Is peace in the Middle East possible? This has been the goal of every US president since Harry Truman, the first world leader to recognize Israel as a legitimate state when she was reborn in 1948. But since Israel became a nation, she has been under constant attack. Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948, and on May 15, 1948 – the very next day – seven Arab nations attacked her. In truth, the attack should have been successful. Israel had no weapons or military, yet by the grace of God, Israel not only prevailed, but won in Biblical proportions!
Again in 1967, the Arab nations surrounded Israel for another massive attack. This time, Israeli defenses learned of the plan and staged a preemptive attack. Once again, God was on their side and they gained small amounts of land including Jerusalem. They won the Temple Mount but it was relinquished back to the Arabs by an Israeli general.
Israel is a tiny nation that is only about 8,550 sq. miles, roughly the size of New Jersey. It is surrounded by Arab nations generally considered the enemies of Israel, and it comprises only 0.16% of the Arab states.
In spite of the small size, Israel is generally condemned by the majority of the world, and even those who don’t directly share in that condemnation will typically attempt to divide this tiny piece of land in the name of peace. From a logical perspective, this makes no sense.
Does Israel Have a Right to the Land?
If we look historically at the land of Israel, we can see that she absolutely has a right to the land for 3 reasons:
The land was given to them by God. Mount Moriah, (now the Temple Mount), and the surrounding land was given to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac. Although Ishmael, the father of the Arab nations, was also his descendent, God made it clear that the promise was to go through Isaac.
And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”…
Genesis 17:8, 18-19 (NLT)
So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”
But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant.
Following the Exodus, Joshua subdued the land that was promised to them except for Jebus which was conquered by King David in 1000 BC.
Sadly, the Jews were not faithful to God and over time, they and their land were conquered and subdued. By AD70, Jerusalem was completely torn down and the temple destroyed. The Jews were enslaved and/or scattered among the other nations. But God’s promise was an “everlasting covenant” and he promised that in the last days, Israel would once again become a nation.
Jews Purchased the Land. Over time, the land of Israel became a barren wasteland that no one wanted. But in the late 1800s, with Antisemitism on the rise, a man named Theodor Herzl suggested that the Jews would not be safe unless they had a home of their own. Several Jews began to return to the land that once was called Israel and purchased it from Arabs that were happy to sell it. They farmed the land and developed irrigation systems that brought it back to life. (See “Land Ownership in Palestine, 1880-1948″ for an overview of this topic.)
The World Gave the Jews the Land. Over 6 million Jews were killed in the concentration camps of WWII. Acknowledging the atrocities to the Jews in this war, the UN General Assembly decided in 1947 to set aside land for the Jews and to divide Jerusalem in half, giving half to the Jews and half to the Palestinians. On May 14, 1948, the nation of Israel was born just as God had promised.
Who has ever seen anything as strange as this? Who ever heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time Jerusalem’s birth pains begin, her children will be born. Would I ever bring this nation to the point of birth and then not deliver it?” asks the Lord. “No! I would never keep this nation from being born,” says your God.
Isaiah 66:8-9 (NLT)
Then Why All of the Fuss?!?
If Israel was given to the Jews by God, purchase by the Jews in legally binding agreements, and given to them by the rest of the world, why on earth is this tiny sliver of land such a problem? And why is Jerusalem at the epicenter of the conflict? Because God put his name there!
“’But now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place for my name to be honored, and I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.’”
2 Chronicles 6:6 (NLT)
[The] Lord had told David and his son Solomon: “My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel.”
2 Kings 21:7b (NLT)
Satan, the current usurper of this world, hates Israel and hates Jerusalem because it is the city God declared as his own. This is the reason why there will not be peace in the middle east until the return of Christ.
“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.”
Matthew 24:9 (NLT)
This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord: “This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves.
Zechariah 12:1-3 (NLT)
So if we are living in the last days…
God told the prophet Zechariah that “on that day” (meaning in the last days before his return), all the nations would gather against Jerusalem and the Jews. Although Jerusalem has always been the epicenter of world events, never before have “all the nations” gathered against it. Only individual nations (Babylon, Assyria, Rome) have gone against Israel until now. Today, the entire world has gathered together to try to divide and censure this tiny nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, an action that God has promised to avenge.
“List of United Nations resolutions concerning Israel”
“2021-2022 UNGA Resolutions on Israel vs. Rest of the World”
“The United Nations’ Campaign Against Israel”
But one day, Jerusalem will be a different kind of epicenter. When Christ returns, he will set up his government in Jerusalem and there will be no argument!
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
Revelation 21:2-3, 22-27 (NLT)
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.
I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Songs of Victory
Resources
“What’s The Big Deal About Jerusalem? Part I” Sermon by Pastor Brett Meador from Athey Creek Christian Fellowship.
“What’s The Big Deal About Jerusalem? Part II” Sermon by Pastor Brett Meador from Athey Creek Christian Fellowship.
