The Prophet Amos said these words:
Hear this word the Lord has spoken against you, O people of
Israel—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt: “You only have I
chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all
your sins. Do two walk together unless
they agree?”
This was not the first time God himself was against
Israel. Throughout Israel’s history, God
showed them no favoritism. Even in
choosing them from among all nations, it wasn’t because they were special. Quite the opposite, as shown in Deuteronomy
Chapter 9. Abraham was a nomad with a barren
wife. God chose to make Abraham a nation for the salvation of all nations. God never intended Israel an unconditional
place of privilege. If Israel disagreed
with God, God disagreed with Israel.
I understand God promised that if any were against Israel,
God would be against them. (See Genesis 12.)
Yet God conditioned Israel’s promise of protection to Israel’s
submission, as seen in Deuteronomy 28. In this chapter God makes clear that if
they obey, they will be blessed, and if they disobey, they will be cursed. This
is true of Israel and every nation, including our very own nation.
Some misunderstand God’s unconditional promise to
Abraham. They fail to understand that this
promise was made about Abraham’s descendant, namely, Christ. And it was made for all nations, not just
Israel. Through Christ, all nations
would be blessed. (See Galatians Chapter 3.)
The prophet Asa said these words to Israel, “The LORD is with you while you are with
Him. If you seek Him, He will allow you
to find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” Again, this is not just true of Israel, but
of all people. As the prophet Amos said,
“Do two walk together unless they agree?”
If Israel, as a nation, continues to disagree with who her
messiah is, then God is not with her.
Yet if Americans disagree with God’s sovereignty, not realizing that His
Kingdom is not a democracy, then he also disagrees with us. God is not against
Palestine or for Israel. God is not
against Iraq and for America.
Notice the
words of God to Joshua:
Now when Joshua was near
Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword
in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our
enemies?”
“Neither,” he replied,
“but as commander of the army of the Lord I
have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked
him,
“What message does my Lord have
for his servant?”
The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the
place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. Joshua 5:13-15
As I have heard Pastor Tony Evans say, “God does not take
sides, He takes over.”
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