What are you being grafted into?

 

What are you being grafted into?
by Donna Diorio

Some of us have it backwards: we Christians have been grafted into Israel’s olive tree and now the only Jews who have been re-grafted in by God are those who have come to faith in Yeshua. So why are so many Christians trying to graft themselves into the Israel that persists in unbelief?

     I am certain that if we knew the actual number of how much Christian financial donations are being given to the unsaved rabbis of Israel who are also partakers, if not instigators, of the persecution of Israeli Messianic Jews who love and follow Jesus - Yeshua the Messiah of Israel - that we would find it staggering.

     It is distressing to me to consider, and I cannot tell you how many times over the years I have had Christians ask me about this one or that one who support Israel. It doesn't take very long to scan the ministry to see they absolutely are not connecting with the Israeli body of Messiah, but are only connecting to the unsaved rabbis raising money among Christian "friends" for their projects.

     It is quite competitive to get Christians on-board of their projects, some of which are nice, but none of which will ever lead to their awakening to know Israel's Messiah. Recently during the Isaiah 62 Fast & Prayer for 21-days, one such rabbi showed up trying to make himself a prayer hub during the event. That made my hair stand on end! Because this rabbi would sure not be praying for "all Israel" to be saved, quite the opposite! He would be focused on siphoning off all the Christian support for Israel that he possibly could. He was there for the donations he might be able to land from Christians.

     He had already been on my radar although I had mostly just ignored him. When I saw his organization name as a "prayer hub" on IHOP's social media for Isaiah 62, I immediately did a thorough search to make sure I had the right idea about the rabbi in question and the first thing I found was him talking about the "Eureka!" moment when he realized how much income there was to be in tapping Christian supporters of Israel. I was incensed by it. But that was not the first time Rabbi Weisz has insinuated himself into large Christian gatherings.

     It has always been greatly disheartening to me to see such high level Christians become so fascinated with the unsaved rabbis who desire to establish relationships with them. The reason this is troubling to me is that while the unsaved rabbis are forging relationships with high level Christians, they are also subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) training Christian leaders to ignore the God given spiritual connection we have with the body of Messiah in Israel.

     Recently a high profile Christian pastor was quoted in a Jerusalem Post with a headline that read: "Trump’s faith advisor: Christians must learn from Jews, not convert them." They drew this from the fact that Paula White-Cain came to Israel to travel with Orthodox Rabbi Tuly Weisz, visit the Temple Mount with former MK Rabbi Yehudah Glick, study with Religious Zionist Rebbetzin Shani Taragin, walk in Hebron with Rabbi Simcha Hochbaum, visiting the Arugot Farms in the Judean mountains and studying Torah at Nishmat – The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women.

     What a waste! Great for Paula's ego, zero step forward for God's plans in Israel to bring Israel to faith by the Jewish disciples of Yeshua among them. Paula did not visit one Israeli Jewish believer in Jesus on Paula's tour, nor do most of the most high level Christian political leaders and pastors. What an ego trip to have the red carpet laid out for you while you tell everyone: "I do not want to convert Jews or send them to [live in] Israel for the rapture. The plan for salvation for the Jews is God's." and “You can be Jewish without being Christian, but you cannot be Christian without understanding Judaism.”

     Paula White is right in part: It is NOT the place of Christians to bring Israelis to faith and without understanding the Hebrew scriptures, a Christian does not have a solid foundation beneath their faith in the Jewish sacrificial Lamb who made salvation possible for them. But Paula White-Cain has not come to the correct conclusions about God's intentions to bring Israel to faith THROUGH faith in this Yeshua preached by the Messianic Jewish believers in Israel. It is their place to be witnesses of salvation of Yeshua, and it is the international Christians' place to support the Israeli body of Messiah in every way.

     Many Christian leaders who support Israel do not have this understanding of the plan of God which the Apostle Paul laid out so well. There is blindness, and no matter how much I respect these leaders in other areas of ministry and devotion to God's love for the Jewish people, it is heartbreaking to see them continually gathered in to support unsaved Israel while turning their backs on the saved Remnant in Israel.

     Whether it is inviting rabbi Tuly Weisz to speak at the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast on the National Religious Broadcasters annual meeting, these invitations should ONLY be extended to the Israeli Messianic leadership, NOT to unsaved rabbis that will even more Christians AWAY from God's plan for Israeli, not TOWARD it!  I don't care how many high profile Christian leaders think otherwise, they are being led by the spiritually blind! They are like MOST Christians who know they are to love Israel, but they are trying to be "grafted in" to unsaved Israel rather than the only people in Israel who are "re-grafted back into their own tree" by their faith in Yeshua as Messiah.

     I would be remiss not to mention that many Diaspora Messianic Jews also still do not get the full magnitude of significance of the Israeli body of Messiah. God's plan to restore Israel spiritually are wrapped up in that Israeli remnant. Connecting Christians to the unsaved in Israel may seem like a good idea, but it is not God's idea.

     God drew Christians to begin a love relationship with Israel over the last 75 years, but now it time to for our love to mature and recognize who the HOLY SPIRIT is working through in Israel, instead of focusing all Christian attention on 'dating' unsaved Israelis. God is leading us to a marriage of Jew and Gentile made one in Messiah.