March 4, 2015

God made a promise to Abram thousands of years ago saying:

“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.” (Genesis 12:2-3)

The Creator of the World made this promise to Abram and hence the nation of Israel. God chose Abram to establish the nation of Israel. For thousands of years empires and nations have tried to annihilate Israel from the face of the earth and they have never been successful because God’s blessing has always been on and over the nation that He himself established through Abram.

On March 3, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the latest in a line of Israeli leaders dating back over 4,000 years to the first leader Abram, delivered a history lesson and a warning to a joint session of Congress at the invitation of House Speaker John Boehner. As Christians we should take time to remember this history and also heed the prime minister’s warning.

As a side note, a dear friend and I were supposed to be in the audience to hear the prime minister, but just days before the event I received this message: “We are terribly sorry to inform you that The Office of Sergeant at Arms notified all Members of Congress that additional security measures will be in place, and the house gallery passes will not be welcomed during the speech. Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment.”

I wanted to be there not for political reasons but because as a Christian I support Israel. It is unconscionable for a Christian who believes in Jesus Christ, the one and only God incarnate, the one who created the world and established Israel itself through Abram, to not support the Nation of Israel.

I’d like make an important distinction. Support for Israel the nation does not necessarily mean support of the political policies of the modern nation of Israel. We hear many Christians today justify their lack of support for Israel by citing opposition to one or more of the nation’s political policies. This reasoning is off the mark. There are many Christians who support, for example, the Democratic Party in the U.S. but disagree with the pro-choice and pro-gay marriage policies of the Democratic Party’s platform. So it should be for Israel.

It is also surprising that many Jews in America do not support the Nation of Israel even when any reading of the Torah clearly shows God’s love for the Nation of Israel. In a 2013 Pew Poll entitled “Connection With and Attitudes Toward Israel” the poll found that only 30 percent of Jews are “very attached” to Israel. Even worse, only 40 percent of Jews believe God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people beginning with Abram, 27 percent believe God didn’t, and an astonishing 28 percent of Jews said they don’t even believe in God!

If you don’t believe in God, then it makes sense if you don’t support the nation of Israel. For those who believe in God there should be no choice as to whether or not to support the nation of Israel. This is not a political statement; this is a following of God’s Word.

God told Abram in Genesis 13:15: “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.” God being perfect does not go back on his word. He keeps his promises.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 11 that the Jews of Israel have gone through times of disbelief where they as a people have faltered and suffered but as Netanyahu pointed out in his recent speech, through all of the years of ups and downs Israel still remains. No other nation or group of people can claim this and there is only one possible answer. God is keeping his word to persevere His nation.

The Apostle Paul also reminds us that in the end “all of Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).

What Paul is referring to here is that all of the physical and geographical land of Israel along with those Jews and non-Jews who have believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be saved in the end.

Therefore while this article might seem political or worse yet, politically incorrect, it is in fact biblically correct, which is all that matters. If you believe in God as revealed in scriptures whether that be the Torah or the Christian Bible you must stand with Israel.

Thousands of years ago, facing annihilation once again, Queen Esther took a stand for Israel. Mordecai had warned Esther that if she remained silent, relief and deliverance for the Jews would arise from another place, but her and her father’s family would perish. To which Mordecai added “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Today we join our Jewish brothers and sisters and all of Israel as they celebrate the holiday of Purim in which we remember that Esther did not remain silent but she stood for Israel by going in its defense before the king, even though it was against the law stating “if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16).

The Israeli prime minister told the American people that, “Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand.” To which I would say that if no one else, Christians will not be silent and will stand with Israel.

Remember that Jesus taught us that the greatest command of all is this “‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second being this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Mark 12:29-31).

It is clear then that God loves Israel and so should you.

About Rev. Marcos O. Almonte

Rev. Marcos O. Almonte is senior pastor at Brandywine Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist Church west of Philadelphia. Pastor Marcos is a graduate of Palmer Theological Seminary with more than 10 years working with families with an expertise in theology, trauma and addictions. Pastor Marcos and his wife Mary have three children, Carmen, Joseph, and Lincoln.

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