BLESSING ISRAEL

Nov 1

*Praying for Jerusalem at the Kotel, the Western Wall. - David Kiern*

If I mention the name Balaam, you might think of the guy in the Bible with the talking donkey. At least that’s the part of the story that makes it into most children’s Bibles and Sunday School stories. Over the past few centuries, pastors have delivered clever sermons gleaned from this unique story. (Not all bad: one of my favorites was about never letting a donkey out-praise me!)

I always assumed Balaam was a good, Jewish gentleman, like almost everyone else in the Bible, albeit with a bit of a temper.

But he was not Jewish, and the best part of the story happens after his beast of burden waxes eloquent.

Balaam was a Diviner, a Warlock, consulting with the spirit-world to deliver ill-gained messages to mankind. This practice was strictly prohibited by God among the people of Israel. However, King Balak of Moab hired Balaam to come curse this new nation of Israel who’d been notoriously and miraculously delivered from Egyptian slavery, and remarkably sustained for 40 years in the desert. Now millions of Israelites covered the face of his land, and the king of Moab wanted them cursed!

But God… wasn’t about to allow that to happen.

God warned Balaam, this demonic soothsayer, “You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”

***Plot twist:***

***Balaam BLESSES Israel!***

In a series of episodes that reads like a television comedy (where the Moabite king is the brunt of a cruel joke), Balaam, instead of cursing Israel, insists on blessing them over and over again, going so far as to prophesy that a distant Figure would rise from Israel like a Star and a Scepter to crush the foreheads of Moab! The king was furious, but Balaam just kept blessing Israel.

Did Israel deserve such favor from God?

Had they acted perfectly up to that point?

FAR FROM IT.

Adultery, deception, murder, and idol worship were present even among the Patriarchs themselves. Israel’s sinfulness only intensified throughout its desert wanderings. Open any page in the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament, and you will find the people of Israel, her kings, and her religious leadership all acting contrary to God’s instructions.

However, God is faithful to His unconditional, irrevocable promise to bless this family set apart from other nations, regardless of their actions.

He’s faithful still.

“But, doesn’t God love all people?”

“Didn’t Jesus die for all people?”

“Don’t all lives matter?”

Of course He does, absolutely He did, and yes they matter.

The fact remains: God set Israel apart as a distinct People, calling them His firstborn son, and the apple of His eye. Don’t miss this: He promised to bless the people (whose lives all matter) who bless Israel, and to curse the people (whose lives all matter) who curse Israel. That’s how it works.

God’s love for all people does not negate His promise to bless or curse those same people according to how they treat Israel.

Recently, a Christian Pastor stated that when we pray for peace, we pray for peace everywhere: for all people. That sounds nice, like a good Miss Universe quote, but the truth is that I often pray for peace, safety, and wisdom over specific people like my wife and my children. Sometimes, I even pray for a specific child, without having prayed for my wife! And vise versa. I do this without guilt or apology. Targeted prayer focuses my heart, not to the exclusion of others, but to the specificity of the one.

The Bible, in no uncertain terms, directs us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Feel free to pray for world peace along with Pageant Contestants. Pray for your hometown, your home state, your home country. Pray for Iran, Russia, North Korea, Gaza… but don’t NOT pray for Jerusalem’s peace! That would be disobeying a Biblical directive.

*IDF soldiers overlooking Gaza, October 2023*

Finally, the Bible indicates there is a time for peace, and sadly, there is also a time for war. I believe the atrocities committed on October 7th, 2023 by Hamas upon the people of Israel called for such a time of war. War waged for the purpose of reclaiming the hostages that were taken, for eradicating evil, and for securing shalom for every resident in the Land, as much as humanly possible.

*The City of David seen from the Mount of Olives - David Kiern*

As Christians, we ultimately long for the Prince of Peace, Yeshua, to return as King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and reign from Jerusalem once and for all.

Until then, there will be wars and rumors of wars, just like He told us. So, when I pray for “the peace of Jerusalem”, I’m absolutely praying for the Prince of Peace to come quickly so that striving and wars will cease. On that Day, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away" (Rev 21:2-4).