King's Business - 1961-03

T h e f a c t s a r e clear that any in­ dividual, community, or nation which is friendly to the Jews will prosper. The Bible sets forth clearly the fact that the Jewish people are God’s own beloved nation. Genesis 12:3 states: “And 1 will bless them that bless thee (Abraham and his seed), and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” It is very difficult to understand the attitude of some people in our land who show discrimination against God’s ancient people. This has been recently revealed by the bombing of several synagogues in our southern states. Fortunately there has been no loss of life. But the fact remains that a few fanatics hate the people of whom the Bible speaks of as “ The People of God.” As a nation, the United States has been friendly to the Jews, and this country has been a refuge for them; this may account for the way God has blessed our na­ tion so signally. In the face of such anti - Semitism, it behooves every Christian to examine his own heart and to see if there be the slightest “ pin-point” of ill feeling toward the Jewish people, then to ask the Lord to purge the thought from his heart immediately. The fact that God has always blessed those who befriend t h e Jewish people is evident from many Scrip­ tures. I would like to call your at­ tention to one found in Jeremiah, chapters 38 and 39. In this passage we have the thrilling account of a Gentile who befriended a Jew with rewarding results. The setting of the story is this: In the year 600 B.C. the Chaldeans over­ threw Jerusalem and Zedekiah had been made ruler of the city. Most of the Jewish people had been taken captive into Babylon. The Egyptians had threatened an invasion; the Chal­ deans had fled to Babylon. Shortly after that, the Egyptians left, and the Chaldeans returned to recapture the land. The Jews that were left were determined to withstand the attack. Jeremiah, God’s prophet at that time, invoked the wrath of the King of Israel by warning him that unless he surrendered to the Babylonian in­ vaders, the city would be burned with the temple and he, the king, would be taken captive to Babylon. Jere-

The Christian’s REWARD for Befriending the J EW S

by Rev. Norman Allensworth*

‘ Superintendent of the Jewish De­ partment Bible Institute of Los Angeles and Church of the Open Door.

THE KING'S BUSINESS

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