Why does Iran want to wipe Israel off the map? Why have Palestinian leaders, Hamas, Hezbollah and other terror organizations declared they wish to push Israel into the sea? Why is Israel the target of so many terror attacks and frequent wars? Is it because Jewish immigrants displaced Arabs from the land? Is it a result of the partition that led to the modern State? Is it because of the post-’67 occupation of Palestinian territories? Or, is it because this Jewish state is an anomaly in a Muslim neighborhood? Are these often-quoted reasons the true roots of the Middle Eastern conflict or instead merely a rationalization for the hatred and violence that exists?
To discover the roots of the current conflicts between Israel and her neighbors we must first understand that they are not a new phenomenon. Israel’s neighbors have always hated her. She has constantly known warfare and violence since her very beginnings. The tribes of Canaan fought her, the Philistines were a thorn in her side, the surrounding nations repeatedly attacked her, the Assyrians and the Persians conquered her and dispersed her people, the Greeks and the Romans subjugated her, the hordes of Islam overran her, and Hitler tried to exterminate her people. Why? It is my thesis that this enmity reaches far back in time to the very beginning of creation and its roots are spiritual rather than political or material. At its core lies the fundamental enmity of Satan and his followers towards God and His followers. The Middle Eastern conflict is the flesh and blood outworking of a great spiritual battle between God and the forces of Evil.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that Israel epitomizes all that is good and godly and that the enemies of Israel are fundamentally evil. It is not that simplistic. What I am saying is that all those involved, on all sides of the conflict, are participants, knowingly or not, in this battle, and victims of the evil influences, lies and deceptions that Satan uses to manipulate men and women to his own ends, namely to promote his desire for glorification and supremacy and the usurping of God’s power and authority.
We must then ask – does God take sides in the Middle East? This very idea is repugnant to most Western Christians. After all, isn’t God a God of justice, fairness and love? How can He take sides? As one who believes that God loves all men, women and children equally, how then can He favor one nation over others?
To answer these difficult questions we must turn to the Scriptures. In writing this book I seek to expose the spiritual roots of the conflicts between Israel and her enemies, outline the outworking of this enmity through history and come to a clearer understanding of the true nature of the present hatred and violence. Once this foundation is laid we can each begin to define our own position and response, and identify our role and responsibility in God’s eternal plan. In so doing we each need to confront the question of where we, as Christian believers, should stand in all this? Should we take sides? Whose side? Does it matter in the great eternal plan? Why should we care anyway?
There are some very good reasons why we Christians should care about what happens in the Middle East, and specifically to Israel. Our lives are intimately linked to Israel whether we know it or not. What has happened in Israel in the past has determined who and what we are today. What will happen in the future with respect to Israel will directly determine, not only our personal fate as believers, but also the fate of the entire world. Have you never wondered why day after day, year after year, this tiny, seemingly insignificant nation of around only 8 million people, constantly features in the world’s headlines. One dies in Israel in a terror attack and it is major news, while the death of thousands in another part of the world barely gets a passing mention. It’s as if even the world intuitively knows and understands the importance of Israel. If they have ‘got it’ all the more reason that we Christians should grasp it too, and what is more, we need to go further, grappling with it until we find understanding far beyond that of the ‘World’.
In Hebrews 5:12-6:2 it is made clear that after we are saved we are expected to mature, come to desire the solid food of the Word of God and progress beyond the elemental principles of repentance, salvation, judgment and the resurrection of the dead. I believe that part of that growing-up involves grappling with the revelation given us regarding the redemption plan of God, its outworking in human history and coming to a clear understanding of our role and responsibility in working alongside God to bring about its fulfillment and completion.
What is more, in the words of I Peter 3:15 we are exhorted to “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you”. What is the basis of our hope? Surely it lies largely in the demonstration of God’s love, faithfulness and power as it has been demonstrated throughout history in the fulfilling of his promises to Israel as recorded in the Bible.
I would therefore propose that a clear understanding of the place of Israel in God’s redemption plan, his dealings with her, and how this all relates to the events in the Middle East today, is essential for the Christian believer for at least four reasons:
- It gives us the ‘big picture’, which forms the context of our individual salvation and faith. The historical record of God’s workings in relation to Israel and the nations around her is one of the most powerful testimonies to His existence and character. It increases our knowledge of God himself, his nature, his love and his power. It encourages and builds faith.
- Knowledge of God’s promises and plans provides stability and builds courage. It provides us an anchor, and an antidote to fear and anxiety, in the perilous times in which we live. Christians need to be strong and calm in the face of turmoil, so that we can give light, strength and comfort to those around us.
- We have responsibility to participate with God in the outworking of his Redemption Plan, which is intimately linked to the fate of Israel. Our first responsibility is to pray, but also to speak out and act in our own area of influence, as He leads and empowers.
- What is more, if we claim that we love Jesus, how can it be that we do not love the things he loves? In the flesh, Jesus was an Israelite, through and through, and he is the King of Israel, past, present and future. We can glimpse Jesus’ love and compassion for Israel as he cried out in lament over Jerusalem saying, “How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…” (Matthew 23: 37). Jesus loved Israel so much that he was willing to suffer crucifixion and death that she might be saved. The Holy Scriptures are saturated with declarations of God’s love for Israel. For example, in Zechariah 2:8 Israel is described as the “apple of His (the LORD’s) eye” (my insert).
I believe that at this present time the battle lines are being drawn up for a very great battle. I do not know whether this will be one of the final battles prophesied in Scripture or not, but surely the present troubles are leading in that direction and each day takes us closer. Israel has never had to confront so many or such powerful enemies as she does today. When I look at the sheer magnitude of hatred directed towards her, and the sophistication of the weapons aimed in her direction, listen to the rhetoric of the leaders of her enemies and consider the weakness and ambivalence of her friends, I tremble. In the natural, there is not much hope that she can survive. Yet I believe she will, for God is greater than all of these. He has promised in Scripture that Israel will be established in the end, with the Messiah as her King and Jerusalem as her heart (Revelation 21 and 22). I believe that every Christian believer has a role to play. We must decide whether we are for God or against Him. There will be no neutrality – no sitting on the fence. It is therefore imperative that we each decide on which side we are, and to make such a significant decision we need to be informed and have a clear understanding of Scripture.