Why Should Christians Care About Israel?
It’s quite amazing how God chose to use a small region of the world (with little prestige) to champion His cause. Even to the bitter end (see Rom. 9:21-23).
It all started long ago when God elected Abraham and gave him three everlasting promises: land, seed, and blessing. In Genesis 12:1-3, the Abrahamic blessing is given: “Go from your country…to a land that I will show you, And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
The extent of the blessing (Gen. 12:1-3) not only applied to Abraham (personally), but also extended to Israel (nationally)—and to the whole world (Gal. 3:8, 16). From Abraham’s descendants would eventually come the Messiah (Jesus Christ—Matt. 1:1; Rom. 9:5)—who would take away the sins of His people (Matt. 1:21; Jn. 1:29; 1 Jn. 3:5). Moreover, it was through Israel the “the oracles of God” were given to the world (Rom. 3:2). These two great blessings, the Living Word(the Savior) and the written Word (the Scriptures) came through Abraham’s descendants.
Subsequently, not only was Abraham blessed but so were the nations who blessed him. Historically, America has been one of those nations.
In Deuteronomy 7:7-9, the passage reveals why God chose Israel:
“The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.”
In a nutshell, Israel is important because God made it so. God chose Israel to be a model and proclaim His love and faithfulness to the heathen nations (Ex.19:3-8; Deut. 4:6-8).
Israel is also important because it plays a significant role in the tribulation period. In an historic and prophetic event, Israel became a sovereign nation on May 14, 1948. Ezekiel prophesied, “I will multiply the number of people upon you, even the whole house of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt… For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land” (36:10, 24).
Today, nearly 6 million Jews live in Israel. More Jews are returning to their homeland as prophesied by the prophets (Ezek. 20:33-38; Isa. 11:11-12). The nation of Israel is important because God divinely elected it to represent and extend His glory through the course of history and beyond.
As a Christian, it is important for you to pray daily for the peace and safety of Israel (Ps. 122:6-7). Pray also for more Jews to believe in Yeshua (Jesus) and receive eternal life (1 Jn. 5:11-13).