Evangelical support for Israel
One can have other reasons than are described in the
following article, of course,
which many Evangelicals also may have, that are unrelated
to the testimony of
the Bible. For example, Israel, all along, has been a
democracy and Americans,
with very few exceptions, always regard democracy as
superior to any other
form of government. In fact the view is commonplace that no
society
that is not democratic is worth living in.
As well, many Americans look at Islam and see
totalitarianism and reject it
and want to defend Israel as a beacon of light in an
otherwise medieval region.
There are practical reasons, too, like military alliances (
now including India's
alliance with Israel ), trade advantages, domestic US
politics, etc. But here is
a statement that explains the religious motivation for
Evangelical support for Israel
Billy
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Jews, Arabs, Evangelicals and the Holy Land
Why do Evangelicals support Israel?
In the past few weeks an increasing number of people have
approached me as an Evangelical religious leader with the
following question: “Why do
Evangelicals support
Israel in such an
uncompromising and enthusiastic fashion?”
The answers to that question are found in Evangelicals’
understanding of sacred Scripture. A significant majority of
Evangelicals believe that God made certain promises to the
Jews in the twelfth chapter of Genesis in what has become
known as the Abrahamic Covenant. In that covenant God
promised, among other things, to bless Abraham and his seed
and that He would give Abraham and his seed the land of
Canaan forever (Gen. 12:1-9).
This covenant between God and Abraham is unconditional,
which means that it remains in force in times when Israel is
disobedient and unfaithful as well as when she was obedient
and faithful.
This does not mean that God is anti-Arab.
Abraham and his wife grew restless waiting for God to give
them a son. Consequently, Sarah suggests to her husband that
he have sexual relations with Hagar, her Egyptian
handmaiden. He consents to this request and Hagar bears him
a son, Ishmael (Gen. 16:1-16).
As Abraham approaches his 100th year of age, God renews His
promise of giving him a son with Sarah to fulfill His
covenant promise. Abraham’s faith faltered, and he said, “O
that Ishmael might live before thee.” (Gen 17:18).
God replied, “Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed:
and thou shalt call his name Isaac and I will establish my
covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his
seed after him.” (Gen 17:18). God, however, immediately
follows this promise with another promise concerning
Ishmael. God says, “As for Ishmael, I have heard thee.
Behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and
will multiply him exceedingly, … and I will make him a great
nation.” (Gen 17:18).
The Jews come from Isaac and the Arabs come from Ishmael.
The land of Canaan was promised to the Jews forever. God,
however, would bless Ishmael and his descendants. There are
several hundred million Arabs and they did not put all that
oil under their lands – God did.
God gave the land of Canaan to Abraham’s seed through Isaac
– the Jews. However, the same God promised to bless the
Arabs profusely and has done so through great numbers of
people and oil wealth.
A minority of Evangelicals reject this interpretation of
biblical history and believe that God has abrogated his
covenant with the Jews because of their rebellious unbelief
and that the church is heir to the promises of God, not
Israel.
As noted earlier, however, a significant majority of
Evangelicals believe that the Abrahamic covenant is
unconditional, regardless of Israel’s behavior. Now, it is
true that God’s blessing of Israel is dependent on their
pious behavior. Perhaps the closest example of such a
conditional promise is II Chronicles 7:14, “If my people,
which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and
pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land.”
Consequently, God has not promised to bless the Jews when
they deal unjustly with others. However, He never rescinds
His promise of the promised land of Canaan. They remain His
chosen people.
It is very important to note, however, that God does
promise to bless those who bless the Jews and to curse those
who curse the Jews (Gen 12:13). Evangelicals see no place in
Scripture where this promise is rescinded. In fact, they see
historical validation of its truths in 20th century history.
The three most aggressively anti-Semitic nations of the 20th
century, Germany, Poland, and Russia have experienced a
truly harrowing 20th century of heartache and bloodshed. The
two least anti–Semitic countries in the West, Great Britain
and the United States have had a far happier 20th century
than the first three countries mentioned. A majority of
Evangelicals believe that America’s good fortune and
blessing in the tumultuous 20th century in large part can be
explained by her unwavering support for Israel, highlighted
by U.S. recognition of the Jewish State of Israel in May
1948 by President Truman.
There always has been, and continues to be, a great deal of
enlightened self- interest in Evangelicals’ support of
Israel. If American Evangelicals want God to bless America,
then they believe America must bless the Jews, including
Israel.
That does not mean that they are deaf, dumb and blind to
Israeli behavior toward the Palestinians that is less than
just. They do, however, understand that there is no more
moral equivalence between Israelis and the Palestinians than
there was between the U.S and the Soviets. Are the Israelis
perfect – no. However, if the Palestinians wanted peace as
badly as the Israelis do, there would be peace with Israel
and a Palestinian state living side by side in peace.
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