19 He has revealed his word to Jacob,
his laws and decrees to Israel.
20 He has done this for no other nation;
they do not know his laws.

Praise the Lord. Psalm 147:19-20

Israel is certainly unique on the world stage. No other nation is so reviled and hated. We can only speculate why it was that tiny piece of land and relatively small number of people in the Middle East He chose. The nation of Israel was obnoxious, disobedient, wayward, unfaithful, and arrogant. They turned away from God countless times and for countless reasons. There really was nothing to like about them.

And that was the point, wasn’t it?

Despite all her flaws and bad behavior, God loved them and saw to it that the Messiah, the Chosen One, would come out of Israel. We of course know the ending to this part of the story because of what the Messiah did for us.

God still has His hand on modern day Israel. Pray that those who have been called to evangelize this great land will have wisdom and grace in the midst of often turbulent situations.