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Married to His Nation

We were in Jerusalem at the Temple Mount. We had arrived early and followed all the protocols to go up on the Temple Mount. We had barely gotten there when all the tourists were arbitrarily ordered and driven off the Mount. To say the least we were disappointed.

We congregated below, near the Western Wall, and listened to our Israeli guide explain the meaning and significance of the Western Wall. It was a bit of a surprise to hear him teach that to call it the “Wailing Wall” is an anti-semitic insult from long ago. It is properly, the “Western Wall,” and it is a sacred and holy place to them. It is the closest they can get to their ancient holy place, the temple, and it is the most sacred site in the world to a Jew.

As he spoke, he talked of the Holocaust and his people dying for no other reason than their religion. He spoke with pride of his nation and the privilege of defending it that had been his. As he spoke of the love he felt for his country, and I do mean, love, I was reminded of a prophecy of Isaiah regarding modern-day Israel that reads,

5 ¶ For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. Isaiah 62:5

Yair described his feelings for his country as a “romance” and in listening to him, one could not help but feel his love of and passion for his homeland. Of course, there are partisan and divisive issues in Israel, but he did not dwell on hate, he spoke with pride and righteous patriotism. He is a man married to his nation as by covenant.

I felt a sense of pained envy. Where are those young men and women in America who are married to their nation as Yair is to his? Those who care more about the peace of America than their partisan agendas or popularity among men?

I am assured they are there and someday soon they will be brought forward in the Covenant to save this nation from within.