Jonah preaching to the Ninevites by Gustav Dore
(Wikimedia Commons)
-11-
Blessing Or Cursing!
When God called Abraham long ago he said to him in Genesis 12:2-3:
I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you; I will make your
name great,
and you
will be a blessing. I will bless those
who bless you, and whoever curses you
I will
curse; and all peoples on earth will be
blessed through you.
Not only
will God keep his covenant with Abraham
and Israel, but he will also bless the
nations through Israel. This is a fact
that has been little understood by the
nations, or even by Gentile Christians
for that matter. We sometimes realize
how the Jewish Bible and the Jewish
Messiah are blessings to us and to the
nations. However, we are not often aware
how the Jews themselves have been a
blessing to the nations by their very
presence. (1)
HOW THE JEWS BLESSED ANCIENT
NATIONS
We do not have to look far in history to
see that some ancient nations were
blessed by the Jewish people. We may
never fully know the impact of Jewish or
Hebrew influence in antiquity because
records of this nature are virtually
nonexistent. However, we do have
biblical records that substantiate some
of this influence.
First of all,
we see that Jacob the Patriarch blessed
Pharaoh (Gen. 47:7). Then there was the
story of Joseph. This son of Jacob was
sold into slavery by his own brothers,
and later arose to dizzying heights of
power in Egypt. Soon he became
second-in-command in one of the
consistently strongest monarchies of the
ancient world. He wore Pharaoh’s own
signet ring and was put in charge of the
whole land of Egypt (Gen. 41:41-45).
Joseph rose to
this position because of the providence
and plan of God. God had enabled him to
accurately interpret Pharaoh’s dreams,
telling of an awful seven-year famine
that was to come upon the land. Joseph
was thus appointed as Pharaoh’s
right-hand-man to insure that bountiful
provisions were stored up in the seven
plentiful years, which Joseph had also
foreseen.
We can
confidently say that because of Joseph,
Egypt was spared from seven years of
terrible famine that might have brought
an end to the nation. In Genesis 41:57,
we see how the surrounding nations were
also blessed and spared, for they came
to Egypt to buy grain.
We can
certainly say that at least one Jew
brought great blessing to the land of
Assyria in biblical times. His name was
Jonah. This prophet was commissioned by
God to go the mighty capital city of
Nineveh. His task was to warn the people
of the disaster about to overtake them
because of their sins. Jonah ultimately
went, even though Assyria was a bitter
enemy of Israel. We read in Jonah 3:5,
that "The Ninevites believed
God. They declared a fast, and all of
them, from the greatest to the least,
put on sackcloth." Because of
their repentance, God spared the capital
city of Assyria.
Jonah preaching
to the Ninevites by Gustav Dore
(Wikimedia
Commons)
It is also interesting to note that Jews
rose to the highest positions of
authority in ancient Babylonia and
Persia. The result was that these
nations were blessed.
One sterling example
of this influence is seen in the life of
Daniel the prophet. As a young man,
Daniel was carried away from his home in
605 BC by the Babylonians. He gained
influence so rapidly in Babylon that
when Ezekiel was brought to the city a
few years later, Daniel was already a
legend (Ezek. 14:14 & 20). Daniel
interpreted dreams for kings (Dan.
2:31-45; 4:9-27); he, along with his
three Hebrew companions, sat as advisors
to the king of Babylon. In Daniel 1:20,
we read that their wisdom was "ten
times better" than all his
other advisors.
Daniel publicly
rebuked kings for their idolatry (Dan.
5:22-24); he was so miraculously
delivered by God that a whole nation
stood in awe of him and the king made a
proclamation that all the vast empire
should acknowledge the God of Daniel
(6:26-27). He foretold historic events
down to the end of time with uncanny and
amazing accuracy. He even predicted that
the Messiah of Israel would come before
the Second Temple was destroyed in AD 70
(9:24-27).
Daniel did
something that probably not too many
people accomplished in the ancient
world. He survived the fall of one
nation and immediately rose to great
power in the political framework of the
succeeding nation. This was by the will
of God, but we learn from Josephus, the
Jewish historian, that it may have been
facilitated by the fact that Cyrus the
Persian had read portions of Isaiah.
(2) In
that prophetic work Cyrus is mentioned
by name and even referred to as
"the Lord’s anointed" (cf.
Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1).
It would
certainly impress any ruler to learn
that a prophet had called him by name
several hundred years before he was
born. Probably this information caused
Cyrus to have warm feelings toward the
Jewish people in general, and perhaps
toward Daniel in particular. In all
likelihood, Daniel may even have had
something to do with Cyrus reading
Isaiah.
When we
consider his remarkable life, we are
forced to conclude that Daniel was an
incredible person and that he was a
blessing to both ancient Babylonia and
Persia.
The
Media-Persian Empire became one of the
mightiest empires in the ancient world.
We read in the Bible that ancient Persia
stretched over 127 provinces from India
to Ethiopia (Esth. 1:1). It is almost
incredible how much influence the Jews
continued to have in this vast empire.
Ezra the
Scribe, a Jew, was able to have great
favor in the court of Artaxerxes I (Longimanus:
465-424 BC). By royal decree Ezra was
given permission to lead a contingent of
the Lord’s people back home to Israel.
Ezra was able to take along a
considerable amount of treasure offered
by the king himself and his advisers. He
went with a good deal of political power
to appoint magistrates and judges over
the land of Israel (Ezra 7:12-26). Not
only did Ezra teach and help establish
the people of God, but he also helped
bring order in the far-flung kingdom. At
that particular time, Egypt represented
a threat to Persia, and the Jews may
have helped to bring stability in the
area. (3)
Another interesting Jewish person
connected with the Persian court was
actually the cupbearer to king
Artaxerxes. He was an able administrator
by the name of Nehemiah (Neh. 1:11).
Probably of all the men of influence in
Persia, the cupbearer might have been
the greatest. Nehemiah would have been
"...one with the closest access to
the king, and one who could well
determine who got to see the king."
(4) He
used this great opportunity to guide the
king, so that the monarch might work
together with God, and allow the city
and wall of Jerusalem to be rebuilt.
Much Jewish
influence for good in ancient Persia had
probably come about a few years earlier
by the Cinderella-type marriage of a
young Jewish girl named Hadassah. In God’s
unbelievable plan, little Hadassah, or
Esther, was elevated to great heights to
become the Queen of Persia during the
reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I, 486-465
BC).
Queen Esther by
Edwin Long (1878). Painting in the
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
(Wikimedia Commons)
She used God’s wisdom to guide the
nation away from the disastrous course
of xenophobia and civil turmoil. How
interesting it is that in the next
generation, her stepson issued the
famous decrees that sent both Ezra and
Nehemiah on their missions to restore
Israel.
There are
probably other stories of Jewish
influence for good in the ancient world.
Many of these stories will not likely be
told until the great books are opened in
the next world. However, let us turn our
attention to more recent centuries. In
modern times the influences of Jews and
their blessings to the nations can be
readily documented as they are often
preserved in historical records.
SOME NATIONS BLESSED IN MODERN TIMES
The Ottoman Empire
In modern
times, we can clearly see a pattern,
that those nations who have blessed
Israel have been blessed. For instance,
in 1492, when the Jews were expelled
from Christian Spain, many of them were
accepted in what we call Turkey today.
It was then called the Ottoman Empire.
Later, in 1497 and 1498, they were
joined by Jews fleeing Portugal.
It is
interesting indeed that as the Jews
arrived in the Ottoman Empire, it began
to experience the apex of its political
power and expansion. This trend
continued on through the reign of
Suleiman I (The Magnificent: 1520-1566).
Suleiman is known for building the
present wall around the Old City of
Jerusalem. It is noteworthy that the
Ottoman Empire began with such momentum
that it lasted until our era, coming to
its demise at the end of World War I.
According to
the famed Jewish historian, Cecil Roth,
the Jewish exiles from Spain found a
warm welcome in the Ottoman Empire. Roth
quotes a remark supposedly made by
Sultan Bajazet: "What! call ye this
Ferdinand ‘wise’ -- he who
depopulates his own dominions in order
to enrich mine?" (5)
The Sultan then went on to greatly
encourage Jewish immigration.
Roth continues
to describe how the Jewish influence
grew in the fast-rising Ottoman Empire.
He mentions that because the Turks were
essentially a military and agricultural
people, they were not interested in the
sedentary life style. Thus, the trade of
the vast empire was left in the hands of
Jews, Armenians and Greeks.
The Jews were
exceptionally well equipped in this
area. The Jewish immigrants brought with
them their skill in languages, their
knowledge and their fortunes. Soon Jews
controlled much of the international
trade in the eastern portion of the
Mediterranean basin.
The Jewish
artisans quickly made a name for
themselves as they introduced trade
secrets brought from Spain. Soon
gunpowder was introduced to the army and
navy of the Ottoman Empire. There were
also other armaments manufactured by
Jews. (6)
The Jews
first settled in Constantinople, and
rapidly that Jewish community grew to be
the largest Jewish settlement in that
part of the world. Soon it was rivaled
and passed by Salonica, which because of
Jewish enterprise, went on to become the
greatest mercantile center of the
Mediterranean.
The Jews were
thoroughly experienced in European
languages and were quite familiar with
conditions on the continent. Thus the
Jews began to play a very important and
even crucial role in international
politics. One person to gain
international prominence was Joseph Nasi.
He was not only influential in the
Ottoman Empire, but he was solicited by
the powers of Europe as well. He was
powerful enough in international
politics that he was able to avenge the
Jewish expulsion from Spain by
encouraging the Netherlands to revolt. (7)
As Roth states,
The Jewish people must always remember
the Turkish Empire with gratitude
because,
at one of the
darkest hours of its history, when no
alternative place of refuge was open
and there
seemed no chance of succor, Turkey flung
open its doors widely and
generously for
the reception of the fugitives, and kept
them open. (8)
The
obvious lesson of the Ottoman Empire is
that when the Jewish people are
received, blessing to the nation ensues.
We see this pattern clearly repeated in
other modern nations.
The Netherlands
In 1497,
Portugal followed the lead of Spain, and
also expelled its Jewish population.
These Portuguese Jews along with some of
the dispersed Jews from Spain made their
way to the Netherlands. These Jews were
known as Marranos (a derogatory
term for converts to Christianity).
Again, as in the case of the Ottoman
Empire, there were many merchants,
industrialists, and scholars in this
group, and the Netherlands was enriched
by their coming.
The Jews of the
Netherlands, like their relatives in the
Ottoman Empire, were very knowledgeable
in languages, administration, and also
in international relationships. They
began to play an expanding role in the
economy of the rising nation. (9)
It seems
very curious that the tiny Netherlands
began about this time to explode into a
worldwide commercial empire, even
rivaling England. It became a great
colonizing influence in the new world,
far out of proportion to its size. Its
centers of influence reached from New
Amsterdam, Brazil and Guyana in the
Americas to Africa, India and the Dutch
East Indies.
Martin Gilbert in his Jewish Historical Atlas, remarks:
The most active period of Jewish
commercial enterprise coincided with the
widest
expansion of
the Dutch empire 1600-1700...Within two
hundred years of their expulsion
from Spain, the
Jews who settled in Amsterdam had built
up a trading empire on a scale
previously
unimaginable. Their successes made an
important contribution to the golden
age of Dutch
commercial enterprise. (10)
Amsterdam continued to become an
established center of world trade. The
city’s Jews held an important place as
shareholders in the famous East India
Company. The Jews also gained prominence
in industries such as printing, sugar
refining, tobacco, silk and diamonds. In
time, the diamond industry became an
exclusively Jewish one in the
Netherlands. (11)
Generations later,
during the time of the Holocaust, many
people in Holland stood by the Jews and
sheltered them from the Nazis. A stroll
down the Avenue of Righteous Gentiles at
the Holocaust Museum in Israel reveals
this. There are more memorials to
citizens of Holland than any other
nation.
Today it seems
that Jews, as well as Christians from
Holland, make up an unusually large and
influential representation in the land
of Israel.
The US
An outstanding example of Jewish
influence for good has been seen in the
United States. No doubt, because of its
strong Puritan influence in the colonial
period, the Jews were looked upon with
admiration. The Puritans felt that
"...the interests of the Gentiles
themselves are bound up with God’s
designs toward Israel."
(12)
The Puritans studied Hebrew and longed
for the restoration of Zion.
This warm
feeling of the Puritans toward the Jews
affected many areas within the rising
nation. Even today, this influence can
still be seen in the seals and insignias
of the great early American
universities, Columbia, Dartmouth and
Yale. At the top of Columbia’s seal is
the Tetragrammaton (four letter name of
God) in Hebrew. Dartmouth displays the
Hebrew "El Shaddai" the
name of God. Yale’s seal is virtually
covered with the biblical Hebrew words
"Urim Ve-thummim"
(Light and Truth). (13)
Early
American colonists began to name their
children after biblical characters. Also
their cities, such as Bethlehem and
Salem, began to take on biblical names.
Their preachers spoke often of Zion and
their political leaders began to make
pronouncements concerning the Jews.
America’s
initial warmness to the Jews soon paid
rich dividends. This began to happen
even by the time of the American
Revolution. At that dark hour Washington’s
troops were languishing in the cold and
snow. To make matters worse, the new
congress did not yet have power to raise
taxes, so the war effort tottered on the
brink of disaster.
At this low ebb
in American history, it was a Jew who
stepped forward to rescue the nation.
His name was Haym Salomon. A few years
ago in 1975, the US Post Office issued a
commemorative stamp in honor of this
great but almost forgotten man. The
stamp printed on front and back read:
Financial Hero - Businessman and broker
Haym Salomon was responsible for raising
most of the
money needed to finance the American
Revolution and later to save the new
nation from
collapse.
Salomon not only made loans to the new
government, but he made them to several
of its statesmen as well, like James
Madison, Thomas Jefferson and James
Monroe. Salomon loaned the government at
least $600,000. Other estimates range as
high as $800,000. The loans were never
repaid to the Salomon heirs. Should they
be repaid today with interest, these
loans on the higher figure would come to
over two and a half trillion dollars. (14)
Haym
Salomon, the Jewish immigrant to the
colonies, was so devoted to his new
adopted land that he invested all his
fortunes in it. He died leaving his
small family without financial means.
As the doors of
America were flung wide open to Jewish
immigration in coming years, the nation
was greatly blessed by the Jewish
presence. Ironically, many other nations
who had themselves persecuted the Jews,
were also blessed from the overflow of
Jewish blessings to America.
In
merchandising, names like Levi Strauss,
Sears Roebuck, Gimbels and Macys
eventually sprang up on the American
scene. There was Edwin Land with his
development of the instant Polaroid
picture. There was Emile Berliner with
his development of the Grammaphone, that
made the modern recording industry
possible. (15)
In
entertainment the Jew, David Sarnoff,
was a pioneer in radio network
broadcasting and founded the National
Broadcasting Company. He went on to
pioneer in television broadcasting and
was later awarded the title "The
Father of American Television" by
the Television Broadcasters’
Association. (16)
William S. Paley built the mighty
Columbia Broadcasting System.
"Between 1941 and 1945, CBS devoted
over six thousand hours to war reports
and dramatizations. For this Paley was
awarded the Legion of Merit and the
French Croix de Guerre." (17)
In the
field of movie entertainment there were
names like Samuel Goldwyn, co-founder of
MGM Studios, and Adolph Zukor, founder
of Paramount Picture Corporation. Other
Jewish names in the early movie industry
are Louis B. Mayer, Lewis Selznick,
William Fox and Marcus Loew.
America and the
world began to be soothed by the sweet
music produced by its Jews. There was
Irving Berlin who wrote what has been
called the nation’s second national
anthem, "God Bless America."
Irving
Berlin watching auditions
at the St.
James Theatre
(Wikipedia
Commons)
It may be a little embarrassing for some
Christians to realize that the
top-selling song of all times,
"White Christmas" was written
by Berlin, the Jewish composer. An
additional embarrassment is that Berlin
also wrote our most popular Easter, song
entitled "Easter Parade." (18)
The song
of the old south, "Swanee" was
written by the Jew, George Gershwin, and
popularized by another Jew, Al Jolson. (19)
There were Rogers and Hammerstein with
their "Oklahoma," "Sound
of Music," South Pacific," and
"Carousel." America could also
boast of greats like Benny Goodman, the
"King of Swing." She could
boast of great violinists like Jerome
Kern and Fritz Kreisler. Americans and
the world could enjoy the orchestral
directing of Bruno Walter, Arthur
Fiedler and Leonard Bernstein.
Because of
Jewish skill and learning, America was
able to launch the world into the
Nuclear Age. The brilliant physicist,
Albert Einstein, helped convince the US
President to launch the Manhattan
Project, which ultimately brought about
the development of the atomic bomb. It
was the Jew, J. Robert Oppenheimer, who
successfully directed this project.
Another Jew, Edward Teller contributed
greatly to the project, and later went
on to develop the Hydrogen bomb. Later,
the Jew, Hyman Rickover developed the Nautilus,
the world’s first atomic powered
submarine.
Many of these
Jewish discoverers and inventors
agonized greatly over the potential for
destruction in nuclear weapons. However,
they consoled themselves that such
weapons of mass destruction would
possibly limit future wars. The
discoveries in the nuclear field have
spurred the peaceful usage of atomic
energy and thus have blessed many
nations.
On the
political and judicial scene in the US,
many Jewish people have been
outstanding. These names include New
York Mayor LaGuardia, advisor to
presidents, Bernard Baruch, Senators Abe
Ribicoff, Jacob Javits, Rudy Boschwitz,
Howard Metzenbaum and Barry Goldwater.
They also include Secretary of State,
Henry Kissinger and Chairman of the
board of governors of the Federal
Reserve System, Arthur Burns. There were
the famous Supreme Court justices
Benjamin Cardozo, Louis D. Brandeis and
Felix Frankfurter. (20)
America
has truly been blessed by the presence
of Jewish people in the nation!
JEWISH BLESSINGS TO THE WHOLE WORLD
The Jews,
at present, account for less than one
percent of the earth’s population.
Yet, they have had a profound effect
upon modern civilization in all areas.
The Jews have been responsible for the
rise of the three great monotheistic
religions in our world. Their thinkers
like Einstein and Freud have had a great
influence upon the modern era.
It seems that
in every age the Jews have had to
acquire skills that were transportable.
They never knew when they would be
forced to leave a city or a country and
flee to parts unknown. Thus the Jews
have leaned heavily upon academic
skills, including science, mathematics
and medicine.
This tendency
among the Jews has brought great
blessing to the nations. Although the
Jews are such a tiny fraction of the
earth’s population, from 1901 to 1990
they won an astonishing 22 percent of
the Nobel Prize awards in science. (21)
Their endeavors in the area
of medicine are even more astonishing. (see
inset)
It
is ironic that while the Jews have been
generally treated as parasites by their
host nations, they have nevertheless
managed to bring blessings to their
begrudging hosts as well as to the whole
world.
The Jews
through history have provided the
philosophers, musicians, scientists,
physicians, financiers and statesmen to
bless their host nations. Someone once
said that other ancient peoples left
only monuments but the Jews have left
ideas. They seem to have done this
wherever they have gone. These ideas
have greatly influenced history.
For instance,
the great age of exploration in the
fifteenth century, launched primarily by
Spain and Portugal, was largely made
possible by Jewish contributions.
We must remember that ocean exploration
was a frontier just as new in that day
as space exploration is in our day.
| Jews
and the age of exploration Because of their great emphasis upon learning, the Jewish people did much to bring the age of exploration into being. There were many Jewish mathematicians, astronomers, and cartographers who made possible the voyages into the unknown. Here are a few of these greats: Moses de Leon (1250-1305)- Stated that the earth is round and that it rotates two hundred years before Columbus. Isaac B. Solomon Sahula - In a book written about 1281 and not published until 1490, claimed that the globe beneath us is inhabited by people. (Note: even the Palestinian Talmud written centuries earlier had also claimed that the earth is round) Judah ben Moses and Moses Cohen between 1262 and 1272 prepared the famous alphonsine tables for King Alfonso of Castile. These were lists of planetary movements, and they continued to be used for centuries afterward. Moses and Cohen wrote many books and constructed numerous astronomical instruments. Levi Ben Gerson also known as Gersonides(1288-1344) - Invented the Jacob’s staff, which enabled early sailors to plot their positions. His thinking developed later by others formed the basis of trigonometry. Abraham Crescas
and son Judah (fourteenth century)
- Abraham served as Master of Maps
and Compasses to the King of
Aragon. As cartographer, he
produced what was called the world’s
best map in 1377. His son Judah
also a famous cartographer helped
chart the voyages of the
Portuguese explorers. Pedro Nunes (1492-1577) - The most distinguished of Portugal’s nautical astronomers and the founder of scientific navigation. Note: Many think today that Columbus himself was Jewish. He had at least five Jews accompanying him on his first expedition. His Jewish interpreter, Louis de Torres, was one of the first two men to set foot on American soil. (22) |
The Jews through the ages
have been outstanding in many fields of
science, mathematics and medicine (see
inset). In Modern times the
German mathematician, Karl Jacobi
(1804-1851) developed the theory of
elliptic functions. Georg Cantor
(1845-1918), also of German origin,
founded the theory of sets, and also the
theory of transfinite numbers. He
revolutionized the whole area of
mathematics and is known as one of the
greatest mathematicians of all time.
Sir William
Herschel (1738-1822) was one of the
great astronomers of the modern era. He
not only discovered the planet Uranus,
but was the founder of modern stellar
astronomy. Eugene Goldstein (1850-1930)
is associated with the discovery of
gamma rays. Austrian physicist Lise
Meitner (1878-1968) shared in the
discovery of nuclear fission, with her
primary work being in the relationship
between beta and gamma rays. Albert
Michelson (1825-1919) established the
speed of light. The paradoxical results
of his experiments led to Einstein’s
formulation of the general theory of
relativity in 1916.
Leo Arons
(1860-1919) invented the mercury vapor
lamp. Gabriel Lipman (1845-1921)
developed color photography. Charles
Gerhardt (1816-1857) was the developer
of the molecular theory and also was
first to make an effective
classification of organic compounds.
One of the many
ironies of Jewish history occurred in
Germany. That nation had produced an
unusual amount of Jewish chemists. There
was Adolf Frank (1834-1916) founder of
Germany’s potash industry. Frank was
also influential in developing the
nitrogen fixation industry by forming
calcium cyanide. There was Adolf von
Bayer (1835-1917), who discovered the
phthalein class of dyes and passed his
patents to the giant I.G.
Farben-industrie, which became infamous
in the Holocaust. Lastly there was Fritz
Haber (1868-1934), who developed the
synthetic production of ammonia. This
was a great benefit to Germany’s
supply of nitrates for the war. For his
efforts Haber was later exiled.
Nevertheless, it was Jewish genius that
formed a large basis of the German
chemical industry, and it was
particularly that industry which was
used to destroy the Jews. (23)
|
Some Jewish contributions in the field of medicineJews have
particularly stood out in the
field of Medicine. In the Middle
Ages it is estimated that over
one-half of the rabbis and other
Jewish intellectuals were
physicians by occupation. From the
sixteenth to eighteenth centuries
in Europe, Jews of Marrano descent
made up an astonishingly high
percentage of the physicians. Albert Sabin (1906-1993) American medical microbiologist developed the oral Polio vaccine. (24) |
Dr. Jonas Salk,
creator of the first polio vaccine
(Wikimedia
Commons)
In the modern era, Jewish names have
stood behind the development of many
inventions. Unfortunately, Jews did not
always get the credit for their work.
Consider the airplane for instance. The
Wright Brothers greatly relied upon the
experiments of a German Jewish inventor
named Otto Lilienthal. In his
experiments, Lilienthal had made more
than two thousand powerless glider
flights. He died in 1896, while making
another of these flights.
When we think
of the gas-filled airship, we usually
think of Zeppelin. However, Count
Zeppelin bought his patents from the
widow of an Austrian Jew by the name of
David Schwartz. Schwartz had devised the
idea of a gas-filled airship earlier in
1890.
Another Jew,
Heinrich Rudolph Hertz, by his discovery
of electromagnetic radiation paved the
way for the development of radio,
television and radar. Guglielmo Marconi,
a non-Jew, using the discoveries of
Hertz, patented the wireless telegraph
in 1896. Later he further developed the
concepts into the invention of the
radio.
When we think
of the telephone, we automatically think
of Alexander Graham Bell. However a
Jewish inventor, Johann Philipp Reis was
the first to publicly demonstrate the
telephone as early as 1861. Bell, who
did not demonstrate his device until
1876, gave some credit for his invention
to Reis.
Again, when we
think of the motorcar, we think of Ford.
Yet as early as 1864 a German-born Jew
by the name of Sigfried Marcus is said
to have patented a motorcar powered by
an internal combustion engine. The
vehicle ran four to five miles per hour.
(25)
There is
probably no other area in our modern
world where Jews have had so much
influence as in the entertainment
industry. When we look at the industry
we realize that it has been Jews who
have made us listen, watch, laugh and
cry. They have tugged our heartstrings
and enthralled us in drama.
The list of
entertainment greats past and present
goes on and on, all the way from Joey
Adams to Shelly Winters.
Although we cannot applaud the excesses
of Hollywood and the entertainment
industry, we can say that it has been
one of the most influential medias in
our world. Not only does it have the
potential for great evil, it also has
the potential for great good.
|
A List of
Jewish entertainment greats past
and present Joey Adams |
THEIR REAL BLESSINGS ARE SPIRITUAL
Although the Jews have brought great physical blessing to our world, their greatest accomplishments are, and will continue to be, in the spiritual realm. It cannot be denied that the Jews are the one people on the face of this earth who have had a direct audience with the Creator. They have faithfully delivered this revelation to us in the form of the Old Testament or Tanakh. In the fullness of time the Messiah was also delivered to the world through Israel and the Jewish people. As a result of his coming into the world we have also received the New Testament. All of the writers of the New Testament except Luke, were Jewish.
The Isaiah
Scroll at the Shrine of the Book in
Jerusalem
(Courtesy
Israel Information Office)
Many people think that the contribution
of the Jews in the realm of religion has
drawn to a close. That idea is false on
many counts. The Jews have an extremely
rich heritage upon which to draw. Their
tradition and learning continues even
today, springing as a well from its
ancient roots in Sinai. They can quickly
add color and dimension to our
understanding of the Bible.
But the real
accomplishments and blessings of the
Jewish people will come in the future.
In the beautiful servant songs of Isaiah
41:8-10, God says of Israel:
But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob,
whom I have chosen, you
descendants of
Abraham my
friend, I took you from the ends
of the earth, from its farthest corners
called
you. I said, ‘You are my
servant’; I have chosen you and have
not rejected you.
So do
not fear, for I am with you; do not be
dismayed, for I am your God. I
will
strengthen you
and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.
Isaiah is speaking of a future day and
time, and it is interesting that Israel
is still called the "servant"
of the Lord.
In Isaiah
43:4-7, we see the continuing special
relationship between God and Israel in
the future:
Since
you are precious and honored in my
sight, and because I love you, I will
give
men in exchange
for you, and people in exchange for your
life. Do not be afraid,
for I am
with you; I will bring your children
from the east and gather you from the
west. I
will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them
back.’
Bring my sons
from afar and my daughters from the ends
of the earth— everyone who
is
called by my name, whom I created for my
glory, whom I formed and made.
In Isaiah 43:21
the Lord says: "the people [the
Jews] I formed for myself that they may
proclaim my praise." Be not
deceived, God will still show forth his
praise through Israel. It is written in
his word and will not fail.
As we approach
the last days, the Jews and Israel will
take on a much greater significance.
This is clear even when we look at our
own book of Revelation. When we
carefully examine Revelation, we see
that it is a picture of the Day of
the Lord, a day
often spoken of by the prophets
of Israel. We sense a strangely Jewish
flavor to these last days.
We are first
introduced to Jesus, who is pictured in
the garments of the High Priest of
Israel. Next, we see what is surely are
Jewish menorahs placed right in the
middle of the first chapter (Rev. 1:12).
It is even more surprising that these
menorahs are said to represent the seven
churches.
Then, we are
introduced to the 144,000 overcomers
from the tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:1-8).
We began to hear much more about
Jerusalem and its restoration as a
spiritual reality. In Revelation 21:2,
9-10, we learn that this heavenly
Jerusalem is the true bride of Christ.
We hear of
Jewish apostles whose names are now
written on the twelve foundations of
Jerusalem (Rev. 21:14). Interestingly,
the gates of the city through which we
all long to pass have written on them
the names of the twelve tribes of Israel
(Rev. 21:12). Imagine how the Christian
persecutors of Israel will feel when
they attempt to enter through those
gates!
There may even
be some surprises for us when we begin
to sing those heavenly choruses with the
angels. (27)
In
Revelation 15:3-4, the redeemed sing the
"Song of Moses." Whether this
song is taken from Exodus 15 or from
Deuteronomy 32, one thing is clear. The
redeemed will be singing about Israel
and God’s faithfulness to that nation.
It may take some Christians a while to
get in tune with that particular
heavenly hymn.
We see that
according to God’s great plan of
restoration, the Jews will have a very
prominent place in the end days. In
Isaiah 61:6-7 it is said of them:
And you
will be called priests of the LORD, you
will be named ministers of our God.
You will
feed on the wealth of nations, and in
their riches you will boast. Instead
of their
shame my people will receive a double
portion, and instead of disgrace they
will rejoice in
their inheritance; and so they will
inherit a double portion in their
land, and
everlasting joy will be theirs.
Yes, in the end days the Jews will be
priests and ministers of God. We read in
scripture that they will also be called
"the Holy People" and
"the Redeemed of the LORD"
(Isa. 62:12). The Lord describes them as
"jewels in a crown"
(Zech. 9:16). We Gentiles have happily
applied Malachi 3:17 to ourselves,
however, this verse lets us see that God
is primarily speaking of the Jewish
people:
"They
will be mine," says the LORD
Almighty, "in the day when I make
up my
treasured
possession. I will spare them, just as
in compassion a man spares his son
who serves
him."
In the last days, the Jews will be as
though they were never cast off by God
(Zech. 10:6).
Perhaps one of
the most interesting pictures of the
Jews in future ages is given to us in
Zechariah 8:23. It is a verse that
should demolish our triumphalistic and
replacement theologies. We read in this
passage:
This is
what the LORD Almighty says: "In
those days ten men from all languages
and
nations will
take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of
his robe and say, ‘Let us go with
you, because we
have heard that God is with you.’"
Let us pause to get the picture here. In
the last days people from all over the
world will cling to the Jewish people
and beg to go with them because of the
presence of the Lord will be with them.
One would think that it would be Gentile
Christians to whom the world is clinging
in the last days. But alas, in God’s
plan it is the Jews.
This is only a
sampling of the many verses in scripture
that speak of the elevation of the Jews
in the end times, and their blessing to
the nations. But with even these few
verses in mind we would have to conclude
with Moses in Deuteronomy 33:29:
Blessed
are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a
people saved by the LORD?...
SOME NATIONS WHO WERE CURSED
The nations who have been blessed for
favoring Israel are not numerous. We
could count them on our fingers,
possibly on the fingers of one hand.
However there is a long list of nations,
both ancient and modern, who have cursed
Israel, and who have thus been cursed.
Pharaoh of
ancient Egypt certainly got his share of
cursing for meddling with God’s elect.
The ten plagues that are recorded in
Exodus would have worked havoc on the
economy of any nation, ancient or
modern. It appears that Pharaoh’s
choicest legions were also lost in the
depth of the sea. What an unmitigated
disaster to befall this nation.
Then there were
the Amalekites. They were possibly the
first nation on earth to persecute
Israel. God took a very dim view of this
attack. He arose in "fierce
wrath" (1 Sam. 28:18) and swore
to blot out the name of Amalek from
under heaven (Deut. 25:14).
Of course, King
Saul failed to destroy Amalek as he was
instructed. We might ask how the
Amalekites are doing today? The answer
is that God wiped their nation off the
face of the earth and closed the book on
their history. He cursed them out of
existence as a nation, although various
people of Amalekite origin undoubtedly
are scattered throughout the Middle
East, and probably continue to corrupt
the area with their vicious anti-Israel
hatred.
Edom is another
ancient kingdom that came under an
eternal curse for its hatred of Israel.
Edom was the nation founded by Esau, the
brother of Israel, and the kingdom was
initially blessed by God. This nation
was located in the southern area of
present day Jordan. Because they kept
alive an ancient hatred God cut them
off. The prophets, Isaiah, Ezekiel,
Joel, Amos and Obadiah, all elaborate on
this theme.
The ancient
nation of Edom has long since
disappeared from the earth, never to
rise again. However, as in the case of
Amalek, individual Edomites surely live
on.
We have seen
how many of the mighty empires of the
past have come against Israel. As we
look at these mighty nations of the
past, we might ask, where are they
today? All have disappeared from the
stage of history. Rome exists, but the
Roman Empire is gone - it fell in AD
476. Egypt is still present, but the
ancient nation was overcome and its
culture obliterated by the Moslem
invasion of the seventh century. They
are gone, but Israel remains.
Now let us move
on to more recent centuries. Shortly
after the turn of the first millennium,
a great crusading excitement swept over
much of Europe. Ostensibly, the
Crusaders were intent on going to the
Holy Land to drive away the Muslims. In
truth, they were generally a reckless
band of adventurers. Their lack of
discipline and understanding cost the
Jews dearly. The Crusaders became a
great curse upon Israel. It should not
surprise us that it was the Crusaders
who returned home with a form of the
bubonic plague, known as the Black
Death. Before the plague ended, it
killed a fourth of the population of
Europe. (28)
By 1492,
Spain and Portugal were fast becoming
two of the mightiest sea powers on
earth. Their mariners were beginning to
sail unexplored waters the world over.
Soon this momentum would enable them to
establish colonies in the ends of the
earth, returning with shiploads of gold.
We mentioned earlier in this chapter the
almost unknown fact that the Jewish
people had helped make this great
exploration possible by their
contributions to astronomy and
mapmaking. Spain and Portugal would go
on to amass tremendous wealth and build
vast colonial empires spanning the
globe.
However, in
1492, the Christian rulers of Spain
decided to expel the Jews from that
realm. The Jews of Spain had lived there
for centuries, and had produced a
"golden age" of Jewish
civilization in that country. The Jews
were nevertheless expelled. Soon in
1497, the Jews of Portugal were also
expelled.
When the Jews
left Spain and Portugal in a very real
sense, the "lights went out"
for these civilizations. In a short
period of time the vast influence of
these two nations climaxed and went into
a rapid and permanent decline. Both
countries sank into dismal degradation
as they were plagued and haunted by the
specter of the Inquisition. This lasted
until the nineteenth century.
Interestingly, in 1996, five-hundred
years to the day after their expulsion,
Portugal apologized to Israel and sought to make
atonement for their act.
(29) Spain had done a similar
thing in 1993.
It should be
noted that in 1588, the mighty Spanish
Armada was destroyed by the British, who
later took control of the seas. It is
quite interesting that at almost the
time of this great sea victory, there
was beginning to arise a strong and
favorable Zionist sentiment in Britain.
(30)
Defeat of the
Spanish Armada by Philippe-Jacques de
Loutherbourg. Painted in 1796
(Wikimedia
Commons).
There are many other modern nations who
have opposed Israel and have reaped
bitter cursing. Consider Germany for
instance. Despite the recent unification
of East and West Germany, the Berlin
wall stood for 45 years as a testimony
of judgment upon this nation. Her great
cities were also bombed and turned into
ashes by allied raids. Her people
suffered.
Consider Russia
and the other countries of the former
Soviet Union. Until 1989, the people of
these countries languished under the
cruel heel of Communism. These are vast
lands of great natural resources. The
people of these lands should have
enjoyed a great abundance of food and of
all other natural products. Yet, when
the new immigrants from the former USSR
came to Israel, they told many tales of
standing in long lines in order to
purchase the bare necessities of life,
even to purchase rotten potatoes. The
people suffered by oppression, wars and
purges. Stalin killed millions of his
own people. Today these nations grope in
a political and financial quagmire that
seemingly defies solution.
It is certainly
possible that the whole land is under a
divine curse brought about by centuries
of anti-Semitism. One writer has
remarked: "Anti-semitism is as
perennial in Russia as the snow...and it
lurks beneath the surface the rest of
the time as stubbornly as
permafrost." (31)
The Russians were murdering Jews long
before Hitler was born. In fact, the
first aliya to Israel began in
1882, as a result of Russian
anti-Semitic pogroms. Today Russia and
other former Soviet countries are
penalized by the brain-drain of highly
skilled Jewish scientists, engineers,
teachers, physicians and others who have
immigrated to Israel.
Consider
Poland. There has hardly been a nation
in modern times more dedicated to the
destruction of the Jews than Poland.
Rausch says of the Polish people,
"...we cannot deny that their
anti-Semitism over the decades grew into
a Jew-hatred that fashioned them into
key collaborators with the Nazi
regime." (32) Of
the six million Jews who died in the
Holocaust, it is almost inconceivable
that half of them died in Poland. Even
after the war ended, the Poles continued
to murder Jews. The historian Johnson
puts the number of murdered Jews after
the war at 350. (33)
Could
Poland’s sorrows as a modern nation be
traced back to its Jew hatred? It seems
plausible.
The list of
modern nations following the evil path
of entrenched anti-Semitism certainly
includes many Middle Eastern countries.
Consider the horrors of Lebanon for
instance. This once beautiful nation
attacked Israel in 1948. Later she
opened her doors to the PLO when they
were expelled from Jordan. Lebanon
opened her doors so that fire could
devour her beautiful cedars (Zech.
11:1).
In Lebanon, the
PLO built a vast infrastructure of
terror from 1975 to 1982. They
destroyed, murdered, and raped as they
chose. They kidnapped Lebanese children
and trained twelve year-olds to kill. In
their rage they shelled hospitals,
turned churches into weapons and garbage
dumps. They turned beautiful Lebanon
into a war zone.
Consider the
lot of the Palestinians, who have
despised Israel with an intensity
unrivaled in modern times. During the
Gulf War the Palestinians literally
danced on their roofs as Saddam Hussein’s
missiles fell on Tel Aviv.
(34)
Later as Gaza was being turned over to
them in the ceremonies of the Oslo peace
accord, they could not stifle their
hatred for a moment, but stoned the
Israeli soldiers who were participating
in the ceremony. One expert, Ruth Wisse,
comments on this incredible hatred
saying, "The Palestinians are the
first people whose nationalism consists
primarily of opposition to the Jewish
people." (35)
It
appears that the Palestinians have
certainly become heirs of the ancient
hatred of Amalek and Edom. They have
hardly noticed that their Druze brethren
in the northern parts of Israel have
received great blessing for their
cooperation with Israel. Their beautiful
and peaceful cities dot the areas of
Carmel in the north and also the Golan
Heights.
As a result of
their support of Saddam Hussein in the
Gulf War, 350,000 Palestinians were
expelled from Kuwait. Their own Moslem
brothers would not take them in,
although Israel accepted many of them.
(36)
They have gone from woe to woe, always
blaming Israel for their plight.
But perhaps the
most obvious example of inheriting a
curse in modern times is Great Britain.
Probably because of Puritan influence,
there arose a strong support for Zion in
Great Britain. This support had been
expressed among her writers and poets.
It was also expressed in the highest
levels of government.
God honored
Britain by allowing her to be the
guardian of the newborn child, Israel.
Britain was in an excellent position to
do this since she had greatly assisted
in the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in
1918, and was left to carve up Palestine
virtually as she wished. At that time,
Britain ruled a quarter of the earth’s
surface.
Interestingly,
Britain’s military efforts had been
greatly helped during World War I by a
Jewish chemist and statesman, Chaim
Weizmann. In the dark days of the war,
Britain had turned to him desperately in
need of a synthetic acetone for her
munitions industries. Weizmann
discovered a process for producing this
acetone in 1916 (37)
Britain was able to continue her war
efforts and gain vast land holdings in
the Middle East. In 1917, Britain produced the
noble Balfour Declaration, that looked
favorably to a home for the Jews in
Palestine. At the end of the war,
Britain was one of the mightiest powers
on earth with colonies stretching over
the world.
In spite of her
noble beginnings, Britain failed
miserably. Although she was charged by
the League of Nations in 1920 to aid the
establishment of a state for newly
emerging Israel, one of her first acts
was to take 75% of the territory
allotted to Israel and establish the
Emirate of Transjordan (today’s
Jordan). That area was immediately
closed to all future Jewish settlement,
and even today with the present peace
process in force, no Jew is allowed to
become a citizen of Jordan.
Britain then
proceeded to hinder all Jewish
settlement in the land of Israel, while
at the same time encouraging Arab
settlement there from the surrounding
nations. (38)
Britain shut the door on Jewish
immigration at precisely the time that
millions of Jews were fleeing from the
coming Holocaust.
The British
then for their own selfish political
purposes, did much to help create the
myth of Palestinian nationalism. It is a
long and complicated story filled with
many intrigues. Finally, in 1948, the
British were forced to turn the now
sticky problem of the Jewish homeland
back over to the United Nations. Britain
was then forced to withdraw her once
proud forces from Palestine in shame.
Britain not only quit its mandate over
Palestine. She also quit Iran in 1951,
and Sudan in 1953. Britain then quit
Egypt in 1954-56, Jordan in 1957, Iraq
in 1958 and Aden in 1967. (39)
The once
mighty British Empire began to unravel.
Earlier at the very time she was abusing
her sacred trust in Palestine, her
capital city was bombed nightly by the
Nazis. Britain survived, but lost most
of her vast worldwide holdings. Great
Britain like many other nations before
her, learned the high price of seeking
to curse those whom God has blessed.
So to this very
hour, the blessing of Abraham is
available to the nations. The curse is
also available. Many nations today
continue walking in the "valley of
decision" concerning Israel (Joel
3:14). The New Testament teaches us that
the nations of the world will someday
line up before God as sheep and goats.
The sheep nations will then be blessed
eternally, while the goat nations will
be eternally cursed.
We learn in
Matthew 25:32-46, that the criteria for
this great judgment will be none other
than how nations have treated the
brothers of the Lord. The brothers of
the Lord are Jewish.
STUDY QUESTIONS:
Name three Jews who blessed Gentile nations in biblical times.
List some blessings brought to the Ottoman Empire and the Netherlands by the expelled Jews of Spain and Portugal.
What great blessing did the American Colonies receive from one devoted Jew?
Name some Jews who helped usher in the Atomic Age.
Why do you think Jews would lean so heavily toward academic skills, including the sciences and medicine?
What other event was
happening as Columbus was sailing from
Spain to discover the new world? Why was
this especially ironic?
Based upon what we have learned in this
chapter, why do the Palestinians always
seem to have such a difficult time?
NOTES
1. See,
Jim Gerrish, "Blessing or
Cursing," Jerusalem Prayer
Letter, Nov. 1990. I have drawn heavily
from this previous published
article.
2. William Whiston,
trans., The Works of Josephus,
Complete and Unabridged (Peabody,
MS: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987) p.
286.
3. Edwin M. Yamauchi, Persia
and the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Book House, 1990) p. 254.
4. Yamauchi, Persia and
the Bible, p. 259.
5. Quoted in, Cecil Roth,
A History of the Jews (New York:
Schocken Books, 1954) p. 252.
6. Roth, A History of the
Jews, p. 252.
7. Roth, A History of the
Jews, pp. 253-254.
8. Roth, A History of the
Jews, p. 256.
9. Goeffrey Wigoder, ed., Encyclopedia
Judaica, Vol 12, (Jerusalem: Keter
Publishing House Jerusalem, Ltd.,
1971-1972) p. 977.
10. Martin Gilbert, Jewish History
Atlas, 4th Edition (Jerusalem, Tel
Aviv & Haifa: Steimatzky Ltd.,
1969,1976, 1985, 1992) p. 52.
11. Wigoder, ed., Encyclopedia
Judaica, Vol 12, p. 977.
12. Iain H. Murray, The Puritan
Hope (Edinburg, Scotland and
Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of
Truth Trust, 1971) p. 66.
13. Richard Siegel and Carl Rheins,
editors, The Jewish Almanac (New
York: Bantam Books, Inc., 1980) pp.
482-483.
14. David Allen Lewis, Israel
and the USA, Restoring the Lost Pages of
American History (Springfield, MO:
Menorah Press, 1993) pp.
168-19.
15. Leonard C. Yassen, The
Jesus Connection (New York: The
Crossroads Publishing Co., 1985) pp.
92-94.
16. M. Hirsh Goldberg, The
Jewish Connection (New York: Bantam
Books, Inc., 1976) p. 171
17. Yassen, The Jesus
Connection, pp. 101-102.
18. Goldberg, The Jewish
Connection, pp. 23-24.
19. Goldberg, The Jewish
Connection, p. 171.
20. Yassen, The Jesus
Connection, pp. 97-105.
21. John Hulley, Comets, Jews
& Christians (New York &
Jerusalem: The Root and Branch
Association, Ltd., 1996) p. 60.
22. Louis Finkelstein, ed., The
Jews: Their History, Culture, and
Religion, Vol III, (Philadelphia:
The Jewish Publication Society of
America, 1949) pp. 1057-1064.
23. Finkelstein, ed., The Jews:
Their History, Culture, and Religion,
Vol III, pp. 1083-1084.
24. Goldberg, The Jewish
Connection, p. 187-196. For this
information I have also used the
valuable and interesting materials in
Louis
Finkelstein, The Jews: Their History,
Culture, and Religion, Vol III, pp.
1067-1068 and 1085-1088.
25. Goldberg, The Jewish
Connection, p. 85-104.
26. Siegel and Rheins, editors, The
Jewish Almanac, pp. 14-16. A portion
of this material was taken from Yassen, The
Jesus Connection,
pp.
109-127.
27. Dr. Goran Larsson,
"The Jews Your Majesty"
(San Diego, CA and Jerusalem, Israel:
The Jerusalem Center for Biblical
Studies and
Research, 1989) p. 37.
28. The World Book Encyclopedia
(Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Paris,
Rome, Syndey, Tokyo, and Toronto, Vol 2,
World Book-Childcraft
International, Inc., 1978) p. 545.
29. See, The Jerusalem Post, 6
December, 1996
30. Lawrence J. Epstein, Zion’s
Call, Christian Contributions to the
Origins and Development of Israel
(Lanham, MD: University Press
of
America, Inc., 1984) p.7.
31. See, The Jerusalem Post, 24
November, 1998
32. David A. Rausch, A Legacy
of Hatred: Why Christians Must Not
Forget the Holocaust (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1984) p. 109.
33. Paul Johnson, A History of
the Jews (New York: Harper &
Roe, New York, NY, 1987) p. 513.
34. See, Dispatch From
Jerusalem, 2nd. qtr. 1991, p. 7.
35. See, The Jerusalem Post, 28
January, 2000
36. See, Dispatch From
Jerusalem, 1st. qtr. 1992, p10.
37. Siegel and Rheins, editors, The
Jewish Almanac, p. 179.
38. Joan Peters, From Time
Immemorial, The Origins of the
Arab-Jewish Conflict Over Palestine (New
York: Harper & Row, Publishers,
1984) p. 295.
39. Charles F. DeLoach, Seeds
of Conflict (Plainfield, NJ: Logos
International, 1974)p. 68.
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