A brief look at God’s purpose for Israel as a nation

We all know that God’s call to Abraham was a world-shaking call—a great calling that would alter the destiny of all mankind. No language can adequately describe the significance of this calling.

Many Christians readily agree with this, because through that calling came the salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, this salvation is exceedingly great: it frees us from condemnation and grants us eternal life.

However, there is another reason why Abraham’s calling was so great. God promised to make Abraham into a great nation, and through that promise the nation of Israel came into being. Why did God establish the nation of Israel—a nation that belongs to Him and represents Him on earth? Why do I say that the formation of Israel as a nation is another major reason that makes Abraham’s calling so significant?

Why Did God Establish the Nation of Israel?

First, we must remember that God is not only the Redeemer of our personal lives; He is also the Lord of this world. He governs the course and direction of world history.

In the book of Daniel, God has already revealed the final outcome of this world. He declares that a stone cut out not by human hands will one day strike and destroy all earthly kingdoms, and that He Himself will establish another kingdom—one that will never be destroyed.

How will such an outcome be brought about? God has also told us this. Zechariah 12:2 says, “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.” Verse 3 continues, “On that day”—a phrase that in Scripture often refers to the end times—“when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.”

From this we see that Israel must play a crucial role. In the profoundly corrupt moment of the end times, Israel will be hated by many nations, which will even unite to attack her.

Then God declares in Zechariah 12:9, “On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.”

Revelation chapters 16 and 19 provide a more detailed description of this final war. They reveal that the stone “not cut by human hands” is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. In the end-time battle of Armageddon, He will return, defeat all the nations that come to attack Israel, and establish the Kingdom of Christ. This is precisely the eternal, indestructible kingdom foretold in the book of Daniel.

Another Reason the Call of Abraham Is So Great — The Establishment of the Nation of Israel

Is Israel’s crucial role in the end times merely a coincidence? Is it an unexpected development that God did not foresee? Absolutely not. Rather, the founding of the nation of Israel was intended to serve as the very occasion for God’s final judgment upon the nations. This was His purpose from the very beginning, when He called Abraham to become a great nation.

Some may ask, “Why does God have to go through all this? If the world becomes corrupt, why doesn’t He simply come down and destroy it?” God does not intend to end the world in that manner.

I served in the diplomatic field for twenty-nine years. After being called by God to become a minister, I remained closely connected to international affairs because my husband continued to serve in diplomacy. Through this experience, I have come to understand that in this world, war operates according to recognized principles. A war must be justified by legitimate cause, and a defensive war against aggression is widely regarded as a just war.

It is evident that God has chosen to bring this world to its conclusion in a way that even the world itself recognizes as just. There is another reason as well: the world has been blinded by Satan. People do not recognize their own corruption; instead, they see themselves as embodiments of justice. Therefore, God allows the nations to initiate a war, and He then intervenes in what is, by every standard, a defensive war—to rescue His chosen people. In this way, the defeated nations will have no grounds for excuse.

From the discussion above, we may draw the following conclusion:

The calling of Abraham is part of a vast and overarching plan that serves two purposes: God’s recovery of a corrupt world and His redemption of sinful humanity.

How Is the Nation of Israel to Carry Out the Function God Has Assigned to Her?

How, then, is Israel to fulfill the role God has given her? God established a clear mechanism: He will bless the nations that bless Israel, and He will curse the nations that curse Israel. In the end times, many nations will become utterly corrupt. They will hate God’s people, Israel, and curse her; consequently, God will curse and destroy them.

However, the operation of this mechanism has a prerequisite: Israel must first become a blessing. This requirement is stated explicitly in Genesis 12:2. God first commands Israel to be a blessing, and only then does He declare, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.”

Yet Israel failed to fulfill this command. Not long after entering the land of Canaan, the people turned away from God, worshiped idols, and filled the land with injustice and unrighteousness. Could such an Israel serve as the standard by which good nations are blessed and evil nations are punished? Nations that aligned themselves closely with Israel at that time would merely become corrupt companions, no different from Israel herself. Could God bless such nations?

Because Israel repeatedly refused to repent, God drove them out of the Promised Land and allowed them to be afflicted by their enemies. Through this prolonged suffering, He refined and purified them.

After two thousand years of suffering, the Jewish people finally submitted themselves to the LORD. They abandoned idolatry and returned to keeping His covenant. Moreover, they completed the punishment they were appointed to bear. As a result, God brought them back to the land of Israel and allowed them to be re-established as a nation. Only then were they able to assume the role destined for them—to become the means by which nations are blessed or judged.

Some may find it unfamiliar that I maintain “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse” applies to nations rather than to individuals. This interpretation differs from that held by many. Nevertheless, based on the immediate context of the passage and the broader biblical teaching concerning Israel, I am convinced that this statement is directed toward nations, not individuals. Israel is a nation, and the entities with which she interacts are nations, not private persons.

This does not mean that individuals who love Israel, support Israel, or care for Israel will not receive God’s favor and blessing. They certainly will—but on the basis of other biblical passages, not this particular one.

What Instructions Has God Given Christians on How to Treat Israel?

At least two passages of Scripture instruct believers to stand together with the Jewish people and to treat them with kindness.

The first is Deuteronomy 32:43:

“Rejoice, you nations, with his people,

for he will avenge the blood of his servants;

he will take vengeance on his enemies

and make atonement for his land and his people.”

Here, the verb rejoice is a command. From the context, “the nations” refers to Gentile believers, while “his people” clearly refers to the Jewish people. God therefore commands Gentile Christians to rejoice together with the Jews over what He is doing in Israel.

Note: The Hebrew word in the original text is גּוֹיִם (goyim), which may be translated as either “nations” or “Gentiles.” The Chinese Union Version correctly renders it as “you Gentiles,” whereas most English translations render it as “you nations.” The phrase “rejoice with” clearly implies two groups of people rejoicing together, not one group of nations rejoicing alongside another group of people. Such a reading would be asymmetrical and therefore inappropriate.

The second passage is Isaiah 40:1:

“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.

Here, God makes it unmistakably clear that He is addressing two groups of His people: Gentile believers and the Jewish people. Verse 2 indicates that at this point the Jews have completed their period of punishment and have returned to the land of Israel.

The command “comfort” is given in the imperative mood and repeated twice, expressing the urgency and strength of God’s command. It reveals how firmly God instructs Gentile believers to comfort the Jewish people who have endured profound suffering.

Therefore, if Christians obey God’s commands—standing alongside the Jewish people and treating them with kindness—God will surely bless them.

Sadly, many Christians have been blinded by erroneous theology and by the biased reporting of international mainstream media. They do not understand the truth, nor do they see God’s commands. Instead they follow unbelievers in attacking Israel and criticizing the Jewish people. How deeply this grieves the heart of God!

Douglas Murray’s Words Give a Glimpse of the True Face of the Wicked Revealed Through Israel

We are now very close to the end times, and we can already see corrupt nations and individuals revealing their wickedness because of Israel. The well-known political commentator Douglas Murray illustrated this powerfully in his opening remarks at the internationally renowned Munk Debates in June, 2024.

Douglas Murray is neither a Christian nor a Jew, but he is a perceptive political observer. His comments were based solely on what he himself has witnessed. I will summarize a portion of his remarks here:

“You would have thought after an attack like the one that Hamas instigated that started this terrible war, you would have thought that there would be some sympathy from the world. You might have thought the world would pay attention to the attack and at least pay attention to the people behind it. You might have expected, like me, that there might have been a worldwide opposition to the terrorists and rapists and the murderers of Hamas. You might have thought there would be hatred around the world erupting that the government of Qatar and its mouthpiece Al Jazeera, its funding of Hamas, and its hosting the leadership of Hamas in Qatar. You might have thought, there would be an outpouring of rage at the Islamic Revolutionary Government in Tehran. 

But No. There was immediate outpouring of rage against the state that’s been attacked.

Israel is the only country in the world, which, when it's attacked, gets attacked more.”

Conclusion and Commentary

I will conclude with four final observations:

1. Israel is the only earthly nation established by God to belong to Him and represent Him in this world. She is destined to play a crucial role in the final days, when God reclaims the world.

2. God scattered the Israelites among the nations not to reject them or alter His original purpose, but to purify them. Through suffering, He prepared them to bear the role He appointed for them. God’s plan to reclaim the world has only Plan A—there is no Plan B.

3. A nation rests upon two essential elements: its people and its land. The land of Israel was given to the Jewish people not as a privilege, but as a necessity—unless God intended to have no earthly nation belonging to Him. God’s preservation of the Jewish people was not solely to make the coming of the Messiah possible. Had that been the case, God could have allowed the Jews to disappear after the Messiah came. Instead, for two thousand years He preserved them from extinction so that they would survive to fulfill their appointed role at the end of history.

4. Replacement theology and fulfillment theology are serious errors. They arise from a failure to understand God’s purpose in establishing the nation of Israel. To claim that Christians inherit God’s promises to Israel—including the land—because of Jesus is even more misguided. Israel is Israel, and the Church is the Church. Each exists for a distinct purpose and carries a different mission. To divide the land of Israel or belittle the Jewish people is to fall into the enemy’s trap—to oppose God and undermine His plan. Christians, be discerning! Do not provoke the anger of God!

Note: This message was originally presented during the Learning Sessions of the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, held in Taipei, Taiwan, on December 7–8, 2025. The original manuscript was revised by members of CAFI (Christ Army for Israel), to whom special thanks are extended.