Israel’s Holy Covenant

God promises to bless the man or nation that blesses the chosen people.

The Lord clearly says in His Word that the Israelites are “the apple of His eye” and that He will raise His hand against those who touch them (see Zech. 2:8-9). This declaration lays the foundation for our support of Israel. Here are seven additional reasons to get behind the Jewish nation.

1. God promises to bless the man or nation that blesses the chosen people. “‘I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed'” (Gen. 12:3, NKJV). History has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the nations that have blessed the Jewish people have had the blessing of God and the nations that have cursed the Jewish people have experienced the curse of God.

2. Christians owe a debt of eternal gratitude to the Jewish people for their contributions to the Christian faith. Paul wrote: “For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their [the Jews’] spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things” (Rom. 15:27).

Consider what the Jewish people have given to Christianity: the sacred Scripture; the prophets; the patriarchs; Mary, Joseph and Jesus of Nazareth; the 12 disciples; and the apostles. It is not possible to say, “I am a Christian” and not love the Jewish people.

3. Jesus was Jewish. Though some Christians deny the connection between Jesus of Nazareth and the Jews, Jesus never did. He was born Jewish, He was circumcised on the eighth day in keeping with Jewish tradition, He kept the law of Moses, and He died on a cross with an inscription over His head, “King of the Jews!”

4. The scriptural principle of prosperity is tied to blessing Israel and the city of Jerusalem: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you'”(Ps. 122:6).

5. We put ourselves in the way of blessing when we love the Jews and do things to help them. Why did Jesus Christ go to the house of Cornelius in Capernaum and heal his servant, who was ready to die? What logic did the Jewish elders use with Jesus to convince Him to come into the house of a gentile and perform a miracle? The logic they used is recorded in Luke 7:5: “‘For he loves our nation, and he has built us a synagogue.'”

The message? This gentile deserves the blessing of God because he loves our nation and blessed the Jewish people.

6. The Scriptures imply that prosperity (see Gen. 12:3; Ps. 122:6), healing (see Luke 7:1-5) and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit come first to gentiles who bless the Jewish people and the nation of Israel in a practical manner.

Why did God select the house of Cornelius in Caesarea to be the first gentile house in Israel to receive the gospel? The answer is given repeatedly in Acts 10: The people to whom Cornelius gave alms were the Jews!

The point is made three times in the same chapter: A godly gentile who expressed his unconditional love for the Jewish people was divinely selected to be the first gentile house to receive the gospel.

7. All other nations were created by an act of men, but Israel was created by an act of God. The royal land grant was given to Abraham and his seed through an everlasting and unconditional covenant (see Gen. 12:1-3).

As David said when he went to face Goliath, Is there not a cause? Show your support for Israel by joining me and thousands of others at the second annual Israel/Washington D.C. Summit July 16-19, 2007. For registration information, go to cufi.org.

John Hagee pastors Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. He is also the head of Christians United for Israel and the author of several books, including his best-seller, Jerusalem Countdown (FrontLine).