Should Christians Support Israel?

and of course, fall is here. And and that means the Jewish High Holidays are right around the corner. These biblical feasts have been celebrated for thousands of years. Think about that. But this year, of course, has added weight and significance as Jewish people around the world mark one year since that brutal attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists. Yeah, that's right John.

the Feast of Tabernacles. You'll also hear how you can use these holidays as a point of connection with your Jewish friends and neighbors, to show and share the love of Jesus with them. To sign up for this free teaching, all you need to do is visit Life in Messiah org. Click on the Moody Radio logo and sign up. Be sure to sign up today to discover the fascinating connections between these feasts and Jesus at Life in messiah.org.

The strike killed Ibrahim Akil, the leader, along with 15 other Radwan force commanders, disrupting the planned invasion. Hezbollah and her allies responded by firing rockets, missiles and drones at northern Israel from Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Most were intercepted or caused little damage. Then, for the first time on Wednesday, Hezbollah fired a ballistic missile toward the Tel Aviv area,

targeting Mossad's headquarters. It was also intercepted. Israel declared a nationwide emergency, expecting the conflict with Hezbollah to escalate, and the head of Israel's Northern Command announced they're prepared to begin a ground operation to push Hezbollah away from the northern border. The US's response to all this has been mixed. On the one hand, we said the killing of Akeel was a good outcome and that nobody in the US

sheds a tear over his death. Well, that's because he was the one responsible for the bombing of both the marine barracks and US embassy in Beirut back in 1983 that killed 241 Americans. The US had offered a $7 million reward for information on him, but we were never able to apprehend him. Israel took care of that. At the same time, however, we sent a message to Israel expressing our concern about the escalation in fighting and warned Israel not to get into an all out war. Israel

has been careful not to target Lebanese civilians with their attacks. Instead, they're focused on Hezbollah's leadership and its arsenal of rockets. Gets. Israel is trying to demonstrate that they're serious about restoring peace in the north so their citizens can return to their homes without fear of attack. They've been out of their homes, and that's almost 80,000 people for nearly a year. But Hezbollah and her allies, prodded by Iran, don't want

to appear weak. So they're also continuing to ratchet up their response. Right now, all it would take is one miscalculation on the part of either side to move from calculated attacks to all out war, and that really is a matter that we should all be praying about.

Libya and Iraq. It's not as strong or as visible or as prominent in the media as it was before, but it is still active. Earlier this year, the State Department marked the five year anniversary of the recapture of the territory controlled by ISIS. But they noted during that time that just in Syria, there are still 43,000 former ISIS supporters in a displaced persons camp, along with 9000 detained ISIS fighters. And al Qaeda hasn't been vanquished either.

The CIA tried to kill Osama bin Laden's son Hamza back in 2019, but he managed to survive and he, along with one of his brothers, are now back in Afghanistan, rebuilding a terrorist network with ten major training camps. There's a deep connection between al Qaeda and the Taliban, who are once again in control of Afghanistan. Other reports suggest that al Qaeda and the regional ISIS franchise there are also actively collaborating, the rebuilding of a terrorist network and

preparing for future attacks against the West. In fact, up to 21 terror networks are now operating in Afghanistan, turning it into the world's biggest terror hotspot. It took the West 18 years. Untold billions of dollars and thousands of lives to remove from power the Taliban, Al Qaeda and ISIS. But in our haste to declare victory and head home, we've now allowed the three groups to revive. And if we're not careful, we could soon see a repeat of events like those that led up to nine over 11.

If you're just.

Now China is also into Africa. So what impact will all of this have on the larger region, Charlie?

sufficient launch vehicles were still being built. It's hard to imagine Russia accepting missiles that can't be fired. But in exchange, Russia's been supplying missile defense systems and has also promised to supply top of the line fighter jets to Iran. But the part of this story that most have ignored is Iran's move into eastern Africa, with the funds received from the US several years ago. Iran began building alliances across Africa. Most concerning is the alliance they've been building

with Sudan, coupled with their alliance with the Houthis. Iran is pushing to gain control along both sides of the Red sea. That could allow them to disrupt maritime shipping through the Suez Canal, which is a choke point. 15% of the global trade flows through the Suez Canal and has to go up the Red sea to get there. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has provided Sudan's military leader with drones and advanced equipment in exchange for establishing a naval base

in that country. They're also making inroads into other countries like Nigeria and South Africa. Now, biblically, this move is bringing the world one step closer to the alliance described in Ezekiel 38 and 39, which describes a future attack on Israel by a foe from the north, likely Russia,

accompanied by several allies, including Turkey, Iran, Sudan and Libya. Now, we don't know when that attack is going to occur, but the Bible clearly tells us what nations will be aligned in that attack and what God will do to those nations when the attack takes place.

the nation of Israel. And they're committed to that. That's the part the West doesn't fully understand, but that we do need to understand if we want to truly stop Iran from what they're doing.

What in the world is going on? And should Christians even bother to support Israel? What's the biblical truth from Moody Radio? This is the land and the book. I'm John Gager, continuing in our second segment here, inviting you to pause with me for a moment and think about some small ways that you and I can easily and naturally share the love of Christ with a Jewish friend or neighbor. Most evangelicals believe Judaism is the faith of the Old Testament, and Christianity is New Testament faith. Is

that a correct view though? Better get that figured out as we think about sharing Jesus with our Jewish friends. Wes Tabor is with life in Messiah. Help us out here.

learned by rote. Jesus quotes this in Mark seven. In Romans ten, Paul describes the ultra-Orthodox of his day as having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, who, not knowing about God's righteousness or seeking to establish their own through meriting God's favor.

speaking engagements and media appearances. Doctor Myers has become a fresh voice, offering humor and insight from a Christian worldview. He's the author of 18 books, including Should Christians Support Israel? A book we're going to put into your hands, as you'll talk about later on. But for now, Jeff and his wife Stephanie and their family live in Colorado. We're so glad to connect with you today on the land and the book. Jeff.

to 103 days after the war. Go there because I work with Gen Zers and I don't want them to be propagandized. I don't want them to be indoctrinated. But at the same time, I want to take their concerns seriously. So I felt like I needed to go there and talk to people on all sides to try to figure out what was going on, and if there is a way to see the truth in a tough situation like this. Okay, take.

have seven seconds to take cover. And I realized that the people who live there have been living with this kind of pain for decades, and then walking into their communities, meeting the survivors, seeing the bullet holes in their homes, the burned out homes, the markings where bodies were recovered, and then the video evidence that we reviewed of exactly what happened, because the Israelis were very concerned that people

were just denying that this attack even took place. But I think the thing that made me cry the most probably was a video of a father driving a car. They were attacked by the terrorists. He jumped out of the car to take his little girl and run to safety.

His body was kind of hunched over her to try to protect her, and he was shot, and the little girl just jumped up and ran back down the street with her hands covering her ears, trying to find her mother and I. Just the impact on children of a war really struck me, and it strikes me every time I see the reports of non-combatants being killed in Gaza as well. It does seem that in a world like ours, innocents suffer when evil prevails.

to protect them from scrutiny. And that's what happened in this situation. This terrorist group, Hamas, literally launched a propaganda war on the same day that they launched this attack into southern Israel. And their goal was, well, several fold. One was to get the Islamic world to go along with them, to say this is the central cause of the ummah, the global community of Muslims. That hasn't happened.

The second one was to win the leftist, progressive sympathizers in the United States to their side by saying, no matter what we do, no matter how evil you think it is, it is legitimate self-defense because we are standing up against a foe that has a more substantial military and greater wealth, and all of a sudden, our teaching, our kids not to be bullies was shoehorned into this oppressor versus oppressed Mindset that takes all of the complex issues of the world and simplifies them in such a

way that if we, the professors, tell you that these are the oppressors, then you know what to do. Stand up against them. You can even slaughter those people and it won't be wrong. So it's a horrifying reality of where we are and what we've allowed to happen in the last several decades in our own nation.

throat and rape you. Um, the horrifying inattention to this on the part of college administrators is shocking.

his will. People who've worked with those coming out of cults say you have to remember that they are enslaved. They have lost the ability to think authentically about the key issues they're thinking with. Kind of a cult self. So what you must do is go back to what the apostle Paul said. You express caring concern. I'm concerned for our country. I'm concerned for you. I am concerned for the truth. And I would like to be able

to have conversations about this, even when it's tough. And then the second thing is to bring facts to bear in the situation. A lot of people think that Gen Z is so feeling driven that they aren't open to the facts. We have found that to not be true. If you tell them the truth about what Hamas really is, then you realize they're the enemy of the Palestinian people

as well as the enemy of Israel. And you can begin to develop a framework not for saying everything Israel does is right, but for recognizing that this isn't as simple of a battle as your professors trying to cram it into an oppressor versus oppressed mindset say that it is.

small group, to the young adults. You know, because this book is just it's short. It's 120 pages. You can read it in two hours, but it has 200 pieces of documentation that will help you see the issue clearly, biblically and geopolitically.

be afraid to talk about these issues now. And what I recommend is we just ask questions. You don't have to take a stance. You don't have to wander into the break room at work and start blasting out opinions. You can just ask questions. How do you see this? How did you arrive at that conclusion when you use this term? What do you mean? How do you know

that's true? Just some basic questions like that will allow you to enter into the conversation without having to be an expert and without being a jerk.

a military and form a government. And as Christians, we should always remember that God is not done with the Jewish people, that they are part of his covenantal plan. And he is working this out in history. History is going somewhere. It is going there on purpose and this should be exciting to us, not terrifying.

concerned about the Palestinian people. And for that reason, we need to stand strongly against Hamas. That's not what is happening in the rallies that you're seeing on college campuses and in the streets.

the land of the book. It's segment three. I'm John Gager, our host, Doctor Charlie Dyer. As always with his Bible, that Bible is open. He's looking forward to answering your questions. But you know, fall is here. And that means that the Jewish High Holidays are right around the corner, right? These biblical feasts have been celebrated for thousands of years, but this year has added weight, added significance as Jewish people around the world mark one year since the brutal

attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists. Yeah, that's.

You'll also hear how you can use these holidays as a point of connection with your Jewish friends and neighbors, to show and share the love of Jesus with them. Now to sign up for this free teaching, all you have to do is visit life in Messiah. Org click on the Moody Radio logo and sign up. Be sure to sign up today to. Discover the fascinating connections between these feasts and Jesus at. Life in Messiah. Org.

deal was to acquire Ruth as a wife. The first born son in such a union would belong to the line of Elimelech, and would ultimately inherit the land that was being purchased. A verse ten confirms this as Boaz said, I've acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name

of the deceased on his inheritance. One final detail on it all when Obed is born to Boaz and Ruth in chapter four, it adds, Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap and cared for him. The women living there said, Naomi has a son. You know, it was Boaz and Ruth who were the actual parents. But the child, whose name, by the way, means servant, is here connected with Naomi. He symbolically becomes her heir.

What she lost in chapter one is now restored, and it's through the unselfish compassion of both Ruth and Boaz.

Gog in Ezekiel 38 is a person. Ezekiel actually used the name of an individual who died about 75 or 80 years before his time, to paint a one word portrait of a still future leader. It would be similar to someone today describing a still future leader as another Hitler. 80 years after World War Two, we still know exactly what's meant by that one word. Well, this guy Geser Gog was a ruthless conqueror, and Ezekiel uses his name

in exactly the same way. But it's also clear Ezekiel wasn't referring directly to this individual who had already died. This guy, Jesus Gog, ruled over the kingdom of Lydia, which is in today western Turkey. But in Ezekiel 38, this still future Gog is specifically said to be from the land of Magog, as well as the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Well, those names sound strange to us,

but they were actual geographical places in Ezekiel's day. In fact, they're already mentioned in the table of nations in Genesis ten. Hundreds of years earlier, these countries were located between and just north of the Black and Caspian Seas. In Ezekiel 3815 he says, God will come from your place in the far north. Now, third, and this is probably the big part, the belief that the modern Ashkenazi Jews were really descendants of this nomadic tribe called the Khazars, and

thus not really Jewish. That's a distorted teaching that's been debunked by both history and genetic studies, while apparently some in that kingdom of Khazaria did adopt Judaism, they were by no means the majority of the Jewish people who lived in Central and Eastern Europe. Recent genetic studies show clear links between the Ashkenazi Jews of Europe, the Sephardic Jews of Spain and Mediterranean region, and the Mizrachi Jews of the Middle East. Though the Jewish people were scattered,

they continued to share a common genetic link. Now, I deal with this briefly, actually, in a book that's going to be coming out in just a few days, it's titled Who Owns the Land? Published by Moody Publishers. But this is one of those areas your instincts are right on. Be very careful to avoid what this fellow is trying to teach.

Zadok in verse 12. So what I think we're seeing is a small slice of time in the priestly line, where fathers named their children after prominent ancestors. There are actually a few other instances in the Bible where similar patterns can be found. For example, during the time of King Jehoshaphat, there were two generations where the kings of Judah named their sons after the kings of Israel. Now I also see this happening in real life, when parents at times just get into a pattern of using family

names for their children. You know, I'm named after my father. My middle name is the name of my father's father. My younger brother was named after an older brother of my father, and my brother's middle name is my mom's dad. So that kind of pattern just repeats in some family lines and was done in a way to honor or

preserve the memory of earlier ancestors. And I suspect that's what happened to these three generations in the priestly line in first Chronicles six, until someone then came along and broke the pattern.

was considered too dangerous. They were looking for alternatives, and that's where Judas came to them and offered to betray Jesus. That's in Matthew 26. I think Judas planned to then let them know where Jesus and the disciples were going to celebrate Passover, so they could arrest him with just a small group there to offer resistance. But Jesus thwarted their plans by not telling the disciples in advance where

they'd be celebrating Passover. In that same chapter, we see Jesus having that somewhat cryptic instruction to his disciples you know that they're to go into the city, meet a man who'd show them where to celebrate Passover. In fact, Mark adds, they didn't even know where they were going. They were only told to meet a man carrying a jar of water who would then take him to that room. So in the end, Judas didn't know the location of the Passover ahead of time, and so he couldn't report

the site to the officials. And that leads to the third point. Judas did know where Jesus and the disciples would go afterward. Uh, they would go to the Mount of Olives, to the olive oil press, get Shemen or Gethsemane. They evidently spent time there before. So Judas left the Passover meal, went to report on that change in plan. And the problem now is how to arrest him. Since it was at night. It's on a hillside covered in

olive trees. It would be dark and hundreds of perhaps thousands of others would be on the Mount of Olives camping out as well. So likely they said, Judas needed to be there to point out Jesus, lest he slip into the shadows among all those thousands of others and get away.

So in Genesis four, Abel approached God with such a sacrifice, while Cain provided the fruit of his own labor. In essence, he illustrated those who try to work their own way into heaven, while Abel illustrated the way to God, requiring the sacrifice of a substitute. And I think it's an early picture that pointed to the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God, and that's why his sacrifice was accepted.

couple of brothers play trumpets, dad plays trumpet. And your devotional today is about trumpets.

spots where Jesus walked and where we learned scripture. Seeing it through our tour guide, Charlie Dyer's eyes brought little phrases in the word to life.

an overabundance of other food and beverages. Walking through the crowd while breathing in the aroma of all the meat sizzling on the grills, well, one sense of excitement is only matched by that mouthwatering sensation of just how good one of those burgers would taste right about now, and I wonder if that's what the people of Israel might have experienced just a little as they filled the temple courtyard on Rosh Hashanah, Israel's Feast of Trumpets that marked

the beginning of their fall festivals. The crowd packed together trumpets sounding the aroma of bulls, rams and lambs being sacrificed on the temple altar. And the people weren't just gathering for an athletic event, they were there to appear before the God of the universe. The excitement must have been palpable in the Bible. This feast isn't called the Feast of Trumpets. Numbers 29 simply calls it Yom Teruah,

the day of sounding or the day of blowing. According to numbers 1010 on the first day of each month during the New Moon Festival, silver trumpets were blown at the time of the daily sacrifices, but the first day of the seventh month was different in at least three ways. First, on this day, Israel was to hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It was set aside in a unique way. Second, God described it as a day to sound the trumpets. This has been understood as the

sounding of the shofar. The ram's horn likely sounded in addition to the normal silver trumpets. And third, an additional set of offerings were to be made. God's directions were very specific as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. Prepare a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect. Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement

for you. These are in addition to the monthly and daily burnt offerings over three times the normal daily offerings, accompanied by multiple blasts of the shofar. In addition to the sounding of the regular silver trumpets, and all the people were to refrain from their regular work, very likely those in and around Jerusalem gathered to watch all these activities. Unfortunately, Judah became very lax in performing the ceremonies prescribed by

the Lord. That's one reason they went into captivity in Babylon, but now they're back in the land and the temple has been rebuilt. The walls around Jerusalem have been restored, and the seventh month has just begun. After an absence of years or more likely, decades, the people are again gathered to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets. But after such a long absence, it's something of an awkward time. Most have never participated in this celebration. In fact, most have

never even heard it. God's law, written in Hebrew, is virtually unknown to a generation that has now grown up speaking only Aramaic. Let's follow the crowd into the square. Just inside the Watergate on the eastern edge of Jerusalem will stand off to the side so as not to disturb anyone. The people are seated on the ground in small groups, or standing and milling around as they wait

for the event to begin. The low rumble of talking suddenly ceases as Ezra the priest walks up the stairs to a high platform at the one end of the plaza. In his hand, he's holding a vellum scroll. Someone nearby whispers, it's a copy of The Law of Moses. As Ezra unrolls the scroll and begins to speak, everyone rises to their feet. Ezra begins by praising the Lord, and the people respond with loud cries of Amen! Amen. Then they all bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces

to the ground, demonstrating their humble submission to God. But what follows next at first seems confusing to us. As Ezra read aloud from the scroll, he paused to let the Levites translate and interpret what was being read into the Aramaic language spoken by the people. The entire process of reading and then translating God's Word took from daybreak until noon. And yet throughout the entire time, the people remained standing. As we watch the crowd's reaction, we sense

a genuine emotional response to the words being read. They hear the description of the festivals prescribed by God, including the one to be held this very day. And yet they're not in the temple celebrating the Festival of Trumpets. They're outside the temple near the water gate. They also hear the blessings God promised for obedience and the cursings pronounced for disobedience. And they realize they're in danger of repeating the same errors as their ancestors, the very sins

that destroyed the temple, the city, and the nation. Not so very long ago. Some in the crowd begin sobbing and sorrow over their own insubordination. Eventually, the entire group begins weeping uncontrollably. How could we be so wicked and evil? What have we done? The leaders sensed what was happening and quickly took action. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people, said to them all, this day is sacred to the

Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep. Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. This is when we would have expected the people to head to the temple to finally celebrate the Feast of Trumpets, as God had commanded. But that's not what happened. Nehemiah 812 records what took place next.

Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food, and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them. And as the plaza empties out, we're left scratching our heads. What just took place? The answer is that the people discovered an important lesson. God was more concerned about their own hearts than he was about ritual.

Isaiah had made this clear hundreds of years before, when he announced God's Word to a rebellious nation in Isaiah one, the multitude of your sacrifices, what are they to me? Says the Lord, I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me. Who asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings. As the people resumed the religious festivals, God zeroed in on three lessons

he wanted them to master first. The focus was to be on God and His word, not themselves. It began with bowing down to God and then listening to His Word. Second, God wanted them to view this festival as a time of celebration rather than mourn or weep. God said, do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. And finally, a practical result was to share with and care for others. Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks and send some to those who have nothing prepared.

And those are good lessons for us as we think about the coming week. Take time to read God's Word and to worship him. Look for opportunities to rejoice in what God has provided, and then look for ways to share with those around you. In fact, that's not a bad way to celebrate every day of the year, even without a trumpet.

John Gager. The land and the book is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.