Should we have a special love for Israel?

If God has put Israel on your heart and stirred a special love in you for that nation then wonderful. Love Israel. Pray for Israel. Reach out to Israel. That’s a wonderful thing. Many Christians have a special love for one or two or more groups of people that God has specifically put on their heart to reach out to, like for instance Chinese people, Tibetans, Aboriginals, Muslims, Gays, Orphans etc. That’s the way God is and the way he takes care of all people. One person can’t possibly have a special love for every people group on earth and hope to reach them all, so God has a strategy to reach all. We can’t all have a special love for Israel that calls us to invest everything into that nation. What will happen to the rest of the nations of the world? Do we just neglect them? The Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his son…” God loves the whole world not just Israel. It’s unrealistic to put pressure on all Christians to have a special love for Israel. We can all still honor Israel and pray for Israel, but not a lot more than that if we’re all going to be truly effective in our calling. I don’t have a special love for Israel as though they were some special nation over and above all other nations, or that we’re supposed to love Israel a little more. God doesn’t love Israel more than other nations. In fact God doesn’t favor Israel more than other nations, as many Christians believe. It’s when we think he does that it starts to all get a bit weird and unbiblical. If you’re under an ungodly pressure to have a special love for Israel then God wants to release you. If you have spent your whole life trying to love Israel because you think it brings you some kind of special favor and blessings then God wants to release you. God doesn’t love Israel any more than he loves the “Gentile” nations. We need to see that God loves all the nations of the world and his heart is for them all. When we think that Israel is first class and all the Gentile nations are second-class we don’t have the heart of God. In fact that’s racism.

Under the Law Covenant Israel became racist, thinking themselves better and more elite than the Gentiles. They had a superiority complex. “We are the chosen ones. We have the promises. We have the Law.” As though they had done something good to deserve this. This caused elitism in Israel. It caused hostility and put enmity between Jews and Gentiles. The Jews looked down on the Gentiles and the Gentiles despised the Jews because of this. Jesus actually came to expose Israel’s self righteous heart as seen in the parable of the good Samaritan and many of his other teachings and to reveal Gods heart and love for all the nations of the world.

Yes, Israel was God’s chosen nation that the Messiah would come through and open up the way of salvation to the whole world. They were chosen to be a model nation to show the world salvation by faith vs. salvation by works, and that God’s love, favor, blessing and righteousness only comes through faith in Christ and never human merit. Romans 9 and 11 reveals this when you see that God used Israel, who first walked in blessing under the Abrahamic Covenant of faith, but then walked under curse when they went under the Law Covenant of self effort.

Romans 9:22-26 (ESV) – “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath (Israel) prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy (Gentiles), which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,

“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.'” 26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.'”

Abraham represented a people who where blessed through faith. Israel under the Law represented a people who relied on works for salvation and became the objects of Gods continual wrath. They were chosen, but not because of anything special in themselves. In fact if it had to do with merit then they would not have been chosen! Abraham was a pagan before God set him apart. God set Abraham apart to demonstrate to the world his grace favor on a person that doesn’t deserve it yet receives it through faith. But this only happened to reveal to the world Gods desire to show grace and salvation to those who don’t earn it but receive it by faith. God’s heart was always the nations. He said to Abraham, “I will bless you… and you will be a blessing to all nations.” God’s election is not exclusive of the Gentiles but ultimately inclusive of the Gentiles before time began!

Through the cross God’s election went out to all nations so that all people can be saved and be the objects of Gods mercy and love. (Romans 11)

Jesus came to remove the dividing wall of hostility that made a distinction between Jew and Gentile. He came to level the playing field and show it’s not about election or self righteousness, it’s about faith! That the way is opened to all mankind and it is the way of faith. And all who come into Christ through faith become one new nation, one new man where there are no distinctions, but all are one and loved and favored without any partiality of preference or respect to race. We become one new species of being and one new nation – together!

Ephesians 2:11 22 (ESV)

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

We should no longer make a distinction between Jew and Gentile anymore in terms of Gods chosen or Gods favored or Gods beloved, because in Christ all are Gods chosen, favored and beloved.

Galatians 3:27-29 “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

It’s fine to love Israel and Jews and pray for them and have a special place in your heart for them, but if you believe that they are more special to God and more chosen, and more superior to any other nation then you are not thinking in line with the New Covenant. You do not have God’s heart. You’re under another pressure. You still have remnants of Old Covenant thinking that need to be transitioned into a New Covenant way of thinking.

Even Peter, that great apostle, took awhile before he saw that God’s heart was for all nations and not just Israel. In fact it was only through a radical encounter with God in Acts 10 that he realized that God does not show favoritism between the Jews and Gentiles. God had to break him out of his superiority complex by bringing him down from his high horse with the stark reality that “God is no respecter of persons!”

Jesus had commissioned his disciples to preach the Gospel to all nations before he was taken up to heaven, “starting in Judea, then Samaria and then the outer most parts of the earth”. They obviously still had no idea what he was talking about then. Surely the gift of righteousness and the promise of the Spirit is only for the Jews? Even after Pentecost and revival broke out in Jerusalem (Acts 2-7) they still had no focus or intention or even a mental grid of going beyond Israel! Peter was still only eating “clean” foods and nothing that was impure according to Old Covenant law, and that very mind set was causing him to stay in Israel to only touch those that are “clean” and not go beyond and touch those that would make him “unclean!” Then in Acts 10:10 God puts Peter into a trance and gives him a vision:

“He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.”

God was symbolically referring to the Gentiles here. It just so happened that there were some Gentiles on their way from the household of Cornelius, a “Gentile” from Caesarea, who believed in and prayed to God but who was not yet born again. Through a dramatic chain of events in Acts 10 Peter ends up at Cornelius’ household preaching to them all. Through these events Peter finally has the revelation: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism…” (Verse 34.)

While preaching, they all get born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. By then Peter had realized what was happening but the other Jewish believers who had come with Peter were shocked!

“The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.” (Vs. 44,45)

“Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”

Peter and his Jewish companions finally realized that God is no respecter of Jews or Gentiles but that all are made one in Christ. However, the rest of Apostles and brother had yet to come into this thinking.

Is it possible we still hold some of this kind of thinking in our own hearts and minds regarding a distinction between Jew and Gentile?

Acts 11:1

“The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

Peter then goes through the whole story with them to help them transition and this is their response in verse 18:

“When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

Perhaps it’s time we transition our thinking too? God’s heart is for all the nations of the world. His favor and love and election is now toward all the world through Christ! He is no longer choosing one nation over another or giving special privileges to one and not another. The way has been opened through Christ. God has reconciled Jews and Gentiles through Christ and brought down every wall of division. The way of peace has been opened up to every person on earth without any preference. God is the ultimate non-racist! You cannot have his heart and be racist in any way or think that one person has more chance of Gods favor because of their pedigree or even their performance. No God’s mercy is to all nations calling them in. Calling them to be reconciled to himself through faith in Christ. That is the ultimate leveler – faith in Christ. It removes all merit based on birthright or self righteous performance and says that anyone who believes can come and be saved. It’s only through Christ. He and him alone is our boast. Outside of Christ no one is acceptable, no one is righteous, no one deserves God’s favor and salvation.

Do you know that the most unloving anti-Semetic thing you can say to a Jewish person is that they will be saved in the end regardless of if they have faith in Christ or not! It’s a distortion of the Word of God and changes the Gospel. It’s as bad as saying to one of you beloved family members who hates God and is a rebel against God, that is doesn’t matter, they will be saved in the end anyway even if they continue to reject Christ and don’t have faith in him. No, they need to humble themselves and let go of self righteousness and their faith in themselves. They need to receive Gods gift of righteousness through faith in Christ and be born again.

Some people think that Romans 11 shows that all of Israel will ultimately be saved because they always were God’s chosen people. I cannot stress enough that we must be so careful to read Romans chapter 11 in context otherwise we will create a second Gospel like this, that doesn’t require faith in Christ. All of Israel is not going to be saved unless they put their faith in Christ. This is one of the major points being made in Romans 11 that comes through very strongly. A very key scripture is in verse 23, which says concerning modern day Israel, “And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.” So just like every other nation on earth Israel needs to put their faith in Christ. There’s no other way to the Father but through Christ. The most loving thing you can do for a Jewish person, or any other person for that matter, is tell them this.

So you can go to Israel every year, and learn all the customs if you feel to. You can buy a prayer Shawl and other memorabilia if you’re into that. You can give money to Israel and prayer for Israel if God has put that on your heart to do like you would for any other nation of the world. But please don’t think that you are earning special favor with God by doing that over and above others who are doing the same thing for another nation. Please don’t think that God requires you to love Israel more than any other nation, or to put pressure on other Christians to abandon their calling and focus in other harvest fields in order to get involved in something that God is not even calling them to. If you’ve come under this pressure then be released today! Have a love for all nations, yes. Prayer for all nations, yes. But give yourself to the field that God has called you to, and if you can go beyond that at times when God stirs then wonderful. I thank God for people who protect Israel and care for Israel, but it’s not everyone’s duty. There are other nations. Don’t feel it’s your duty to love and protect Israel if God has put other nations on your heart. Don’t come under the pressure of Old Covenant prayers or exhortations to “pray for the peace of Israel” but bring all of that into the New Covenant context. Don’t feel as though God is unhappy with you because you haven’t done much for his “beloved people”. The truth is, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his son Jesus Christ!” The whole world are his beloved people!

Let this Gospel of Gods love, favor and blessing go out to all nations on this precious planet and not restrict it to just one!