Israel at Seventy: Becoming A Standard for the Nations
by Sharon Sanders
The LORD said to me, “I have a greater task for you, my servant. Not only will you restore to greatness the people of Israel who have survived, but I will also make you a light to the nations–so that all the world may be saved” (Isaiah 49:6, Good News Translation). “…to be My salvation to the ends of the earth” (Holman Christian Standard Bible). “…so you can bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth” (NET Bible).“…that you may bring salvation to the farthest part of the earth” (New Heart English Bible).“…so that you would save people all over the world” (GOD’S WORD translation).
By choosing Israel, God has entrusted one nation with an unparalleled, and enormous, responsibility–to be a brilliant and shining lamp to the nations. The defining moment will be when she clearly moves into being an example, spiritually, as a country. I believe it has begun. It’s sad, as Israel’s calling to be a “light to the nations” has all but been ignored and removed from Christian education, in our seminaries and preparatory schools.
After living in Israel over thirty years, I can tell everyone, the Jews are anything but blind, and unspiritual. I hate to shock anyone, but, it has been said here, “We wait for Messiah…and if it is Jesus, we will accept Him, but not the religion attached to Him, and we will know Him, without the help of anyone, but God.” The Bible says it was the Lord’s doing to blind “in part” (Mark 10:11-12) and for this reason, we Christians need to practice humility. If it was part of His Plan to hide the face of Jesus, then it will be His Plan to bring it to an end. As the God of all flesh, God has “saved many people”, through Jesus, in order for Jew and Gentile to become one in worshiping the One True God.
Out of Jerusalem, will be carried a “torch of truth” blazing to the four winds (Isaiah 2:3). The greatest breaking news ever to hit the press will be broadcast to the world. Torah will be elevated in the light of what Messiah accomplished, and says. All flesh will be able to drink from the wells of Jacob, learning God’s Ways. When Jesus spoke about Himself, or was making a point, He referred exclusively to the Jewish Scriptures. “It is Written”… “haven’t you read?”… “don’t you know?” He was the living example of Torah. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our church leaders would begin to expound in sermons, imparting the Hebrew meaning of words?
The City of God is stepping up to her former beauty. She is dressing herself with new garments of glory, as new buildings are being constructed. She is revealing herself as she once was, coming out from under the rubble of centuries. There is an ancient song of joy being sung within her gates. As a Jewish bride in preparation for the greatest event of her life, she, and her people, are rejoicing in their resurrection, from the graveyards of history.
The Jewish people are stepping up and becoming a strong nation. It was “dry bones” in the valley of death, that were commanded to listen to the Words of the Lord. As the bones responded and stood, sinews grew, along with muscle. Never mind the age of the bones. God gave them all breath, and the power to receive life. A huge miracle took place! When the Jewish people returned to Eretz Israel, emerging from the death camps, they were predominantly an atheistic nation, who fought “religion.” People openly confessed that they didn’t believe in God. After all, who could believe in God when so many died in the Holocaust? If that was God, they didn’t want anything to do with Him. I was privileged to serve and minister to the “dry bones,” not yet certain of their identity, in God. Many came with Communistic mindsets. One Russian-Jewish immigrant told me that it was not until he came to Israel that he realized he had been lied to through Soviet ideology. It was in the Land that he began to awaken, and his thinking became clearer. God’s people had returned, but were so spiritually dried up, their spirits were broken, and they were weak, it took time to clear the fog. That’s just the way it was.
But, strength (chazak) returned with them. Memories came back. The newcomers recalled how Mama lit Shabbat candles, baked matza at Pesach, how they were taught the Shema, and that “God is One.” It was the memories that sustained them. “6.5 million ‘Dry Bones’ of Ezekiel 36 now live here. A ‘dead’ land and people came back to life, and the resurrection process continues. Approximately 1000 new ‘Dry Bones’ come back to Israel every month…” (David Silver) The dry bones are here again and living!
Through prophetic-pioneer ministries (such as CFI), and the love of Christians, hundreds of thousands of Jewish lives have been changed. When immigrants come to CFI for clothing and assistance, they meet genuine Christians. When they receive the Scriptures, they can read about their ancestors, and the meaning of life arises in many hearts. From the time of return, Babylon begins to fade, and a new spirit emerges. New “Israelis” learn how Shabbat is celebrated, in Israel. Elderly men, who have never had a bar-mitzvah, can read for the first time, the Jewish Scriptures. When Pesach arrives, bread is taken out of the stores, and replaced with matza. When Shavuot comes, study times are posted. By the time the Feast of Booths rolls around, the sound of hammers and shofars, are in the air. Slowly, the ways of God are being taught. In Judea and Samaria neighborhood community get-togethers study Torah. For the Temple Mount to become a “Mountain of Holiness” (Jeremiah 21:33) it will take a change of heart, to dislodge old ways but the Jewish nation is continuing in a “return to life,” a process of bringing back that which had disappeared.
Author, Morris Adler, wrote, “One day the center of influence will shift from a priestly class that inherited religious position and privilege, to teachers and expounders.” Numerous Christians in the Land are attending an Orthodox Bible study in the Israeli Knesset. Lois Tverberg’s book, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, proves how a Jewish perspective can transform Biblical understanding. Kenneth Bailey, author of The Cross and the Prodigal, says, “The Bible is an Eastern book. We see it through the colored glasses of Western culture. Much is lost. What lies between the lines is of deep significance.” When discovering the Bible from a Jewish perspective, it is as if a Bridal Canopy is being spread over nations.
For centuries, Christianity taught that the improperly termed, “Old” Testament represented “dry” too. The present interest is part of the “restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21). The whole Counsel of God will function as the basic authority in the life of the Kingdom age. It will command the respect of authority, and loyalty, from all nations. I believe that God will continue to be remarkably involved in this nation’s spiritual growth. Why else would “…ten men, from the nations, take hold (clutch) the skirt of a Jew (likely a prayer shawl) and say “We have heard that GOD is with you” (Zechariah 8:23).
Christianity has “carried the torch” of the gospel of Jesus to the world ever since the Jewish Apostles passed away. Gentile Christendom then ran ahead of Judaism, and left its Hebraic nature in the dustbins of history. Now is a time of putting things in order, a time of “chassidut.” Israel’s sages teach that “chassidut” precedes the coming of Messiah. They say that preparations for a revelation must precede the revelation as many believe we are living in the time, prior to Messiah.
It may be difficult to believe, but as many churches struggle, many synagogues are overflowing. As Christians, we like to say we are the “Torchbearers,” and while this is true, we must come to grips with an embarrassing fact: our forefathers embraced a heretical lie, regarding God’s Chosen people. (Jeremiah 16:19). The serious offences committed, and the transgressions which resulted from centuries of abuse to the Jewish people by Christianity, requires reparation. Replacement teachings, and Christian anti-Semitism, have resulted in a distressing distrust of Christians, which should make us sick at heart. It is no small matter. Many who live and work in Israel, are involved in the repairing being accomplished here today. Zion is being restored.
Yes, our light was blurred to the Chosen Ones. It was the priests of Roman Catholicism who lined up Jewish people during WWII and gave the command to firing squads, “Fire in the Holy Name of Jesus!” At the same time, Protestant and Catholic leaders told the Jews, “Be baptized or die!” How, in God’s Name, could they have done this? They did. As bodies of Jewish people were being torn apart, photos of Christ were hung at the end of torture tables. The last thing a suffering Jewish person saw, while being mutilated, was a portrait of Jesus. It was a satanic darkness that came from so-called “Christians.” Recently, in a Bible study in the Knesset, someone asked forgiveness for improper feelings toward the Jewish people. I watched the faces of Rabbis present, as they nodded their heads, in a forgiving moment. Arrogance has been a real problem in the Church. We must not be ashamed of the Gospel, but we should be ashamed of what our people did, in the Name of the Lord! Where are our tears?
Some Christian leaders find it unacceptable to learn from Jewish Bible Scholars. They say with pride, and with eyes seeing red, “how could they (the Jews) teach us (Christians) anything? They don’t have Jesus!” I can truthfully reply, that I have been taught about the Jewishness of Jesus, by Jewish scholars, far more than I ever was taught from my Sunday School teachers. If Christians could experience the depth of understanding that many Jewish scholars have, they might join the Pastor who sadly told us, “I’ve been preaching for over 25 years and I can’t hold a candle to the Jews, compared to the knowledge they have of the Bible!” The Jewish people have been terribly misjudged, and presumed spiritually dead.
Israel is already standing in the gateway, of a new era. The “rise of excellence” in Israel surpasses 195 countries, a foretaste of the messianic kingdom to come, where Israel will lead the nations. An Israeli field medical clinic in the north attending to the wounds of enemies, has been described as the “best in the world”. All fits into preparation for future kingdom service in helping others.
Israel has also created a mini-world within her borders. If someone wants to experience an African Safari, you don’t need to go to Africa. If you want to snow ski, you don’t have to travel to Switzerland. If you want to see one of the Wonders of the World, visit Jerusalem. Israel is building her own amusement park, based upon family adventures reflecting Jewish and universal values. Splash Mountain will have a Biblical theme to show six work days and a “calm zone” after a drop…signifying the Day of rest. Jacob’s Ladder tells the story of the Jewish people.
Israel’s military, technically, is unmatched. A sign that God continues to empower His Nation. (Jeremiah 51:20). Israel’s defense training is based upon many military moves from the Bible. “David’s Sling” is an anti-missile shield. In 2012, “Pillar of Cloud” was chosen because the cloud stood to absorb the arrows of the Egyptians. It is interesting that “…all Gateways to the New Jerusalem are made of pearls. A pearl is caused by irritation within an oyster. It is the product of something going wrong within the shell.” (Derek Prince) The change of heart to Israel will not come by “might nor power,” nor by conversion from one religion to another. Messiah is the answer. He will bring Israel’s feet up to the step above to accept the challenge of her calling.
In 1985, there were few drugs here, but they began to trickle in, through Lebanon. Wine was sold, but little Vodka. With the arrival of immigrants from the graveyards of the world, many came wearing the grave clothes. “A terrible struggle between the God-Nature and the Man-Nature must ensue. All of us must master the flesh…” (Benjamin Rubin). If one wants to find out where they are in their spiritual growth, come to Israel to work. It is here that “everything you thought you had dealt with will come to the surface.” It’s where the dross rises.
From the dust and ashes of 2000 years, it has been said she has arisen as the only nation in the world resurrected from the dead. Her miraculous story continues to unfold. In this 70th year of Israel’s birthday, the number 70 has a sacred connection. There were seventy elders, seventy languages, nations, and seventy members of Jacob’s family were in Egypt. Scholars say that Mordechai knew all seventy languages, a precondition for sitting on the council of the Great Sanhedrin. (Bigthana and Teresh spoke in their native tongue, Tarsian, and assumed that Mordechai couldn’t understand a word.) Why else would they have discussed such an incriminating matter, near him? (See Esther 2:21-23)
Israel’s government recently gave the nod to hold on to a day of rest. Pharaoh asked Aaron and Moses, “Why do you take the people from their work? You make them rest from their labors!” (Genesis 5). The Knesset is working on a ban on cigarettes, cigars, and e-cigarettes, gambling, Internet pornography, and human trafficking throughout the country. It seems they are embarked on a clean-up mode. A new Israel Bible Bloc has been formed in the Knesset, consisting of Jews and Christians, and founded by an Israeli. Christian medics are working with the Israeli army in being a good neighbor to Israel’s enemies. A new “Israel Bible” has been released which includes God’s prophetic word for Israel. Israelis are traveling to Africa and India, drilling for water, teaching agriculture, and disaster relief techniques as well as sending experts in agriculture, hydrology, regional planning, public health, engineering, community services, medicine and scores of other fields outside Israel. What other country is so clearly in the forefront of “nations helping nations”?
A kingdom is on its way that could make King David blush. Sandra Teplinsky explains “a shift has begun…the relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem appears to have facilitated a strengthening of the governance of God in this city…” It’s been said, Kings rule by decree and God’s decision certainly has the full force of His Voice behind it. Jerusalem will be the “throne of the Lord” (Jeremiah 3:17). When President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem the Capital of Israel, he was as like a man dropping a flag at the beginning of a big race. That move signaled a highly competitive contest, among Islamic nations, in the struggle to win the Crown Jewel: Jerusalem. Desperate forces are gathering strength to wage a final war to snuff out her destined light.
As Israel strengthens her moral commitment to God, God’s blessings will flow even more. May she turn her gaze toward the Eastern sky, and her prayers at the Western Wall be realized. As the sound of the Ancient Shofar, in the Galilee, has been revived, and the “spotted sheep” of Jacob, have found their way home, may Messiah’s Welcome come speedily. May the pause Israel encountered on the day of the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, be reactivated, and the cry, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” be heard around the world.
If Mrs. Ann Graham Lotz is correct, that her father, Billy Graham, died on the same day Jewish scribes recorded the death of Moses, a new morning has broken through, and dawned. May the sparkle of this light grow brighter, as Israel rises to step up to her challenge in this New Day. Martin Haueter, a Swiss brother, left behind a message, before he passed: “…live in the anticipation and in the brilliance of the first rays of God’s New Day.” It is to this vision, that we commit ourselves: the call for Israel to step up to her spiritual challenge. What better time to wish her the best, than on her 70th birthday, as she rises to be a standard to all nations!
-Sharon Sanders-