Apples of Gold May/Jun 2025
Many people in Israel find no rest because they are too busy speaking against people like me who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The ultra-Orthodox know me and where I live. They remain active by waging their “holy war” against me, believing I have betrayed the land of Israel. They tell me they will not rest until they take back the true meaning of Scripture from Christians like me. But I tell them I believe only in God and what is written about Him in the Holy Bible.
Sometimes these stiff-necked people come to my home. I invite them in to speak with me, but they often seek something more combative than pleasant conversation. One time a few of them came to my home to prove their intelligence and zeal by fighting against me, whom they consider a traitor. Still, I received them as my guests.
“Do you know why we have come here?” one of them asked.
“Yes,” I answered, knowing they wanted to challenge my faith. They asked me to prove that the Bible talks about Jesus—“But not what is written about Him in your Christian books,” one said, referring to the books of the New Testament.
“I have been asked this question many times,” I said. “I have explained to many people that I follow God not according to the fictitious rabbinical stories but according to what is written here in the Holy Bible by the Holy Spirit of God.”
I gave them my Bible, written in Hebrew. They saw that it was the same Bible that they read, so I directed them to Deuteronomy 6, the chapter they read every morning. Here it is written, “You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the people who are all around you” (v. 14).
“You say you have faith in God,” I said, “yet you do not worship according to what is written in His Word. Whom do you follow? The gods of the people around you.”
They started arguing with me. One shouted, “No, you are the one who has left our God! You follow This Man [the name by which they refer to Jesus], who hates us; and you say the Bible is written about Him. But can you show us where the Bible speaks of Him? If you can show us this, we will eat our shoes!”
“Many rabbis have told me they will eat their shoes for the same reason,” I replied. “I told them I would give them my socks to curb their appetite! But none of them have kept their word.”
After a lengthy conversation, one of them said, “We have spoken with you for a long time now. But now you must tell us: Where is it written in the Holy Bible about This Man?”
I opened to Isaiah 53:5–6 and read: “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. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
“Who was this One who was wounded for our transgressions?” I asked them. “And on whom did the Lord lay the iniquity of us all?”
They thought for a while. Then one said, “This is a hard question. We cannot answer you, but we will ask our great rabbi; and he will give us the answer. We will tell you when we visit you next week.”
“How long have you studied the Bible?” I asked them.
“We have studied mostly only rabbinical commentaries,” one answered.
“This is why you walk in darkness,” I said.
I do not study their commentaries. I only read and believe what is written by the Holy Spirit of God in Scripture. I look forward to their return. When they learn the truth, I wonder if they will eat their shoes after all.
From The Friends of Israel archives
