While the first promise of the land to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was given by God repeatedly in the Book of Genesis, it is restated numerous times throughout the Tanakh. It is further referenced in the New Testament. Clearly it is God’s will for the Jewish people to have Israel as their homeland.
Ever since the re-establishment of Israel as a sovereign nation back in 1948, there has been a concerted effort annihilate it. Arab leaders have openly promised to drive Israel into the sea. It is not a new problem.
Ha Satan is always in opposition to the righteousness of God. As recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, he even tried to disqualify the mission of Jesus, tempting him to deny His Father. So has he also set his sights on the destruction of Israel.
The psalmist Asaph, who likely was a worshiper in the Holy Temple during King David’s time, wrote Psalm 83, which pictures this problem, showing it existed even in ancient days.
In the Psalm (see inset), Asaph writes about the conspiracy of the surrounding nations to not only defeat Israel, but obliterate it from the face of the earth. Using language which is astonishingly applicable to the modern day state of affairs, the Psalm calls out the aggressors as the forefathers of those seeking to do the same today.
Look, the Jewish people in Israel, especially the vast majority who have not yet accepted Yeshua as Messiah, are not holy. But the land is (Zechariah 2:12). In fact, Jerusalem and Israel are the only places on earth God calls holy, and He deeded them to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Jesus had something to say about this. In Matthew 7:6, He proclaimed, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs.” In His day, the Gentiles were heathens, and were called dogs by the Jews. Therefore, His wide sweeping statement included, don’t give the Holy Land of Israel to the heathens.
Furthermore, Messiah will return to Jerusalem to be welcomed by Jewish believers (Matthew 23:39). Of course, Israel doesn’t do everything right - not even close. But the biblical mandate is specific. God wants Jewish people to inhabit Israel so His promises are fulfilled, even to the second coming of Yeshua.
Yet, let our prayers be from Psalm 122:6, “Shaalu shalom Yerushalayim, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem;” and Jeremiah 31:7, “O Lord, save your people the remnant of Israel.”