Blessing Israel

Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

At some point in my childhood, I was taught by multiple influencers of my life—parents, school teachers, peers, etc., to never say never and always, because it was a signal I was exaggerating. We’ve probably all figured out that this is for the most part, true. But, I have also learned that when God uses words like always, never, forever, etc., He means exactly what He says and every word He speaks is true!

To Abram God spoke the forever word. He said He was going to bless Abram (Abraham) and his descendents forever! In Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV we read about it. “Get out of your country, from your family and from our father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Concerning this land, God continued to say “…for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.” (Genesis 13:15 NKJV)

The Bible tells us that God never changes and that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever! Since the moment God promised this land to Abram, and Abram had faith in what God promised him, this land has always belonged to Abraham and his descendants—not just then, but FOREVER! Why? Because it was God’s to give and He promised and gave it to Abraham. Because of Abraham’s faith and trust in God, God raised up a people group of faith—Abraham being the father of this people group—the Jews, to establish this covenant with. Through Abraham and the Jews, God would reveal Himself and His ways to the world! Those that recognized and supported Israel and what God has promised were blessed. Those that opposed them become enemies of God. That is what you just read. And God said this land would belong to Abraham and his descendants forever! Every nation that has attacked the Jewish people throughout the years, has either been obliterated as a nation or paid a very steep price for their attack on Israel and the Jews. Does this mean that Israel and the Jewish people are perfect or never makes mistakes? We know better than that. But they are the nation that God chose to initially introduce Himself to the world. They are called the Apple of His Eye. When Jesus returns, He’ll descend to Israel from where He ascended into Heaven.

God warns Christians in Romans chapter 11 to never become arrogant toward the Jews just because we know the Messiah is Jesus, while they are still awaiting the Messiah to come. If you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior but your dad or mom or brother or sister don’t, that doesn’t make you better than them. That puts an obligation upon you to pray for them and their salvation and be a light to them. And so it is between Christians and Jews. They are God’s children and discipline and judgment toward Israel does not belong to any nation or person. It belongs to God Himself. Romans 11:25 (NLT2) says that their time to receive Jesus as Savior will come! “I
want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will
not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts,
but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.” This is just a morsel of why we should love and support Israel. What many are blind to, is that God has used the nation of Israel to bring blessing to the entire world including giving us Jesus! He was born a Jew! (65 top ways Israel is saving our planet)

In writing about Israel, a sweet 57 year old woman named Janice shared this story moving story about God’s hand on her husband, a man that blessed persecuted Jews.

I am married to a 75 year old German immigrant who came to the US after WW II with his mother and brother. As a little boy, he remembered that a group of prisoners were being held in a temporary camp near his home. He was young and didn’t understand the persecution of Jews, but they were under guard and it was forbidden to help them. Somehow, He got the idea at the tender age of 7 or 8 that they needed help. So he and his brother pilfered his mother’s potatoes and laid them by the back fence. He did this several days. Then one day a prisoner grabbed my husband’s hand as he was leaving some potatoes. In it, the prisoner slipped a beautifully hand carved miniature bird with detailed feathers and outspread wings. The next day the prisoners were gone.

My husband and his family narrowly escaped death many times during the final bombings of Germany. God had His hand on them so many times, from sparing him from a strafing run, to not stepping on a land mine, to the quirky decision not to hide in a particular bomb shelter the day that his town was completely leveled by Allied forces. He and his family would later be dug out of another collapsed shelter and realize that everyone in the old shelter had been killed. He nearly starved to death after the war. Being a refugee is not exactly easy. But God allowed them to outrun the Russian Army and make it to an American refugee camp where his mother would meet and marry an American soldier. How I ended up with him is another story…

Oddly enough, my husband became a paratrooper in the American army and earned his “jump wings,” a little like the wings on the wooden bird. Hmm! When he had a parachute collapse on him during a training exercise, he would have been killed instantly if he had landed on solid ground. God led him to a strange place to fall – the “honeywell” of a Japanese farmer. (A honeywell is a pit that was usually covered and filled with human and animal waste used for fertilizing the fields.) His boots crashed through the plywood boards over the honeywell and he landed in VERY soft and shock absorbent poo that went up to his chin. (I thought of the prophet they threw in the well and wondered if that’s where they put that man!!) Does God have a sense of humor? I think so! Does this sound like a number of miracles in his life to you?

There is a special promise of blessing to those who love and support Israel. As the gentleman in our story, Renee and I, and countless others have experienced the words, “I will bless those who bless you…” It is critical that as Christians, the Jewish people see our love, and that our nation support Israel ALWAYS!

Genesis 12:3 (NLT) “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

In His love,
Pastor Tim Burt

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