And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant…—for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength—he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:5-6, esv)

The State of Israel, while perhaps unique among the countries in the Middle East, is hardly remarkable on the world stage. If not for her placement among so many Islamic neighbors, she might barely be a footnote. Seven million Jews live in a liberal, secular paradise in the middle of the desert, showing little distinction from the rest of Westernized society. Dispersed across the world, eight million more Jews lead quiet lives—some maintaining a private religious practice, some abandoning their Jewish heritage altogether, but both largely indiscernible from the people that live around them. Like their ancestors before them, who begged for a king so “that we also may be like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:20), today’s fifteen million Jews—God’s chosen people—choose day after day to continue looking as much like the world around them as they can, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves.

Read more