“Oh, I’m worried, all right. But it’s not me I’m worried about. It’s you!”
David’s eyebrows shot up. “Me? Whatever do you mean?”
Jim slapped the paper on David’s desk. “Imagine my surprise when I recognized the face on the front page! I couldn’t believe it. There you are with Lyza Lane.”
David glanced at the picture. “No way.” David leaned back in his chair and smiled.
Jim raised his voice. “Yes way. Does this mean it wasn’t a fake, a trick photo? Are you actually seeing this woman? Do you know who she is?”
“Oh, I do know who she is.”
“Let me make sure, just in case you’ve been deceived. She’s one of the richest women in the world. Her father built up the huge conglomerate, L. L. Lane Unlimited, from nothing. They have more money than Fort Knox. She’s a wealthy mover and shaker, all business and career—and besides all that, they’re a bunch of Jews! What kind of circles are you running in?”
David held up a hand to stop Jim’s rant. “Whoa, whoa, hold it right there, Jim. That was a mouthful. This conversation is going to take some time, so I hope you’re not hungry for lunch. No, in fact I have a better idea. Let’s go to lunch, and I can explain everything.”
“I can do that. I want some answers before people start coming to me for explanations.”
They walked out to Jim’s car. David said, “If they come to you for explanations, I hope you’ll direct them to me. I explain my own actions.”
As they got into the car, David continued, “Jim, the first thing I want to address is the remark you made about Lyza being Jewish. It sounded like you have a bad opinion of Jews, and that surprised me. How long have you been attending our church?”
Jim drove six blocks before he spoke. “It’s been ten years. Six months ago you appointed me as one of the deacons.” He maneuvered the car into a parking spot and shoved the car into ‘park.’
David opened his door and sat for a moment before getting out. “I’m not going to say that I made a mistake, but if you talk about the Jewish people the way I just heard you talk, then there’s a big misunderstanding. I’m responsible because I took it for granted that you understood the position of the Jews in Scripture today.”
Jim’s volume increased. “Yeah, they killed Jesus, and they rejected Him, and they are all going to hell.” He stood up and slammed his car door shut.
David spoke over the car. “No, that’s not the way it is, not even close. As your pastor, I need you to understand that before I begin to explain my relationship with Lyza.”
They walked into the small diner and ordered sandwiches for lunch. The restaurant, filled with people, teemed with activity. The wait staff almost ran back and forth from the kitchen window to the tables to keep up with the orders.
Jim ordered a Diet Pepsi. “All right, start explaining what I need to know before you can tell me about your relationship with Lyza. Go for it.”
Their sandwiches arrived immediately. David opened his napkin. “First, let’s pray and ask the Lord to bless the food He provided and that He will provide nourishment of His truth in our conversation.”
David prayed, “Lord, we thank You for your presence here with us today. We thank You for Your provision in this meal and all things in life. We ask, Lord, that You nourish us so we can be strong and serve you throughout the day and the days to come. Give us willing hearts and ears to hear Your divine truth. In the precious name of Jesus, amen.”
After the prayer, Jim raised his head, and their gazes met. “Thank you, Pastor.”
Getting down to business, David instructed Jim, “Open your Bible to Genesis, chapter twelve Here God is talking to Abraham. Look at verse two, it says:
I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Jim nodded. “Pastor, that was before the crucifixion.”
“Ok, I’ll give you that. It was before the crucifixion, many years before Jesus’ birth. But do you agree that it is a promise made to Abraham concerning his people?”
“How can I not?”
David reached across the table and placed his finger on the words. “Jim, look at the passage. It says God will bless those who bless Abraham’s people. This is about the Hebrew tribes at that time and the Jews today. So God will bless those who bless the Jews. He will curse those who curse them. Do you want to be part of those who curse the Jews? Because people who do that are cursed.”
Jim’s brow wrinkled. “Well, no, I don’t want to be among the cursed, but again, that was before Christ.”
“Jim, do you think God lies to us?”
“Of course not. Our God is a loving God.”
David opened his Bible. “Turn to Genesis 9:16. Remember, this is at the end of the account of Noah’s ark. It says, ‘Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.’ Now do you believe God is keeping this promise? It is, after all, an everlasting covenant. That means it’s a promise He made forever.”
Jim looked up from rereading the passage. “I believe God will never destroy the world by a flood. Yes, I believe that promise.”
“Now go to Genesis 17:7. It says, ‘I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.’ This is again directed to Abraham. Is not Abraham the father of our faith? Did God make an everlasting covenant with Abraham?”
Jim took a bite of his sandwich and spoke with a mouth full. “Well, yes, He did. But then the Jews rejected Him, and the Gentiles became the chosen people.”
“Never. God would never do that. He made an everlasting covenant with the Jews. He never made such a covenant with Gentiles. The only way we get to be in the family is through the Jews. Yes, Jim, through the Jews. You know Jesus was a Jew. Do you think God probably knows what the words ‘everlasting covenant’ mean?”
Jim put his half-eaten sandwich down. “Yes, I know that, but they rejected Him.”
“They rejected Him, but He didn’t reject them. Throughout the Old Testament we are shown instance after instance where the Hebrews—Jews—failed God. Time and time again He stood by them in spite of their mistakes. He is faithful, Jim, even when we’re not. You keep saying that everything changed after Christ’s crucifixion. It did, but not the way you think. The apostle Paul wrote most of the New Testament, and he was a Jew. He accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, along with many other Jews at the time, but He never gave up his Jewishness. God never asked any Jew to do that. In fact, just the opposite. He made a way for us to be Jewish.”
Jim’s jaw set, and he nearly rose from the table. “What are you saying?”
David nodded. “Oh, yes, Jim. You believe the New Testament, don’t you?”
“You know I do.”
David reached across the table, took the Bible, and flipped to one