What Can I Do?

1. Pray for the revelation about the importance of Israel and the Jewish people. We can read Scripture and never see its significance. Ponder well Paul's 9th through 11th chapters of Romans, especially the 11th chapter where he clearly teaches that God is not finished with Israel, that He has not rejected them forever. Look carefully at Paul's words regarding the salvation of Israel and the irrevocable call of God on this people, then pray that the “eyes of your heart may be opened (Ephesians 1).

2. Repent for not being Romans 11:11 believers. Paul tells his Gentile believers that they should live such lives that will make Israel jealous for their own Messiah. We will make them jealous through our love for the Lord, for each other, and for all Jewish people everywhere.

3. Bless Abraham's descendants according to Genesis 12:1-3. The promise given to Abraham about his descendants is for all future generations. Those who bless them will be blessed. Those who curse (or esteem them lightly, as the Hebrew word implies) will be under a curse. This continues to be seen in the way God deals with nations who turn their backs on this chosen people. They have kept alive faith in the One True God. They have been used of God to bring to the world their Redeemer, and they figure prominently into God's future for the nations. This is indicated clearly in the closing words of John's Revelation when the names of Israel's twelve sons still adorn the gates of the new city, and the names of the twelve Jewish apostles are written on the foundation stones that of the city. The redeemed people come from every nation, tribe, tongue and people, but their conduit nation into the Presence of God is the nation of Israel.

4. Honor the Jewish people as our parents in the faith according to the principles of Malachi 4 and Ephesians 6. Malachi says that in the last days the hearts of the fathers will be turned to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers (4:6). Paul urges the Ephesian believers to remember to honor their mothers and fathers, "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” (6:3). True, his primary concern is for natural blood parents, but the principle is the same. The Jewish nation is our parent faith. As one of my friends says, "Their family journal has become our Sacred Scriptures."

5. Restore the biblical priority of Romans 1:16, "to the Jew first." Though Paul was a Jewish apostle to the Gentiles, he always went to the synagogues first to let his own people know that their Messiah had come. This principle has never been revoked. Whether your mission is to Uganda, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Kiev, Berlin, or New York, our first responsibility is to go to our Jewish friends, apologize to them for the great injustices that have been perpetrated on them in the name of God's people, but also to let them know that we do indeed believe that we are worshipping their Messiah, to encourage them to consider the possibility that Yeshua (Jesus) is indeed the Messiah long ago foretold.

6. Take upon ourselves the sins of our heritage and pray Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah type prayers. Some call this identificational repentance. I choose to refer to it as identificational confession, since we cannot actually repent on behalf of someone else. Daniel (chapter 9), Ezra (9:5-7), and Nehemiah (1:5-7) all confessed their own sins, as well as the sins of former generations, kings and those in authority.

7. Become Isaiah 49:22 Gentiles. Isaiah sees Gentiles bringing "your sons in their arms" and "daughters on their shoulders." "Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers." It is the Gentile Christian world that has often encouraged Israel's return to the Land. It is often they who have leased airplanes and ships to bring the exiles back to their native land. Many descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob remain in exile, but according to Ezekiel 39:21, they will all ultimately be back in the Land. As persecution continues to rise on this marked nation, those of us who are grafted in to their promises will need to hide them, stand beside them, and help them back to their homeland.

8. Pray and work toward the Isaiah 6, Hosea 3, Ezekiel 36 fulfillment regarding Jewish eyes being opened. Isaiah speaks of the devastation that will come to the Land of Israel of the time of closed eyes and ears and hardened heart. In the closing verses however Isaiah shows this time to come to an end, seemingly when Israel again becomes a nation. Ezekiel agrees with Isaiah, that when Israel returns to the Land, "Then you will know that I am the LORD (36:11). Hosea predicts the absence of king, of sacrifices ceased, but assures Israel that "afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God… they will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days." We are in those days as is evidenced by the many thousands of Jewish people who have come to faith in Yeshua, more than at any former time in history, possibly even including the first century. Pray that more will have revelation about their Messiah even this very day!

9. Pray for and work toward the "greater riches" revival of the nations according to Romans 11:12 and 15. For centuries the church believed God was finished with Israel. They saw evidence of this in the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem and the subsequent removal of Jews from the area. However Paul clearly saw a time when the return of Israel would have an impact on the whole church. "How much greater riches will their fullness bring!" As you look at revival in many places in the earth, to nations that have long been closed (such as South Korea, China, Africa, Indonesia, and others), know that Israel's return is prophetically affecting all of this. Pray for a continued major revival in every nation.

10. Give according to the guidelines of Romans 15:27 and Galatians 6:10. Paul gives clear guidance that we should prioritize our finances both to the Jewish people (Romans 15:27), but also to believers. Millions of dollars have been given to Israel and to secular ministries in Israel. This is good, but let us not fail to prioritize our own brothers and sisters, especially those in the Land. They are need. Often they have returned to Israel in poverty. It is sometimes more difficult for them to be employed because of their faith. Remember them.

11. Do not just visit the Land; visit your brothers and sisters in the Land. Christians visit the Land of Israel by the hundreds of thousands annually. Most of them never get to know one believer in the Land, yet these believers are in great need of encouragement from their brothers and sisters around the world. Get acquainted with them. Visit one of their meetings. Take gifts to them. Invite one of their leaders to speak to your tour group.

12. Become Ephesians 2:15 "one new man" people of God. The Lord is not returning for a church that excludes his Jewish family. He also does not want a Jewish people that exclude the grafted-in family from the nations. He will return for a Jew-Gentile bride. Let us Gentiles seek the Lord on what this means and how we are to become one with our returning "elder brother" of faith.

13. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, according to the biblical injunction of Psalm 122:6. This may be as simple as a few people meeting weekly or monthly to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. The Lord is the eyes of the Gentile Church to this need to pray for Jerusalem and Israel. Hundreds of thousands of believers around the world are also now meeting on the first Sunday in October each year. Get a group together next October. Ask your congregational leaders to host a meeting.

14. Receive and obey the command given in Isaiah 62:6-7, "you who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth."

15. You also may have a business that can be opened in Israel with which to help their economy, but also in order to employ believers in Yeshua. Believers are often the most underemployed because of the prejudices against them. This is slowly changing, thank God, but there is still a need.

Copyright 2007 - The Caleb Company, Caleb Co.