At 20,720 square kilometers, Israel is a tiny nation the size of the state of Johor in West Malaysia. Although it is a small country, it is huge in influence. The entire Old Testament is essentially a history of Israel. Almost the entire content of the four Gospels took place within the borders of Israel. More than 90 percent of the people portrayed in the Bible are Israelites. All 39 New Testament books were authored by Israelites. By being born a Jew, Jesus Christ is forever identified to the Jewish race. All 12 disciples were Jewish. Apostle Paul was Jewish. All except one of Paul’s co-workers were Jewish. Revelation 21 says that when we get to the New Jerusalem, even the gates of this heavenly city have the names of the 12 tribes of Israel inscribed on them.

However, because the Jews (1) have been separated from their land for almost 2,000 years, and (2) have been separated from their role as leaders in disseminating the gospel and building up the Church, many Christians today no longer associate the New Testament with the Jews. In fact, many ignorant Christians have even embraced “Replacement Theology,” which is the belief that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s plan of salvation. It is the belief that Israel is no longer God’s chosen people, because the Church now is. It teaches that God is no longer with Israel because they had rejected Christ as their Messiah.

To refute all that, Paul asks the rhetorical question: “Has God cast away His people- the Jews?” To that, he answered an emphatic “Certainly not! God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew” (Rom. 11:1-2). When God makes a covenant, it is everlasting. God can never forget His promises, His plans or His people. He will never forget His land, not forsake His city (Ps. 132:13-14). The children of Israel are God’s chosen people forever! Israel is God’s “prophetic clock.” By restoring the Jews to the land in 1948, God set the clock in motion once again. In Romans 11:15, Paul further reasons, “For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?”