Have you ever wanted to learn more about Israel but just haven’t been sure where to start?
Well, you have come to the right place! Our staff has compiled a reading list of some of our favorite reads related to Israel. Let us know your thoughts as you dive in to these incredible books.
1. Israel and the Great Commission – Samuel Whitefield
Most Christians read the Old Testament as a story about Israel, and the New Testament as a radical shift from Israel’s story to the story of the nations. However, Israel and the nations are deeply connected in both the Old and New Testament.
The Great Commission is not a dramatic shift in God’s plan, nor is it a new idea. In fact, it is the means of fulfilling God’s promises to Israel and the nations. The New Testament is neither the beginning of God’s purposes for the nations nor the end of Israel’s story.
“Israel is God’s parable to the earth, and through the story of Israel, God is instructing the nations. Not only does Israel’s story reveal who God is, it also reveals who we are.” — Samuel Whitefield
2. God, Israel, and You – Michael Onifer & Joshua Charles
God, Israel, and You is about answers; it’s about the knowledge of God, finding hope in this chaotic world. But also about recognizing God to be faithful and intimately involved with the affairs of mankind.
We recommend Onifer’s and Charles’ book on our Israel Reading List, because it brings a much needed balance to a controversial topic. A matter of faith has been over politicized in recent decades. Thus, the authors are bringing it back to its original message.
“The only reason that God could make an unconditional promise to Abraham, the reason He could be faithful to that promise and deliver the Hebrews from Egypt, and the reason He could make a promise to David was because He saw the nail pierced hands of Jesus…” — Joshua Charles
3. Your People Shall Be My People – Don Finto
This landmark text reveals God’s purposes for his covenant people in these times–and how this revelation is impacting the church.
Unlike Ruth in the Old Testament, many of us have turned our backs on the Jewish people, the relatives of the Messiah. And we share the collective guilt for centuries of their persecution.
This book is a must-read for every believer. The author will remind us that now, more than ever, we must confess, embrace, and intercede for the chosen people of God, aligning our prayers with God’s plan.
“We do not have the right to take words spoken to Israel and appropriate them to the Church until we have recognized their intended meaning to the people originally addressed. Even then, these promises belong to us, the Gentile Church, only because we are grafted into Israel’s roots.” — Don Finto
4. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus – Ann Spangler & Lois Tverberg
The book ‘Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus’ will take you on a fascinating tour of the Jewish world of Jesus. More than that, it gives a rare chance to know Jesus like his first disciples knew him.
What would it be like to journey back to the first century and sit at the feet of Rabbi Jesus as one of his Jewish disciples? Would your understanding of the gospel be shaped by the customs, beliefs, and traditions of the Jewish culture in which you lived?
This is yet another gem on our Israel Reading List. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus takes you on a fascinating tour of the Jewish world of Jesus, offering inspirational insights that can transform your faith.
“None of us is so mature that we cannot be influenced. The question is: Who or what do we want to shape our lives?” — Ann Spangler
5. 52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know – Dave Adamson
Have you seen any of our IsraelU videos about Hebrew words or Biblical locations? Then you know the author of the next book on our Israel Reading List – Dave Adamson!
52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know is an outstanding reference tool and study guide. The words are written in Hebrew and explained in English. Each word is given and in depth definition, explanation, historic use, and complemented by a stunning photograph.
“To some people, the idea of “peace” is a storm free day. To others, “peace” is the serenity of a gorgeous sunrise or sunset. Whatever your definition, peace is something we all want. But do you pursue it? Do you seek peace? Do you chase after it every day?” — Dave Adamson
6. God’s Appointed Times – Barney Kasdan
Biblical holidays and celebrations are a significant part of not just Jewish life today. They were called the Lord’s Feasts and God Himself ordained them. Barney Kasdan invites us to explore what these holidays mean for Christians today.
How can the biblical holy days such as Passover/Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles be observed? The book provides an easily understandable and hands-on approach. Additionally, it discusses historical background, traditional Jewish observance, New Testament relevance, and prophetic significance.
“These feasts were revealed by God for his own particular reasons, and through them all believers can be blessed, Jews and Gentiles.” — Barney Kasdan
7. Night – Elle Wiesel
You may wonder if the subject of the Holocaust is not too heavy for the FIRM Israel Reading List. We agree that it is not an easy topic, but it cannot be avoided. We need to learn from history to not repeat it.
Night is a work by Elie Wiesel about his experience with his father in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944 –1945, at the height of the Holocaust toward the end of the Second World War.
“Sometimes we must accept the pain of faith so as not to lose it. And if that makes the tragedy of the believer more devastating than the nonbeliever, so be it. To proclaim one’s faith within the barbed wire of Auschwitz may well represent a double tragedy.” — Elle Wiesel
8. The Diary of Anne Frank – The Diary of a Young Girl
The Diary of a Young Girl, also known as The Diary of Anne Frank, is a compilation of writings from a diary by Anne Frank. The diary was retrieved after the war and has since been published in more than 60 languages.
Anne Frank, a brave Dutch girl, was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944, and Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.
Anne’s writing shows great depth and insightful observations, especially while in hiding. Her life story inspired many plays and movie scripts.
“I’ve found that there is always some beauty left – in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you.” — Anne Frank
9. Israel, the Church, and the Middle East – Darrell L. Bock & Mitch Glaser
The relationship between the church and Israel has been the source of passionate debate among Christians throughout much of church history. In recent years the traditional pro-Israel stance of evangelicals has come under fire by those who support the Palestinian cause.
Bock and Glaser skillfully address the call for a new perspective and more nuanced approach by Christians. They believe, in accordance with the Bible, that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people by virtue of God’s covenants and promises.
“God engages in covenant relationship with his people through a combination of permanent promise and ongoing obligation.” — Richard E. Averbeck
10. Who Ate Lunch with Abraham? – Asher Intrater
The last book on our Israel Reading List comes from a local Israeli author, Asher Intrater. He was raised in a conservative Jewish home and later came to faith in Yeshua (Jesus) by a series of supernatural experiences while traveling through Central America. Today, he is a prominent speaker and book author.
Who Ate Lunch with Abraham is a thought-provoking book that will encourage everyone to revisit some fascinating passages in Hebrew Scriptures. At times a figure appeared that was referred to as the Angel of the Lord, God Himself or the Son of Man. Who was it? The appearance of this figure demands a re-evaluation of classic Judeo-Christian world views.
“On the one hand it is impossible to see God. On the other hand, our patriarchs and prophets did see “Someone” from time to time.” — Asher Intrater
Are There Other Titles You Would Add to Our Israel Reading List?
Let us know and we would love to check them out!
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes