A Messianic Jewish minister had written:
- Antisemitism has one cause – Satan.
I responded that antisemitism is not simply Satanic:
“Understandably, you do not want to blame the victim. Nor do
we want to give additional ammo to the anti-Semite. Besides, we do not want to
give needless offense to the Jewish community and to further alienate them from
the Gospel by suggesting that they have played a role in bringing misfortune
upon themselves.
However, we cannot deny the reality of Israel’s rebellion
either and betray the Word of God in the process. Moses had attributed
anti-Semitism to Israel’s unfaithfulness:
- Deut. 28:58 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law… 28:64-65 Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations… Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart.
- Deut. 28:37 You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the LORD will drive you.
The Prophets of Israel also attributed anti-Semitism and the
resulting misfortunes to Israel’s unfaithfulness. We must do likewise and warn
Israel for their own good:
- Ezekiel 2:3-5 And He said to me: "Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse--for they are a rebellious house--yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Sometimes, we misunderstand the nature of biblical love,
thinking that it requires us to only speak comforting words. However, God
sending the Prophets with His accusing words was also a reflection of His love
for Israel.
Peter, writing to the Jews living in the Diaspora, even went
a step further, accusing his people of rejecting their promised Messiah:
- 1 Peter 2:7-8 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” [Quoting Psalm 118:22] and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense” [Quoting Isaiah 8:14]. They stumble because they disobey the word.
Peter didn’t make such accusations because of any disdain
for his own people. Instead, he evidently knew that Israel needed to hear these
words of censure, perhaps to shake them loose from their rebellion.
There are also other verses that my people should have
considered about our rejection of our Messiah:
·
Isaiah
53:3-6 He [the Messiah] was despised and rejected by men, a man of
sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and
carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and
afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his
wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has
turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
·
Isaiah
49:6-7 he says: "It is too small a thing for you [the Messiah] to
be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I
have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my
salvation to the ends of the earth." This is what the Lord says--the
Redeemer and Holy One of Israel--to him who was despised and abhorred by the
nation [of Israel], to the servant of rulers: "Kings will see you and rise
up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the
Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."
These might sound like harsh words, but they are also words
of love from God, who is trying to call Israel to repentance. However, God will
do more than call. He will also open Israel’s eyes to the One whom they have
pierced:
·
Zech.
12:10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on
me, the one they [Israel] have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one
mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a
firstborn son.”
As He has promised, He will also save His chosen in the end:
·
Hosea 1:9-11 Then the LORD said, "Call him
Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God." Yet the
Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or
counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they
will be called 'sons of the living God.' The people of Judah and the people of
Israel will be reunited...
·
Isaiah 49:14-17 But Zion said, "The LORD
has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me." "Can a mother forget the
baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though
she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of
my hands; your walls are ever before me. Your sons hasten back, and those who
laid you waste depart from you.
·
Romans 11:25-29 I do not want you to be ignorant
of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has
experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come
in. And so ALL Israel [even rebellious Israel] will be saved, as it is written:
"The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from
Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." As
far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as
election is concerned, they [Israel] are loved on account of the patriarchs,
for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.
Nevertheless, if we love, we will not withhold the necessary
words of censure, even if our people has suffered so much already.
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