to be shortened for publication, but this is the original draft.
