70 symbolizes the nations of the world. The Bible lists the 70 descendants of Noah
after the great flood. In Jewish
tradition, these decendents fathered different nations that God “separated into
their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families,
into their nations” (Genesis 10: 5). The Bible teaches that the nations of the
world are not meant to speak one language as in the disastrous Tower of Babel
episode. Each nation has its unique and
distinct voice to contribute to the grand planetary choir singing God’s praise.
Since the beginning of Zionism that brought Jews back to
their ancestral homeland, a community of Christians who share with Jews an
abiding love of the Bible have recognized the miracle of Israel’s rebirth with
their praise and support.
United States Vice President Mike Pence opened an event to
celebrate Israel Independence Day in the White House by saying: “On this day, the fifth day in the month of
Iyar in the Hebrew calendar in 1948, nothing short of a miracle occurred. On that day, in the ancient and eternal
homeland of the Jewish people, the State of Israel was reborn. On that day, the
Jewish people’s 2000-year exile, the longest exile of any people anywhere,
ended.”
This week, my wife Miriam and I had a guided tour through the
conceptually and aesthetically powerful Friends of Zion Museum founded by Dr.
Mike Evans in the heart of Jerusalem. The Museum’s powerful high tech
interactive exhibits trace the emergence Christian Zionism and documents the
growing friendship of Christians from many nations for the Jewish people and
the Land of Israel.
The next morning on a rooftop terrace overlooking the Old
City of Jerusalem, I was interviewed by Josh Reinstein for his Israel Now News
program viewed by 35 million friends of Israel.
Josh Reinstein is director of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and
president of Israel Allies Caucuses in governments around the world. He talked with me about my forthcoming book Through
a Bible Lens: Biblical Insights for Smartphone Photography and Social Media being
published by HarperCollins Christian Publishing. It is a commemorative edition celebrating the
70th year of Israel’s miraculous rebirth.
The cover image of Through a Bible Lens shown above is
based upon a serigraph in the collection of the Israel Museum that I created in
Jerusalem. It shows two digitized Rembrandt
angels ascending from a satellite image of the Land of Israel that are emerging
from a smartphone. It illustrates the
commentary of the eminent 11th century biblical scholar Rashi that
the angels in Jacob’s dream go up from the Land of Israel and come down to
earth in the 70 nations of world. “He had a vision in a dream. A ladder was
standing on the ground, its top reaching up towards heaven as Divine angels
were going up and down on it” (Genesis 28:12).
Angels are spiritual messages arising from every facet of
your life that you can photograph with your smartphone and share with others
worldwide through social media.
My book teaches how biblical insights can transform
smartphone photography and social media into imaginative ways for seeing
spirituality in everyday life. It speaks
to Jews and Christians who share an abiding love of the Bible by inspiring the
creation of a lively dialogue between our emerging life stories and the
enduring biblical narrative.
See praise for the book from Jewish and Christian spiritual
leaders and experts on digital culture from nations on five continents at http://throughabiblelens.blogspot.com.
I am professor emeritus at Ariel University where I taught
the courses “Judaism and Zionism: Roots and Values” and “Art in Jewish
Thought.”
From The Times of Israel,18 April 2018, the 70th anniversary of Israel's Independence (also at IsraelSeen and LinkedIn)
