Israel was, is and always shall be the greatest nation on earth.I don't mean the biggest (obviously).I mean that God has chosen Israel for a purpose unique only to her. Israel was chosen by God to represent His love for the whole world. The relationship God had and has with Israel shows the world the kind of relationship God can have with each one of us.
I don't mean the strongest.
I don't mean the most prosperous.
I don't even mean that I think it is the greatest nation on earth.God formed the nation of Israel thousands of years ago, in order to teach (by illustration) just what kind of God He is, to the rest of the world. The story of Israel is a love story, between God and His chosen people. It is the story of a marriage. It is the story of a family.
When I look at Israel I see a nation that, when it loved and obeyed God, it flourished and even became invincible. But when it was disobedient and served other gods it suffered the consequences of its own actions. God allowed Israel to go its own way, to prove to her that without Him, they could not succeed. And eventually, Israel always learned her lesson the hard way and would come back to the God that loved her more than life itself. In fact, God sent his son specifically to Israel and to die in Israel for Israel. Yes, I know He died for the whole world and not just for Israel. But the Bible says He came first for the Jews and then for the rest of the world.
Israel now has to learn that lesson all over again today. God is not finished with Israel. He says that He could never forget Israel, even as a mother can never forget her firstborn child. God will never be finished with Israel. And this fact alone, makes me know that if God can have so great a love that He has for Israel, that He can love me also.
If He were to forget Israel and her place in His heart, than He would be a fickle God, and not worthy of my praise and honor and trust. But that is not the case. God is not fickle. When He makes a promise He keeps it. When He loves, and makes a commitment (like a marriage) He honors it, and cherishes it. And His love is an everlasting love, not just for a time or season. His love endures forever.
Israel will always be God's firstborn child, His cherished wife, His expression of love on this earth. I know some people think that the Church has replaced Israel. Noooooooooo. The church is an extention of Israel, is part of Israel. But cannot replace her. The Gentile church, has only been grafted into the olive tree, which is Israel. But the Gentile church is not the olive tree itself. For the church to deny the continuing place that Israel has in God's heart and to think for a moment that God replaced Israel with the church, is not only folly, but scary. If God were that fickle with Israel, then the church would not be able to trust Him to be faithful to her either.
No, God is still the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All of the promises that God made to Israel must be fullfilled. And if you want to be a part of God's family, you had better start loving your elder brothers and sisters, the Jews.
I John 4:20-21
20: If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
21: And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Back to Rabbi Sim's page
Back to Meet the Preachers page
Back to Sim Preachers home page
Email: SimPreacher@yahoo.com
