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The Meaning Behind The Israeli Flag
By ONE FOR ISRAEL (Messianic Jews In
Israel)
The
Israeli flag can be seen all around the country, and is a symbol of joy and
dreams realized to many.
If
you love Israel, it is likely dear to you too.
The
meaning and symbolism behind the flag is important to know about for all who
love Israel, as it tells the story of God and his people.
The base is a prayer shawl
The
background is white, with two blue stripes. This is to represent the “tallit” –
the Jewish prayer shawl. The wearing of a tallit has developed from this
commandment in Numbers:
“Again
the LORD spoke to Moses saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to
make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and
to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners.
“’And
you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the
commandments of the LORD and do them… and be holy for your God’” Numbers
15:37-40
The
tassels had to be attached to a garment, and that garment came to be known as
the tallit, or prayer shawl.
Note
that God specifies that blue thread had to be used. Blue represented holiness,
blue spoke of the heavens.
A
blue cloth was used to cover the ark of the covenant, and appears many times in
the descriptions of the tabernacle.
Yeshua
looked up to the sky when praying towards the heavens, and we are supposed to
associate blue with the divine.
Tassels
are important too, and have a royal connotation.
When
tassels were added to a garment in ancient times it symbolised the wearer’s
authority.
They
were not worn by commoners, but by the nobility or royalty.
Israel
were called to be a kingdom of priests, and the tallit is symbolic of that
identity and calling.
“Thus
you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ‘You
yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’
wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my
voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all
peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of
Israel.” (Exodus 19:4-6)
The
command to have blue threaded tassels was not in the law handed down at Sinai.
It
actually came about later, as a result of Israel’s sin, by way of helping the
people of Israel to remember God’s laws.
Numbers
15 tells us of a man caught collecting wood on Shabbat, and who was stoned to
death as a result.
God
explains that there is one Torah for sons of Israel and for those
living among them (remember there were a great mixed multitude who had
joined Israel – Exodus 12:38) and
that there are consequences for sin done defiantly, but also unintentionally.
Even
in the case of forgetfulness or ignorance, sacrifices are still necessary to
restore purity and right relationship with God.
The
tassels were God’s way of giving the people of Israel a tangible reminder to
keep his commandments, a bit like a piece of string tied round your finger or a
knot in your handkerchief.
So
the base of the flag just with a couple of blue stripes on a white background
tells us quite a lot of the story between God and his people: The blue of the
tallit represents the heavens, the white is purity brought about by the
necessary sacrifices.
The
whole basis of the tallit came about in the context of God responding to
Israel’s sin by giving symbolic, colour-coded instructions to help them
remember his commandments.
He
had already given his law at Sinai, but the people were failing, and God was
already graciously creating useful devices to remember his covenant and keep on
the right path.
The
tassels were a visible reminder of God’s laws, but also signified the special
calling of Israel to be a kingdom of priests, set apart for his purposes.
It is
a perfect picture of Israel’s permanent, covenantal relationship with God: they
are his people, and though they may fail, God’s faithfulness to them is
eternal.
The Star
Often
known as the Star (or shield) of David, this hexagram is more likely from the
time of his son Solomon.
When
inside a circle, the star is known as the Seal of Solomon, and seems to
have some rather dark origins.
It is
possible that it was introduced from one of Solomon’s pagan wives, but it’s
hard to know for certain.
It
could even be the “Star of Rephan” mentioned in Acts 7 in Stephen’s impassioned
speech to the religious leaders who were about to stone him:
“You
took up the tent of Moloch
and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you made to worship;
and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.” (Acts 7:43)
and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you made to worship;
and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.” (Acts 7:43)
The
symbol of Israel had always traditionally been the menorah –
a right and fitting representation of God’s plan and purposes to bring forth
the Messiah to the world from within the people of Israel.
The
star was used on amulets, but not used as a symbol for the Jewish
people until the 14th century, but throughout 17th century it came to
represent Israel more and more.
In
1897, it became the emblem of the Zionist movement, and ended up on the flag in
1948.
Without
going too far into the sad story of how the enemy has deceived the children of
Israel over and over again, suffice to say that this star is not very godly.
However, it does represent part of the reality in Israel today.
Whenever
God acts and creates, the enemy is not far behind twisting, distorting, and
producing counterfeits.
But
these counterfeits do not do away with the original any more than fake bank
notes invalidate real ones. They exist side by side, and can cause a great deal
of confusion and mess.
Though
Israel was reestablished and brought about by the hand of God (and preserved
through divine intervention on many occasions) the modern state of Israel is
not immune from the enemy’s meddlings, and we are naive to think that
everything is pure as the driven snow. It is not.
There
has been much Freemasonry active in the very foundations of the modern state,
but this in no way takes away from the fact that the descendants of Israel have
been regathered from 2000 years of exile.
The
Bible tells us that God called Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that he rescued the
twelve tribes of Israel through Joseph in Egypt, gave them his Torah through
Moses at Sinai and preserved them throughout history… and he is regathering
them now in our days, just as he promised.
These
facts remain true. The two stories exist side by side.
Wheat and tares
Yeshua
gives us this helpful illustration:
“He
put another parable before them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared
to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his
enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants
came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.’
“And
the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you
not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them,
‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to
go and gather them?’
“But
he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with
them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell
the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but
gather the wheat into my barn.’”
Both
the good and the bad are mixed in together, but make no mistake, God knows
which is which! And he will sort everything out in the end.
So in
many ways, the flag is a perfect emblem of the state of Israel today, telling
the two stories: The chosenness of the kingdom of priests, the people of Israel
and their permanent, covenantal relationship with their divine God, and the
symbol suggesting the enemy’s interference in among it all.
I do
not see the need to reject the flag because of the star – God is aware of
what is going on, he knows all and is over all. The story is not over yet.
Judging
by God’s faithfulness to his promises so far when it comes to Israel, we
can be sure it will all work out exactly as he says in his Word.
ONE FOR ISRAEL (Messianic
Jews In Israel) 408 Posts 0 Comments
We are an Israeli ministry composed of Jewish & Arab
followers of Yeshua (Jesus) who are all about blessing Israel through sharing
the gospel online, educating the new generation of born-again believers through
our one and only Hebrew-speaking Bible College in Israel, and helping holocaust
survivors by supplying humanitarian aid.
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