Monday, May 3: Which side are you on, the Muslims or Israelis?

In the corresponding charts are all the countries with a majority of Muslims, though there are another 500-700 million Muslims in the world. According to the CIA World Facts Book, one in every four persons on this earth practices Islam, and that number is growing at a rate of 2.9% each year. In the last 50 years, the population of Muslims on the earth has increased at an alarmingly high rate of 235%! Is this a surprise to any of you?


9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” 10 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her: “Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction. 12He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
Genesis 16:9-12


In Hebrew, verse 12 specifically says, “he will have a personality like a wild donkey.” Just as promised, God increased the Arab nation. Ishmael’s descendants became the Muslims of today. God’s promise was true as they have combative personalities. Take the Jews out of the mix and they fight each other, or do you not remember the Iran-Iraq war? They are not content with the oil-rich land that God gave them. On the other hand, when you look at a map of the Middle East, you will notice the tiniest little spit of land called Israel. The Muslims want that land, too, and though they make transparent pleas to the bleeding hearts of the world concerning the plight of the Palestinians, in truth, all the Muslims care about is the eradication of Israel and the Jews. Yet God made promises to the Jews, too. After making a covenant with Abraham, he re-stated that covenant to Isaac:


2 Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Genesis 26:2-5


There are around 14 million Jews on the earth. Compare that to the 1.8 billion Muslims! With 47 Muslim nations, there is one Jewish nation, the nation of Israel with 5,743,349 Jews. The United States has a similar number of Jews, but for the first time, Israel has more. After 6 million Jews died in the death camps of Nazi Germany, I sometimes wonder if the “fullness of the Gentiles” referred to in Romans 11 will take place when the number of Jews in Israel “replaces” the number lost in World War II. But what is the point of it all?


The Jews are God’s chosen people. Israel is the apple of His eye. (Deuteronomy 32:10) God’s plan prophetically told us of the reestablishment of Israel as a nation. Yet His plan didn’t end there. The time is coming when Israel and the Jews will once again get the opportunity to receive the Messiah. They passed on Jesus the first time, but one third of the Jews alive in the tribulation will accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. (Zechariah 13:9) God will protect the Jews from their surrounding enemies. That is what He is doing right now, as the world gathers against this tiny nation. The United States has been an ally since 1948, but the current presidential administration has been the first to walk away from that alliance. Israel will find itself all alone.


And that’s how God works. Have you ever noticed how he used a small boy to slay a giant? When Jerusalem was surrounded by Sennacherib and his troops, an angel killed 185,000 soldiers in the middle of the night. Gideon pared down his army to 300 at the Lord’s request in Judges 7 before proving victorious against a much bigger enemy. Why? Because large armies, big men and powerful weapons point to man’s power. God’s power is much greater. What if Ahmadinejad and Iran finish the project of obtaining weapons-grade plutonium? God has Israel’s back! Even nuclear bombs pale in comparison to God and the power of God. Which side are you on? Before you answer that question, you might want to ponder on God’s promise:


Now the LORD had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1-3


If you curse Israel, you will be cursed! I can’t help but bless Israel, for having been there, my heart remains there! It is the land where my Savior walked and someday will be the most important place on the planet!