God’s heart has always been for the entire world to be blessed through the Jewish people and it’s from their lineage that God raised up a Savior for the world for which every believer in Jesus is forever grateful and indebted to the Jewish people.
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1 God birthed the nation of Israel when he called Abraham and gave him a promised son
The Bible's promises toward the people of Israel are certain and stand thousands of years since the call of Abraham in the book of Genesis. We see clearly how God chose Abraham, called him, and birthed a nation through him in the miraculous birth of his son, Isaac.
In Genesis 12, God promised on oath to Abraham a land, which later became the land of Israel. It was the Land of Canaan at the time and God made an oath with Abraham that he would give the land to him and his descendants forever.
"The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.” -
2 The Biblical promise of a blessing, a nation, and a land
With the promise to Abraham of a son, God also said that he would give Abraham an entire nation and land that they could call their own. The Bible mentions land 1483 times throughout 45 Books including a direct promise from the Lord for land for Abraham.
"The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” Genesis 13:14-17
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3 Christians understand the conflict over the land
The Bible provides answers to the ongoing conflict in the land of Israel. While God's good plan included a son, a land, and a whole nation, Abraham made one crucial mistake in his walk of faith. That mistake was taking matters into his own hands and giving birth to what the Bible calls a son of the flesh - Ishmael before the son of the promise - Isaac. These two boys represent exactly what is playing out in the Middle East.
In Genesis 16 we read the story of the birth of Ishmael and the resulting hostility between Ishmael and his relatives which is still being played out to this very day in the conflict in the Middle East.
"And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. 12 This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.” Genesis 16:11-12
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4 The promise of a Messiah from the line of Abraham of Jewish ancestry
God promised all nations would be blessed through Abraham.
God’s heart has always been for the entire world to be blessed through the Jewish people and it’s from their lineage that God raised up a Savior for the world. It is from the line of Abraham, the Jewish line that God would fulfill this promise and through the Jewish lineage, all nations would then be invited into the promise of God and most importantly a relationship with God through Jesus - the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Hatred for Jews therefore is hatred towards God because he chose Abraham and promised the Messiah through the line. Jesus is the promise for all nations. When we receive Jesus and put our trust in him, we enter the blessing of God - spiritual and physical blessings that God intended for every person who knows him.
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5 Christians understand they are grafted into the blessing of God to Abraham
Galatians 3 says that God has redeemed, or purchased a people out from bondage to sin through his blood. As Christians, we are forever grateful for the work of God in redemption, understanding the role of the law in leading us to Christ, and the work of Christ through the promise of God to redeem us from sin, death, and hell.
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
Again in Romans 11, we learn that as believers we are grafted into the promise of God.
"Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!"
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6 Shared Values
The roots of the Christian faith and the entire Old Testament is a gift from the Jewish people to the Christian believer and for that we are also eternally grateful. It is to Moses (a Jew) that the 10 Commandments were given. From these 10 Commandments and the law given to Moses has come the basis for what we now call Judeo-Christian values, morals, and basic understanding of right and wrong still to this day, some 3,000+ years after they were given to Moses. The gift of the 10 commandments has blessed every free nation on earth, providing the basis and standard of morals ever since, enduring for thousands of years.
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7 All Israel will be saved
All Israel will be saved.
As believers in Jesus, we are also waiting for and believing God for the entire "remnant" of Israel to be saved. We understand this is the will of God in the book of Romans chapter 11 where God says, "all Israel will be saved."
"Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way, all Israel will be saved."
As Christians, it is impossible to not desire that the Jews come to know their Messiah. For thousands of years they waited for a Messiah. When Jesus came, he didn't fit the idea of what a Messiah would be. He was a lowly carpenter from Nazareth that taught things like "turn the other cheek" and "forgive your enemies." These kinds of things were diametrically opposed to the Jewish mind at the time. They were expecting a "Conquering King" to overcome Rome instead of a "Suffering servant" who would die on a cross. The victory they sought was a public triumph political victory, the victory Christ brought was an invisible victory over the power of sin.
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