Land of the Jews

by Pastor Jeanne Miller

As I prepare for our trip to Israel on November 7, I am sitting contemplating what we will find. Our last two trips were unique, each one, but I know this one will be also. Every time we go to Israel something else has happened, some other significant event has occurred, which changes the complexion of the land and our trip. Since we were last there, Gaza was given to the Palestinians and has become a base camp for Hamas to attack Israel. Whoever thought Hamas would not take advantage of the situation doesn’t know the land or its history. Unfortunately, this group of people appears to include our President, which does no bode well for our country.

I’m sure we’ll ride along the wall that is causing so much controversy. It was going up the last time we were there but now is further along and will be more noticeable. It has greatly reduced suicide attacks in Israel and other crime. (Should our country consider such a wall for its borders?) Hebron will probably be embroiled in controversy but hopefully we’ll get there anyway. I know once again we will come away with new knowledge of our Christian roots which will stand us in good stead for the future.

My wish would be that each and every Christian makes the trip at least once to Israel no matter the cost. One doesn’t realize the need in our Christian walk to experience Israel until you make the trip. I know many Christians who see no reason to go over and spend time in Israel. They don’t see the point and it’s almost impossible to convince them that there is a reason to go and to walk the land. I feel sorry for them because the bottom line is that they don’t understand the prophets of the Bible and what they were saying about the time we live in currently. I believe it has had a stabilizing effect on me and has enabled me to mature in the things of God. I now understand the Hebrew people of the Bible and the Hebrew people of today which in the long run helps me understand God better. The Jews have known God much longer than the Christians have and it shows. It’s true they don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God which we do, but their knowledge of God the Father is far greater than ours.

For instance, they realize that when God makes a covenant with you, everything that covenant stands for is yours. No exceptions. In Gen. 13:17 they believe God meant what He said when God told Abraham, “Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you”, and in verse 14 when He said, “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.” They understand that this land (Israel) is theirs forever. Not because some government halfway across the world says it but because God said it. I challenge anyone, Christian or not, to stand on the mountain top at Alon Moreh and not understand deep in their hearts that this land belongs to the Jews and no one else. This is one of my most favorite spots in all the land of Israel and I am a bit passionate about it.

God did not stop there but time and again He promised the land to Abraham and his descendants. Then He promised the same land to Isaac and then to Jacob. In Gen. 17:19-21 God said, “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac . . .” Ishmael, and his descendants, have no legal right to the land of Israel. God said it. This settles the issue for all those who say that the Arabs have a legal right to the land. These are only a few of the scriptures where God promised the land to the Jews. Brother Hagin used to tell us that if you find something repeated several times in the Bible you need to pay attention to it. The promise of the land to the Jews is repeated over and over and over again. I think we should pay attention to it!!!!

I truly believe that we should bless Israel or pay the consequences of coming against God’s plan on the earth. In Gen. 12:2-3 God told Abraham, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” I believe this was not only to Abraham but also to his descendants, from whom the Messiah came.

When God gives something forever, He means forever. If we can’t count on Him to be faithful to His Word, we have nothing to have faith in. Either God stands by His Word or He doesn’t. Just because we have a new covenant doesn’t mean you can discount the covenant for the land that God said was forever. Forever is forever. Without God’s steadfastness to His Word we are left as orphans on this earth, with nothing to hold on to. I know God the Father never changes so I know we have a glorious inheritance through Jesus and I don’t have to be concerned with standing on what my Heavenly Father has told me. However, I do believe that the land He gave to the Jews forever will always belong to the Jews. Therefore, I can call myself blessed!