The House of Israel
How will this House of Prayer ( TheArkHoP:LI )embrace God’s heart for Israel?
Wholeheartedly. We love and bless Israel and the Jewish people.
There are some under girding thoughts about this issue that govern our heart for prayer in this arena.
First, the Church has not replaced Israel in God's heart. God’s commitment to Israel is clear and unfailing. He is faithful to His Word and His promises to Israel and the Jewish people will certainly be fulfilled. We are FULLY committed to praying for Israel. Not just the land but the 12 Tribes. Israel is the Covenant Bride! We, as the Church are grafted in to HER!
Second, as Christians we are birthed from Judaism and in many respects, she is our “mother” and due honor as such.
Third, Jesus made it clear that salvation is from the Jews and Paul’s discourse to the Romans makes it clear that the salvation of the Gentiles came about because of God’s mercy. He hardened the hearts of many Jewish people for the sake of the nations, but as the “time of the gentiles” is completed, (Romans 11:25) He will in fact open their eyes and we had better approach this truth with humility and an abundance of patience and mercy toward the Jewish people. Their salvation and our fullness are inexorably connected. (Romans 11)
Additionally, when the House of Israel comes into its own richness as Jesus is revealed to them as the Messiah, something remarkable will happen: “For if their casting away is the reconciliation of the world, what is the reception, except life from the dead?” Romans 11:15
Finally, there is the personal connection that Long Island and NYC share with Judaism. Historically, all of our stories intersect in at least two arenas – immigration and incorporation. This region was carved out of the national identities of people who emigrated here to establish a better life in New York. Part of our regional "rite of passage" experience is the bizarre fact that every people group that established their lives in this area knew prejudice and rejection as part of their corporate experience. Yet somewhere in the fight to survive, they also lent their distinctives to our corporate identity. We have both incorporated and been incorporated into the larger story of God's covenant with Israel by the relational intimacy forged in shared space and history.
Undoubtedly, the Jewish people are an integral part of our collective identity and experience in LI/NYC. We all have cherished Jewish friends and neighbors. Hebrew School, local Synagogues and Jewish Holidays were/are part of the framework of our lives whether we were aware of it or not. For many of us, our families are deeply connected by shared history, by friendships, marriages, business relationships and family members who served in World War II. Ultimately, the Jewish people are woven into the fabric of the Island and the City.
While there are still a ridiculous amount of prejudiced perspectives that thrive in New York and we recognize that there is a corporate responsibility that the Church has to respond to them all, anti-Semitism is fully an issue that only the Gentile Church can ultimately respond to because of our obvious ties and indebtedness in faith. Therefore, as a House of Prayer, we fully honor and embrace God's heart for Israel and Judaism and are committed to oppose anti-semitic attitudes, behavior and accusation. Our mission will always include prayer for Israel, Jerusalem and the Jewish people; in particular the Jewish people who live here in the New York Metro area. We desire to create a House that is sincerely welcoming to our Jewish brothers and sisters and is a ready source of love, honor and encouragement.
It is the fullness of God’s intent in relation to the nations that we also hold in tension with our heart for Israel. As such, we need to explore what God had in His Heart when He spoke the following to Isaiah:
Is 56:7 . . . Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. (ASV)
The description of joy in His House of Prayer was spoken in the context of a larger message. On one hand, it was the marvelous revelation of a Messiah who had made a way for His Bride, Israel, to enjoy unmitigated relationship with Him. It was a revelation of God’s love and His covenant of peace (Is 54: 10) with a nation that would always have His heart. He declared that He was Her Husband and with everlasting loving-kindness He would have compassion on Her. (See Hosea 2)
But then, the Lord spoke of something equally wonderful. This Messiah included “the foreigner” and “the eunuch” in such intimacy. It was an open invitation to the Gentiles to join themselves to Him and there was no difference in the level of intimacy He was offering. Anyone who desired covenant relationship with Him could come to Him. He included the foreigner (i.e., the nations) and the eunuch (i.e., those who followed other gods previously, those who fell below the creational standards of God or those had a fundamental defect) in His covenant of peace and His promise of relationship. He was blessing Israel and the nations in fulfillment of His promise to Abraham. (See Genesis 12- 22:18) His faithfulness to His Word from the earliest of times to the present is overwhelming.
Jesus quoted Isaiah 56 as He zealously cleared the Court of the Gentiles. It revealed His indignation over the obstruction such activity caused for those who desired relationship with God but were not born of the house of Israel.
Mark 11: 17 . . . “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?...”
As we engage in night and day worship and prayer, we are in awe of the confirming description of this invitation before the throne of God in Revelation 5:
...the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seal, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation..." (Revelation 5:8-9)
Obviously, there is so much more to the genius of David’s Tabernacle and God’s vision of a House of Prayer than is immediately evident. I encourage you to explore it further. We must not miss the gift Jesus gave to both Israel and the nations. We stand in agreement with God’s promises to both. TheArkHoP:LI must, therefore, be about serving the “One New Man” that Paul spoke about . . . Israel and the nations alike.
How will this House of Prayer ( TheArkHoP:LI )embrace God’s heart for Israel?
Wholeheartedly. We love and bless Israel and the Jewish people.
There are some under girding thoughts about this issue that govern our heart for prayer in this arena.
First, the Church has not replaced Israel in God's heart. God’s commitment to Israel is clear and unfailing. He is faithful to His Word and His promises to Israel and the Jewish people will certainly be fulfilled. We are FULLY committed to praying for Israel. Not just the land but the 12 Tribes. Israel is the Covenant Bride! We, as the Church are grafted in to HER!
Second, as Christians we are birthed from Judaism and in many respects, she is our “mother” and due honor as such.
Third, Jesus made it clear that salvation is from the Jews and Paul’s discourse to the Romans makes it clear that the salvation of the Gentiles came about because of God’s mercy. He hardened the hearts of many Jewish people for the sake of the nations, but as the “time of the gentiles” is completed, (Romans 11:25) He will in fact open their eyes and we had better approach this truth with humility and an abundance of patience and mercy toward the Jewish people. Their salvation and our fullness are inexorably connected. (Romans 11)
Additionally, when the House of Israel comes into its own richness as Jesus is revealed to them as the Messiah, something remarkable will happen: “For if their casting away is the reconciliation of the world, what is the reception, except life from the dead?” Romans 11:15
Finally, there is the personal connection that Long Island and NYC share with Judaism. Historically, all of our stories intersect in at least two arenas – immigration and incorporation. This region was carved out of the national identities of people who emigrated here to establish a better life in New York. Part of our regional "rite of passage" experience is the bizarre fact that every people group that established their lives in this area knew prejudice and rejection as part of their corporate experience. Yet somewhere in the fight to survive, they also lent their distinctives to our corporate identity. We have both incorporated and been incorporated into the larger story of God's covenant with Israel by the relational intimacy forged in shared space and history.
Undoubtedly, the Jewish people are an integral part of our collective identity and experience in LI/NYC. We all have cherished Jewish friends and neighbors. Hebrew School, local Synagogues and Jewish Holidays were/are part of the framework of our lives whether we were aware of it or not. For many of us, our families are deeply connected by shared history, by friendships, marriages, business relationships and family members who served in World War II. Ultimately, the Jewish people are woven into the fabric of the Island and the City.
While there are still a ridiculous amount of prejudiced perspectives that thrive in New York and we recognize that there is a corporate responsibility that the Church has to respond to them all, anti-Semitism is fully an issue that only the Gentile Church can ultimately respond to because of our obvious ties and indebtedness in faith. Therefore, as a House of Prayer, we fully honor and embrace God's heart for Israel and Judaism and are committed to oppose anti-semitic attitudes, behavior and accusation. Our mission will always include prayer for Israel, Jerusalem and the Jewish people; in particular the Jewish people who live here in the New York Metro area. We desire to create a House that is sincerely welcoming to our Jewish brothers and sisters and is a ready source of love, honor and encouragement.
It is the fullness of God’s intent in relation to the nations that we also hold in tension with our heart for Israel. As such, we need to explore what God had in His Heart when He spoke the following to Isaiah:
Is 56:7 . . . Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. (ASV)
The description of joy in His House of Prayer was spoken in the context of a larger message. On one hand, it was the marvelous revelation of a Messiah who had made a way for His Bride, Israel, to enjoy unmitigated relationship with Him. It was a revelation of God’s love and His covenant of peace (Is 54: 10) with a nation that would always have His heart. He declared that He was Her Husband and with everlasting loving-kindness He would have compassion on Her. (See Hosea 2)
But then, the Lord spoke of something equally wonderful. This Messiah included “the foreigner” and “the eunuch” in such intimacy. It was an open invitation to the Gentiles to join themselves to Him and there was no difference in the level of intimacy He was offering. Anyone who desired covenant relationship with Him could come to Him. He included the foreigner (i.e., the nations) and the eunuch (i.e., those who followed other gods previously, those who fell below the creational standards of God or those had a fundamental defect) in His covenant of peace and His promise of relationship. He was blessing Israel and the nations in fulfillment of His promise to Abraham. (See Genesis 12- 22:18) His faithfulness to His Word from the earliest of times to the present is overwhelming.
Jesus quoted Isaiah 56 as He zealously cleared the Court of the Gentiles. It revealed His indignation over the obstruction such activity caused for those who desired relationship with God but were not born of the house of Israel.
Mark 11: 17 . . . “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?...”
As we engage in night and day worship and prayer, we are in awe of the confirming description of this invitation before the throne of God in Revelation 5:
...the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seal, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation..." (Revelation 5:8-9)
Obviously, there is so much more to the genius of David’s Tabernacle and God’s vision of a House of Prayer than is immediately evident. I encourage you to explore it further. We must not miss the gift Jesus gave to both Israel and the nations. We stand in agreement with God’s promises to both. TheArkHoP:LI must, therefore, be about serving the “One New Man” that Paul spoke about . . . Israel and the nations alike.
