| A biblical response to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process
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By Malcolm Hedding and Jürgen Bühler,
International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, 2005
This article was written in 2005, in the midst of the Israeli disengagement from Gaza - when every Israeli soldier and civilian withdrew from the restive strip. Although it is specifically discussing events some years ago, the central points advanced in the article are still relevant today.
The current events in Israel left
many Christians Zionists puzzled and confused. Often we hear the
question: Why does God not intervene? The Israeli Knesset decided
to disengage from Gaza within this year, territory that according
to the Bible belongs to Israel's Promised Land1.
Already a few years ago Christian supporters of Israel were confronted
with the same question when Israel withdrew its troops from Jericho
and later on from large parts of Judea and Samaria [commonly
known as the West Bank - Ed.].
Israel's withdrawal from biblical land and a possible Palestinian state on what the Bible calls Eretz Israel [i.e. the Land of Israel], is a reality which does not correspond to the biblical understanding of many Christian Zionists.
In the following we will address two key aspects of biblical doctrine relating to the "land question," which can help us to understand the current events in Israel.
An unshakeable promise
Israel's right to possess the land of Canaan is founded upon divine promises. Not only once but time and time again God assured Abraham to give him and his descendants a land of promise2.
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. Genesis 13:14f
The same divine promises are given to the patriarchs Isaac3 and Jacob4. They were confirmed to Moses5, repeated in the Psalms6 and can be found throughout the prophetical writings7. They are biblical promises, which cannot be surpassed in strength and commitment.
In Genesis 15 we find that God defined the uttermost borders of the Promised Land and corroborates this promise by making a covenant with Abraham.
On the same day the LORD made a covenant with
Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land,
from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates."
Genesis
15:18
It was customary in biblical times, that the
establishment of a covenant was accompanied by the slaughtering
of an animal. It was divided in two halves with each half placed
opposite to each other. Both covenant partners would together
pass through the halves, confirming so their intention of commitment
(see also Jeremiah 34:18). However it is important to note that when God made
this covenant with Abraham he alone in form of a fiery furnace
and a burning torch passed through the animals while Abraham
was sleeping (Genesis 15:12). The covenant God made was thus a one-sided covenant
through which God expressed, "No matter what you and your descendants
will do, today I make a covenant with you Abraham, to give you
and your descendants this land as an inheritance."
It is this divine covenant and a multitude of
promises on which Biblical Zionism is founded. It is the faith
in a covenant keeping God which is the bedrock of our support
of the Jewish people and the land of Israel. "My covenant I
will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips."
(Psalm
89:34)
An unshakeable condition
The Bible, however, not only teaches about the right to possess but also about the right to inhabit the land. The book Deuteronomy, which records the last message of Moses before Israel conquered Canaan, stipulates more then any other book that there are firm conditions to living in the land of Canaan. Like a red thread these conditions are found through the whole book Deuteronomy8.
Therefore you shall keep every commandment
which I command you today, that you may be strong, and go
in and possess the land which you cross over to possess9,
and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD
swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants.
Deuteronomy 11:8f
If Israel wants to enter the land and dwell
there for an extended period of time they need to live there
as a holy people. That means: the right of possession is clearly
anchored in the word of God; that is, the land is forever hers.
But the right of domicile is based on the spiritual condition
of the Jewish people. Deuteronomy 28, the chapter of "blessing
and curses" sums this up in a rather dramatic way: If Israel
walks in the ways of their God "He will bless you in the
land which the LORD your God is giving you" (v.8)
but if she consistently refuses to walk according to His word
and follows other gods the ultimate consequence will be: "You
shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess."
(v.63)
In the book of Joshua we find this powerfully illustrated: When Joshua was about to conquer Jericho he went out into the dessert to seek the face of God before this first and decisive battle. There the angle of the Lord appeared to him. Joshua asked what at first seemed to be a purely rhetorical question: "Are You for us or for our adversaries?"10 Of course God must have been with Israel! But the answer of God's messenger must have been rather sobering for Joshua. "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come… Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." In other words: 'I am not necessarily with you. But if you want Me to be on your side, take your shoes of, because this is holy ground.' God in His sovereignty chose this piece of land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean for His redemptive purposes. For that reason He expects the people living on it to be holy and obedient to His kingship.
If Israel today wants to live on this land, it needs to put its shoes off.
Two sides, one coin
The biblical doctrine of the land is therefore a twofold one, with each principle representing one side of the same coin.
The two principles are:
- The land belongs without any doubt to the Jewish people. God expresses this throughout the scripture through many promises, confirmed through a covenant.
- The right of domicile on the land and the right to enjoy the blessings of that land is conditional on Israel's spiritual condition.
We have to look on both sides of that coin in order to keep us from taking an unbalanced and extremist view. If we neglect the first principle and focus purely on the required righteousness (which is not yet achieved by large parts of Israel) we are endangered to slip on the path of replacement theology and possibly even anti-Semitism. If, on the other hand, we neglect the second principle and focus solely on the land issue, we are tempted to embrace a right-wing nationalist agenda and our cause of Zionism is not anymore biblical but becomes purely political.
Historical Verification
These two principles are verified within the whole course of Israel's history. Whenever Israel followed their God and had God-fearing kings (e.g. David, Ezekial) then the borders of Israel enlarged quickly and with ease, as the writer of Chronicles puts it: "…and the LORD brought the fear of him [David] upon all nations."11 The neighbouring people subdued themselves under the rulership of Israel and paid tributes12. Yet as soon as Israel and its kings left their God, it was God himself who raised the neighbouring countries against them, stirred up resistance from within and even adjusted the borders of Israel's territory. "In those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel; and Hazael conquered them in all the territory of Israel."13 Often the adversaries of Israel were rendered powerless as soon as Israel humbled themselves under the hand of God. But as the tragic history tells us, the enemies of Israel were allowed twice to uproot the chosen people from the Holy Land.
To put it short: Israel in its entire history never had a conflict about borders or land issues - but Israel found itself in a constant conflict with her God! Out of that political and military troubles arose, which threatened the security and very existence of the nation. But as soon as Israel sought the Lord, He himself became a fiery wall around his people.
Stocktaking
The modern restoration of the State of Israel is, without doubt, the greatest miracle of modern history. Be it the return of the Jews from more then 100 nations, the replantation of the land or the reconstruction of the cities of Israel, they all carry the clear watermark of fulfilled biblical promises. However Israel returns today to their land largely as a secular people, which differs hardly from any other nation. It is only a small minority in Israel which sees in its restoration the hand of God. It is mostly the pioneering spirit of the founding fathers, the supremacy of the IDF or other human achievements, which are named as the creating source of modern Israel. High abortion rates, entanglement in eastern religions and open moral decline not only characterise most Western societies but also the Israel of today.
God will therefore use corrective measures in order to gain the attention of his chosen people. Like a loving father disciplines his son so also God will judge His people in order to correct them and draw them finally to Himself. This can mean that for a limited time God might adjust the borders of the land and that the pressure on God's people will even increase.
One thing, however, is for sure. God is not going to uproot his people again from the Land of Israel. God did not bring Israel back in order to exile them again but rather to reconcile them to Himself. All biblical accounts of the end-time restoration of Israel are ending with a picture which Paul describes as: "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written, 'The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.14'"
Conclusion
Consequently, the question of the boundaries of the Land of Israel cannot be understood outside the context of Israel's spiritual condition. At the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, we therefore take the following position:
- We wish to affirm that the land of Canaan
is the everlasting possession of the Jewish people. No other
people, not even the Palestinians, have a biblical right to
this land. It belongs to the Jewish people by divine covenant.
Nevertheless Israel's right of domicile is dependant on her
reconciled relationship with her God. According to Ezekiel 36: 24-28, only a nation which is anointed by the spirit
of God affords her the right to dwell in the land. This day
is coming albeit through a process of affliction.
- Given that the Jewish people, in fulfilment of God's Word, have returned a secular people, correction and judgement are to be expected. Remember, domicile is conditional upon Israel's reconciled relationship with her God. It is naïve for Christians to stand on God's Word concerning all the land bequeathed to her when she remains largely unfaithful to God. Land shrinkage is God's doing since He is determined to correct and save her.
- However, since God in His Word has only promised two exiles and two returns and since these have already taken place, He is now determined to save her through the process of affliction. She will not be exiled again!15
- If Israel is therefore going to lose land, do not be amazed at this. Rather embrace your responsibility to pray for her righteousness and salvation, knowing these alone will secure her domicile upon all of the land bequeathed to her. God has promised to save her!
- God's process of dealing with Israel does not in any way legitimise those like the PLO, Hamas, etc., who are actively working for Israel's destruction. We speak out against this evil and we must stand against all forms of anti-Semitism!
- We must warn our nations not to be part of any scheme to divide the land! Judgement and correction are a divine prerogative. We must stand with Zion, help her, defend her and speak out on her behalf!
- If God should allow that further parts of the Land of Israel will be relinquished we fully understand the sorrow it will bring for many of the settlers who will be uprooted from the biblical land. We pray for them and do our uttermost to comfort them, support them and to give them hope.
- We must recognise that a great visitation of God is coming also to the Arab world. The Word of God promises that and it will usher a great revival among the neighbouring countries of Israel16.
References
1. Jos 15 - [back]
2. Gen 12:1,7; 13:15; 15:7,18; 17:8; 24:7 - [back]
3. Gen 26:3 - [back]
4. e.g. Gen 28:13 - [back]
5. e.g. Ex 6:4 - [back]
6. e.g. Ps 105:10f - [back]
7. e.g. Eze 28:25 - [back
8. Almost 200 times the Hebrew word eretz appears in Deuteronomy, mostly in relationship with the command to fulfil in the Land certain commandments which God gave to Israel on Mount Sinai. (e.g. Deut 4:1,5,14; 5:31,33; 6:1-4,18,…) - [back]
9. The Hebrew word lareshet for "to possess" is linked to the concept of inheritance, as one German translation puts it: to possess by inheriting it. - [back]
10. Josh 5:13 - [back]
11. 1 Chr 14:17 - [back]
12. e.g. 2 Sam 8; 1 Chr 14; 2 Chr 20 - [back]
13. 2 Ki 10:32 - [back]
14. Ro 11:26 - [back]
15. Isa 11:11; Amos 9:15 - [back]
16. Isa 19:18ff; - [back]
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