A guest post by Petra Brock
The eye is a central organ. What we see determines our thoughts, actions, and feelings. If our eyesight deteriorates, this can have serious consequences. How fortunate, then, that a visit to the ophthalmologist or optician can provide relief. The image of the eye can also be found in the Bible.
God says in his Word that he too has the apple of his eye. God's eye has a name: Israel (Deuteronomy 32:10 and Zechariah 2:12). Everything God sees, he sees through his eye, Israel. He can never ignore or simply overlook Israel because Israel is his eye. He can never take his eyes off Israel. He always has Israel before his eyes, even when he is looking at something else—then he sees it through Israel.
This is our God, and this is his relationship to Israel as a people, as a land, and as a nation—whether we are aware of it or not. Let's just assume for a moment that Israel were the apple of our eye. What could we learn from this about ourselves and our faith?
Where do I come from? Where does the Christian community come from?
In Psalm 139, David describes in very impressive words how God has created us and how each of our days is already written in His book. We believe that every person has received their life as a gift from God with the purpose of knowing God and, through salvation in Jesus, spending eternity with God (1 Timothy 2:4). As individual Christians and as a church, we have come to know the God of the Bible, to whom we entrust our lives and whose word and truth have become the rock and foundation of our existence. This God first and foremost presents Himself in the Bible as the God of Israel (Exodus 24:10). He has chosen a people through whom He wants to make Himself known to the whole world (1 Chronicles 17:21). He has chosen a land in which this people is to live (1 Chronicles 17:21). He has guaranteed in His Word that His will remains unchanging and valid (Psalm 33:4).
We are profoundly connected to God's people Israel solely through our relationship with him, since we have the same God and the same Father (compare Ephesians 2:11-18). The Christian faith has, at its core, the same foundation as the Jewish faith, with its history, election, and destiny. This is most evident in Jesus Christ.
Jesus, our Redeemer and Lord of the Church, was born a Jew and received a Jewish upbringing. He lived among the Jewish people and had Jewish followers. In his eyes, we Christians have a large number of Jewish brothers and sisters. In his eyes, Jewish believers have a large number of Christian-Messianic brothers and sisters. The DNA of our faith is identical to the DNA of the Jewish faith. Paul explains this in Romans 5:1-5: Everything on which the Christian church is founded and relies was first given to the Jewish people. Election as children of God, God's glory and his covenants, the privilege of worship—and Jesus, who according to his human origin came from the Jewish people. How must he feel when Christians and Jews do not perceive one another, do not accept each other, or even question each other's belonging?
Paul describes these connections very clearly and unambiguously in his letter to the Ephesians. In chapter 2, verses 11-19, he explains how the relationship between Jews and Gentiles who have accepted Jesus has fundamentally changed through his act of redemption. This can be summarized in the clear statement in verses 18 and 19: “Through what Christ has done for us, we are now all, whether Jews or non-Jews, able to come to the Father in one Spirit. Therefore you are no longer aliens and exiles, but you are believers, members of the family of God.” Through Jesus’ act of redemption, we are co-heirs of the promises, one family, one house—with the same future in God’s eternity.
Where am I going? Where is the community going?
As Christians, we have a wonderful hope for eternity. Jesus promised us that he is going before us and preparing places for us. We will see him and God the Father (John 14:2-3). With an exciting book, we might sometimes read the last few pages before we even get started. We shouldn't really do that, but curiosity is a factor. However, when considering the questions "Where am I going?" and "With whom will I spend eternity, and where?", it is helpful to read the biblical passages that focus on the destination of the Jewish people and that of the Christian Messianic community. Here we will recognize that we have a shared future in God's eternity. We will be with him as one people and worship him.
This is God's goal for all generations, past and present. This is his goal in eternity—his priority, toward which all his actions and work, both now and until then, have been directed. He keeps this goal in mind in everything he considers, examines, evaluates, and does (Romans 11:26).
What is my purpose? What is the purpose of the community?
God describes Israel's destiny in various biblical passages (Exodus 19:6 / Deuteronomy 7:6 / Isaiah 49:6). In summary, it can be described as follows: Israel is to be a people holy to God, with whom He lives in a holy—loving—relationship. Through Israel, other nations are to recognize Him and join in a life of relationship with Him. In this way, Israel is to become a blessing to the whole world.
Jesus speaks of the same purpose in relation to the Christian Messianic community: it is to be a light for unbelievers, so that they may come to faith in the living God (1 Peter 2:9). We therefore share a common purpose: through us, people are to have the opportunity to get to know God, to open themselves to him, and to begin a life with and for him—so that they may then be with him in eternity. But the New Testament church also has further divine mandates:
- The Christian community, through its relationship with God, should make the Jewish people jealous and entice them to embrace the truth of the gospel and salvation through Jesus Christ. (Romans 10:19)
- The Christian community has the task of comforting the Jewish people spiritually and practically. (Isaiah 40)
- The Christian community has a mandate to provide practical support for the rebuilding of Israel and the return of the Jewish people. (Isaiah 49:6)
- The Christian community has the mandate to stand in prayer and intercession for Israel “on the walls of Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 62:6)
Could it be, then, that if God were to look at our congregations through the apple of his eye, he would miss exactly that and would like to see it?
When we turn to the God of the Bible and to the Bible as God's living Word in its entirety, we will encounter God's natural and deeply longing love for Israel. We cannot escape this love—it desires to reveal itself to us and to find space and expression within us. At the core of our faith in the here and now, we carry this Jewish identity. Even more significantly, for us Christians, discovering God's love for Israel is the path to a deeper and more holistic understanding of the entire Holy Scripture and God's plan of salvation.
We discover God's "guiding thread" in the past, present, and future history of humankind. We can increasingly evaluate events spiritually and, from this, gain steadfastness in our trust in our God and in our lives for Him. We come to know our God in the depths of His being, His love, and His faithfulness. I believe that the Christian community only reaches its full potential when it gives God and His priorities space and precedence. This includes Israel. How God longs to shape our church life and our church culture with His priorities in such a way that a natural love for Israel can arise and find expression.
Recognizing the signs of the times and aligning one's actions with God's priorities
Jesus says that we should observe the fig tree and recognize the signs of the times (Mark 13:28-32). The fig tree is a symbol for Israel. Since the founding of the state in 1948, we have seen how the land and nation of Israel have flourished again against all odds and are already a living sign of the eternal God and the fulfillment of His promises to His people. The people of Israel in the Diaspora and in the Land of Israel have recovered numerically after the Holocaust, which claimed six million lives, and continue to grow. Aliyah (the return of the Jewish people to Israel) continues to increase despite all circumstances.
Overt antisemitism is on the rise worldwide, and Jews are increasingly realizing that there is no truly safe place for them outside of Israel. At the same time, chaos, confusion, and ungodly behavior are increasing in many nations. To name just a few examples: sexual promiscuity, the dissolution of divinely ordained gender identity, and the biblical family model have become the social norm. Public and private acceptance of Far Eastern esoteric influences has increased dramatically. Simultaneously, we are experiencing a relentless cycle of global upheavals: earthquakes, floods, heat waves and fires, famines, refugee crises, the impotence and warmongering of political leaders, human-induced self-destruction of planet Earth, and so on.
If we take God's Word seriously and do not close our eyes, we as individuals and as a community must ask ourselves and God what and how we should live in light of these signs and what is truly important. We should not be astonished or discouraged—quite the contrary: Our God is at work in this time, and we continue to move forward in great strides toward the day when we will pass from faith to seeing. We should not withdraw—quite the contrary: We should shine as light into this world, pointing to God with our lives, comforting and encouraging people to embark on a life with God. Nor should we fall into mere activism—quite the contrary: Perhaps it is simply a matter of repeatedly, as individuals and as a community, considering God's priorities and our destiny right now in these end-times events and aligning ourselves accordingly
- To be a light for non-believers.
- To pray for Israel and God's concerns for his people.
- Perform works of love and comfort to Israel.
- Perform works of love for the faithful and those in need.
We live in exciting and challenging times that demand our vigilance and attention, times in which we must continually reconnect with God and allow ourselves to be filled with his love. We need this gaze upon him, which remains steadfast in all times, who holds our lives in his hands, who desires to give us support and guidance, courage, trust, and peace in all circumstances. We find encouragement in Psalm 46:11-12: “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
