Supporting Israel: A Biblical Perspective
Should we (individually or as a nation) support Israel? Prior to October 7 of 2023, this question did not appear on anyone’s radar screens. But, since that date, the whole world is facing this question, and many citizens around the globe are in shock that their neighbors are saying “No” as their answer.
The question is simple, but it has become extremely complicated for many. Why the complication? The simple answer to that question is that they are ignorant of the Bible and what it says. For those of us who answer the first question with a vigorous “Yes,” it is because of what we know the Bible says.
Let us review a simple summary from the Bible. The book of Genesis tells us a story about a family with three fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God told Abraham to leave his father’s land and to travel to the land of Canaan. There, He promised the land to him and his descendants. The rest of the Torah tells us how that family became a nation as they made their exodus out of Egypt. At Mount Sinai, God gave them a set of laws to live by. After they make it to the land that God promised to Abraham, it became known as the “Land of Israel.” Jacob was named “Israel” in the story of his children entering the land for the first time.
The other books in the Tanach tell of how the children of Israel settled the land as tribes, and of their struggles. Eventually, King David took over the reins of the nation, followed by King Solomon. A central city with the Temple was established and called Jerusalem. There are other books in the Tanach that describe how the nation split into a northern kingdom, called the “House of Israel,” and a southern kingdom, called the “House of Judah.” God sent different prophets to warn the people in both kingdoms not to be disobedient and not to forget the Lord. He warned them that they would be scattered to their enemies if they did not heed His warnings.
The Bible then details their failings and unbelief. The House of Israel was taken captive by the Assyrians. The House of Judah went into Babylonian captivity for a long while before being dispersed by the Romans. Before and after those events, the land of Israel took on some regional names.
Ancient Tribes of Israel
Source: Wikipedia
To the north, the land was called Galilee, and the people who lived there were called Galileans. A great open area stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River was called the Valley of Jezreel, with a particular mountain in the middle called Har Megiddo (Armageddon). Along the Jordan River, it become known as the Jordan Valley. The mountain range in the middle became known as Samaria. The people who lived in the valleys and the mountains were called “Samarians.” The land against the sea was the Valley of Sharon. In the very center was the city of Jerusalem, and the surrounding area was called Judea. This is how the term “Jews” came about, because they were the people who lived in Judea. To the southeast of Jerusalem was unsettled land, and it was called the Judean Wilderness. Further east led to the Dead Sea, and down the Arabah Valley to the Gulf of Aqaba. The land south of Jerusalem continued to be called Judea, including the cities of Hebron and Beersheba. Further south was called the Negev. On the south coast of Israel, now called Gaza, this region had, at various times, “invaders” from other lands that came by sea, called “Philistines.”
The Bible describes all the surrounding nations and empires that interacted with Israel. They include the Assyrians, the Persians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, the Midianites, the Edomites, and the Romans. At no time has there ever been a group called the “Palestinians” living anywhere in the land of Israel. No part of the land of Israel has ever been called Palestine, based on Arab habitation.
“Jerusalem Destroyed by the Romans”
Source: JW.org
The Messiah came to Israel after the Babylonian return, and before the Roman captivity. Even that did not stop the punishment of God when redemption was freely offered by the Messiah. The House of Judah rebelled against Rome and, as a result, was sent into worldwide captivity. This is when the Romans made Israel a Roman province, calling it Palestine.
With all the warnings that were given, the prophets also spoke of something wonderful that would eventually happen after the different captivities. God promised to keep the covenant that He made with their fathers and spoke of a time, at the end, when all of Israel and their companions would be brought back to the land. The details of that “restoration” would begin first with the House of Judah (the Jews) coming back to the Land.
Let us review a simple history of the current generation now living in Israel. In 1948, restoration of the land officially began. The Nation of Israel became a sovereign nation among the other nations in the world today.
Let us back up a bit and explain how that happened.
Palestine remained the name of the region from the Romans. For the most part, the land became desolate, essentially destroyed by the Crusaders, the Mongols, and the Arabs. The cities were built and besieged by multiple armies and wars. Eventually the Turks gained control under the Ottoman Empire. WWI brought the British out of North Africa to fight the Turks.
Taking of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, 15th July 1099
Painting by Émile Signol (1847), Palace of Versailles
The United States emerged with the goal of maintaining world peace, and they made a proposal to split the original land of Israel, called Palestine, to be given back to the Jewish people to form a Jewish homeland again. But the Nazi influence on the Arabs caused them to object. The Mufti of Jerusalem (the leading Muslim cleric) conspired with Hitler in WWII against Britain and the Jewish people who were there.
Children of the Holocaust
Public Domain • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
courtesy of Belarusian State Archive of Documentary Film and Photography
Following WWII and the defeat of Germany, the Jews of Europe traveled to Israel to escape the ravages of Europe. The British declared that they were leaving the Middle East and turned their mandate back to the UN. In November of 1947, the UN passed a resolution giving the land to Israel (if they could hold on to it).
Now, let us begin again with May of 1948 with the declaration of Israel as a nation. Israel declared the name of the land to be Israel. Five Arab armies decided to attack the small nation of Israel. The Arab nations told the resident Arabs to leave the land of Israel so that they could slaughter Israel. Many Arabs did leave. They observe that day today, calling it Nakba (the day of disaster).
David Ben-Gurion at Independence Hall
Public Domain • Wikimedia Commons
By a miracle of God, Israel survived, and the modern history of Israel began. In July of 1949, an armistice was signed and Israel’s war of independence ended, with Israel being surrounded by hostile Arab nations and Arab communities located in Israel. Israel sought to co-habit with the existing Arabs now in Israel, but the Arabs have never accepted the decision of the UN or the military success of Israel.
Israeli Tanks of the Six Day War
Courtesy The Times of Israel
Several Arab-Israeli wars have occurred since: in 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982. In 1962, Yassar Arafat (an Egyptian calling himself a Palestinian) started the Palestine Liberation Organization (the PLO), a terrorist organization using terrorist tactics, including bombings and hijacking of airplanes. They also put together a massive public-relations campaign, declaring that the land of Israel belongs to the Palestinian Arabs and that the Jews stole it from them. After much conflict (Intifadas), the United States began meeting with liberal elements of the government of Israel and the PLO in Oslo, Norway, to put forth a Middle East Peace agreement.
President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, and PLO Leader Yasser Arafat
“The Oslo Accords Handshake”
Public domain • National Archive, White House Photograph Office
In September of 1993, the agreement was called the “Peace and Security Agreement.” Arafat shook hands with Yitzak Rabin, and the PLO suddenly became the PA (Palestinian Authority), a respected organization representing the Palestinian people. Yassar Arafat was now treated like a head of state, traveling the world and accepting money from other nations. The Agreement proposed two states living side by side. The Samarian and Judean mountains, a piece of East Jerusalem, and the Gaza strip would belong to the “Palestinians.” Arafat also disavowed terrorism and terrorist tactics. Instead, terrorism came to the forefront and Israel was forced to make extreme decisions to protect its people. A wall was built, separating the Palestinian cities from the Israeli cities. The peace agreement was set up in stages with Areas A, B, and C under different administrative authorities.
Interesting enough, the Palestinian people began to increase and become successful while working in Israel, with good jobs and shared benefits. Israel built roads and brought in electricity and other community services. The UN built refugee camps to care for the Palestinian people. However, Arafat and his cronies became corrupt, enriched themselves, and continued the “struggle,” allowing terrorism to continue. They also started paying the families of any terrorist who died while carrying out suicide bombings and other ways to kill Jews.
How do you make peace with a people who only want to kill you?
If you have paid attention to Israel during the last 30 years, you know the Middle East Peace agreement has not been successful. Today it has been annulled and has no benefit. Israel gave up the Sinai to Egypt for a peace agreement, and Jordan also made peace with Israel, with the caveat that they would control the Temple Mount. Syria never agreed to peace and Israel claimed the Golan Heights by conquest of war. Israel has tried to negotiate an agreement with the PA many times, and every agreement has been rejected by the Palestinians. The Palestinians do not want a state along with Israel; they want Israel to be gone and not exist. They have stated this again and again. The nations of the world do not believe their goal because it is absurd and they consider it simply to be rhetoric, not PA policy. Other governments do not believe what their ears hear. Furthermore, the nations of the world have bought the lie that the Jews are occupying Palestinian land. At no time in history has there ever been a Palestinian nation or land. The United States continues to promote a two-state solution and the annulled Middle East Peace Accord.
Israel also made a very unusual agreement with Egypt, who owned what today is the Gaza Strip. Since 1948, Jews have lived in Gaza with Egyptians and Arabs. They built factories and agricultural green houses. Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of Israel at that time, forced all Israeli citizens out of Gaza and gave it back to Egypt, who gave it to the Palestinians.
Suddenly, a new faction of the Palestinians formed, opposing the PA. This violent faction is called Hamas. They refuse to cooperate with the Middle East Agreement and have sworn to destroy Israel or die trying.
So here we are today with the PA, Hamas, Palestine Liberation Jihad, West Bank terrorists supported by Iran, and Hezbollah, a whole bunch of NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) all over the world. They are all professed enemies of Israel and the Jewish people, seeking any means possible to harm Israel.
Back to October 7, 2023...
In the pre-dawn hours, under cover of darkness, Hamas terrorists and Palestinian citizens streamed across the border into Israel, attacking unarmed Jews living in small communities along the border. They murdered 1,200 and kidnapped several hundred, taking them back to Gaza. You would think that the world would suddenly awaken to the reality of Israel and the terrorists called Hamas.
On October 8, the pro-Hamas, anti-Jewish, and anti-Israel elements in the UNITED STATES and other European nations suddenly emerged. These people were organized and funded. It was not just a bunch of idiot kids going to Ivy League schools. They were joined by anti-US professional thugs who wanted a fight with Western civilization. This exposed the cowardly leaders of both the schools and the halls of our own government. Apparently, all that liberal, woke, progressive manure came out in the open. The anti-Israel protests took us back to Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and were an attack on everyone’s Constitutional rights of assembly, speech, and religion.
As I write these words, Israel is fully engaged in fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza, while enduring vile lies and the scorn of the world. Hamas claims Israel has committed atrocities and genocide. But when the facts come out, a different story emerges. Israel is blamed; the truth is thrown to the ground.
Step back for a moment and let us look again to the Bible.
Israel, and the people of Israel, are the main subject of the entire Bible. Anyone who picks up a Bible can immediately see that.
Let us examine a couple of things that the Bible has to say about the land of Israel, its people, and its future. Let us examine what is really going to happen to Israel in the future.
God promised the land to Abraham.
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
Genesis 15:18
God promised the land to Isaac.
“Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.”
Genesis 26:3
God promised the land to Jacob.
And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.
Genesis 28:13
God promised the land to Moses and the children of Israel.
‘I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord.’”
Exodus 6:8
God promised the land to the tribes of Israel.
So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it.
Joshua 21:43
Three places are deeded as specifically belonging to Israel. Number one is Machpelah (Hebron), the burial place of the three patriarchs and their wives. Number two is the burial place of Joseph’s tomb, near Nablus. Number three is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, purchased by King David.
All of those lands promised to the fathers and the tribes, including the “deeded” areas, are in dispute today.
There is no need to visit the Palestinian counterarguments, nor listen to the United States or any other nation of the world concerning Israel and the homeland, because their positions are based on falsehoods and misrepresentations.
The only question is, will the people of Israel lay claim to God’s promise, or will they shrink back as they did when the spies gave a bad report to Moses? That report was a bit frightening. They would have to fight for the land because enemies were occupying what did not belong to them. The land belonged to Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe, and the King of God’s Eternal Kingdom, whicht is forever and ever.
For those of you who may think God is not being fair about this, you need to correct your understanding about our God. God is not fair. He is just and righteous. He is full of grace and mercy, and He can raise up or debase any person He chooses. He is not subject to the judgment of any man or nation and shares His Glory with no other god.
It is simple for me. It is not complicated. I support Israel and their rightful claim to the land of Israel. The Palestinians are Arabs, the descendants of Esau, and there is no land of Palestine being occupied by the Jewish people. Furthermore, the West Bank is Samaria and Judea. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. ■
Shalom,
Article written by Monte Judah
* Scripture references from the NASB95
