Tag: Genesis 12:1-3

Why Stand with Israel?

On By CarmenLeave a comment

Israel has been on my mind daily since the brutal attack on its people on October 7, 2023. I have thought incessantly about the war between Israel and its enemies—Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Iran, etc.

Appalling events happen in war, whether intentionally or unintentionally. It has been this way throughout history, and it is better to avoid war if possible. 

This war was started because Hamas and its allies have one goal in common—annihilate the country of Israel and its people.

Israel has no alternative but to defend itself.

What would you do if someone invaded your home and tried to kill your family?

I would certainly defend mine.  

Over the last year, I have recalled important scriptures to advocate the call to support Israel and I have studied even more to help me be sure that I follow God’s word.

I have felt compelled to explain why we should support Israel.

First, it was important for me to lay some groundwork, which I have done in my previous posts, Israel—Chosen by God.

In today’s post, I will reiterate what the Bible says about God’s relationship and love for Israel, referencing His covenant with Israel and why He chose Israel. I will also restate God’s wondrous gift to mankind through Israel and conclude with His sovereignty over all creation and His promise to defend Israel against its enemies.

God’s Covenant with Israel

God’s eternal covenant with Israel is found throughout scripture and begins with God promising Abraham to make him a great nation that would bring blessings to the entire world.

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:1-3

It’s our support of the nation of Israel that renders blessings—especially in their time of need.

God’s Decree for Israel to Live Righteously

God chose Israel because He wanted a nation to follow His ways and receive His blessings to thrive and be a witness to other nations.

God provided specific laws for man to follow that are righteous and bring blessing.

These laws were given to Israel because He did not want them to commit the abominations of the people He rejected. (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)

This is why God gave Israel the land they inhabit today—and even more land that they failed to enter into.

Was Israel always obedient to God in following His commands?

No. It is recorded in scripture that Israel disobeyed God and followed after the customs of their neighbors. They essentially rejected God. And since He is a God of justice, He had to discipline His beloved children.

However, when Israel turned back to God, He forgave them and reestablished them as He said He would.

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts…

Malachi 3:6

God’s Deliverance of Israel

Israel is God’s chosen people, and He will always draw them back to Him.

Israel has been attacked by other nations commencing with Assyria’s invasion in 733 BC. Since then, Israel has been under attack and its people have been scattered throughout the world.

They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Luke 21:24

“The times of the Gentiles” refers to the period of the Gentile invasion of Israel starting with the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC and ending with the future return of Jesus Christ to earth. This return will mark Christ’s defeat of Israel’s enemies, and He will set up His kingdom in Jerusalem to rule the nations during the millennium.

God’s Gift to Mankind through Israel

God chose Israel to provide redemption through His only Son, Jesus Christ.

This forgiveness of sins is a gift to all mankind if they surrender their lives to Christ by professing their faith in Him, asking Him for forgiveness of their sins, and abiding in Him. 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” 

John 3:16-18

The people and nations who believe in Jesus Christ are blessed through the seed of Abraham and his descendants just as God promised.

The United States of America has been blessed because of its foundation built upon Jesus Christ, because of the Jews who came here and made this their home, and because of our alliance with Israel and recognition of the reestablishment of its statehood in 1948.

Our nation indeed has many flaws and I pray that we would repent and turn back to God wholeheartedly; that we would not follow man, but God and His decrees; and that we would continue to stand by Israel—because God has ordained it. 

God’s Sovereignty over All Creation

God set His plan in action and will not be deterred. He is the creator of all things! 

The apostle Paul asserts that God is sovereign and can do what He wants, how He wants.

 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”

 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Romans 11:33-36

Once you become a student of the Bible, you begin to understand why the events of today are taking place and what the future holds. There is so much information in scripture about the past, present, and future events of the world, I cannot share it all here in one post.

God makes it clear that He will never turn His back on Israel. He may chastise Israel, but He will always be watching Israel and will make good on His promise to defend His beloved nation.

If I forget you, Jerusalem,
    may my right hand forget its skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
    my highest joy.

Psalm 137:5-6

God’s Battle Against Israel’s Enemies

As stated previously, when Jesus Christ comes back to this earth, He will defend Israel by engaging in battle against Israel’s enemies and definitively defeat them.  

Behold, a day is coming for the LORD…For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle…Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward…Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him…On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea…And the LORD will be king over all the earth…But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security. And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other…And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance.                                                                                          

Zechariah 14:1-14

I take God at His Word and understand that we should stand with Israel, pray for Israel, and teach others the truth in God’s word about Israel.

May we turn our hearts, prayers, and support toward Israel and stand strong with this chosen nation of God.

And—may we also pray for the innocent Palestinians who are caught up in this war. It is pure evil for the Hamas terrorists to use their own people as shields in a time of war.

Shalom שָׁלוֹם

Below is a beautiful song that demonstrates Israel’s ongoing affliction and future hope.

Woe to My Country

Israel—Chosen by God: A Blessing to All

On By CarmenLeave a comment

The nation of Israel was chosen by God to be a blessing to all people.

In my nine previous posts, the Israel—Chosen by God series, scripture has been clear about this promise God made to Abraham, the father of Israel, and to every generation of Israel until the end of time.    

God chose Israel to be His nation, to follow His ways (which results in blessing), and to provide the ultimate blessing—a Savior.

This promise was first made to Abraham in Genesis.

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

                                                                                                             Genesis 12:1-3

This same promise was reiterated by God to Isaac, Abraham’s son of promise in Genesis 26:2-5, and later to Jacob, Isaac’s son, in Genesis 28:13-15.

Jacob’s name was changed by God to Israel when he was on his way back to Canaan. Israel means “he strived with God and prevailed.” (Genesis 32:24-31)

So, it is from the nation of Israel that the blessed promise was given to all mankind.

This promise is salvation through Jesus Christ, a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

                                                                                                           Matthew 1:1-17

Jesus’s birth was planned from the beginning of time. The Bible is about the creation of the world, sin, redemption, and defeating evil.

Jesus Christ is the center theme of the Bible and He was with God the Father at the creation of the world. (John 1:1-3)

Jesus is our redemption that was promised and prophesied throughout the Old Testament by the prophets, and He is the God man who left the throne-room in heaven and came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem of Judea in Israel.

He came to this world to teach truth, love, and forgiveness, but most importantly, to be the sacrificial Lamb.

The apostle John who walked with Jesus during His ministry here on earth testifies to this.

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

                                                                                                                 1 John 2:1-2

The only perfect human to live on this earth was destined to become the sacrifice for our sins—perfection taking on the iniquity of the whole world.

This is how God the Father planned the redemption of mankind, past, present, and future.    

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

                                                                                                               John 3:16-18

Jesus did not come to this earth to condemn it, but to save the world through drawing the lost to Himself.

He is the fulfillment of the Law given by Moses, not the replacement of the Law, as some may think.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” 

                                                                                                         Matthew 5:17-18

One of the godly men that I have followed over twenty years is John F. McArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church and host of Grace to You, national Christian media ministry.

He explains Matthew 5:17-18 stating, “Jesus was neither giving a new law nor modifying the old, but rather explaining the true significance of the moral content of Moses’ law and the rest of the OT…Christ was indicating that he is the fulfillment of the law in all its aspects. He fulfilled the moral law by keeping it perfectly…And he fulfilled the judicial law by personifying God’s perfect justice.”

McArthur further clarifies, “Christ was affirming the utter inerrancy and absolute authority of the OT as the word of God—down to the smallest stroke or letter…This should not be seen as supplanting and abrogating the OT, but as fulfilling and explicating it.”

Therefore, the ceremonial requirements of the law (Colossians 2:16-23) were fulfilled by Jesus Christ and are no longer required to be followed by Christians. However, other mandates of the law are not to be abolished and very much remain as a standard of scriptural truth in the New Testament. 

Because Jesus obeyed His Father in heaven and died for our sins—the whole world’s sins, we are resolved of our past wrongs if we surrender our lives to Him, ask Him for forgiveness of our sins, and abide in Him.

Jesus’s sacrificial love for us along with our personal acknowledgment of His deity and following Him in obedience shields us from eternal damnation.  

We are indeed blessed through Israel; if from Israel we were given Christ, what better blessing can we acknowledge?

From the twelfth chapter of Genesis, we have been called to bless Israel.

We should certainly want to because of what God has given us through the nation of Israel: Our Lord and Savior—and with Him, forgiveness, freedom, blessings, and eternal life with God.

If you have not yet surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, who gives us eternal life through His loving sacrifice, I hope you will do so today.

I will be happy to help you in making your decision for Christ in any way that I can. Send me a message in the comments and I will respond.

I hope this series has been a blessing to you and has helped you understand why we should bless Israel.

Join me next for Why Stand with Israel?

Below is a song that glorifies our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May it bless you.

“Thank You Jesus for the Blood” – Charity Gayle

Israel—Chosen by God: Abraham

On By Carmen3 Comments

The nation of Israel represents the people that God chose to be His very own which started with a promise to the patriarch Abraham.

In Genesis 11, we find Abraham, originally named Abram, descended nine generations from Shem (son of Noah). When Abraham was around 70 years old, he was called by God to leave his country in Mesopotamia to go to a land that God promised him where He would make of him a great nation. This promise is known as the Abrahamic Covenant.


Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1-3

So, Abraham believed God and left the land of Ur. Abraham followed God through many lands and trials because he trusted God for the promise. God reiterated His promise and told him he would be called Abraham which means “father of many nations.” 

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly." Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.  And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you and throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”  
Genesis 17:1-8

Because Abraham and his wife Sarah, originally named Sarai, were very old, they had a difficult time believing that God could give them a child. Instead of trusting God, they decided to “help” Him. Sarah gave her Egyptian handmade, Hagar, to Abraham so that she could give them a child. Hagar conceived through Abraham, and a son was born whom they named Ishmael. Abraham loved Ishmael very much, but soon trouble started between Sarah and Hagar. Arrogance and jealousy between the two women ensued because Hagar looked down upon Sarah who was without her own child. This was difficult for Abraham, but he held on to Ishmael as if he would be his covenant heir.

However, Ishmael was not God’s choice, as Abraham had hoped. God said that He would provide through Sarah the promised son who would be named Isaac.

And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.” 
Genesis 17:15-20

As God promised, Sarah became pregnant in her old age and gave birth to Isaac, the covenant heir. Abraham was overjoyed with Isaac and still loved Ishmael very much. As Isaac grew, trouble in the family started again—this time between Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael made fun of Isaac and Sarah became enraged, telling Abraham to get rid of Hagar and her son. Ishmael was Abraham’s first son and he was very displeased by this reaction from Sarah.

God appeared to Abraham and assured him that Ishmael would be okay and that he should send him away with his mother. 

But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wondered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 
Genesis 21:12-14

Why did God make a covenant with Abraham through Isaac?

From the beginning of time, God had a plan for eternal redemption through the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These patriarchs are through whom Jesus was born. Our heavenly Father wanted the Israelites to be separated physically and spiritually from the other nations that worshiped false gods and performed ungodly practices. God called the Israelites to be righteous and to follow His ways which He gave to them in the form of laws.

When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this. 
Deuteronomy 18:9-14

Does this mean that the Israelites always followed God’s laws?

No.

The Israelites would sin against God time and time again, but God was faithful to His word, forgave the Israelites, and vowed to bring His promise to fulfillment until the end of time here on earth.

Join me next week for the next part of this blog post where we will focus on the continued lineage of Jesus Christ through the nation of Israel.

May God bless you as you seek His truth for your life.

I have included a song for your listening pleasure.

“Promises” – Maverick City