The recent attack on Israel and the descriptions of the utter depravity of the crimes perpetrated on civilians by Hamas have many hearts grieving. And rightly so. Though there are times when this would not be an absolute rule, this is clearly a time to “weep with those who weep” (Rom 12:15b).
At the same time, this attack can provoke discussions and speculations about the end times. Depending on one’s understanding of the Bible’s teaching on these issues, what’s happening in Israel may have you thinking about Christ’s return and Israel place in redemptive history. And the danger is that these thoughts will overshadow the need at the moment to pray for Israel.
So, how can we think about Israel in biblically faithful ways which lead us to weep and pray for them during this tragic time?
Remember God’s Mercy
Paul’s argument in Romans is driven, in part, to see the Jewish and Gentile Christians unified in the gospel and its mission in the world. He tells the Jewish believers not to be arrogant about their heritage; their salvation is evidence of God’s grace in their life as many Jews had not believed (11:1–10; cf. 3:26–31). At the time same, he tells the Gentiles not to be boastful in the rapid spread of the gospel among the Gentiles. All the more, their salvation is by God’s mercy alone because they had no part in God’s covenant people until he grafted them in to the tree of Israel like a wild branch (Rom 11:17–21). Paul says be humble because “it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you” (11:18). We remember our Jewish roots and that mercy by which all his people—Jews and Gentiles—have come to salvation (11:32).
Consider God’s Plan
God long ago planned to bring into his kingdom the Gentile people (Gen 12:1–3). As Gentile believers we’ve been grafted into God’s people, but Israel was there naturally. This means we should not be too quick to cast off our Jewish roots. This doesn’t mean a return the Israelite law, festivals, etc.! These were gracious gifts to Israel but ultimately shadows of the substances that is Christ (Col 2:16–17). We don’t look back in that sense! At the same time, do we pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Ps 122:6)? Do we, like Paul, pray for the salvation of the Jewish people (Rom 10:1)? These are appropriate expression of remembering our Jewish heritage. Also bear in mind that the current political state of Israel is not the same as old covenant Israel. They have a president and a prime minister, rather than a king. They do not follow the old covenant law as their governing document. By and large, they do not worship Yahweh. That means that we cannot sanction or excuse everything that modern Israel does. At the same time, that doesn’t mean that we should despise them.
Pray for God’s Peace
Just the opposite. However we understand it, the promise of God is that “Israel will be saved” (Rom 11:25). Therefore, we ought to pray that promise. When we pray for people, it is that good and perfect peace that we should be praying for them. Of course, we want the fighting, bloodshed, and atrocities to end in the short-term! But in the long time—in light of eternity itself—what Israel needs is to find refuge in the Prince of Peace who will fully and finally reconcile them to Yahweh with an everlasting salvation; not by the blood of bulls and goats, but one secured by the precious blood of Jesus (1 Pet 1:19; cf. Isa 9:6). Thus, as we pray for the peace of a political nation state, let us all the more pray for the grace of the gospel of Christ to permeate the land and people of Israel. Let us long for the people who brought forth the God’s Messiah, trust him to shepherd their lives now and in the life to come that they might experience a peace that never ends.
MAGNIFY CHRIST 