Do you support Israel or Palestine?

The current dispute in the Holy Land (which is what I’ll call that part of the world) is primarily historical and political rather than theological. There are Christian Israelis and there are Christian Palestinians, most of whom are caught in the crossfire between radical Zionist Jews and radical Islamist Muslims who want to see their enemies be eliminated or kicked out “from the river to the sea”.

Now to be clear, there are Christians who believe that God’s plan for Israel includes the modern Jewish state. These Christians (often evangelicals) are some of the most ardent supporters of modern Israel today.

These Christians ignore, however, the fact that modern Israel is largely unfaithful to their God, disobedient to the Torah, and still continue to violently reject the preaching of the Christian Gospel, and are therefore re-affirming their ancestors’ rejection of their Messiah.

And just as the unfaithful Jews were cut off from the Olive Tree of God’s People then (see Romans 11), they continue to be cut off today. And a rebellious people cannot claim the benefits of a covenant (i.e. having the land of Canaan) when they themselves reject that same covenant. That is my basic position, which I was convinced of by John Piper (see link).

As Christians we believe that Jesus is Lord of all, in whom all can be reconciled, who breaks down the “dividing wall of hostility”. To pray for peace in the Holy Land is to pray for the conversion of both unbelieving Israelis and unbelieving Palestinians. Only then can there be peace.

In the meantime, we can only pray that this issue can be resolved in a democratic manner that truly takes into account the voices of the ordinary people of that land, and not those of politicians and radicals.

And finally, to answer your question, we should be able to reject the evil and atrocities committed both by Israel and by Palestine. “Of two evils, choose neither,” said Spurgeon.