No 29

(In the Land Today?)

Today’s version of Israel was born on Apr 23 1948 when David Ben-Gurion declared to the world that the Jews were back in the Land and we’ve been hearing of its struggles with its neighbours ever since. There have been many battles and many people on both sides died or suffered serious injury. The most recent battle was with Hezbollah (Party of God) in Southern Lebanon – no one claimed victory or gained anything. Also recently, the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (I can’t pronounce it either), held a conference denying the Jewish Holocaust. Many nations, mostly Arab, sent representatives but I was surprised to see a group of Orthodox Jews attending the conference. These Jews weren’t there to deny the Holocaust, they were there to protest the modern-day occupation of Israel by Jews. This same group of Orthodox Jews held a protest on the streets of New York with signs saying that the Messiah will lead them back to the land of Israel.

These events got me thinking of how God delivered the Canaanites into the hands of Joshua and how He fought their battles for them. In Psalm 44, we read “We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. 2 How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.3 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.” (Vs1-3) That’s not what is happening in Israel today because the Jews are fighting their own battles and are not really that successful.

Which brings up the question – Should the Jews be in the Land today? We read in Revelation 21:1-6, the following words – “1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” Believers of all ages are waiting for this momentous event – it is our blessed hope.