HOW SHOULD WE PRAY FOR ISRAEL? Andrew Larkin
PART 1: WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ISRAEL? HOW SHOULD WE PRAY?
Following the events of Saturday when Hamas launched its attack on Israel, people have reacted with horror and outrage regarding what has happened; and concern about will happen next. Others have tried to justify the attacks. For a helpful article on why one can condemn Hamas’ actions without then justifying all Israel has ever done, see: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/israel-hamas-moral-clarity/
Alongside that, the question has been asked, “Can I pray for Israel?” to which the answer is, “Yes, of course.” This then raises other questions. First, “What do you mean by Israel?” and, second, “How should we pray for Israel and for those in Palestine on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank?” This is before getting into the rights and wrongs of all that has gone on in Israel since the launch of the nation state in 1948; and issues going back to the British gaining control of Palestine in 1917. For more on this, see:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-know-creation-modern-israel/
When it comes to Israel, people in the church can get very passionate, whilst others give the issue little thought. Some view Israel as integral to the gospel, central in God’s plans and purposes, and something we do not talk about enough, and certainly should discuss more. In contrast, some take the view that Israel, as a nation, served its purposes in the Old Testament but (following the coming of Jesus and the reality of the “one new man in Christ”, Jew and Gentile) is not something we should focus on, aside from knowing our biblical history and roots. There are, of course, several other views in between.
What’s at stake here? Theologically, there are several. The view one takes on Israel’s ongoing role in God’s plans and purposes (or otherwise) impacts on several ways in which we read the Bible. For example:
- How do we read the covenants in the Bible: the Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic and New covenant? Is there, essentially, one covenant in the Old Testament (incorporating all those just mentioned) and another in the New? Or are each of these doing slightly different things and if so which, if any, are ongoing; and which have been fulfilled in Christ?
- Does God deal differently with His people depending upon which covenant we are in?
- How do we understand the rejection of Jesus by the crowds and religious leaders of the day; and the rejection of the gospel message in the book of Acts (Acts 18:6) which leads people like Paul to go the Gentiles?
- What does Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” mean? Is it a historical statement or a theology of practice?
- How should we read passages like Romans 9-11 and, particularly, 11:26, “…and in this way all Israel will be saved?
These are important questions. Answering some of these will help us pray for the situation in Israel. For those suffering. For those who have had loved ones destroyed. For Israelis and Palestinians. For evil doers, hell-bent on death and destruction, as Hamas are, to be stopped.