Praying for Peace

The current conflict in Israel is not current. It has been going on for decades and this history is complex. In Genesis, God made a covenant with Abraham to give them the land. While slight boundary changes appear in the OT books, the people of God believed this part of the world was given to them by God and they are willing to fight for it.

This morning I read this from one of the OT prophets…

So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord God. (Ezekiel 47:21–23)

A bit of a search told me that Ezekiel was saying God was not pleased with the way His people were oppressing those who attached themselves to also live in this area by denying them justice. A vision of the future goes beyond the law of Moses by giving property rights to these people, not those who might want to just live there, but those who attached themselves to the Israelite community. In addition, he uses the old formula of Levitical law that says “the foreigner joined to the Lord” have the same right as any exiled Israelite in the matter of inquiring of the Lord through the prophet (14:7).

Another source says that Ezekiel does not grant equal rights with native-born Israelites to “strangers” indiscriminately, or only to those of them who have families, but to those who  permanently settle in the midst of Israel and show this by having children and building houses for themselves. Even though this could suggest careful interpretation (an influx of Gentiles could make life difficult for the Jews in this small space) these verses could be symbolic.

When I read them, I wondered if God’s heart is telling His people to treat those who live in the West Bank and in Gaza with hospitality rather than bombs, so did a brief search that told me the difference between those two settlements is their belief systems. Gaza’s mix of people includes a large group that is determined to destroy Israel. Many on the West Bank are less violent but have the same resistance to the existence of Israel. These people are enemies.

While the situation is far more complex than what I am gleaning, I know that there is a symbolism in Ezekiel 47. It affirms that the only way Gentiles can share in the promised inheritance of the new temple and land is to become part of Israel. Gentile aliens or sojourners are to be considered the same as native born sons of Israel and allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. This hinges on these sojourners having a life in common with the Jews, not a determination to destroy them.

However, the NT clarifies that Gentiles cannot partake of Israel’s OT promises by becoming a part of Israel’s theocratic society. But they can have access to the promises. Here’s how…

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. . . .  That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”. . . . (Romans 4:13-17)

The Gospel means that all nations are invited to share in true Israel’s redemptive blessing by trusting in Jesus, the true seed of Abraham and the only authentic Israelite, who died and rose again for both Jew and Gentile. Everyone represented by Jesus, the ideal king and Israelite, is considered part of true Israel and therefore shares in the blessings that God gives. 

Does this include a plot of ground in Israel? Some Christians do live there, even in Gaza and the West Bank. Does the passage in Ezekiel call for discernment and greater justice for them? AI says they have religious freedoms, yet persecution happens. 

PRAY: You tell me to pray for peace in Jerusalem: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you!” (Psalm 122:6) so I know Your heart on this ongoing, centuries-old conflict. Thankfully, You also reveal that one day Jesus will return and bring peace. While we wait, grant that peace of heart that surpasses understanding as I pray for this and so many other issues and conflicts that tug at my heart.