As I write this blog, Israel is on day 20 of war with Hamas. This story has dominated the news headlines for the last 3 weeks and increased the conversation about "why is Israel so important to the Church and the world?" This is a great question since this place is smaller than the state of New Hampshire with no vital natural resources. But the reason is not a natural one as you might guess. Israel and Jerusalem are actually the most important places in the world, which leads to more controversy and conflict than any other place in the nations. And this is because of supernatural reasons! Though this subject is deep and multifaceted I will try to simply state why Israel is such a lightning rod in human history and vital to the fullness of the Kingdom of God now and in the age to come.
First of all, Abram was promised 4,000 years ago that through his "seed," all nations would be blessed. This was repeated multiple times to the 75-year-old man even being sealed with a blood covenant in Genesis 15. God's heart has always been to bless the nations. Adam and Eve failed in that purpose. But the Lord had a plan that He would choose a man and promise that through his family and specifically, his seed, all nations would be blessed. This plan has not and never will change!
Secondly, the apostle Paul in Galatians 3 reveals that the "Seed" that will be the blessing to the earth is the great-great-great-great grandson, Jesus Christ, not Isaac. Jesus is the Seed that God spoke to Abraham about. The blessing promised is the salvation that is offered to all nations in and through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection.
Thirdly, natural Israel's two-fold response to the "Seed" is what delivers this blessing to all nations according to Romans 11:12. “Now if their (1) trespass (rejection) means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, (2) how much more will their full inclusion mean!” Romans 11:12 ESV
The first response, in the past and now, was the rejection of the Seed which led to His death and resurrection and also the gospel being opened to all nations not just Israel. Israel's rejection of Jesus has meant "riches" to the nations in that millions and millions of Gentiles(nations) have been saved.
Their second response, in the future, will be the acceptance of the Seed which will lead to a "how much more" release of rich blessings. This is believed to be a sort of "super-nova" explosion of salvation blessing to all nations which will lead to the end of the age and the second coming. Later in Romans 11:26, Paul will say, "all Israel will be saved". So again, they will be a blessing to all the earth even as God promised to Abraham.
As a side note, anti-semitism, whether from Haman, Herod, Hitler, or Hamas, is a satanic assault by the Enemy to cut off and destroy the vessel of blessing to the earth. For when this full blessing is released, the Devil himself will be judged eternally. So he inspires raging irrational hate of Jews that comes with a mission of killing them all.
So in summary, God made a promise that Abraham would be the vessel of blessing to the earth. Jesus is the ultimate blessing. Israel's rejection and acceptance will release blessing to all nations. So we care for Israel, not because of political reasons but rather for prophetic ones. We do not approve of all the behavior of natural Israel. What we agree with is God's unchanging promise that Israel is the promised vessel of blessing to the nations. And so we pray for Israel to be saved in order to increase the rich blessings of salvation and rule in all the earth.
