Lessons from Israel, Part 1

I've been back from Israel over 48 hours now. In the midst of recovering from jet lag I'm processing things I learned from being in the Holy Land.

"their rejection is the reconciliation of the world...Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." - Romans 11:15, 19

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29

We were driving next to the dead sea and our tour guide said "on the other side of those mountains is where the Israelites wandered for 40 years an where Moses died"

(above photo: Mountains in background behind the Dead Sea. In foreground are ruins from a stronghold built by King Uzziah).

Moses is one of my favorites and I've learned much from His relationship with God. So as I was looking out on the same place that Moses looked at thousands of years ago, the thought came to me "This has nothing to do with me". This is about God choosing His chosen people of Israel and His faithfulness that has endured for generations. And what doesn't make sense is the people who are biological descendants of Abraham have rejected the redemptive plan that God put in place for them. Their rejection has allowed me to be a part of this redemptive story. I feel so privileged to be a part of it. As strange as it sounds, i'm thankful for the Jews rejection because it made it possible for me to be grafted in.

(Above Photo: Looking from the top of Mt. Carmel where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal [1 Kings 18] onto the Jezreel valley where Joshua led the Israelites into many victories over their enemies.)

I got to stand at the place where God told Peter to present the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10). Before this time, the gospel was solely for the Jews. He was staying at Simon the tanners house when He told Peter not to call "unclean (Gentiles) what the Lord has called clean". Thank you, Lord.