CELEBRATING ISRAEL AT SEVENTY-FIVE
Friday, April 28, 2023
CELEBRATING ISRAEL AT SEVENTY FIVE
“And who is like Your people Israel, the one nation on the earth whomGod went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name - and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land.” (2 Samuel 7.23)
This month the nation of Israel celebrates its 75th year as a modern nationstate. Israel is one of the oldest nations on the earth and has been a nation since the day God brought them out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses.
The return of Israel to its land after 1900 years of exile is without precedent in history. Its growth from a nation of 600,000 people in 1948 to nearly 10 million people today is an extraordinary accomplishment for a people driven to near annihilation by the vicious Nazi death machine. It is appropriate that Israel should celebrate its achievement as a modern nation and is extraordinary achievements in absorbing millions of immigrants, in building an enormous economy, in technology, in medical research. in agriculture and in countless innovations.
However what makes Israel so special is that its restoration is an astonishing testimony to the faithfulness of God and the reliability of His promises. It is a nation like no other nation because it is the only nation called into existence by the sovereign choice of God. It is God who foretold that they would be scattered to the four corners of the earth and regathered from there. It was Yeshua who foretold that Jerusalem would be trampled down by the gentiles and restored to Israel’s control and it was God who promised to settle them in their land never to be uprooted again.
“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.” (Jeremiah 31.10)
“He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.” (Isaiah 11.12)
“And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (Luke 21.24)
“I will bring back the captives of My people Israel. They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them. They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.” (Amos 9.14-15)
Israel’s existence is a reminder that amid a chaotic world, despite the insane hostility of Jihadists, the accusation of anti-semitic humanists, God can accomplish His plan upon the earth.
The existence of Israel is something that should be celebrated not only by political supporters of Israel but by all who observe the hand of God through the march of History.
At a humanistic level many (including Israelis themselves) criticize various actions and policies of the government of Israel. However it is not Israel’s GOVERNMENT (right, left or center) that we celebrate as believers, but the faithfulness of God who has fulfilled His promise to bring them home and establish them in their land.
In celebrating israel’s survival we are not celebrating Israel’s politicians or policies of its government or army, but we are acknowledging and worshipping the God of the Bible who has faithfully remembered His promises. As Mary, the mother of Yeshua said: “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.” (Luke 1.54-55)
Their return and survival against all odds is a reminder to all( including those who assumed that God was finished with Israel) that God is faithful. Their endurance as a nation validates the words of Paul “Concerning the election they (the Jewish people) are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11.28)
The return of Israel is an astonishing testimony to God’s faithfulness and to the reality of His plan for world redemption. It was Yeshua who said that when we see Jerusalem restored to Jewish control we are to look up with great expectation because our redemption is at hand. (Luke 21)
The existence of Israel is simultaneously dramatic evidence to God’s fidelity AND an affront to atheistic
humanism. This is an inconvenient fact for those who seek to discredit the Bible, and the God of the Bible.
“Thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again ... David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them.’” (Ezekiel 37.21,22,24)
If the God of the Bible is not real we can ignore His plans and His ways. But if He makes promises and keeps them then atheism is refuted and humanism, is upended. Israel’s existence reminds the world and the people of every nation that God reigns and will accomplish His plan for the earth.
"Why do the nations rage,And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves,And the rulers take counsel together,Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in piecesAnd cast away Their cords from us.He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;The Lord shall hold them in derision." (Psalm 2.1-4)
Thank you Israel. Your suffering appalls us, your survival inspires us, and your future encourages us!
