Stand with Israel this Purim

True Christians have long been Israel’s best friends, who truly love the Jewish people. I’ve always seen this as a reflection of our love for God, and for the Scriptures as His authoritative Word. It is those Scriptures which clearly state God’s ongoing love for His chosen Jewish people.

The Bible is clear on the point of chosenness: “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deut. 7:6 and 14:2.)

Nowhere in the Bible does God revoke His choice. In fact, God staked His reputation on His promises to His Jewish people. He goes so far as to tell Israel, “For he who touches you touches the apple of His [God’s] eye.” (Zec. 2:8) So to mistreat Israel is like poking God in the eye! A guy named Haman, known for his role of villain in the Book of Esther, discovered that the hard way!

This month Jewish people will celebrate the Festival of Purim, based on that very story, set in ancient Persia. Mordechai and Esther are the heroic figures and a nobleman named Haman is the villain. Haman, enraged by Mordechai’s refusal to bow down to him, gets permission from the King of Persia to destroy Mordechai – and not only him, but the entire Jewish nation.

Haman’s wise men and his own wife try to warn him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him” (Esther 6:13). And fall Haman did, executed on the very gallows he had prepared for Mordechai. Ever since, Jewish people read the Book of Esther in an annual celebration of these events – a celebration of God’s protection and faithfulness to preserve His people against all odds.

History is littered with the corpses of people like Haman and Hitler, who tried to destroy the Jewish people and in so doing, made themselves enemies of God. And those who stand with the Jewish people against a tide of hostility, act in alignment with God and His purposes. So, what does it mean to stand with Jewish people today?

The Jewish people are not just a nationality but a multi-national people of history and divine destiny. Still, the tiny geographic land of Israel where so much of the world’s Jewish population is concentrated, certainly presents an opportunity to stand for.

First, to stand for Israel in a biblical way means to cultivate genuine love for the people God loves. This may not be an easy task. God didn’t choose my people (or anyone else) based on our lovability. But God can share a small measure of the deep love He has for His chosen people with us all. A small measure of God’s love is all you will need to stand with Israel. You don’t have to agree with every decision Israel makes to stand with her. If love meant being in total agreement with a person or group of people, life would be pretty loveless for most of us!

Second, to stand with Israel means that because you love, you will have a commitment to pray. Haven’t you found that you pray for those you love? As the Psalmist urges, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you.” (Psalm 122:6). Praying for peace is not so much asking God for the absence of war as for the presence of shalom, spiritual wholeness, the blessing of God’s salvation and the work of His grace. The answer to such prayers comes through a saving faith in Yeshua, Israel’s Messiah.

Most of all, to stand with Israel is to believe in, to pray for and to work for the salvation of the Jewish people – salvation that only comes through faith in Messiah Jesus. As the apostle Paul wrote, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved” (Rom. 10:1).

Recently someone told me, “David, I am glad you are so burdened for your own Jewish people but frankly, it’s just not that important to me.” I understand that God gives different burdens to His children. People have an affinity for other ministries as well. I don’t expect all Bible believers to carry the burden for the salvation of Jewish people that we carry in Jews for Jesus. But anyone who loves and serves God should take joy in how He continues to keep His promises to the Jewish people – knowing that just as He has kept His word to His Chosen people throughout history, so God keeps His promises to the amazing and diverse people He has called to be His sons and daughters through Messiah Jesus. I hope you’ll join me in praying for more Bible believers to celebrate God’s love and faithfulness in all its fulness, so that they too will be able to say, “I stand with Israel.”