A few days ago, a friend shared a conversation she had after a service at her congregation. Another woman approached her with a sincere question: "Is the State of Israel today really the same Israel we read about in the Bible?"

Sadly, this is not an isolated question. It reflects a belief that has become increasingly common among many well meaning believers. After decades of being exposed to replacement theology, many have come to believe that God has finished with Israel and that the Church has become the true Israel.

I believe this confusion also reveals something deeply tragic. Many believers have become so influenced by these teachings that they fail to recognize one of the greatest miracles of our generation. Before our very eyes, God has been fulfilling promises He made thousands of years ago to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by gathering the Jewish people from the nations and bringing them back to the land He promised them.

One of the reasons I know the Bible is true is because it never attempts to portray Israel as a perfect nation. From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures honestly record the failures, sins, victories, and restoration of God's people. The question has never been whether Israel would be perfect. The question has always been whether God would remain faithful to the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Perhaps this should not surprise us because throughout history God's people have often struggled to recognize His hand as His promises unfolding before them.

As I continued reading this week's Parashah, I found myself thinking about Israel as they stood on the eastern side of the Jordan River. The land God had promised was before them, yet so were powerful nations, fortified cities, and enemies much stronger than they were. From a human perspective, what they saw seemed to contradict what God had promised.

Moses knew exactly what would be going through their minds:

If you should say in your heart, 'These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?' You shall not be afraid of them; you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.
Deuteronomy 7:17–18

One thing immediately caught my attention. Moses does not tell Israel to ignore the reality before them. The nations were indeed stronger, and the obstacles were very real. Instead, he reminds the people of another reality that was even greater. The same God who brought them out of Egypt had not changed simply because they were now facing different enemies.

I believe we face the very same temptation today. It is easy to allow what we see to shape what we believe. We look at the circumstances around us and begin to wonder whether God is still at work. We allow today's headlines to become louder than God's Word. That is why Moses called Israel to remember.

As I continued reading the Haftarah portion, I noticed that Isaiah presents the very same struggle:

But Zion said, 'The Lord has abandoned me, and the Lord has forgotten me.'
Isaiah 49:14

Once again, God's people allowed their circumstances to shape their understanding of God. Yet His answer is one of the most beautiful promises found anywhere in Scripture:

Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.
Isaiah 49:15–16

As I look around me here in Israel today, I understand why some people ask the question my friend was asked. We live in a nation that has been at war for almost three years. We see enemies on every border, we watch as more nations distance themselves from Israel, and we witness growing hostility toward the Jewish people around the world. If we focus only on what we see, it would be easy to reach the very same conclusion Zion reached. Yet God's answer remains exactly the same today as it was through the prophet Isaiah. He has not forgotten His people because He cannot deny His own character nor the covenant He established.

As we continue reading from Isaiah 49:26:

I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, and they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all humanity will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Isaiah reminds us that history is moving toward the day when every nation will know that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has remained faithful to every promise He has ever made. His justice will prevail, His purposes will stand, and His covenant will endure forever.

The question my friend was asked deserves an answer. The question is not whether this is still the Israel of the Bible. The question is whether the God of the Bible is still faithful to His Word.

If we believe that He is, then perhaps we should ask ourselves another question. How far have we drifted from the clear teaching of God's Word if we can no longer recognize the fulfillment of His promises unfolding before our very eyes?

I believe that the regathering of the Jewish people from the nations back to the land God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is one of the greatest demonstrations of God's faithfulness in our generation. Before our very eyes, He is fulfilling promises He made thousands of years ago exactly as He said He would.

As I finished reading this week's Parashah and Haftarah, I found myself returning to the question my friend was asked. The question is not whether this is still the Israel of the Bible. The question is whether the God of the Bible is still faithful to His Word.

If the answer to that question is yes, then perhaps the greatest miracle of our generation is not simply that Israel exists again. Perhaps the greatest miracle is that after thousands of years, we are watching the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob continue to fulfill His Word exactly as He said He would.

The Haftarah concludes with words that beautifully summarize this truth:

Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; when he was but one I called him, then I blessed him and multiplied him. Indeed, the Lord will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of a melody.
Isaiah 51:1–3

Isaiah directs our attention back to where it all began. He reminds us to look to Abraham and to remember that the God who called one man, established a covenant with him, multiplied his descendants, and promised them the land has never abandoned His plan. The same God who was faithful then remains faithful today. He has not forgotten His people, He has not forgotten His covenant, and He has not forgotten His promises.

As believers, whether Jewish or from among the nations, our response ought to be the same. We should remember what God has done, trust what He has said, and walk confidently in the knowledge that His Word is true, His covenant is everlasting, and His faithfulness endures from generation to generation.

Shabbat Shalom,

Moran