Raised for His Glory

There is a good deal of talk today about peace in the Middle East. There is also a great deal of acrimony where Israel is concerned because of this peace process and its failure. Insults and vitriol are routinely placed at the feet of Israel because of their alleged unwillingness to foster peace with the Arab nations that surround her. This is expected from the world. It shouldn't come from people who call themselves Christians, yet this is increasingly becoming the norm throughout Christian circles. People do not realize how they contradict themselves. On one hand they say that Israel controls the foreign policy of the United States. They say that "the Jews" control the media. On both counts, they are wrong. Logically, does it not stand to reason if "the Jews" controlled the media, there would obviously be far less acrimony toward Israel than there is today. Instead, what do we have in the world? We have a tremendous sympathy toward Arabs and Muslims and particularly the world's collective heart goes out to the "Palestinians" within the Land of Israel. The world believes those people have gotten a raw deal and the fault lies with Israel. So what does the Bible teach about the Land and the nation of Israel? Is God done with the nation as many believe? Is He now focusing solely and forever on the Church and can we rightly assume that from Ezekiel 36 onward, even though God is referring to specifics about Israel, He really means the Church?