By Dr. David R. Reagan
Founder & Director, Lamb & Lion Ministries
The greatest miracle of the 20th Century was the re-establishment of the state of Israel. It was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy, and the United States played a key role in that fulfillment.
How have we interacted with the state of Israel since that time, and what does the Bible say about our future relationship?Let’s begin by taking a look at the history of our relationship, considering each U.S. Administration since 1948 when the state of Israel came back into being.
Truman
Our relationship with the state of Israel began on the best possible terms in 1948 when President Harry S Truman recognized the state of Israel immediately after David Ben Gurion had read the Declaration of Independence.1
Truman had already shown a heart for the Jewish people in his speeches during World War II when he referred to Hitler as a “mad man” and warned that the “Nazi beasts” were carrying out a “systematic slaughter” of the Jews.2 He favored allowing Jewish refugees into the country during and after World War II. But the Congress balked at his proposal, so after he became President, he issued an executive order called the “Truman Directive,” on December 22, 1945.3 This order opened the door and 23,000 Jewish refugees came in during the next two years.
Truman continued to pressure the Congress, and in 1948 he finally got legislation that permitted 80,000 Jewish refugees to enter the country.4
Truman’s swift action on May 14, 1948 made the United States the first nation to recognize the state of Israel — and our recognition gave legitimacy to the state in the eyes of the world.5
Truman took this action because he was a student of the Bible, and he believed the Jewish people had a right to the land.6 Amazingly, he took the action despite the fact that almost every person in his administration opposed it. The opponents included the Secretary of Defense, James Forrestal, and the Secretary of State, George Marshall, both of whom strongly opposed recognition.
In fact, one of the only persons in the Truman Administration who encouraged recognition was the president’s personal legal counsel, Clark Clifford, who cited verses from Deuteronomy to verify the Jewish claim to the land. Clifford also believed that recognition would be an “act of humanity” in response to the Holocaust.7
Truman later referred to his decision as “one of the proudest moments of my life.”8
But despite the crucial support Truman gave, he instituted an arms embargo on Israel in the naive hope that it would prevent violence in the Middle East.9
Read how different US Presidents treated Israel!
Summary
The record of U.S. relations with Israel has been erratic from the start.
Even President Truman, who offered immediate recognition, decided to slap an arms embargo on the fledgling nation.
Since that time, we have often treated the Jewish nation with disdain, forcing its leaders to do whatever we desired through the manipulation of foreign aid and through threats of one kind or another.
And, the Israeli government has had little choice but to conform to our demands. That’s because the stark reality is that our veto in the UN Security Council is the only thing that prevents the world from placing draconian sanctions on Israel that would destroy the nation’s economy in short order.
Overall, I would say that until Obama, the Democrat Presidents have been much more favorable to Israel than have the Republicans.
Recent Years
In recent years, since the early 1990s, we have become increasingly hostile to Israel as we have literally forced them to take the self-defeating path of appeasement. Additionally, year after year, we have insulted the people of Israel by refusing to recognize Jerusalem as their capital.
Think for a moment about what an incredible insult this is to the Jewish people. It is equivalent to the Israelis declaring that they do not recognize Washington, DC as our capital, and then proceeding to place their Embassy in Chicago.
Yet, despite our checkered record of support, we have been Israel’s best friend. They have been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II. To date, the United States has provided Israel with $121 billion in aid, almost all of it in the form of military assistance.66
The Future
But the handwriting is on the wall. The days of American support are numbered. The time has come for the Israeli leadership to face up to the fact that its hope and trust needs to be placed in Almighty God and not in the United States.
In like manner, the time has come for our nation to realize that in our manhandling of Israel, we are courting the wrath of God.
Biblical Insights
Let’s conclude by taking a look at what the Bible has to say about all the pressure that is being applied to Israel by the United States and the rest of the world.
Of course, the most important verses are to be found in Genesis 12:1-3 where God told Abraham that He would bless his decendents through Isaac and that He would bless those who bless the Jews and curse those who curse the Jews.
And history attests to the fact that God has been faithful to that promise. Throughout history, the nations and empires who have persecuted the Jews have ended up in the dust bin of history.
The prophet Zechariah said that in the end times the nations of the world would continue to ignore God’s warning about mistreating the Jews. He prophesied that all the nations of the world — all — would come against Israel over the issue of the control of Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2-3):
2) Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.
3) It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.
And the prophet Joel warned that those who get involved in this process of pressuring Israel to divide up its land will experience the wrath of God (Joel 3:1-2):
1) For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2) I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.
The Folly of Appeasement
History proves conclusively that a policy of appeasement never works because all it does is whet the appetite of the aggressor. Winston Churchill put it this way: “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”67
Both the world’s political leaders and the Humanistic leaders of Israel are deceived into believing that the Arab-Israeli crisis is a political one that can be solved with political compromise. But the fact of the matter is that it is not a political crisis — it is a spiritual one that is immune to political settlement.
Satan’s Goal
It is fueled by Satan’s maniacal hatred of the Jewish people. He hates them because:
1) Through them God gave the world His Word.
2) Through them God provided the world’s Savior.
Satan also hates them because God chose them as His witnesses to the world and has promised to bring a great remnant of them to salvation through faith in their Messiah.
Satan wants to prevent God from fulfilling that promise, and so he is determined to kill every Jew on planet earth.He has tried it once before through Hitler. He is preparing to try again through the Antichrist.
But Satan will fail, for God has decreed that a great remnant of His Chosen People will be saved and will serve as the nucleus of a Jewish population that will become the prime nation of the world during the Millennium.
Conclusion
True peace is coming to Israel — but not through peace treaties negotiated by men. It will be achieved when the Prince of Peace breaks from the heavens and arrives on the Mount of Olives, and the Jewish people will cry out: “Baruch Haba B’Shem Adonai!” (Matthew 23:39).
Meanwhile we need to pray for our nation, because our leaders are literally crying out for the wrath of God to fall upon us as we try to force the Israelis to divide their capital city and surrender their heartland.
Psalm 122:6 commands us to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”Since peace will not come to Jerusalem until the Prince of Peace returns, that prayer is really a prayer for the return of Jesus. So pray it fervently, and in the meantime, get up every morning, look at the sky and cry out: “Maranatha! Maranatha! Maranatha! Come quickly, Lord Jesus!”
Read how different US Presidents treated Israel!
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“‘Have you understood all these things?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old’” (Matthew 13:51–52).
Not of this World 