WHY THE WORLD HATES THE JEWS

By Akin Ojumu

Ever since Abraham heard the call of God to leave his idolatrous people in the Ur of the Chaldees and go to Canaan, a land God promised to give him and offspring, the Jewish people have had a bright target of hate painted on their back.

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3).

When the LORD singles you out for His providence, the fumes of malevolence will rise up against you. Those upon whom Elohim bestows his benevolence are bound to face the ire of reprobate minds set against God. It’s inevitable that you’d draw the fire of hate the moment you enjoy the beneficence of YAHWEH.

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).

Israel is God’s treasured possession, and the Jews are God’s chosen people. Out of His own divine will and volition, the LORD decided to use Israel to advance His cause. Their election is not because they are more in number. Abraham worshiped the gods of his people in the Ur of the Chaldees before God called him. So, it wasn’t for their piety that they were chosen. Their election was God’s favor.

Speaking of the uniqueness of the Jewish people among all of God’s creation, Charles Spurgeon said:

“A Christian is the last person who ought ever to speak disrespectfully or unkindly of the Jews. We remember that our Lord belonged to that race, and that his first apostles were also of that nation; and we regard that ancient people as the very aristocracy of mankind, tracing back their pedigree to those before whom the mightiest kings might well veil their faces, and bow in lowliest homage; for I reckon that, to be descended from Abraham, “the friend of God,” and “the father of the faithful,” is to have a lineage higher than that of any of the princes of the earth.” (Charles Spurgeon, April 4, 1880).

Charles Spurgeon couldn’t be more right. Among all humankind, the Jews stand out. What separates these Semite people from everyone else is not because they are better human beings. Their distinctiveness has nothing to do with their natural qualities. What makes the Jews special is because God chose to set them apart for a special purpose.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” (Isaiah 60:1-3).

Before the foundation of the earth, God chose the Jews for the purpose of effecting His work of redemption on earth. It was through Israel that the light of God was going to shine to a world full of darkness. Salvation was to come from the Jews. God’s eternal purpose was to bless the world through the nation Israel. For this cause the world hates the Jews.

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:19-21).

Antisemitism may have been coined only in the nineteenth century, anti-Jewish hatred dates back to ancient times. Although Judeophobia (i.e., fear of Jews) has many causes, the primary reason the world hates the Jews is because the world hates God. 

Rebellion against God is the root cause of Jewish hatred. The world hates the Jews because they know the Jews belong to God. Those who loathe the Jews are enemies of God. 

Israel is like a mirror that reminds the world of their ungodliness. When the world looks into the mirror, what they see is a reflection of their godlessness. The guilt they feel churns up their soul like fire. This then burns up into a blinding rage that propels them to want to shatter the mirror.

This is the reason the Jewish people have been subjected to all kinds of persecution throughout human history. It is why Iran, Hamas, and all other enemies of the Jews have made it their sole purpose in life to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.