Israel?

Author: teejtc  /  Category: Religious

The weeks droll on with little improvement in what we might call the Israel/Lebanon debacle. (NOTE: one definition of DEBACLE is “a total, often ludicrous, collapse or failure” — that’s the one I reference here.)

As it continues a the civilian death toll continues to rise (particularly on the Lebanese side), I find myself asking a very basic question: Why do people insist on equating the modern state of Israel with the OT people of God? (And therefore, supporting it with religious fervor.)

Of course there’s little, if any, real question as to how much damage uncurbed Zionism seems to be causing, but that’s really not my question. My question is why people don’t seem interested in making the distinction.

A look at the blogs I read note frequent reference to Genesis 12:3 which is a nice idea, but it’s nothing more than proof-texting. First there’s the problem with the fact that the modern state of Israel has been a thorn, not a blessing, to the “peoples on earth” - particularly those in their immediate region (we cannot simply grab the first half of a verse and ignore the second half). Secondly, and more importantly, it is always helpful to interpret what we know about the Old Testament through what we know from the New Testament (i.e. were the NT interprets the OT for us, we can trust it). Particularly applicable here is Matthew 3:9-10 where John the Baptizer demolishes the idea of an ethnic/ancestral-based view of the people of God (whom God could willy-nilly create out of the stones, if desired).

John’s view is echoed by Paul who, in the book of Romans, seems to be delineating between a physical (ethnic/ancestral) people of Israel and a spiritual people of Israel (a people of inward circumcision - cf. Romans 2:28-29).

That’s not even taking into consideration the immense problems with trying to draw an equal sign between a relatively recent political entity (the modern state of Israel) and the historical, biblical Israel.

Is there really anyone out there willing to answer these questions honestly? Please do so or point me to someone who can. None of that bible-thumping, proof-texting, bitter, ranting that seems common in the pro-Israel Zionists I get so much worthless mail from. I want honest answers from someone more interested in understanding the Bible than promoting politics.

Hello? Anyone there?

Grace and Peace,
`tim

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