Why is Israel important in Christianity? What does Israel have to do with my call as a Christian. Discover God’s eternal purposes for Israel and why those purposes connect with our eternal purpose as a Christian.
Many Christians struggle to understand the importance of Israel for our Christian walk. So, I would like to share a few points that help us remember and understand how Israel’s gifts and call is intertwined with each of our gifts and calls.
This week as I was reading, one verse stood out like a flashing neon light, “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).
Through this verse, God was talking to me on several levels all at the same time. He was affirming my calling and gifts personally, but also stirring my spirit about the international atmosphere going on in our world.
In this verse, the Apostle Paul was talking about Israel.
Israel was chosen specifically by God to be His family and share covenant with Him.
Israel was called, out of all the nations of the world, to bring salvation to the rest of the world (Gen 12:1–2; Deut 7:6–7).
And that call, that gift is forever. It is permanent. It is irrevocable.
In all the turmoil and competing voices, it is important to remember the big picture of how God works in the world, as well as how he thinks about us and the gifts and calls he has given us.
Friend, you are important to God. He wants to strengthen you so that your faith does not fail! You are called and chosen as his royal child, born of God into a royal priesthood, with royal responsibilities and benefits! Sooo many benefits and gifts! You are important to this world!
You have been called and chosen to be a representative of the Most High God to everyone you encounter in your daily life!
Read: How to Find God’s Purpose For My Life
Now, as for Israel, here are a few points to remember about how Israel connects with our lives and callings as Christians.
Why is Israel Important to God?
Old Testament Historical Significance:
In the beginning, God created humanity and made a covenant with us as His family. If you have read Genesis you know some of the genealogy as it goes through the centuries.
Starting way back with Adam and Eve, we see how God made eternal promises (a covenant) then expanded the covenant with Noah, then Abraham and his descendants, and David and his descendants forever.
God says, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His personal possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth (Gen 12:1–2).
From Adam to Abraham to Moses and Egypt, to the promised land, and beyond we see and hear God’s message of chosen faithfulness and love. Numerous times in similar phrasing throughout the Bible, God spoke to the nation called Israel that grew from Abraham, “You will be my people and I will be your God. I am the LORD your God” (Exod 6:7).
Why is Israel Important to Christians?
New Testament (Covenant) Spiritual Importance:
When we get to the New Testament, we see that Jesus himself was born as a Jew to fulfill the ancient prophecies and bring salvation, not just to Israel, but to the whole world.
As Jesus said in John 4:22, salvation is of the Jews. Yet, we Gentiles have been grafted into the spiritual vine with Israel being the root.
Through our faith in Jesus, the promised Messiah, we are brought into the chosen family of God with covenant promises and blessings.
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:17). We become heirs to the covenant promises first made to Israel.
All believers, even Gentiles, are “heirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:29).
Paul explains, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [as Gentiles], but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Eph 2:19-22).
As Christians, we share an ancient and ongoing spiritual inheritance with Israel.
Without Israel we are incomplete. They are our foundation and root. Jesus has destroyed the dividing wall between us, and we are family.
As we come to understand more about the history of this inheritance, we understand more about ourselves and our God and what it means to live victoriously today.
What is Israel’s Relevance For Christians Today?
Romans 11:25-26 says, “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way, all Israel will be saved.”
Our God is unchanging, and His callings and gifts are irrevocable. He will fulfill what He has promised.
For our part, we can understand God’s view of His chosen people and do our best to support God’s purposes in our time.
For God promises Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3).
“For thus said the Lord of hosts… whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye” (Zechariah 2:8).
This divine covenant reaches beyond ancient times and into today.
Israel’s welfare is connected with our welfare.
When we align our hearts and pray for Israel, we align ourselves with the heartbeat of God and his redemptive purposes in the world.
Psalm 122:6 exhorts us to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.”
By grounding our perspective in Scripture, we as believers can view present-day situations with God’s wisdom and discernment.
We can recognize the importance of God’s eternal purposes even when spiritual principalities and powers collide with shouting voices and violence.
Just as the nation of Israel’s gifts and callings are irrevocable, your gifts and callings are irrevocable too!
As we continue to do God’s will in the earth, He is building us up together as living stones into a spiritual dwelling for His presence.
So, To Recap:
Israel is Important to Christians Today Because:
- God created a family, and it eventually grew into the nation of Israel. God chose to be in an eternal covenant relationship with Israel (Gen 12:1–2).
- Israel was called, out of all the nations of the world, to bring salvation to the rest of the world (Deut 7:6–7).
- Through our faith in Jesus, the promised Jewish Messiah, we are brought into the family of God and obtain covenant promises and blessings.
- Without Israel we are incomplete. They are our foundation and root. Jesus has destroyed the dividing wall between us, and we are family. We are being built up together into a spiritual dwelling place of the Most High God!
- We are to pray for Israel and bless them. The spiritual law is that whoever blesses Israel is blessed, and whoever curses Israel is cursed.
- Israel’s covenant and call is forever. It is permanent. It is irrevocable.
Thank you for reading, and I pray you are blessed in your walk with God.
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