Please note: The following excerpt is drawn from my forthcoming book, The Elephant in the Middle East: The Spiritual Battle Christians Often Miss Behind the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Complete sources, citations, and references are documented within the book itself. No child is born a hater; no baby longs to kill. It is …

In many honor-and-shame cultures, especially throughout the Middle East, revenge is often considered a sacred obligation. In such places, allowing an enemy to live may be perceived not as mercy but as weakness. This was true in the ancient world, and in many tribal and Islamic societies today, it remains …

The story of Israel begins not with a nation, but with a man who would not let go of God. In the midnight struggle by the Jabbok River, Jacob wrestled with the divine until daybreak, and there received a new name: Israel — “the one who strives with God” (Genesis …

The Olive Tree: Grafting, Not Replacing Grafting an olive tree is an ancient agricultural skill used to preserve and strengthen trees. The process involves carefully cutting a branch from one tree and inserting it into a slit in the bark of another. The farmer then binds it tightly so that …

Few verses have been more misread than Paul’s declaration in Galatians 3:28–29: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s …

“Chosen” means to be set apart for a special purpose, not chosen for any inherent superiority. God elected Israel out of all nations to receive His revelation and to model a relationship with Him. As Moses told the Israelites: For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. …

At the heart of God’s relationship with Israel stands the Abrahamic covenant, described in Genesis 12, 15, and 17—the foundational promise God made to Abraham and his descendants. God pledges to make Abraham into a great nation, to give his offspring the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession, and …

Christian antisemitism has long misused Matthew 21 to argue that God “rejected the Jews” in favor of the Gentile Church. The parable of the tenants (Matthew 21:33-46) is often cited1 to support the claim that God replaced Israel with a new people. But is that really what Jesus was saying? …

The phrase “All Israel will be saved” in Romans 11:26 has been the subject of much theological debate. Many Christians today interpret this passage through the lens of Western theology, assuming that salvation refers to being saved from eternally burning in God’s cosmic furnace. However, when examined through a Hebraic …

In the Torah, the Israelites were forbidden to eat pork because pigs were classified as ritually unclean animals. The reasoning is explicitly stated: while pigs have split hooves, they do not chew the cud (Leviticus 11:7-8; Deuteronomy 14:8). This distinction served as a symbol of Israel’s call to holiness and …