Column: All Roads Lead To Israel/Jerusalem, Part 2

Most of us love a great musical show, and one such example is Fiddler on the Roof, where the poor Jewish milkman, Tevye, is burdened with poverty while trying to maintain long-standing traditions and cope with oppression from the anti-Semitic Russians. At one point, he cries out to God, "I know, I know. We are your chosen people. But once in a while, can't You choose someone else?"

Out of all the nations in the world, why did God choose Israel? In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses explained why:

For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor chose you because you were more in numbers than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers. (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)

So, the Israelites became God's chosen people for two reasons: (1) because of a promise God made to Abraham and (2) because of God's faithful love in keeping His promises. Notice that both of these reasons have nothing to do with Israel's merit and everything to do with God's love.

When Abraham was living with his family in the Mesopotamian city of Haran, God made this covenant with him:

"Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house,
To a land that I will show you.
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." (Genesis 12:1-3)

Here in the first book of the Bible, we encounter one of the most important passages in all of Scripture. It reveals the ultimate purpose of the nation of Israel, and it places it in the center of the geopolitical world of our day. These words reveal both the mission and the future of God's chosen people. So let's go back with our friend, Teyve, and unpack this historic document with Abraham.

First of all, this Abrahamic covenant is an unconditional covenant. It is 7 times in Genesis 12:1-3 that God declares in emphatic terms what He would do for Abraham. There is no doubt or ambiguity; it was all"I will...I will...I will." These are unconditional terms/words, and He ratified it in a special ceremony described in Genesis 15---a simple but clear explanation of what this ceremony was in Abraham's day. As God puts Abraham into a deep sleep, He speaks to Abraham about what to expect in the future for His people's lives, including the four hundred years of captivity in hostile enemy territory; however, after four generations of slavery the Jews will return to this promised land stretching from "the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates---the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Cannanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites." As Paul Wilkinson, former terrorism expert and Emeritus Professor of International Relations as well as Director of the University Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at St. Andrews University in Fife, Scotland, notes that God alone signed and sealed this covenant since "only He passed through the animal pieces (Genesis 15:12-21). Wilkinson relates the inference drawn from Ancient Middle Eastern custom is that in so doing, God invoked a curse upon Himself, should He ever break His promise." In other words, there was no provision made by God for this covenant to be revoked, amended, or annulled.

Secondly, this is a personal covenant with Abraham. In Genesis 12:1-3, God addresses Abraham with the pronouns you and yours eleven times. In those promises he addresses the future and eternity, but He also blesses Abraham, his family, and descendants lavishly. And those promises are already fulfilled. Today, four thousand years after Abraham, his name inspires devotion from the followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Even in Abraham's day, his name became famous throughout the land as a man of great wealth, leadership, respect, and even feared (Genesis 14).

Thirdly, God's covenant would be national. To Abraham He promised that "I will make you a great nation." Although as the last book of the Bible, Revelation, explains in detail that Israel must wait until the Millennium for its ultimate greatness, there is no doubt that today Israel is a vibrant and well- defended nation not only amongst its neighbors, but also worldwide as described in Part 1 of this series.

Fourthly, this covenant is territorial in nature as God promised to Abraham "a land" beginning with the clear geographical boundaries as stated, "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to River Euphrates." This territory takes in all the land from the Mediterranean Sea as the western boundary to the Euphrates River as the eastern boundary. The prophet Ezekiel fixed the northern boundary at Hamath, 100 miles north of Damascus (Ezekiel 48:1), and the southern boundary at Kadesh, about 100 miles south of Jerusalem (v. 28). If Israelis were currently occupying all the land that God gave to them, they would control all the holdings of present-day Israel, Lebanon, and the West Bank of Jordan, plus substantial portions of Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. But Israel does not occupy all of this land. Never in its long history--not even in its glory days under David and Solomon, has it ever occupied such extensive holdings. Not yet.

Fifthly, the covenant is reciprocal in nature. In Genesis 12:3 God promises to the descendants of Abraham: "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you." As history teaches so well time after time, leaders and nations that ally with Israel to preserve, protect, and defend it will likewise be preserved, protected, and defended. On the reverse side, those who stand in the way of Israel's well-being will find themselves standing against God--which means they will not be standing long. The Old Testament in Zechariah also declared in prophecy that God would plunder the nations that plunder Israel, "for he who touches Israel, touches the apple of His eye." Later Zachariah also declares in his prophecy, "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut to pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it" (verses 2-3). Egypt, the first nation to ridicule God's people, was brought to its knees by 10 devastating plagues (Exodus 2-11). Next were the Amorites who tried to block Israel's march toward their promised land (Numbers 21:21-30). God literally annihilated the Midianites who joined with Moab in trying to stop Israel (31:3). The battle was quick and decisive. When the dust had settled, all five of the Midianite kings were killed, every Medianite male and married female were killed, every Medianite city burned to the ground, with Israel taking enormous amounts of valuable plunder (Numbers 31; Revelation 2:14). Babylon was next to make a serious mistake with Israel. The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, burned the Temple, and deported the Jews back to Babylon. Then the Persians destroyed Babylon. Another scorching reply to persecution of the Jews took place under the Greek ruler, Antiochus IV. When the Jews rebelled under this Maccabean despot, and Antiochus learned of his army's defeat, he went on a personal revenge tour de force against the Jews to put down the rebellion. While on the road, he was suddenly afflicted with painful intestinal disorders so severe that he fell from his chariot. Internal worms began to eat his body's flesh from the inside out so that a foul stench was emitted. Antiochus's men could not stand to remain and try to assist their fallen commander because of the putridness. Days later, Antiochus died in horrible agony. In modern times, we know that Communism disintegrated in 1989-- a government that had persecuted the Jews for decades and decades. And where is Hitler today? Gone, gone, gone. In fact, in very recent times, recalling the 1967 Six-Day War that Israel underwent with her Arab neighbors is quite significant to this presentation. In 1967, the United Arab Republic (UAR), allied with Jordan, Syria, and Palestinian guerillas, combined to attack Israel from the north, south, and east. Israel was hopelessly outmanned and outnumbered. Arab armies numbered more than 500,000 men: Israel had 75,000. The Arabs had 5,000 tanks and 900 combat aircraft. Israel's total was 1,000 tanks and 175 aircraft. However, six days later when the smoke had cleared, the UAR had lost almost its entire air force, and about 20,000 lives. Israel had taken over significant Arab-controlled territory, including the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank.

The Encyclopedia Britannica summarizes the war: "The Arab countries' losses in the conflict were disastrous. Egypt's casualties numbered more than 11,000, with 6,000 for Jordan and 1,000 for Syria, compared with 700 for Israel. The Arab armies also suffered crippling losses of weaponry and equipment. The lopsidedness of the defeat demoralized both the Arab public and the political elite." In October, 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly and reminded the members of the miraculous preservation of the Jewish people. History reminds us that Israel stands at the graves of all of its enemies. It is of note that the United States was the first nation on earth to recognize the modern state of Israel.

There are still two more parts to the Abrahamic covenant, and that is for part three along with the conclusion. The tensions are mounting again on the world's stage. Common sense tells us that there is no magic bullet to solve all of these very serious and potentially deadly conflicts. The persecutions continue daily all over the world, notably against Jews and Christians. And we all know that greed for more land, control over more territories, and the quest for more powerful military deterrents drives many nations in the belief that ultimate power will bring a world peace. Are we going to buy into that? Is human power just/only a stalemate? Who or what will have the final word? Will our friend, Tevye, ever get an answer to his question? That is for Part 3.

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