BIBLICAL OUTLINE: SUPPORT OF ISRAEL
BIBLICAL OUTLINE: SUPPORT OF ISRAEL
"Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." (Proverbs 30:5)
God’s Word is the unshakable foundation of our beliefs. As Christians we must submit every thought to Christ’s authority, approaching every issue by asking: “What does God’s Word say about this?”
Applying biblical principles to governance uplifts those around us, strengthens our communities, invites God’s blessing, and demonstrates love for our neighbors.
We hope this overview of biblical teaching will be a valuable resource for you!
❖ God chose the Jewish people as His “treasured possession” (Deuteronomy 7:6)
In His sovereign plan, God set the Jewish people apart for His redemptive purposes, to reflect His faithfulness and love to all mankind across history.
➢ God called Abraham, blessed him, and made an unconditional covenant with him (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1-21, 17:1-27)
➢ God chose the Jewish people
▪ Not because they were strong or numerous, but because He loves them (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)
▪ To demonstrate His power through weakness (Deuteronomy 4:37-39)
▪ To demonstrate His faithfulness to His covenants (Deuteronomy 7:9)
▪ To give humanity God’s Law (Romans 3:2)
▪ To make Himself known to the nations (Deuteronomy 4:6-8)
▪ To combat idolatry (Isaiah 43:10-12)
▪ To send the Messiah (Isaiah 59:20, Romans 1:2-5, 11:26-27)
❖ God made an everlasting covenant with the Jewish people (Jeremiah 32:40)
➢ “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” (Genesis 17:7)
➢ “He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant…” (Psalm 105:7-10)
➢ “‘For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says theLord, who has compassion on you.” (Isaiah 54:10)
BIBLICAL OUTLINE: SUPPORT OF ISRAEL
❖ God gave the land of Canaan to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants
➢ All Canaan is “an everlasting possession” of Abraham and his offspring (Genesis 17:8)
➢ All the land of Canaan was given to Isaac and his offspring (Genesis 26:3-4)
▪ Note: God also blessed Ishmael, but the promised land of Canaan was not given to him or to his descendants (Genesis 17:20-21)
➢ The land of Canaan was given to Jacob and his offspring (Genesis 35:10-12)
❖ God has rescued the Jews throughout biblical history…
➢ From kings and world leaders
▪ Pharaoh, Sihon & Og, Balak, Senacherib, Haman, and others (Exodus 1:15-16, Numbers 21:21-35, Numbers 22:16, 2 Kings 18:13-19:37, Esther Chapter 3)
➢ From Canaanite neighbors
▪ Amalekites, Moabites, Ammonites, Midianites, Philistines, and others (Exodus17:8-16, Joshua 11:1-8, Judges 3:12-15, 6:2-4, 16:27-31, 1 Samuel 17:50-54)
❖ God has rescued the Jews throughout modern history…
The Jewish people have endured pogroms, expulsions, the Holocaust, and ongoing spiritual challenges to their covenant identity, continuing biblical patterns of opposition, and affirming both their enduring significance in God’s plan and God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises.
➢ See page 6 for five major Israeli offers of peace, rejected by the Arabs
Event
Lenin’s Policies and Pogroms 1917-1924
Stalin’s Antisemitic Campaigns 1928-1953
The Holocaust 1933-1945
Mussolini’s Racial Laws and Deportations 1938-1945
1948 Arab-Israeli War 1948-1949
Yom Kippur War October 625, 1973
Second Intifada 2000-2005
Hamas Attacks October 7, 2023
Vladimir Lenin (Soviet Union)
Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union)
Adolf Hitler (Nazi Party)
Benito Mussolini (Fascist Italy)
Multiple Arab leaders
Anwar Sadat (Egypt), Hafez al-Assad (Syria)
Number of Jews/ Israelis Killed Type of Attack
~50,000-100,000 (estimates vary)
~20,000-200,000 (estimates vary)
~6 million
~7,500
~6,000
~2,656
Yasser Arafat, (Hamas) ~1,000
Yahya Sinwar (Hamas) ~1,200
Pogroms, civil war violence, economic policies
Pogroms, purges, forced labor, executions
Genocide (ghettos, camps, starvation, etc.)
Deportations to Nazi camps, local killings
Conventional war (invasion, bombings)
Surprise military attack (tanks, airstrikes)
Terrorist attacks (suicide bombings, etc.)
Terrorist attack (massacres, abductions)
BIBLICAL OUTLINE: SUPPORT OF ISRAEL
❖ God’s continuing love for Israel
➢ “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations…” (Deuteronomy 7:9)
➢ “As regards the gospel, [Israelites] are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:28–29)
➢ The restoration of modern Israel (1948) was a miraculous and tangible reminder of God’s enduring covenant faithfulness.
❖ In Christ Jesus, Gentile believers are joined with Jewish believers as “the Church”
➢ Gentiles, once far off, are brought near, forming “one new man” with Jewish believers in the Church (Ephesians 2:11–22)
➢ Gentiles (“wild branches”) are grafted into the family of God (the “olive tree”) by their faith, sharing with Jewish believers (“the natural branches”; only a remnant today) the “nourishing root” of salvation by faith (Romans 11:17–24)
➢ “There is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:28–29)
❖ The families and nations of the world will be blessed when they bless Israel
➢ “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! ‘May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!’ For my brothers and companions’ sake I will say, ‘Peace be within you!’ For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.” (Psalm 122:6-9)
➢ “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
➢ Scripture calls believers to pray for Jerusalem’s peace, reflecting God’s love for His people and His redemptive plan centered in Zion, both as a physical city and as a symbol of His kingdom (Isaiah 62:6–7, Luke 19:41–42)
➢ This does not mean that we must endorse every action of the State of Israel, or that its leaders are above criticism. It means that we should seek the true good of the people and nation of Israel. (1 Kings 18:18)
❖ “God Has Not Rejected His People”
➢ God remains faithful to ethnic Israel; never rejecting them, despite their unbelief; affirming their enduring covenantal identity and His unchanging love.
▪ “I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!… God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.” (Romans 11:1–2, 14)
BIBLICAL OUTLINE: SUPPORT OF ISRAEL
▪ Israel retains “the covenants, the giving of the law… and the promises.” (Romans 9:4–5)
▪ “For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage” (Psalm 94:14)
▪ “…the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29)
▪ “…you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers.” (Ezekiel 36:28)
➢ God has always preserved a faithful remnant from Israel
▪ “At the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.” (Romans 11:5, see also Isaiah 10:20–22 and 1 Kings 19:18)
➢ God will ultimately save “all Israel”
▪ “All Israel will be saved… when I take away their sins.” (Romans 11:26–27)
• God’s redemptive plan includes a future salvation for “all Israel,” fulfilling His irrevocable covenant and demonstrating His mercy to His chosen people, alongside the salvation of Gentiles
➢ The evil and tragic anti-Semitism that was prevalent in “Christianity” for centuries (because of a false belief that God had rejected Israel) must be utterly repudiated and opposed (Numbers 23:8)
▪ “The church’s history of anti-Semitism is a dark stain on its witness. From the venomous sermons of John Chrysostom in the fourth century to the silence of many Christians during the Nazi era, the Church has often demonized Jews as Christ-killers or conspirators, ignoring their covenantal role in God’s plan. This theology of contempt led to ghettos, crusades, and blood libels, betraying the gospel of love.” (Gerald McDermott1)
▪ “It was often the educated clergy who were leaders in whipping up anti-Jewish feeling [during the 11th-14th Centuries], in the interests of solidifying Christian hegemony…” (Thomas Sowell2)
Recommended Resources for Deeper Study:
➢ On-Ramp to Civic Engagement, Christians Engaged video course
➢ Answers for Difficult Days: Conduct, Christians Engaged video course
➢ The Christians Engaged Biblical Outline: Justice
➢ The Christians Engaged Biblical Outline: Role of Government
Endnotes
1 Gerald R. McDermott, Israel Matters (Brazos Press, 2017), p. 47
2 Migrations And Cultures: A World View, ByThomas Sowell, 2025
BIBLICAL OUTLINE: SUPPORT OF ISRAEL
Israeli Peace Proposals Rejected by Arab States
Date/Proposal
1937 Peel Commission
1947
UN Partition Plan
Israeli Leader/ Entity
British Mandate (supported by Zionist leaders)
1967
Post-Six-Day War
Jewish Agency (David Ben-Gurion)
Group/Arab/ Palestinian Leader Summary of Proposal and Rejection
Arab Higher Committee (Haj Amin al-Husseini)
Arab Higher Committee (Haj Amin al-Husseini), Ara b League
Israeli Government (Levi Eshkol)
Arab League (Khartoum Summit)
The Peel Commission proposed partitioning Palestine into a small Jewish state (20% of land) and a larger Arab state, with a British enclave in Jerusalem. Zionist leaders accepted the proposal as a starting point. The Arab Higher Committee rejected it, demanding a single Arab state and no Jewish immigration.
UN Partition Plan (Resolution 181) proposed separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem internationalized. Jewish Agency accepted it (56% land, mostly desert). Arab Higher Committee and Arab League rejected it, refusing a Jewish state, leading to the 1948 war.
Israel offered to return most captured territories (Sinai, Golan, West Bank, Gaza) for peace after the 1967 war. Arab League at Khartoum Summit issued “Three NOs”: no peace, no recognition, and no negotiations with Israel, rejecting the proposal.
2000
Camp David Summit
2008
Olmert Plan
Israeli Government (Ehud Barak)
Israeli Government (Ehud Olmert)
Palestinian Liberation Organization (Yasser Arafat)
Palestinian Authority (Mahmoud Abbas)
Camp David Summit: Ehud Barak offered a Palestinian state on 92% of West Bank, all of Gaza, shared Jerusalem control, land swaps, and refugee resolution. Arafat rejected it, demanding full right of return and East Jerusalem control, sparking the Second Intifada.
Olmert offered a Palestinian state on 93.593.7% of West Bank, all of Gaza, a corridor linking them, shared Jerusalem control, and 5,000 refugee returns. Abbas rejected it, citing Jerusalem and refugee issues, without a counterproposal.