Why Israel Still Matters to Your Faith

Turn on the news on any given night, and Israel is there. Rockets. Protests. Heated debates at the United Nations. Campuses divided. Since the October 7th terror attack and the war that followed, antisemitism has surged around the world at a pace many of us never expected to see again. For Christians, all that noise raises an honest question: What does any of this have to do with me and my faith? It’s a fair question. And Scripture gives us a clear answer.

A Conflict Older Than Any Headline

World leaders like to call the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the defining issue of our generation, a dispute over borders and land that could be solved with the right peace deal. But the Bible tells a much older story.

Right after the fall in Genesis 3, God spoke the first promise of redemption to the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15). In that one verse, God announced a rescue plan. A Redeemer would come through a woman, through a family, through a nation. That Redeemer is Jesus. That nation is Israel. And from that moment on, the enemy of God set himself against the people who would carry the promise.

What we see on our screens, fights over land and identity, is the surface of a much deeper spiritual battle. This isn’t the question of our generation. It’s the clash of the ages.

Chosen to Carry the Promise

Saying Israel is central to God’s plan doesn’t mean God loves Jewish people more than anyone else. It means He chose Israel as the vessel for His redemptive plan. In Genesis 12, God called an aging man named Abram and made him an extraordinary promise: “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” (Gen. 12:3).

Notice who does the work in that promise. Again and again, God says “I will.” Israel’s calling never rested on Israel’s perfection. It rested on God’s faithfulness. And that’s good news for every one of us, because if God only worked through perfect people, none of us would qualify.

That promise passed from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob, and through Jacob’s descendants came the Messiah. Jesus was born a Jew, lived as a Jew, and died beneath a sign that read “King of the Jews.” Revelation still calls Him “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5).

Grafted In, Not Replacing

This isn’t just ancient history. Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). Paul paints the picture in Romans 11: Israel is a cultivated olive tree, and Gentile believers are wild branches grafted in. His warning is direct: “Remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you” (Rom. 11:18).

Sadly, the Church hasn’t always listened. Replacement theology, the idea that the Church has permanently replaced Israel, fed centuries of contempt toward the Jewish people. Every time Christians forgot they were branches and not the root, Jewish families paid the price. That history should move us. It’s one reason why standing with Israel today is not just a political position for believers. It’s a matter of faithfulness.

Why the Hatred Never Seems to Go Away

From Pharaoh to Haman to Herod to Hitler, the pattern is unmistakable. The Jewish people have been targeted not because of what they’ve done, but because of the promise they carry. And what have we received through them? The Scriptures. The covenants. The prophets. And most of all, Jesus. Without Israel, there is no cross, no empty tomb, no hope. So the call for Christians is simple: see Israel not through the lens of the latest headline, but through the lens of God’s promise. Pray for her. Stand with her. And remember whose root holds us up.

Faith That Takes Action

That’s exactly why Bridges for Peace exists. Since 1976, Bridges for Peace has given Christians a practical way to put their love for Israel into action. Through its Food Bank in Israel, the ministry provides food to tens of thousands of people every month. Its Feed a Child program sponsors hundreds of children so they can learn on a full stomach. Bridges for Peace helps Jewish people return home to Israel, cares for aging Holocaust survivors, and comes alongside families in crisis.

But the work doesn’t stop at humanitarian aid. Bridges for Peace also teaches Christians about the Jewish roots of their faith, builds genuine relationships between Christians and Jews, brings Christians to Israel to walk in their faith, stands up against antisemitism, and speaks up on Israel’s behalf when the world turns its back.

Genesis 12:3 isn’t just a promise to Israel. It’s an invitation to the nations. When we bless Israel, we step into a plan God set in motion thousands of years ago.

The battle over Israel began in a garden. It will end when the Messiah returns. Until then, we can watch, pray, and take our place in God’s great story of redemption.

Learn how you can stand with Israel and the Jewish people today at BridgesforPeace.com/USA.

Patrick Verbeten serves as National CEO of Bridges for Peace USA, a Christian organization that has been building relationships between Christians and Jews and supporting Israel through practical action since 1976. Learn more at BridgesforPeace.com/USA.

Scriptures taken from the New King James Version.

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/FilipeFrazao