Israel’s Hiding Place

“Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish” (Isaiah 41:11).

When we concern ourselves with Israel, we are approaching the vicinity of God’s presence. Why? Because Israel is chosen by God for a specific purpose: to reveal His salvation to the world—Emmanuel, “God with us.” Often, we have pointed to verse 17 in the previous chapter, which speaks of the nations of the world: “All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.”

Is Israel perfect? Far from it. But that does not give us the jurisdiction to judge or condemn. Here an example: we read in Numbers 14:22, “Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice.” Israel received the Ten Commandments through Moses, yet they rebelled “ten times”: “...these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice.”

A few chapters later in the book of Numbers, we read of the Gentile prophet Balaam. He is instructed to curse Israel, which would bring him great riches, as promised by the king of the Moabites, Balak. The report is found in Numbers 22—24.

When Balaam finally agreed to inquire about Israel and to curse them, we read: “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them ... Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!” (Numbers 23:21, 23).

Quite interesting: in Numbers 14, we noticed that they were excessively rebellious and disobedient, yet here the prophet Balaam reveals them as a virtually perfect nation. An intellectual contradiction?

Here is the lesson. The Gentile prophet could only see Israel from God’s perspective, in which His unconditional grace and blessings would follow that nation. Balaam was not allowed to look into the family of Israel—the controversies, the rebellions, the stiff-necked disobedience. He only received what God gave him; namely, His promises to His people.

All of us have experienced at one time or another how our parents, relatives, or siblings protected us. It’s a family issue; neighbors or the outside world have no right to interfere. I would never tolerate a neighbor coming to my house to punish my children. It’s my responsibility, not theirs.

Israel’s Hiding Place
Concerning anti-Semitism—which, by the way, also includes anti-Zionism and antiIsraelism—how safe are the Jews outside Israel? An article from the Jerusalem Post on 22 June 2022 reads:

The countries were ranked in the following order, from best to worst: Italy, Hungary, Denmark, the UK, Austria, Holland, Sweden, Germany, Spain, France, Poland and Belgium. The rankings took into account all the categories that were measured.

“Negative sentiment against Jews is unequivocally tied to Israel,” said Rabbi Menachem Margolin. “When Israel is attacked, the Jews are attacked. Israel knows how much it needs other countries, particularly through the strong Jewish communities in those countries. Most European Jews don’t even identify as Jewish—85%. But whilst they are here, we need to keep them safe.”

Quite a shocking statement, “Most European Jews don’t even identify as Jewish—85%.” However, that all changes when they return to the land of their fathers: the Promised Land.

Something remarkable then happens: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). Note very carefully the words “new heart” and “new spirit.” One needs to read the entire chapter to see how God works with His people in a rather mysterious way. 

He begins by addressing the topographical area of the land of Israel, for a very specific reason: “...yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come” (verse 8b). It started in 1882 with the first Aliyah (return of Jews to Israel) and continues to this day, but that’s not the end.

What is the reason for the return of the Jews to the land of their fathers? Not just to receive a new heart and a new spirit, which is self-evident and can be proven without a shadow of a doubt. AEI.org documents Nobel Prizes that were awarded from 1901 to 2020, showing that 22.4% of the recipients were Jewish. Yet Jews make up only 0.2% of the world population. That is the new heart and the new spirit. 

Again, this is not the end, because we read in the next verse: “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (verse 27). Note, not the new spirit, but “my spirit.” That, friends, is yet to come. When God puts His Spirit in the heart of the Jew, verse 28 will be fulfilled: “And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

Midnight Call - 11/2022