Apples of Gold May/Jun 2024

My Arab neighbors often come to my home to speak about spiritual matters. When they cannot answer my questions, they tell me they will come back next week to continue our important conversation; but they never do. So I was surprised when they came to my home a few weeks ago to continue a previous discussion.

“We spoke with our sheikhs about what you said, that you received the land of Israel from the Lord your God,” one said. “But this is a dirty lie you and your rabbis believe. Our priests teach us the truth, yet you still believe your God gave you this land.”

“This God is not only my God but the mighty God of the whole earth,” I said.

The men were upset. One said, “Show me where it is written in your Bible that the Lord has given this land to you, His ‘Chosen People,’ and where it is named Israel.”

“I am glad you asked me this question!” I replied. “If I show you where this is written in the Holy Bible, will you believe?”

“Yes, we will believe,” one answered, “if we can read it in our own language.”

I opened my Arabic Bible to Genesis 13 and showed them where the Lord said to Abraham, “All the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever” (v. 15).

They were surprised by this passage. One argued, “This cannot be right. You have taken our land and claimed that God has given it to you, and you have given it the name ‘Israel.’ Show us if it is written in other passages of the Bible that God has given you this land.”

“Why did the Lord give His Chosen People Israel this land?” I asked. “The Lord said to Abraham in Genesis 17:8, ‘I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.’”

“How long will you keep lying?” one of them asked me.

“I am only reading what is in the Holy Bible, and the Bible is truth,” I said. “What the Lord has said lasts forever.”

“So you believe everything written here is the truth?”

“Yes, it is,” I said. “It is clearly written that the Word of the Lord is eternal.”

“Of course you say these things so that we will believe you, but it is just a well-told lie. If this is written in the Bible as you say it is, show us where it is written.”

I opened to Psalm 119:89 and read to them, “Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.” They grew more interested and asked more questions. After much conversation, one of them asked, “Can you give us your Bible so we can study it?”

I gave it to them, and they opened to the New Testament. They were puzzled.

“How can you say you only believe in the Bible when you have the New Testament here?” one asked. “We have spent so much time with you to learn more about the Bible, and now you tell us you read the New Testament? How did you come to read this? Do you consider this to be the Word of God also?”

“Yes, I do,” I replied. I directed them to Isaiah 53:5–6, where it is written, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (v. 5). Then I asked, “Do you know who is the One who was pierced for our transgressions?”

They could not answer; but one of them asked, “Do you know in whom you believe?”

“I believe in the living God, and this passage is written about Him,” I said.

They wanted to know how I learned this, so I showed them the entire chapter of Isaiah 53 and told them to read it so they would know to whom the passage refers. They studied the chapter for a long time before asking me more questions for several hours. But I was happy to listen to them and answer their questions so they would come to know my Savior, Jesus, in whom I have believed.

From The Friends of Israel archives

Zvi Kalisher (1928–2014) was a Holocaust survivor who was known for his unswerving faithfulness to the Lord and his bold witness in Jerusalem. He was with The Friends of Israel for more than 55 years.