The American Alliance with Israel: A Biblical and Political Case

The American Alliance with Israel: A Biblical and Political CaseHeath LambertArguments Over AlliancesThe big headline for weeks has been the American bombing of Iran. But beneath the surface of that story is a significant controversy about the American alliance with Israel. The immediate context of the controversy has to do with the close partnership between Israel and America in the conflict with Iran, whether America has any real interest in this conflict, and whether Israel forced America into the conflict in ways that violated both our laws and our national interests. The larger context of the controversy has to do with new questions being asked about one of the closest American allies since World War II.There have always been questions about the American alliance with Israel. The novelty of the current questions is that they are coming from conservatives. These conservatives are often of the “America-First” variety who want to emphasize taking care of our many problems at home in the United States and not borrowing trouble from distant countries that will constantly pull us into destructive, expensive, and unnecessary wars.One of the most outspoken critics of the American-Israeli alliance is Tucker Carlson. In one interview, Carlson said Israel, “Is an insignificant country from the American point of view. . . As a nation . . . there is no strategic interest in Israel for the United States. What are we getting out of this? Nothing. It is only cost.”Video 1: 7:47-8:38—Take out the portion of the clip between 7:58-8:24 to make it more brief.Carlson’s claim is a shocking one that is gaining traction—particularly among younger Americans. More than shocking, the claim is demonstrably incorrect. In fact, there are good biblical and practical reasons why Americans—especially Christians—should desire a strong alliance with Israel.Before I explain the wise basis for this alliance, let me first be honest about a few bad reasons that are often given that attempt to justify a close relationship between America and Israel.What the Political Case Is NOTThe basis for an alliance between Israel and the United States is not that Israel is a perfect ally. It is common for many opponents of an American-Israeli alliance to say that the two countries have many different interests, that Israel does things at odds with American values, and tries to push America around.Here is the cold truth. In international relations, no foreign country is a perfect ally. The closest allies are often at cross-purposes, have disagreements, spy on one another, and seek to cajole others to embrace their perspective. America does this to every country, and every country does this to us. We live in a sinful world. Sin and conflict stain relationships between every individual and every country.We do not have the option of a perfect world with perfect friends. Reality requires us to be honest that we will have imperfect allies in an imperfect world. What is true of Israel is true for every American relationship, including the United Kingdom, France, and any other nation. To say we are allies does not mean there is never disagreement, never cause for concern, never a need for rebuke. It doesn’t mean we provide a 100% guarantee of support. A country does not have to be a perfect friend to be a true friend.Israel is not a perfect country any more than the United States. In spite of that imperfection, there are very good reasons for our two nations to work closely together.What the Biblical Case Is NOTAnother improper basis for a friendship with Israel is biblical in nature. In just a moment, I will provide a biblical case for supporting Israel, but not every argument that claims to be biblical is a good one. For example, some people claim that Americans should support Israel because, they say, the nation constitutes the people of God.Such a claim is more complicated than it seems.God’s Old Testament people began with Abraham. In Genesis 12:2, God promised to make him a great nation. In the course of time the nation was born through his son, Isaac, and grandson Jacob whose name was changed to Israel in Genesis 32:28. When God delivered Jacob’s descendants from slavery in Egypt he made a promise to them in Exodus 19:5-6 saying, “If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and holy nation.”That is all quite true.What is also true is that God’s Old Testament people repeatedly violated the covenant with God. In the Old Testament itself, God began predicting that one day he would no longer build his people through one nation but through peoples of all nationalities across the entire world. In Isaiah 49:6, God said to Israel, “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” In Isaiah 56:6-7, he says, “I will also take the Gentiles for my inheritance, and they shall inherit the house of Jacob.”The New Testament is all about the expansion of God’s people beyond the physical nation of Israel to the Church of Jesus Christ, composed of all people covered in his blood spilled on the cross. In Romans 9:6-8, the Apostle Paul says, “Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring . . . It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise.” Galatians 3:7 says, “It is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.” In 1 Peter 2:9, the Apostle Peter refers to Exodus 19 when he says that Jesus is the fulfillment of all that ethnic Israel was supposed to be. Ethnic Israel gets replaced by Jesus’s church as God’s holy nation when Peter says, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”Christians know that God is no longer building his people ethnically and nationally as he did in the Old Testament. Today, he is building a spiritual Kingdom made up of those who trust in Jesus Christ from every nation. Jesus is the New Testament fulfillment of Old Testament Israel, and now, the people of God are the people of Christ—Christians from every tribe and tongue who make up the global church. None of this means there is no place for ethnic Israel—more on that next week—it does mean that Christians don’t support any nation-state as the people of God. That designation belongs to the church of Jesus alone.Americans should not support the nation of Israel because of pie-in-the-sky politics or for biblical reasons that exclude the teaching of the New Testament. There are, however, good political and biblical arguments to support the Israeli alliance.The Political ArgumentThe central political argument in favor of an Israeli alliance has to do with the dual issues of freedom and danger. The tiny nation of Israel is precious real estate in an incredibly risky part of the world. The Middle East has more than its fair share of trouble, and many of the occupants of that region oppose American interests, and others are much more complicated allies than even Israel is.Americans do not have the ability to abandon that part of the world to forces that will oppose freedom. One of the painful international lessons going back to World War II is that the longer you allow a threat to grow and spread, the harder it becomes to defeat. It is a simple fact that trouble that begins in that region never remains there and typically spreads to the shores of the United States. It is absolutely in the American interest to use our friendship with Israel to maintain a foothold in that very dangerous part of the world.It would be unwise for Americans to allow themselves to be guided exclusively by what is in Israeli interests. But this is not much of a risk since America is, by far, the dominant power and American presidents tend to avoid taking action opposed to their long-term political interests. Americans should also be willing to cultivate other alliances in the region, but the most time-tested friend we have in the Middle East is the nation of Israel. It is simply good politics to ensure that the relationship stays strong.The Biblical ArgumentThere is also a biblical argument for supporting Israel. That argument is found in Jesus’s Great Commission in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Because God is building his people internationally and no longer through one ethnicity, God’s people have a command to go to every nation on the planet, appealing to people to turn from their sin and trust in Christ.Christians must be committed to going to these nations when the work is easy and when it is difficult, when it is safe, and when it is dangerous. But if you ask any missionary whether it is better to go to a nation that is safe and free or one that is dangerous and oppressed, they will not hesitate about the answer. Missionary work is most effective when societies are most secure. Believers who desire to see Christianity spread across the Middle East have a vested interest in thriving democracies like Israel, which are the best bet for safety and security in the region.International relations is a complex and fluid discipline. Christians have a responsibility, not only to consider what is in the best interest of the United States, but what is in the best interests of the Kingdom of Christ. The American alliance with Israel advances both.