Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers!”
For my brothers and companions’ sake
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.
- Ps 122:6-9
Dear Christian, God loves the Jewish people, and therefore, you must too (Rom 11:17-24).
The Jewish people have a special place in redemptive history. When God called Abraham and made a covenant with him, it bestowed blessings on Israel and anticipated the future blessings that gentiles would receive in Christ (Gen 12:1-3, Gal 3:7-9). The Bible is clear that the Lord freely and graciously chose Abraham, and consequently Israel, and set them apart not because of anything special about them, but solely because the Lord set His love on them (Deut 7:6-9). God’s love for His people was further affirmed when Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, came to the earth. During His earthly ministry, Jesus was plain that he first came “for the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt 15:24). Further, when Jesus sent out his disciples, he was plain that they were to go “only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and declare that the kingdom of God was at hand” (Matt 10:5-7). The apostle Paul affirmed this same truth, that the gospel went to the Jew first and then the gentile (Rom 1:16). Moreover, Paul did everything he could to bring the Jewish people to salvation (Rom 9:1-3; 10:1; 11:13-14). As Paul later articulated in the book of Romans, there is a mystery to Israel’s salvation, such that a partial hardening of Israel is underway now and will last until the fullness of Gentile believers have been saved (Rom 11:25-26). Revelation 7 details that God has sealed 144,000 (which is a symbolic number representing completeness) of both Jewish believers and the Church for Himself in the end times. These truths affirm that God not only has an irrevocable love for His chosen people, but also a plan for His beloved, chosen people throughout time and in the end times (Rom 11:2). Thus, until that time, dear Christian, you are called to love the Jewish people and share the gospel with them.
Dear Christian, you are called to pray for the peace, safety, and welfare of Israel (Ps 122:6-9).
While a distinction can be drawn between the nation-state of Israel and the Jewish people, we would be wise to consider these verses contextually. When King David penned this, the Jewish people were residing in the land which the Lord promised to them. Thus, by praying for the peace and welfare of Jerusalem in our modern day and age, one is praying for the protection, safety, peace, and good for the Jewish people.
Throughout the centuries, various religious and ethnic groups have sought their extinction. And yet, throughout the centuries, the Lord has preserved them. Most recently, we can recall the atrocities that occurred on October 7 at the hands of Hamas. They stormed into Israel unannounced and beheaded babies, raped young girls and women, murdered thousands of Jewish people, and took hostages. This was the greatest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. And while Palestine did not commit those atrocities, 75% of the Palestinian people support what Hamas did (DailyWire). And we are seeing this same disdain and hatred here in America. Riots and encampments have broken out on countless college campus and in many major metropolitan cities. The lives of Jewish people residing in our own country are at risk. Therefore, dear Christian, you are called to pray for the protection of the Jewish people. And I would argue that should a time come that mirrors the heinous acts of the Holocaust, we are called to not only pray for their protection but also be an agent of that protection. Heroes like the Ten Booms and Deitrich Bonhoeffer are great examples to us.
Dear Christian, you are here for such a time as this (Est 4:14).
The book of Esther recounts events that took place after God’s people were exiled from their land by the Babylonians and living under Persian rule (roughly 485-464 B.C.). During that time, the Persian King sought a new queen. And after many months and events, Esther won his favor (Est 2:17). Haman was second in command to the king and sought the destruction of the Jews, making a deceitful decree for the hour and day of their murder. But God used Esther, a Jewish woman crowned queen, to reveal and thwart Haman’s insidious plan and to save God’s people. As she was contemplating if and when to do this, her uncle encouraged her that she was brought to the castle, “for such a time as this” (Est 4:17).
I have no doubt that you, dear Christian, are here for such a time as this. We cannot be silent or indifferent when people call for the extinction of God’s people “from the river to the sea.” We cannot stand idly by as college campuses and cities demand death to Israel. Hatred for the Jewish people is not biblical. Hatred for the Jewish people does not reflect God’s heart. I pray that you will be emboldened to speak out against antisemitism, that you would stand strong in the day of adversity, and rescue those who are being taken away to death (Pro 24:11). Furthermore, dear Christian, recognize that by standing alongside the Jewish people, you are given an extraordinary opportunity to share the love of Christ with them, which again, mirrors God’s heart and plan for the Jewish people.
Dear Christian, you are called to pray for lost souls (Acts 26:18).
As you seek the welfare of the Jewish people (both spiritually and physically), you are also called to pray for those who persecute them. God can change the most unlikely of hearts (Acts 9:1-31, 1 Tim 1:15), so we must pray that they would be brought to repentance. What a great promise we find in Romans, that for those who are in Christ, there is no condemnation (8:1). This affirms that even the most heinous of sins can be forgiven due to the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Acts 2:21).
Prayer: Ask the Lord to search your heart for any antisemitism. If yes, confess that sin and ask for the Lord to empower you to love them. Take time praying Psalm 122, specifically verses 6-9. Ask the Lord to give you boldness for “such a time as this” to speak the truth and for courage to stand with the Jewish people. Pray for those who persecute the Jewish people, that they would repent.
Reflection:
- Are there specific Jewish neighbors, friends, or loved ones to whom you need to reach out?
- Are there people in your sphere that you can encourage or admonish to love the Jewish people? Ask the Lord to give you wisdom to speak the truth in love (Col 4:6).
- Pray for tangible ways that you can stand with and support the Jewish people and fight against antisemitism.
Song to Sing: “Holy Forever”
A thousand generations falling down in worship
To sing the song of ages to the Lamb
And all who’ve gone before us, and all who will believe
Will sing the song of ages to the Lamb
Your name is the highest
Your name is the greatest
Your name stands above them all
All thrones and dominions
All powers and positions
Your name stands above them all
