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The Return of the Jewish People Is Important to God

October 1, 2010

The Chairman of our International Board, Pastor Jess Gibson, recently encouraged his congregation saying “If it matters to you, it matters to God.” What a wonderful reality! God loves us and cares about everything in our lives.

Suddenly I found myself wondering if the reverse is true. If it matters to God, does it matter to us? I hope so. There are many things that matter to God; many good causes we should care about. One thing that certainly matters to Him is the return of the Jewish people to Israel. God loves the Jewish people. Remember He refers to them as a special treasure and the apple of His eye. The restoration of Israel and the return of the Jewish people also matter to God because His character is at stake. He is proving to the world that He is a promise–keeping God by bringing the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob home again.

The prophet Jeremiah spoke of this day: “Therefore behold the days are coming”, says the LORD, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but,’ the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers. Behold I will send for many fishermen,” says the LORD, “and they will fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.”(Jeremiah 16:14–16). Our Project Rescue program has been helping Jewish people come home to Israel for many years. Over 35,000 Jewish people are now settled in their ancient homeland because of the help of Christians giving to Project Rescue. In the former Soviet Union, we send workers who we call fishers into the towns and villages who encourage the Jewish people to go home. In most cases even when they want to go, it is impossible because of their tenuous financial situation. We pay for passports, exit visas, searches for paperwork that proves their Jewish heritage, transportation to the port and other expenses as needed. However, for some time the believers in these FSU countries have felt that the day is approaching when the hunters will come and the Jewish people will run or try to hide to save themselves.

Recently we received this short report from Barry Wagner, Vice President of Ezra International, our partners in this project. “The aliyah [immigration of Jewish people to Israel] is now at a very critical stage. Extreme poverty, hopelessness and despair have become everyday life for the Jewish people of the former Soviet Union countries. The passport office workers in Kiev have been ordered to draw out the process of issuing passports as long as possible to discourage as many Jewish people from leaving as they can. Completely closed doors for legal immigration is the next step in the process. We presently have over 32,000 Olim [Jewish immigrants] in process waiting for their passports and visas and it seems that time is running out for them. With the election of Ukraine’s new communist president we can see the tide turn very quickly against the Jewish people. Anti-Semitism is increasing at alarming rates throughout the entire former Soviet Union. Without the on-going financial assistance from Christians around the world, many of these Jewish lives can be hanging in the balance. What an honor it is to be called by God to stand with these precious people in their desperate time of need.”

Although over a million Jewish people have come to Israel from the FSU, many remain and we believe that it is God’s heart’s desire that they be rescued and come into their inheritance. The prophet Ezekiel says: “Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name—‘after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me…then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their own land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 39:25, 28,29) (Emphasis mine).

Holocaust Survivors

One woman we helped told a horrifying story of being rounded up with all the Jews of her city when she was just a young girl. In her own words, “We were taken out of the city on covered trucks, where pits were already prepared. We were ordered to strip to the skin. The forest was filled with shouts, cries and shots. When I saw that they began to shoot little girls, I could not bear it any longer and in the general panic and turmoil I managed to escape. My parents and my 3-year-old brother remained there. I could not help them. I didn’t want to die at the age of 13. It was dangerous to come back into the city, Germans and policemen ransacked in search of new victims, they were hunting all Jews. For the rest of the day and night I stayed in the woods. I was freezing as April 1942 was very cold. I remained without money, without habitation, without documents, and nothing to eat. I closed my eyes, remembered my parents, and my brother and began to sob bitterly. It was only the beginning of my trial.” Villagers helped her, and sent her to a community that was isolated, far away from a road. “We walked 30 kilometers (18 miles) in one day. They gave me home, clothing, and fed me for one and a half year. We lived in poverty. Maria, the elderly woman was a very believing woman, she asked the Lord to keep my life every day. She taught me to pray, read the Bible and to believe that only the Almighty One can rescue me. She shared with me her last piece of food, though we did not see bread, we ate only potatoes.” She survived, the only one in her family to live through the horror of the Nazi “hunters.”

Through the efforts of Christian villagers her life was preserved. After a hard life under Soviet oppression, again Christians have come to her aid, and helped her go to Israel where she is now learning Hebrew. When you ask many Jewish immigrants why they moved to Israel, a place they had never even visited previously, they will often tell you that they wanted to live in a place where they could live openly as Jews without fear.

Hope and a Future

Aleksandr, a 23 year old young man from Severodonetsk, was unable to find any work after a year of searching. “So there I was at deadlock and did not see an exit. But one day I met a Project Rescue representative who told me about aliyah. I knew that I was a Jew and I’ve heard about people leaving to Israel, but have never been thinking of going. I thought that Israel didn’t accept people any more. Glory to God I was told about the possibility of going to Israel. I want to say thank you for moral and material support, encouragement and understanding, and for all the information I was provided with. I also am sincerely grateful that you came for me in Severodonetsk to drive me to the airport. I  still cannot believe that I am leaving, it’s like a dream. I cannot understand where this sincere love for the Jewish people comes from? Usually we are not loved, and blamed for everything, and now I meet genuine, good people who have helped me with word and deed, and money. Now I know that there are still people in the world who love the Jewish people and are not indifferent to their fate.“

Can You Help?

Aliyah matters to God. His heart is crying for the poor, downtrodden, hopeless and pain filled children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is searching for each one in the farthest reaches of the earth and calling them home. It is getting more difficult. Now is the time for all true believers to care about what matters to God. Any size gift will make a difference. Let’s partner with God as He fulfills His prophetic word and brings the Jewish people home.

Blessings from Jerusalem,

Rebecca J. Brimmer

International President and CEO