How Does God Feel About Israel & The Jews

Antisemitism is on the rise throughout the world, even in Christian circles. Since the Jews have been hated throughout history, at least some of what appears to be an increase is nothing more than hidden feelings finally rising to the surface.

As Christians, we should look to God for answers to everything in life. What does God think of a specific action or a condition of our heart? As the Bible says, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). When we do something God disapproves of through ignorance or willful disobedience, it does not bring glory to God. Therefore, we must know how God thinks. To do that, we must turn to the Bible.

What does God think about the Jews, about Israel?

God gave a promise to Abram and the nation that God would spring from him. Genesis 12:1-3, “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, geth thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great: and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”

The promise given by God in this passage is given to more than just Abram. The entire world would be blessed by this promise. That part of the promise is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He was the Lamb of God. He died for your sins and mine. Eternal salvation and many earthly blessings, including a peace that passeth all understanding, are found at the cross in the blood of Christ.

Another part of the promise is given directly to Israel, but it is there for all the world to heed. God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. The simple facts that God will bring His Son into the world through the Jewish race and dish out blessings and curses in direct relation to how people treat Israel are enough to show that Israel holds a special place in God’s heart and plan.

This does not mean that Israel has a blank check from God to do as she pleases. Israel’s sins are well documented in the Old Testament, and God sent judgment upon them many times. God does scatter them because they had forgotten God and placed their faith elsewhere (Jeremiah 13:24-25).

Israel ceased to exist in 70 AD, and the Jews were scattered throughout the world. But hundreds of years before Israel was dispersed, God promised to restore their nation (Ezekiel 37 and many other passages). After all of Israel’s sins, after they had forsaken God, after they had rejected God’s Son, the very Messiah they had been waiting for, God would still restore them. Look at the heart attitude God has toward Israel in bringing them home to the promised land. Jeremiah 31:10, “Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.”

See how God thinks of Israel? They are lost sheep; they have scattered throughout the countryside. The loving shepherd will gather them from wherever they may be and bring them home. This is a prophecy that we are witnessing in real time. Israel became a nation again in 1948, and God gave them back the Holy City of Jerusalem in 1967. The number of Jews flooding back to Israel grows by the minute. The shepherd loves His sheep.

Some Christians will argue that this is all Old Testament stuff. They will argue that because the Jews have overwhelmingly rejected Jesus Christ, they have lost God’s blessing. Notice the dates in the previous paragraph, 1948 and 1967. Those dates are far beyond Old Testament years. God is acting like a shepherd toward the Jews here in the church age. Yes, Jesus is the only means of salvation, and many Jews do not have everlasting life because of their rejection of Christ, but the fact remains that God is true to His promises. He blesses those who bless Israel, and He curses those who curse her. He promised to bring them back to the land, and He is doing so now.

In another prophecy that tells us God will bring Israel back to the land (Zechariah 2:6-8), God, like a young man in love, sees Israel as a young, beautiful woman that He will stand up for till the end.  Zechariah 2:8, “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”

So what does the New Testament tell us about God’s relationship with the Jews and Israel?

Romans 10:1, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.”

Romans 11:1, “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.”

As the two verses above explain, God wants every Jew to be saved, to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Individual Jews can be saved, as evidenced in Romans 11:1 above, yet sadly, most Jews have still rejected the true Messiah.

However, there will come a day during the middle of the tribulation period when all living Jews will realize that Jesus is the Saviour and place their faith in Him. Romans 11:25-27, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, Thee shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”

God still sees Israel as the apple of His eye, the sheep of His flock, and someone He loves and protects. Regardless of their rejection of His Son thus far, He plans to bring them to faith in Christ en masse someday. There is not one ounce of antisemitism in His heart. As Christians, we should strive to have a heart like God’s.