I am devoting my most current blog series to a very important issue that I believe is crucial for us followers of the one and only true God to understand. It is central to God’s plan of salvation through the Jewish people (to the Gentiles) and for the Jewish people.

In the first part of this series on Israel’s Rejection…, I wrote, “I have chosen to call this blog entry “Israel’s rejection”. While I know this can trigger some strong responses, I felt it was important to clarify why Israel (as a people) rejected Yeshua as their promised Messiah when He came over two thousand years ago. Whether it’s blaming the Jews for Yeshua’s death (“Christ killers”), misusing words from the Bible to ridicule the Jewish people as a “stiff-necked people”, or attributing the “pride” of the Jewish people as the reason for the rejection of Yeshua, etc., many believers simply do not understand why Israel had to reject Him.”

There is a problematic trend in the Body of Messiah when it comes to reading Scripture, which is to splice it up and only study certain parts in depth while ignoring other parts. The word of God, the Bible, is one entire book and it must be read and understood as such. The ancient prophets of the Tanakh (Hebrew scriptures) are just as important to our understanding of the LORD as are the Gospels and the Pauline writings! Many believers do not heed some very important prophetic warnings that God gave to us. My dear brothers and sisters, it is very dangerous to pick and choose what we want from the Word of God. We simply can’t manipulate God’s Word to our liking in order to fit our opinions and biases.

Sadly, this was the case with some early modern Church leaders, who had a great desire to achieve their earthly desires and by doing so, fed their arrogance and pride by wanting to “convert” Jews to Christianity. First of all, Jews cannot be converted to another religion by believing in their Messiah! Secondly, the reality is that no man can bring someone from darkness to light…only God can, through His Spirit! Many of the Church Fathers’ motives were not to bring the Good News to the Jewish people, but rather to change their religion. When one comes with such an attitude, one is missing the mark to which God has entrusted us. Tragically, due to their failure to achieve their own agenda, these men turned against the Jewish people and wrote some of the harshest words against them. In fact, Hitler and those in the BDS movement have used these writings to justify their actions against Israel and the Jewish people.

Paul gave a very specific warning to the Gentile believers in Messiah in Romans 11:18-21: “do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you.”

Paul foresaw something that would be a problem in the Body of Messiah, and he was stern in his warning that the Gentiles (those who are grafted in to the Olive Tree) not become arrogant. This pride has led to faulty theology causing well-meaning believers who love the LORD to believe lies such as God is finished with Israel due to their disobedience and rejection of Yeshua, and that “the Church” today is the true Israel.

My brothers and sisters, we cannot allow arrogance and pride to take root in our hearts, especially regarding the Jewish people! God is not finished with Israel, and will never forsake the Jewish people. There will come a day when Israel will collectively receive Yeshua’s atonement and it will be “life from the dead.” (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:15) Please search your hearts regarding this issue. It is not too late to seek the LORD’s forgiveness and align with His plan.

Shabbat Shalom,

Moran