Genesis 28:10-32:2
22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, "God has taken away my reproach." 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, "May the Lord add to me another son!" (Genesis 30:22-24)
In our recent Torah Portion readings we have spanned three generations from Abraham, Isaac to Jacob. With each generation there is a common theme. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all fell in love with a woman who could not bare children. Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel all conceived because God allowed them to, and in doing so, God further executed His glorious plan for the salvation of the world.
Back in Chapter 10 of Genesis, the root of 70 nations are established on the earth. Although we have over 200 nations on earth today, if you are into currency exchange, it is interesting to see that there is only 70 different types of currency in the world today. Through the sons of Noah (Japheth, Ham and Shem), God established the nations of the world, but then he created a nation to be separated from the rest of the nations through Abraham.
Although all things created are made by God, in these last few Torah portions we see Him personally creating the nation of Israel from three generations of women who were not able to bare children. These three generations of barren women bore the set apart nation of Israel. Israel is very important to the world, not just spiritually, but physically as well.
I will not go over every reason why Israel is so important because these points will be addressed in detail throughout the year as we move through the Torah portions. In this Torah portion we will look at a general view of how Israel plays a part in the salvation of the world, and we will look at some of the contributions that Israel has contributed to the world.
24 For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:24-26)
31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
Christians throughout the world recognize Ezekiel 36:24-26 and Jeremiah 31:31-34 as prophecies for the new covenant, but they often miss a key element. These prophecies of the new covenant are directed to the whole house of Israel. Although everyone has an opportunity at salvation, the new covenant is for Israel. In order for us to truly understand salvation, we must recognize the importance of Israel in the world today.
When God told Abraham that through his seed the world will be blessed, there is plenty of reasons to believe that He was talking about more than Yeshua and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (although they are the ultimate blessings). The world owes a lot to Israel.
When it comes to salvation, the roll that Israel plays is major.
You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. (John 4:22)
We know that salvation can only be obtained by faith in the blood of Messiah, so why would He say that salvation is from the Jews? Despite our disagreements with the rabbinic system, we cannot deny the fact that God still entrusts Judah (the Jews) with His oracles of life. If we were to examine the relationship between the Samaritans and the Jews, then compare the relationship between Christianity and the Jews, we would see how the similarities are uncanny. Samaritans believed that they were children of Abraham and they developed their own form of worshiping God, very similar to most of Christianity today.
Every Christian based organization in the world would not be here if it was not for Israel’s devotion to preserve the Tanach (Old Testament). Despite popular belief, the New Testament needs the Old Testament to validate it’s existence. These are just a few of the spritiual benefits that the world has gained thanks to Israel.
Israel has also contributed physical blessings as well. Here is a list of just some of the other ways that we are blessed by Israel
Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized,no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer.
An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring proper administration of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment. Every year in U. S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.
Israel's Givun imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, the camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders.
Researchers in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the heart's mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors.
In response to serious water shortages, Israeli engineers and agriculturalists developed a revolutionary drip irrigation system to minimize the amount of water used to grow crops.
The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.
Most of the Windows NT operating system was developed by Microsoft-Israel.
The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.
Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.
The AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.
A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the ClearLight device, produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct - all without damaging surroundings skin or tissue.
An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant, in southern California's Mojave desert."
When you accept Yeshua as your Lord and Savior, you become a part of Israel (Ephesians 2:11-13). Recognize your part in God’s kingdom, recognize your place in history, through the promises that God has made with Israel, recognize where He is leading you and spread the word. The more Christians who come to the knowledge that we are truly Israel, the closer we come to all prophecies getting fulfilled.