Greg Laurie - Why Israel Matters? (11/18/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie explains in this special message why Israel holds such a unique place in God's plan and in today's world. Anchoring in Genesis 12, he shows God's unchanging promises to Abraham and the Jewish people, highlights their central role in salvation history through the Messiah, and stresses that blessing Israel brings blessing while cursing it brings consequences. The message affirms Israel's prophetic regathering as a key end-times sign and calls Christians to stand with God's chosen people.
Why Israel Matters Today
Alright. Well let's grab our Bibles and turn to Genesis chapter 12. And this is a special message that I am doing tonight. It won't be as long as my normal message is. Don't be that happy about that. And the title of it is "Why Israel Matters."
You know hardly a day goes by when you don't hear at least one mention of the nation Israel or the city of Jerusalem or the Jewish people in general. Why do these people, the Jews, occupy such a singular position in the world today? Why is it that the nation Israel, which is 154th among the nations in land size, plays such a prominent role in the world today? By the way, you could fit 32 nation Israels in the state of Texas. Why is Jerusalem, not New York or LA or Paris or Moscow or Beijing, so often mentioned?
Here is a simple and short answer. Because the Jewish people have been chosen by God.
God's Sovereign Choice of Israel
Amos chapter 3 verse 2 says of Israel, "You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth." But why did God choose the Jewish people? Deuteronomy 7:7 gives the answer. "The Lord did not set His love upon you or choose you, because you were more in number than other people, for you were the fewest. He chose you because He loved you."
Now some today would set aside the Jewish people, set aside the nation Israel, and say they have no relationship with God. There is no covenant that God has with them any longer. But that is not correct. Nor is it biblical. The original promise that God made to Abraham and his descendants has not been completely fulfilled.
These are promises God gave to Abram, later to be called Abraham, and his descendants. And they are very specific. God says in Genesis 12, and that is sort of my anchor text here, "I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. And I will bless those that bless you. And I will curse those that curse you. And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
And isn't that true? The whole world has been blessed by the Jewish people. I mean think about this. God delivered His Word through Hebrew prophets to the Jewish people. The Jewish people gave us the Ten Commandments that are the basis of morality. And God gave us our Messiah, our Lord, our Savior, Jesus Christ, who was a Jewish man.
The Jewish Roots of Christianity
Sometimes people forget this. Christianity did not form in a vacuum. Our faith came from a place called Israel. And through a chosen people, the Jews, the gospel is a Jewish message about a Jewish Messiah given to Jewish disciples.
You know, fact is, not being Jewish myself, I knew nothing about this people or about their nation before I was a Christian. But after I became a believer, I began to read the Word of God, Old and New Testament, which is all inspired by Him. And I started discovering the unique role that the Jewish people play. And I realized that I, as a Gentile, as a non-Jew, have been grafted in to the promises God made to His people.
As Jesus said to the woman at the well, "salvation is of the Jews." And Paul identifies the unique role they have when he said, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
And that is probably why Satan hates the Jewish people. Because Satan hates what God loves. The devil is the author of anti-Semitism, which is growing of late, tragically. And the anti-Semitism that has been directed at the Jewish people historically in the name of Christ has been so misguided, sinful, and wicked.
The Sin of Anti-Semitism and God's Warnings
Sometimes people have said, well, these are the people that killed Jesus. Newsflash, the Jews didn't kill Jesus. I killed Jesus. You killed Jesus. Our sins put Jesus on the cross. And more to the point, the Father sent the Son to die for the sin of the world. So to use that as a basis or a justification for anti-Semitism is just absolute insanity.
And this goes back many years. Probably the first anti-Semitic act we saw is in the book of Exodus when the Pharaoh gave the command that all the Jewish baby boys would be put to death. Fast forward to the book of Esther. And there's a wicked plot hatched by a man named Haman where all of the Jewish people were to be exterminated.
Now fast forward to the Holocaust where six million people, six million Jewish people died in the concentration camps of Adolf Hitler. So as that scripture is said, those who have cursed Israel and the Jewish people have paid a price.
Look back historically at nations like Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Rome. They all persecuted the Jews. They all collapsed as world powers. I already alluded to Germany once a world power devastated after World War II and justly so. Spain is another illustration. In 1492 the Jews were told to leave Spain or convert to Catholicism. None of their money or possessions could be taken with them. Spain collapsed as a world power.
Blessing Those Who Bless Israel
"I'll curse those that curse you." But he also said, "I'll bless those that bless you." And the United States has stood as a staunch ally of the nation Israel since their formation as a nation on May 14, 1948. And one of the reasons God has blessed our country is because we have blessed the nation Israel.
Now let me make a provocative statement. I think that America needs Israel more than Israel needs America. Because we need the blessing of God. And I don't like the way things are going right now in our relation with them in our nation. I hope that turns back in the future.
But God goes on to say in verse 7 here in Genesis 12, "To your offspring I will give this land." And then in Genesis 15:18 God makes clear what the land is that He's giving to Israel. It says, "In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham. I've given this land to your seed. From the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates."
Then in Joshua chapter 1 God reiterates that the land of Israel belongs to the descendants of Abraham. Because we read there after the death of Moses the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister saying, "Moses my servant is dead. Now arise. Go over this Jordan you and your people to the land I will give him. And to the sons of Israel every place a soul of your foot will tread upon that I have given you. From the wilderness in this Lebanon. Even to the great river Euphrates to the land of the Hittites."
Israel's History of Exile and Return
And so the Israelites eventually possessed their land. Their capital became Jerusalem. But as time passed they constantly turned to false gods. And the Lord warned them through the prophets to not do this or a time of judgment would come. Well they continued to disobey. And that judgment came and the Jewish people were taken into captivity in Babylon for 70 years.
They eventually were released to return to the land. This is where the story of Nehemiah comes in. Where they are rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem again. So established there in their land.
Fast forward now to the time of King Herod. Also the time when Jesus Christ started His public ministry. Israel is under Roman occupation. Christ has His ministry. He is crucified. He rises again from the dead. And He ascends to heaven.
But He gave a warning about the Jewish temple. Called Herod's temple sometimes. He says this temple will be dismantled stone by stone. And He talked about great hardships that would come. And that happened in 70 AD when Titus and the Roman legions came in and drove the Jews out.
And though there were some still left in the land, by and large it was not an Israeli nation for many, many years. But then the Bible is very specific in pointing out that the Jewish people would be spread around the world. They would be sent to the four corners of the earth.
The Prophetic Regathering of the Jewish People
And then God told us one of the signs of the last days would be the regathering of the Jewish people into their homeland. Ezekiel 37 and 38 deal with this in great depth. And Ezekiel predicted that they would rise from their graves. In fact, the Lord directed Ezekiel to go into a graveyard and preach to the people. And I preached to some dead audiences. That's the worst I've ever seen.
And He said these bones are the people of Israel and they'll live again and they'll rise again. And there we see them coming back to life. And that was alluding to the fact that the whole house of Israel are going to return again to the land. God says, "I'll open your graves, cause you to come up from your graves and bring you to the land of Israel."
Speaking on the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz, in Poland, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following statement. And I quote, "The Jewish people rose from ashes and destruction from a terrible pain that can never be healed. Armed with the Jewish spirit and the justice of man and the vision of the prophets, we sprouted new branches and grew deep roots. And dry bones became covered with flesh. And a spirit filled them and they lived and stood on their own feet, as Ezekiel prophesied." End quote.
That is pretty amazing that the Prime Minister of Israel understood that this nation is indeed a fulfillment of prophecy. And the return of the Jewish people to their homeland is indeed a super sign.
Jerusalem: The Center of God's End-Time Plan
When people ask me, what do you think is the main sign, the biggest sign that points to the return of the Lord? I say, it's certainly the return of the Jewish people to their homeland, against all odds. After the horrors of the Holocaust, after six million of their people had been lost, they began to return to their land again.
But God not only said they would return to their land, but He told us that Jerusalem would play a key role in the end time scenario. And after the modern state of Israel was declared in 1948, Jerusalem was still divided. Jordan retained control over the Old City, including the Temple Mount and most historic sites.
But during the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel was attacked, Israeli forces were able to drive back their enemies and also capture the Old City of Jerusalem, reunifying it and bringing it under Jewish control for the first time in over 2,000 years. And fulfilling Bible prophecy to a T.
But that's where the rub comes in. Because Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with many Arab leaders worldwide insisting Jerusalem and the entire West Bank are rightfully Palestinian territory and must be given back as a condition of peace.
But we need to remember, God gave this land to the Jewish people. It's their land. And the city of Jerusalem, what an amazing city that is. Isn't it amazing that this tiny little city creates such a stir? More wars have been fought at the gates of Jerusalem than any city on the face of the earth.
And by the way, the name Jerusalem means city of peace. Why this hostility toward this tiny little city? Why this significance? Because she plays a key role in God's plan for today and tomorrow.
Jerusalem's Past, Present, and Future Role
Jerusalem is the nerve center of the world geographically. It's the salvation center of the world spiritually. It's the storm center of the world prophetically. It's the glory center of the world. Ultimately, Jerusalem is a city of the past, the present, and the future.
First, it's a city of the past. I mean, when we travel to Israel, and we're going to go there next year and lead a tour. Hope you all can join us. But it's just such an amazing place to watch the sun set and rise on this golden city. And to think of the events that happened there. This is the place where David ruled. This was the place of Solomon's temple. This was the place where the very glory of God came down. This is the place where Jesus Christ had a good part of His public ministry where He was crucified. This is the place where He rose. There's just so much history in Jerusalem.
But Jerusalem is not only the city of the past. It's also the city of the present. When the Jews formed a nation on May 14th, a modern day miracle took place. And now they're back in their land again. So that reminds us it's very current.
But it's also the city of the future. Because world history focuses on the Middle East, specifically around Israel, and specifically around Jerusalem. God says He would make her a burdensome stone. And all that raised their hand against her would suffer as a result.
So, as Christians, we are commanded to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And God says of the Jewish people in Zechariah 2:8, "Whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye." Or as another translation puts it, "Whoever touches you touches my most precious possession."
And that is why we at Harvest stand with the Jewish people. And we stand with the nation Israel. We bless God. And we thank God for them.
Lessons from the Ten Boom Family
One of my favorite books is The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. How many of you have read that book? If you've never read it, just go find a copy and read it. An amazing true story of the Ten Boom family who were watchmakers in Holland. And they were also committed followers of Jesus Christ.
Well, as the Nazis were coming into power and the persecution of the Jews began, the Ten Boom family felt it was their responsibility to take in these Jewish folks and hide them from the Nazis. So they took them into their home, and we've actually visited their home there in Holland.
And they would have a wall, but behind the wall there would be what you might call a small room, better described as a hallway. So sort of a false wall hiding places where Jewish people could be hid. And when it was all said and done, the Ten Boom family saved hundreds of Jewish lives from the Nazis.
But the word started getting around and the Nazis were suspicious and they would raid the home, but they could never find anybody because they were hiding in these carefully crafted walls and so forth. But finally, someone betrayed them, actually a Dutch citizen, and the entire family was given a choice.
The Nazis said, if you stop hiding these Jewish people, we'll leave you alone. But if you continue to do this, we're going to send you to concentration camps. Well, they couldn't stop. And so Casper Ten Boom, Corrie's father, a very old man at this point, Betsy, Corrie's sister, and Corrie herself were sent to concentration camps.
Casper Ten Boom, the father, died quickly after he was put in this camp. And Corrie and Betsy ended up in a camp called Ravensbrück. And there they brought hope and comfort to so many of the others that were in that camp.
But there's an interesting story that Corrie tells in one of her books while they were watching the Jews rounded up by the Nazis. She says, and I quote, "One day as father and I were returning from our walk, we found the groat market cordoned off by a double ring of police and soldiers. The truck was parked in front of the fish mart, and in the back were climbing men, women, and children, all wearing the yellow star."
You remember the Nazis would take this armband and it had the Star of David on it. And the Jewish people were forced to wear this to identify themselves to the Nazis. So Corrie says, "Father, these poor people, these poor people," father echoed. But to my surprise, I saw he was looking at the soldiers now forming into ranks to march away. He says, "I pity the poor Germans, Corrie, they've touched the apple of God's eye."
And that is true. So just like the ten Booms, we as Christians need to stand by our Jewish friends. We need to speak up for the nation Israel because they are still God's chosen people. And God has a very special plan for them.