Trump, Israel and Palestine

I believe President Donald Trump’s policies toward Israel have been misguided by his belief that most Christians buy into an odd theory about end times that requires modern Israel to occupy all the territory in the boundaries of ancient Israel, among other requirements, before the second coming of Jesus. It is a convoluted theory pieced together by taking odds and ends of scripture from various places and cobbling them together. Some call this Zionism, but “Zionism” is an emotion laden word with several different meanings, so I am not using it in this context.

There are a few very vocal Evangelical Christian religious leaders who do indeed subscribe to these beliefs and who make a lot of noise about it. They have been some of President Trump’s ardent supporters. But they do not represent most Christians.

The modern movement to reestablish a nation of Israel tracks to 1897. The current Israeli/Palestinian conflict though began in 1948 with the establishment of what is now the State of Israel in territory that had been occupied by Palestinians. Ever since, Israel has been expanding its borders into previous Palestinian territory. The West Bank and the Gaza Strip are the two primary areas still held by Palestinians that are constantly being encroached upon by Israel. President Trump has exacerbated the situation by strongly supporting Israel’s establishment of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory for religious reasons rather than legitimate political ones.

Moving the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was another way in which President Trump supported Israel against the wishes of the United Nations and the international community. Both Israel and Palestine claim Jerusalem as their capitols, but most other nations consider Tel Aviv to be Israel’s capitol and keep their embassies there. Charlene and I were in Jerusalem on the day the American Embassy moved there. American flags were flying from every light post.

You can be a supporter of modern Israel and not support the politics of some Israeli leaders who are trying to bully the Palestinians out of the country. Most reasoned observers favor what is called a “two state solution” to the conflict, working out permanent boundaries and ceasing encroachment from either side into the territory of the other. Israel to date refuses to participate in the development of such a plan.

Some would call me anti-Semitic for suggesting that Israel’s leaders are wrong to continue to bully the Palestinians. Not so. When I was working for the State of Florida, I called a juvenile half-way house director in Miami to tell him that unless he changed some of his procedures, we were going to jerk his license. A couple of days later I got a call from the Jewish Anti-Defamation League saying they had received a complaint that I was harassing this young half-way house director because he was Jewish. I explained that I had not realized that he was Jewish and told the caller about the policies at the half-way house that were in violation of state laws and regulations. She thanked me for my time. She went on about her business and I went on about mine.

I am hopeful that the United States can now take a more reasoned and balanced approach to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

 

Can These Dry Bones Live?

Sunday, Richard was making a presentation in Hibbing and asked me to preach at Roseville. I titled the lesson “Can These Dry Bones Live?”

You will recognize the reference as being from Ezekiel. It is 37:3-10. Ezekiel prophesied to the Israelis from Babylon at the same time Daniel was there. There is some non-Biblical evidence that Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego conferred with Ezekiel before the actions that landed them in the furnace. Jeremiah was prophesying from Israel at the same time.

God picked Ezekiel up in a vision and dropped him down in a field full of bones, asking him to walk around. Ezekiel’s observation was that “they were very dry.” God asked Ezekiel “Can these bones live?”

Ezekiel, of course, knew that God had the power to make them live, but had no idea what God was up to. He answered, “You know, Lord.” Then God told him to prophesy to the bones. Ezekiel must have felt pretty silly prophesying to a valley of dry bones, but God is God, so he did. The bones started rattling and then began to come together like the old song goes, “The foot bone connected to the ankle bone,” and so on. After one more prophesy they stood on their feet and became “an exceedingly great army.

But God doesn’t leave Ezekiel hanging there. In the next few verses He explains what the dry bones mean to the Israelite nation. He said that the bones represent the Israelis being held captive in Babylon and wishing they were home in Israel. And the bones coming to life is how God is showing them that this “dry bone” period in their history Is temporary. He is going to take them home.

What I did for a practical application was to begin to talk about five areas that may appear to be “dry bones” to us today: the world, the United States, the universal church, The Roseville church, and then us as individuals. I illustrated each level with aspects of its existence that seemed hopeless. The Israelites had lost hope and Ezekiel was prophesying to restore their hope.

When God got ready to establish Israel, He told Abraham to pack up everything he had and go to “a place I will show you.” When He heard the cry of his people enslaved to the Egyptians, He “Came down to rescue them,” and did so by directing Moses to “Go tell Pharaoh to let my people go.” When He wanted to restore the hope of His people, he sent Ezekiel to prophesy. And when He wanted to spread good news to all the nations, he told His people to “Go into all the world and tell the good news to every creature.”

That is how He works. He works through his people. That is us. We are His people and He told us to spread the good news. That is the answer to today’s dry bones – tell everybody that Jesus has worked out our salvation and this world is not our home. “If My people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked way, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14