Behold Israel

By Ben Girod

September 1, 2019

And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. (Genesis 13:14–15)

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. (Romans 11:25–27) 

Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name: if those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:35–37)

It is true that many people today consider God’s promises to the Jews to be obsolete and invalid. This seemingly is a deeply established thought among us Anabaptists of today—one that I personally believed in for many years. As the Lord began opening my eyes to the thought that He indeed had not yet forsaken Israel, His “firstborn” (Exodus 4:22), it caused a severe paradigm shift within my heart. I also discovered that there is a certain shame attached when one accepts the Jews as yet being God’s people.

To the contrary, the Palestinians in the “West Bank” are well accepted and supported by some mainline Mennonites, and that certainly has its merits in helping the poor.

However, the perpetual hatred for the Jews that has marked their entire history should not be found among us non-resistant Anabaptists, for they still bear the root, while we as a wild olive branch have been grafted in (Romans 11:17–21).  We need to remember that Paul was a Jew. He understood that once the Gentile age would be fulfilled, God would once again turn back to the Jews, the beloved seed of Abraham.

The question arises, Why is Israel the center of attention today throughout the globe? What is it about her that grips the heart of the nations?  Most want to see them annihilated and done away with for whatever reason.

 There can be but one logical reason for such animosity: God the Father has not forsaken His promise to Abraham. He will yet, in fulfillment of time, bless His seed. We should remember that this is God’s plan—a plan that will override every other human thought or authority—a plan that has its roots deep within God’s Word—a plan that will bring into fulfillment God’s historical design for both Jew and Gentile, which is why the gates of hell stops at nothing in the attempt to abort this divine eternal plan.

You and I were given the grand opportunity to be alive today and to be incorporated in God’s unfolding end-time scenario. If we can but fathom God’s heart in the matter—we will come alongside His plan.  Deep biblical and spiritual discernment is required if we are to succeed in our spiritual journey with Him today.  To take offense of the Jews, is to take offense of God. There was a time when I revolted against such a thought.  Even so, the day has come; God is revealing Himself like no other time in history. Bless His name!

« Back to Articles