“Thy God shall be my God.”
To introduce the “Bless Israel.net website, I would like to share my observations from the book of Ruth.
The book of Ruth tells the story of a Gentile woman named Ruth and her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi. Naomi and her husband Elimelech flee from Bethlehem to the nation of Moab to escape a famine. In Moab, their son marries a Moabite woman named Ruth. Sadly, Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, dies. Their son, Ruth’s husband, also dies, leaving Naomi and Ruth widows. Naomi decides to return to the land of her Jewish people. She tells Ruth that she should stay in Moab with her people. When Ruth hears that her mother-in-law Naomi is leaving Moab, she declares in Ruth 1:16-17
16 Ruth replied,
“Do not plead with me to abandon you,
to turn back from following you.
For where you go, I will go,
and where you stay, I will stay.
Your people will be my people,
and your God my God.
17 Where you die, I will die,
and there I will be buried.
May Adonai deal with me, and worse,
if anything but death comes between me and you!”
Through this declaration, Ruth, as a Gentile, binds herself to the Jewish family. As Gentile believers, we also have been attached to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through grafting. Paul tells us in Romans 11:17-18:
But if some of the branches were broken off and you—being a wild olive—were grafted in among them and became a partaker of the root of the olive tree with its richness, do not boast against the branches.
We have, in effect, declared with Ruth that “thy God shall be my God.” We must remember it is into this Jewish olive tree we are grafted. Many churches today declare they have become the tree instead of the “grafted-in” branches. In so doing, we have denounced and turned our backs on the family of Lord Yeshua! As Ruth became part of the Jewish tree, we as believers, through Yeshua’s death, have also become part of the Jewish olive tree.
The early assembly of believers was Jewish. The disciples were Jewish. The first time a Gentile believer, Cornelius, is mentioned is not until the tenth chapter of Acts. As you read the New Testament, I challenge you to see it in its Jewish context and to realize the continuity of the 66 books in the Bible. Although separated in most of our Bibles, the “New Testament” is not an additional book that begins the history of a new religion called Christianity! The “New Covenant” does not replace the “Old Covenant” but continues the promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is the revelation of the inclusion of the Gentiles into the single redemptive plan of God. We serve a Covenant keeping God!
Sadly, over the centuries, many in Jesus Christ have turned their backs on the very family that brought us Him. The Church neglected the family, attacking and cursing them “in the name of Christ” through the Crusades, Spanish Inquisition, and Anti-Semitism. We have called the Jews “Christ Killers.”
Not only have we turned our backs on our family, but we are also turning our backs on His land.
Psalm 122:6, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.”
Genesis 12:2-4, God states, My heart’s desire is to make you into a great nation, to bless you, to make your name great so that you may be a blessing. I desire to bless those who bless you, but whoever curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.
The battle for Jerusalem and the land of Israel is vital to the return of our Lord. Through the American-backed peace process for Israel, our government has forced Israel to divide the Lord’s land, beginning with the surrender of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians.
“Bless Israel.net” is committed to the understanding and teaching of our Jewish roots.
As you visit with us on the site, our desire for you is that you have the following:
A renewed understanding and desire to reconnect to your Jewish roots.
A recognition that the Church began 2000 years ago with the Jewish Rabbi, Yeshua (Jesus), and His Jewish followers.
A recognition that Christianity cannot be expressed except through its connection with Rabbi Yeshua and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
A better understanding of the scriptures through the knowledge that Jewish men wrote the scriptures in a Jewish background.
An increased awareness of the current events concerning the Middle East and what is happening to our family in Israel.
A new sense of our responsibility to support, bless, and pray for Israel and our father Abraham’s family.
Active support for the return of the Jewish people to the land given by a Covenant. We stand firm within their God-given right to inhabit all their land.
As you understand some reasons Christians have become estranged from our spiritual family, you may ask what needs to be done to restore this relationship. We encourage you to find opportunities to learn of and share our Jewish heritage with the people of your congregation or ministry.
Attend a Messianic congregation in your area and worship and fellowship with them. A couple of Messianic ministries are listed on the “Favorite Sites” link at the top of this page. There is a link to a Messianic congregation in Denver and another in Oklahoma City.
You can contact me at Randy@blessisrael.net.
Let me end with the Aaronic Blessing: (Numbers 6:24-26)
‘Adonai bless you and keep you!
Adonai make His face shine on you and be gracious to you!
Adonai turn His face toward you and grant you shalom!’