Missing the blessing

Before Moses died (he is sometimes called the Lawgiver), he blessed the 12 tribes of Israel. Giving people a blessing is a very important thing to do, since the word blessing in the Hebrew language has the connotation of “increase” – whereas a “curse” has the connotation of “decrease.”

I’m writing this article from the state of Israel – I arrived here on Tuesday morning with the Blossoming Rose tour, a group of pro-Israeli Christians from Michigan and other parts of the United States. We’ll be doing many more of these economical tours. We’ve visited many Christian and Jewish sites so far. Since it is the Feast of Tabernacles, many Israelis were off from work, and the Jewish places had people visiting there. But, I was appalled to see the Christian sites virtually deserted.

Whatever happened to the concept of Christians blessing the children of Israel (the literal descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). There’s a biblical commandment in Genesis 12:3 regarding this. Is it the case that Christians are no longer biblical in their orientation?

During the entire period of the current Intifada (from September 2000 to September 2001), radical Moslems have never targeted the tour buses, tour groups or the tourist sites that are visited. There have been several conversations, between Palestinians and Americans, where the tourists were told by some of the Palestinians that only the Israelis are targeted by this violence, because that is with whom they are fighting for statehood and on other issues like water rights, etc.

My own hunch as to why Christians are not blessing Israel right now is because of something called “replacement theology.” This is the notion that Jesus did away with the law (or Torah) for the Jews and the law had been replaced (for the Jews) by grace. However, the biblical law was all about a lifestyle commanded of a very specific nation, created by God in His sovereignty and set apart (or made to be different from other nations) by that very system of cultural, ritual and sacramental laws (instructions). Biblical law is what makes the nation of Israel holy – or separate and distinct – according to God’s revealed will.

In addition, this law was, in its day, a much better system of justice and fairness than other ancient laws like the Hammurabi Code. The Torah says about itself (in Deuteronomy 4:6) “Keep therefore, and do them, for this is your wisdom in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'”

Also, the Torah (given to Israel at Mt. Sinai) was not cancelled by Yeshua (or Jesus of Nazareth). In the New Testament, we have a very important specific statement of Yeshua as a proof text. Yeshua is quoted as saying something that is structured as a Hebrew parallelism in Matthew 5:17-19. The words in parenthesis are words that fill in the complete understanding for those people not familiar with a Hebrew parallelism. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law and the prophets, I have not come to destroy (the law) but to fulfill (the prophets). For verily I say unto you, until heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled (in the prophets). Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Now I hope I am wrong about Christians refusing to bless Israel at this time because of Replacement Theology. And if it is a fear to come here due to the radical Moslem uprising, then I have to ask: Where in the Christian’s faith is God (since fear is the opposite of faith)? Israel desperately needs the support of Christians at this critical time in her history, and the Christians involved in blessing Israel (and the Jews, as the brethren of Yeshua) will be blessed for doing so beyond measure.