Shalom! To the Jew first

“Shalom” – peace – is something that everyone yearns and hopes for, particularly in today’s world. I live in a state that has been in a constant state of war since its inception. For the last 61 years our country has been involved in five major wars and many other military operations.

In such circumstances, peace and quiet is something very desirable to each of us.

The Hebrew word for peace, “Shalom”, is based on the three letter root ש.ל.מ (shalem), which means “whole” or “wholeness”, “complete”. We do look for wholeness, for completeness, because that is what we lack. It is a natural thing to seek what we lack, in order to become perfect and complete. That is why we wish to be warm when it is cold, and in the hot summers we desire air conditioning.

When God created Adam and Eve, he created them perfect and in full harmony with him. They lacked nothing, and lived in a perfect and beautiful world. The Garden of Eden was not, I think, as crowded as Hong Kong, and was no doubt prime real estate. Adam and Eve walked in fellowship with God.

But what horrible discord enters this beautiful story: one day the serpent lies and puts doubt in Eve’s heart regarding God’s commandment, his motives and his love. First Eve and then Adam put their trust in the snake and his lies rather than in their true friend and companion.

Once they had eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their “shalom” with God was broken. They hid from him. They tried to cover themselves, and they placed the blame for their actions on each other, and even on God himself. From that moment their relationship with God was broken. And something deep broke in their relationship with one another and with the earth that had until then so generously and effortlessly provided for their needs. Soon enough they realized the consequences of their sins and the nature of evil, when Cain killed his innocent brother in a jealous rage. Peace and tranquility became something rare and precious, unattainable in one’s own strength.

God alone, the author of life, could now bring peace. He paid the price of love and the demands of justice. Jesus tells us, in John 14:17, that he gives us his peace – not as the world gives. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. We all need this kind of peace, and we are all called to bring this kind of peace to others, by telling them of it. That is our duty and our calling.

However, God has established a priority in this wonderful and most important task in the world. The New Testament in many places tells us about this priority. We see it first with Jesus himself. His responce to the Canaanite women who asked for mercy for her demon possessed daughter is in Matt. 15: 24 : "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." When he sent out the twelve disciples to go and preach the gospel he instructed them: Matthew 10:5-7 "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' That was the priority Jesus set for himself and the disciples. Of course we know that the Gentiles, including the Samaritans, also benefitted from the teaching of Jesus and the disciples. Jesus even spent two days at the Samaritan town according to John 4:40.

But after the resurrection the same priority was maintained. In Acts, we read that Jesus tells his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they receive power from the Holy Spirit and become his witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8). We see this priority also in Paul’s writings and life. In Romans 1:16 he tells that he is not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. and although he is recognized as the apostle to the Gentiles, unlike Peter who was the apostle to the Jews, he always goes to the synagogue and place of gathering of the Jews before he goes to the Gentiles. We see this in his mission trips as they are detailed in the Acts of Apostles. So in all of these we see a priority that the scriptures set before us.

Now, God did not set this priority because the Jewish people are any better or wiser than others, though there may be some that think so! It was, rather, because God has ordained this for his own reasons. It was his sovereign design to choose Abraham, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob, who was named “Israel” after his struggle with an angel of God. God promised to bless them and to make them a light to the nations. He gave them a land flowing with milk and honey – today some would wish it were flowing with oil! God commanded the people of Israel to conquer the earlier inhabitants of the land of Canaan, who were destroyed in order to allow Israel to live in the Promised Land. At times the price of peace is heavy.

Then, when the people of Israel disobeyed him in their land, he sent them his prophets to warn them to repent. In his love, and in order to bring peace, he destroyed the magnificent temple designed by King David and built by Solomon. And then again, as promised, he sent them the Messiah, his own son, to bring a real and everlasting peace between him and his people.

Even when, as a nation, we rejected his Messiah, he did not forsake us. He gave us the magnificent promises of Romans 11 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” (Rom. 11:26-27)

And furthermore in verses 29-32 "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all"

In these verses Paul clearly lays out the plan of God for salvation of the Gentiles and the Jewish people. He clearly and with no doubt speaks of the fact that just as they, the Gentiles once were disobedient and far from the God of Israel, but now have been shown mercy, so it will be with the Jewish people. One day, God will bring us, the Jewish people, the desired peace, Shalom with our God.

Through our rejection of Messiah, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Paul argues that if through Israel’s rejection of the Messiah peace has come to the Gentiles, how much more will their salvation be! In Romans 11:11-12 he writes: "I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!"
And in verse 15 he continues: "For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead"

What an amazing plan of salvation! Who could have conceived this other than God the all-wise Himself? I think that as Paul is thinking and writing or dictating the words to his scribe, he is filled with awe and praise. He ends this wonderful section of scriptures by the amazing doxology in verses 33-36 "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen"  Paul was amazed at the great wisdom of God and how he is about to bring salvation to the Gentiles and the Jewish people.

I am excited to tell you that God is doing an amazing work in Israel, as far as the gospel is concerned. Yes I realize that we hear news about Israel and the peace process and the Goldstone report and the issue with Iran’s atomic bomb, and many other issues. But far more important that these news items is the work of the Gospel in Israel and among the Jewish people. My colleagues and I from CWI have the privilege of seeing something of that work, as we work in bringing the Gospel to the Jewish people. There is real openness to the Gospel among the Jewish people that has not been seen before.

In the last 18 months, CWI Israel, HaGefen Publishing has published more than 85,000 copies of various evangelistic books in Russian and Hebrew. Almost all of these books have been delivered to churches and organizations that are using them for evangelism. When I return home, we will work on publishing another few thousand copies, as there are more and more needs.

In the last few months we have been involved in two national evangelistic campaigns. The first was in Russian. HaGefen Publishing published the book that was used for the campaign, and our offices were used as the national call center. In this campaign alone over 1,300 people requested the book, which included testimonies about Jewish people who have found the Messiah, and a clear presentation of the Gospel. Since then more people have requested the book and expressed a desire to know more about the Messiah of Israel.

In October, during the Feast of Tabernacles another similar campaign was launched, this time in Hebrew. Again HaGefen Publishing printed 5000 copies of the testimonial book, and coordinated the efforts and particularly the various media ads on the buses, Internet, and bill boards. In the first week we had more than 500 people who requested the book!

The Bible commands us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). This is our duty and our calling. Wonderful things are happening among the Jewish people and God is doing a work among us. I believe that it is time for us all, and also for you here in Hong Kong to be more involved in bringing the Gospel to the Jewish people. You may well ask, what can I do here in Hong Kong, 4820.27 miles away from Israel (I measured the distance this time!). You can pray, be involved, support, come to visit, show an interest in Israel and share the Gospel with all people, and also with the Jews. Can you imagine what an impact you would have when a Jew hears from you about the God of Israel?! This is what Paul meant by ‘provoking them to jealousy’.

May you bring more and more jealousy to the Jewish people everywhere!
 

copyright 2009 David Zadok