THE NATION OF ISRAEL
The tiny nation of Israel is of mighty significance in this
troubled world. With a population of about six million, Israel
has become the focus of attention to all peoples. Geographically
and economically, Israel sits at the control centre of the world.
Its capital, Jerusalem, has been revered by Jews, Christians and
Muslims for millennia; and Israel's God has been worshipped by
billions of believers of all nations since time began.
Why is this tiny nation so important? And how is it that Israel
exerts so great an influence on mankind? The answer is: Because
the Almighty God is with Israel! Without Him, Israel would
be as unimportant as the weakest nation on earth - as nothing!
Yes, the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is with Israel.
In the Bible He refers to Himself as the God of Israel or
the holy One of Israel over 230 times! The pages of His
diary are filled with appointments with Israel. Over the
centuries the Most High has shared His plans with Israel. Through
Israel came His law, His prophets and finally Yeshua His only
begotten Son - the Messiah! Yes, Yahweh is with Israel!
To be sure other nations and individuals count; but only as
they affect Israel and relate to Israel's Saviour - the Son
of God! The Bible is, in fact, the record of Israel's history
and Israel's future. Let us further consider why this nation
is so important.
ISRAEL, YAHWEH'S CHOSEN PEOPLE
No matter what the majority of mankind think, no matter what the Christian church may believe or preach, the fact is the nation of Israel is the chosen people of God! Not chosen because she is intrinsically better than other nations; but because of Yahweh's great love for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and because He is keeping to an oath made to Abraham many centuries ago. This fact is plainly taught in the Bible:
Deut.7:6 | For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God:
the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto
himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
7: The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you,
because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the
fewest of all people: 8: But because the LORD loved you,
and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your
fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand,
and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of
Pharaoh king of Egypt. |
Deut.10:15: | Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to
love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above
all people, as it is this day. |
Deut.14:2 | for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy
God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto
himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. |
Isa.41: 8 | But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom
I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 9: Thou whom
I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from
the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant;
I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away |
Yes, anti-Semitism has been around for thousands of years and
every nation and religion - including Christianity - is
guilty. Today the eyes of the world are again on the people of
Israel; simply because an all-out war in the Middle East would
drag the whole world into war; not to mention its catastrophic
effect on the economies of all nations. The Jews, bear in
mind, are major players in world economic affairs and control
more of the world's money than most people remotely imagine.
Surrounded as she is by her enemies, Israel is a nation living
under constant threat. Never a week passes but Israel is in
the news. Why is this? What makes Israel so important? How
has this tiny nation become the centre of attention to the whole
world? What hypnotic power does Israel possess with God and
man? The answers are many and amazing to say the least. Let
us consider a few.
Israel was the name given to Abraham's grandson Jacob when he successfully wrestled all night with God at a place called Peniel, which means 'I have seen God face to face.'
Gen.32:27 | And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28: And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. |
The Most High chose the descendants of this man Israel (Jacob), gave them His law and placed them in the Promised Land with the intention of using Israel as a channel of instruction and blessing to all nations. Through Israel came the law, the prophets and eventually the Son of the Most High (Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus the Christ)
Rom.3:1 | What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2: Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. 3: For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? |
Alas! Israel, in the main, failed to live up to Yahweh's hopes. Israel rejected the Almighty's law and grievously sinned. Israel rejected the oracles of God, broke the everlasting covenant, murdered most of Yahweh's prophets and crowned her rebellion by crucifying His Son Yeshua. The story of Israel's rebellion against their God goes back a long way, long before New Testament times.
2 Kings 17:9 | And the children of Israel did secretly those
things that were not right against the LORD their God
verses 13: Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against
Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn
ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes,
according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which
I sent to you by my servants the prophets. 14: Notwithstanding
they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the
neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their
God. 15: And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that
he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified
against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and
went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning
whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.
16: And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God,
and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove,
and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. |
Jer.6:16 | Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see,
and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein,
and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will
not walk therein. 17: Also I set watchmen over you, saying,
Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will
not hearken. 18: Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation,
what is among them. 19: Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil
upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they
have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected
it. |
Matt.27:22 | Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then
with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let
him be crucified. 23: And the governor said, Why, what evil hath
he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
|
Rom.3:10 | As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not
one: 11: There is none that understandeth, there is none that
seeketh after God. 12: They are all gone out of the way, they
are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth
good, no, not one. |
How then did the Almighty respond to ancient Israel's rebellion and rejection of His law and of His Son? The Almighty carried out the punishments given through His prophet Moses. One of those punishments was banishment from the Promised Land. This happened: Yahweh scattered Israel, scattered His chosen people to the four corners of the earth. The warning to scatter Israel, if she persisted in disobedience, was made centuries before the event took place. Texts about the scattering of Israel are legion. I quote a few:
Deut.4:25 | When thou shalt beget children, and children's
children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall
corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of
any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God,
to provoke him to anger: 26: I call heaven and earth to witness
against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from
off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye
shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
27: And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and
ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the
LORD shall lead you. |
Deut.28:64 | And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people,
from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there
thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers
have known, even wood and stone. 65: And among these nations shalt
thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest:
but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing
of eyes, and sorrow of mind: |
Eze.20:23 | I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness,
that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them
through the countries; 24: Because they had not executed my
judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my
sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.
For further study see: Lev.26:33, Psa.44:11, Jer.9:16,
Jer.49:32-36, Eze.12: 14-15, 22:15-16, Neh.1:8. |
Even though ancient Israel sinned grievously and was scattered to the four corners of the earth, the Almighty did not abandon His people. To be sure He punished Israel over and over again with war, famine, and pestilence: but the Holy ONE of Israel has not abandoned His people. Israel is still the chosen race! The LORD God is still with Israel! Pause awhile and consider these little-known divine promises.
Eze.11:16 | Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although
I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have
scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a
little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. 17: Therefore
say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the
people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been
scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. |
Jer.31:35 | Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: 36: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. 37: Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD. |
The Apostle Paul continues this thought in the New Testament when he cautions Gentile believers not to imagine that God has abandoned or cast away Israel; because He hasn't.
Rom.11:1 | I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2: God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, |
In other words, the people of Israel are still the chosen
race and will continue to be as long as the immeasurable
universe exists! Pause a while, dear reader, and dwell on
that stunning fact! That is what the LORD God of Israel is saying
in His Word.
Even while the Most High was predicting the Diaspora (the scattering of Israel) He was also forecasting Israel's re-gathering. Over and over again He said that He would re-gather His scattered people; and bring them back from the four corners of the earth to the land He had promised to give them. That is why that land is called The Promised Land! The re-gathering of Israel is predicted over and over again in the Scriptures. Once more I quote and list a few of the many texts as proof:
Deut.30:1 | And it shall come to pass, when all these things
are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set
before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations,
whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 2: And shalt return
unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all
that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all
thine heart, and with all thy soul; 3: That then the LORD thy
God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and
will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the
LORD thy God hath scattered thee. 4: If any of thine be
driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will
the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
5: And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy
fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee
good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. |
Eze.11:17 | Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. (Also read: Jer.29:14, Jer.31:10, 32:34-41, Neh.1:9, Psa.107:3, Isa.43:5, Eze.34:12-31. 37:21, Mic.2:12) |
Is a re-gathering of Israel taking place? To be sure it
is. Consider the statistics of Jews returning to Israel since
the nation was reborn on 14/5/48.
1948 ... 657,000
1950 ... 1,203,000
1958 ... 1,810,000
1962 ... 2,069,000
Currently thousands of Jews, especially from the former Soviet Union, return to Israel every year and the population is heading towards 6,000,000 mark.
Isaiah 11:11 | And it shall come to pass in that day, that
the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover
the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria,
and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam,
and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the
sea. 12: And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall
assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed
of Judah from the four corners of the earth. |
Isaiah 43:5 | Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy
seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6: I will say
to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring
my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
|
Eze.39:27 | When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; 28: Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which cause them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. |
Yes, Bible prophecies concerning Israel's return to the Promised
Land are being fulfilled before our very eyes. The descendants
of Jacob are returning in their millions to the land of their
fathers; and the Christian church, in the main, stands bewildered
at events it doesn't understand, simply because it believes that
Israel was abandoned by God and replaced by a Gentile church.
Oh what a tragic misconception that is!
What does Yahweh plan to do after re-gathering Israel? What does His Holy Word the Bible tell us? It tells us that the Most High is going to refine Israel as a silversmith refines silver; with the sole intention of producing an obedient and holy nation, a nation that will reflect His perfect character. He is going to do this for His great Name's sake, which Israel has profaned among the nations by its sinful practices. Yahweh is about to act, not because the Jews are better in any way than Gentiles, because they are not, but to clear His slandered Name and reputation throughout this rebellious planet.
Eze.22:15 | And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and
disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness
out of thee. 16: And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself
in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the
LORD. 17: And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 18: Son
of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all
they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the
furnace; they are even the dross of silver. 19: Therefore
thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold,
therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20: As
they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into
the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it;
so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will
leave you there, and melt you. 21: Yea, I will gather you,
and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted
in the midst thereof. 22: As silver is melted in the midst of
the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye
shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you. |
Eze.36:21 | But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 22: Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 23: And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 24: For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25: Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26: A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27: And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 28: And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. |
According to Bible prophecy Yahweh is going to gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. The city is going to be captured and be under Gentile domination for a period of 42 months, 1260 days or 3.5 years. Texts concerning this last-day confrontation are numerous. Zech.12:3, Hos.10:10, Micah 4:11, Joel 3:1-14, Zech.14:1-2 and Rev.11. These predictions, though partially realised in days gone by, will all find fulfilment in the near future.
Points to note are:
When these final events occur, Israel will have reached a degree of purity and faithfulness never known before. The decimated nation will be as 'pure silver.'