Who and what kept the Jews alive during these last 2000 years? What kept the Jew immortal?

This is an important point in Jewish evangelism which will allow us to bring the Jews back to their roots found in the Scriptures.

 

If you ask this question to your average Jew, some will answer;

  • Monotheism kept the Jews together. They see Christianity as polytheist, but this is another matter we will look into later. So how does monotheism protect a nation? Afterall, we see polytheistic faiths like Hinduism and to a lesser degree Buddhism still exist after thousands of years. Monotheism is not the answer.
  • Was it perhaps the Torah that kept them together? They might agree to that point, but the ironic thing is, most Jewish people are atheists.
  • Could persecution be the reason, which can cause a community to become closer knit, each one helping the other? History tells us that persecution kills, yet they are still here.

 

What then can be the reason?

  • It is because God chose the Jewish nation and without conditions. In that same way as He guarantees our salvation, He does so with the nation of Israel.
  • Because all of God’s promises to Israel have not yet been fulfilled in history. For example, the Abrahamic Covenant was never fulfilled it its entirety. Within that covenant we also have the Davidic Covenant which says that a king from David’s line will reign in Israel, and we have the land covenant. We see that Israel never inhabited the extent of the land that was given to her by God.
  • Because God loves them. We read this, But because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers (Deut.7:6-7). Indeed, God loves His chosen, but there is a fundamental understanding that needs to go with that. God makes sure we understand that they were not chosen because they are better. See the following passage: Not for thy righteousness or for the uprightness of thine heart dost thou go to possess their land, but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that He may perform the word which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand, therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness, for thou art a stiffnecked people. 9:5-6

 

Why are Jews Dispersed?

The history of all odds against the preservation of Israel could be seen in another two important passages, Deut. 28 and Lev. 26. These passages also answer the question; why are the Jews dispersed and what is the reason for the Diaspora? This is one question Bible students should be able to answer, and this is one question we must ask the Jewish people. This will give us the opportunity to bring them the Word.

After the 40 years of wilderness wandering, the Israelites were finally at the door of the Promised Land. But even before they set foot in there, Moses prophesied that later, and because of their sins, they will be brought out of their land, into the nations, and that they would suffer much. In the end though, they will be come back to the Land. The prophecies in Deuteronomy are found in two parts. From vss.1-14 we have the blessings and from vss.15-67 we have the cursing. Summing things up, we have 13 verses of blessing and 43 verses of curses. More space is given over for the curses and we can see that God’s wrath in spoken of more than is His love.

In this section, there is a very practical teaching for all believers. While the land was given to Israel, their enjoyment and well being in the land was dependent on following God’s laws. It is not a question of election, as Israel’s election is assured until the end, but enjoyment of the blessings depended on them following the Law. Same with the believer today. Our salvation is assured, but our happiness, our enjoyment of God’s blessings depends on how we live as believers.

 

The Dwindling of the Land

The Promises

Deuteronomy 28: 1-14 begins with the promises because of obedience:

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God (vss. 1-2).

  • In vss.3-4 we see the blessing in the land itself. “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the off-spring of your flocks.”
  • There will be protection from the enemies in vs. 7, “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.”
  • They will become a holy people. Verse 9 reads, “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.

 

All these things would have happened should Israel have followed the Mosaic Law.  The enjoyment of the land was conditional on obedience to the Mosaic Law which pointed to the need for Yeshua Jesus. However, since they did not follow the law of God, He stated the punishments (curses) from vss.15 to 67 and these verses show us the history of Israel, especially from the destruction of the Temple in 70AD through to today.

 

The Warnings (Curses)

  • 15 “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
  • Verses 16-18, the land will be cursed because of their sins. “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks”.
  • Sickness will come upon them. See vss.21-22, “The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.”

 

  • Enemies will come upon them. See vss.25-26, The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away.

 

  • Then more curses are given. See vs.35, The LORD will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head. And see vs.45, “Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.” 12:29 says that God is a consuming fire, and we see it here.

 

  • From vss. 62-67 we have described the condition of the Jews and why they have not been in their land for 2000 years, a passage we need  to bring to the Jewish people. “You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God. And it shall be, that just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess. Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known wood and stone. And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. In the morning you shall say, `Oh, that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, `Oh, that it were morning!’ because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see.

 

 

Here in this chapter, we see the reason why the Jews are now scattered around the world and why Israel cannot achieve peace with her neighbours.  We see in these verses the reason why the world is turning more and more against Israel. In verse 64 it says that the LORD will scatter you [Israel] among all nations, just as we see it today. And in dispersion they will not have rest because of persecution, and constant ones. How few were the years in history when a nation did not rise up to persecute the Jews.

 

And notice vs.62, which is quite revealing.  You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

Do you know how many Jews there are in the world today? About 15.8 million. So how come we are so few when we are in fact as old as the Chinese or the Indians from India who are over one billion each? God said that He would leave them few in number, either by persecution or assimilation, yet against all odds, without a country and even under fierce persecution, they are still there and always having a great influence in the world. This is the history of the Jews, up to today.

 

To the Jew First

This highlights an important principle that Yeshua gave us. He said, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Lk.12:48). And this principle is further enforced by Paul in the book of Romans. Speaking of tribulations and suffering when there is judgment and wars, the Jews are first to get it. We read in Romans 2:9-11, … tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentiles; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.

Even within this non-partiality clause in vs.11 – there still is that difference between the Jews and the Gentiles. In history the Jews were often accused of the world’s problems and have been persecuted because of that. They were the world’s scape goat. When the crusaders decided to take back Jerusalem from the Moslems in 1096AD and in 1146AD, while on their way there, they killed all the Jews they could find.

 

Jews ordered out

  • In 1290, Edward I ordered all Jewish people out of England.
  • In France a similar order was issued in 1236, and in one small town three thousand Jewish people were trampled by horses.
  • In 1348-49 (during the time of the Black Death in Europe) Jewish people were accused of poisoning wells and thus causing the outbreak of the bubonic plague. To save themselves many fled to Poland and Russia.
  • The Holocaust was another tragic event, by Hitler against those he considered undesirable and over six million Jews perished.

 

Today, since its rebirth in 1948, Israel has not known peace. And Jews in the diaspora sporadically and in an increasing manner, experience anti-Semitism.

But this principal of to the Jew first works for evangelism as well. See Romans 1:16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Messiah, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Gentiles. Many argue that this passage is no longer valid, however the governing verb is in the present tense for both clauses. The gospel is the power of God, and the gospel is to the Jew first. To interpret this verse as historical but outdated means the gospel was to the Jew first in the sense that it came to him first and this is no longer the case, or that it was only true during the apostolic period. Might we then conclude that the gospel being the power of God was only for a short window of time and that it is no longer the case? Consistent exegesis would demand that if the gospel is always the power of God, then to the Jew first is also in effect today.

 

Because of their disadvantageous position, because of their harsh history and because of the promises given to them which makes them the primary target of the enemy, the Word of God has most often come to them with much difficulty.  This is why Paul asks us to seek them first.

 

We could see how Paul applied this same rule to his own evangelism outreach. Paul was known as an apostle to the Gentiles – yet every time he went to a new city, some 11 times, he first went to the Jews. To substantiate this fact, we will follow the footsteps of the apostle in the book of Acts. The beginning of his mission to the Gentiles is found in Acts 13:2–3, And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. But then Paul proceeds to the Jew first.

  • In Salamis (13:4–5)
  • But they, passing through from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia (13:14)
  • Iconium (14:1)
  • Philippi (16:11–13)
  • Thessalonica (17:1–2)
  • Berea (17:10)
  • Athens (17:16–17)
  • Corinth (18:1–4)
  • Ephesus (19:1, 8)
  • Rome (28:16–17)

 

Right to the very end of the book of Acts, Paul is presenting the gospel to the Jew first. Even after returning to a city where he had already established a church, he first went to the Jews. Although the Scriptures are very clear about this procedure, it is nevertheless a procedure denied today by many.

However, at the end of Leviticus and including many prophets throughout Israel’s history, we read of the promise that despite all this upheaval and tragedy they went through, the Lord will bring them back.  See this comforting promise from Lev. 26: 44-45, “Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.’”