| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"Pastor Dave" |
| Date: |
21 Dec 2007 10:26:58 AM |
| Object: |
Covenant Land? |
The existence of Israel in the Middle East and the extent
of her borders and her sovereignty are perhaps the most
explosive factors in world terrorism.
The Arab roots and the Jewish roots in this land go back
for thousands of years. Both lay claim to the land not
merely because of their historical presence, but also
because they believe it is their divine right.
Much support for the state of Israel comes from a genuine
and heartfelt belief among conservative, Bible believing
Christians that God made promises to the Jewish people
that are tied up in a piece of real estate on the
Mediterranean Sea. But where does this belief spring from?
It depends on who you ask. Evangelical Christians believe
that the Jews are God’s chosen people, and the land belongs
to them.
Many evangelicals have a eschatology, or the understanding
that the Bible teaches that God literally gave Jews the land
of Israel forever. Speaking to a group of Israelis,
Pat Robertson said "Ladies and Gentleman, evangelical
Christians support Israel because we believe that the words
of Moses and the ancient prophets of Israel were inspired
by God. We believe that the emergence of a Jewish state
in the land promised by God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
was ordained by God. We believe that God has a plan for
this nation which He intends to be a blessing to all the
nations of the earth.".
The land is obviously a major theme in the Old Testament.
Primarily, we want to explore the essential Biblical
perspectives on the land that might shed light on the proper
or improper use of the Bible in addressing this question.
Most dispensational premillennialists believe the promise
is yet to be fulfilled. However God gave the land
(Josh 21:43).
Israel lived in the land - Josh 21:43-44.
"not a word failed...all came to pass"
- Josh 21:45; cf. 23:14.
Others say it was fulfilled, but that the land was to
be Israel's: "forever" - Gen 13:15. A majority of
fundamentalists believe that what happens in the
Middle East determines the fate of the world. For
the dispensationalist, what the rest of the world
does is irrelevant and meaningless because not
only are all prophetic eyes on Israel, but God’s
eyes are on Israel as well. Modern-day prophetic
theory is based on the false premise that God still
owes ethnic Jews the fulfillment of unfulfilled
covenant promises.
Let's look at some of the terms most commonly used
with regard to the land of Israel. The land at the center
of the dispute can be called Israel, the Holy Land,
or Palestine, depending on your perspective.
While the term "Holy Land" is clearly a Christian
perspective, expressing the connection of this area to the
life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth,
the other two terms also represent valid designations from
different perspectives. "Israel" is the name of the ancient
kingdom that King David ruled over, once he united the
tribes. It also refers to the northern kingdom after the
death of Solomon (922 B.C.), which was distinct from
the southern kingdom, Judah. But the term also now
designates a modern state that the United Nations created
in 1948 in the wake of the Holocaust and the outcome
of World War II.
Even a cursory reading of the Bible shows that God,
i.e., the God of Israel - Yahweh - promised a land to Abram,
the father of Judaism, as part of the covenant between them.
At God's direction, Abram sets out from his own homeland,
Ur of the Chaldeans, to journey to the land of Canaan.
But the text proceeds, "At that time the Canaanites were
in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said,
'To your offspring I will give this land'" (Gen 12:6b-7;
cf. 15:18-21; 17:5-8). God repeats this promise to Isaac
and Jacob, thus reaffirming to the great triumvirate of
patriarchs the promise of a land to this chosen people
(cf. Gen 26:3-4; 28:13-15; 50:24).
Heroes like Moses and Joshua are portrayed as leading the
chosen people to the "promised land" in fulfillment of God's
covenant. This land is sometimes described as flowing with
"milk and honey," signs of prosperity and peace (Exod 3:8,
17; 13:5). Some belief is that since God gave the land
originally to Abraham's seed, this must mean that all Jews
throughout history - including modern Israelis - have an
unconditional right to that real estate.
What does the Old Testament really say? The answer
may surprise you. There is an implicit acknowledgment
in the Old Testament that the land did not belong to God's
chosen people because of their race, but as a result from
their covenant relationship with Yahweh. In other words,
the promise to retain the land was conditional
(Josh 23:15-16). The promise to receive the land
was unconditional - cf. Deu. 9:5.
Throughout the history of Israel, covenant breaking and
disobedience and idolatry disqualified Israel from the
present divine right to the Land. Behind the blessing of the
land there is the grave warning that without righteousness
"the land will vomit you out for defiling it, as it vomited
out the nation that was before you" (Lev. 18:28).
Deuteronomy 28 is the famous chapter of the blessings
and curses. If Israel obeyed God, she would be blessed.
If she disobeyed, she would be cursed. Such blessings
and curses also applied to "the land which the Lord swore
to your fathers to give you" (vs. 11). If Israel followed
God, she would be blessed in that land, but if she disobeyed
God said, "you shall be plucked from off the land …
until you are destroyed" (verses 61,63). Thus Israel's
right to the land was conditional upon her relationship
with God.
God strongly reiterated the conditional nature of His
promises to Israel. Notice carefully. Under Joshua's
leadership many had faith and entered the land.
Yet as time went on, the majority departed from faith
and obedience to God's Law. Again the Lord warned,
"I will cast you out of this land" (Jeremiah 16:12,13)
unless things changed.
The Land Promise Was Conditional Joshua's farewell address
to Israel made clear that God would remove Israel from the
land he gave them if they disobeyed him, a refrain repeated
from the curses delivered by Moses, (Deuteronomy 28:21)
Clearly in the Old Testament, when Israel disobeyed God,
she lost her right to that land.
At the time the New Testament opens, Israel is back in the
land but under Roman rule. The Spiritual Promise Unveiled
while they look for a king to remove the Roman yoke,
Christ would have no part of it. Rather, he came to fulfill
the "spiritual" land promise of Abraham to his spiritual
descendants (Hebrews 11:8-10). This is where the world
in general makes the wrong turn in understanding God's
dealings with Israel and the Abrahamic promise.
Abraham looked for a country, but as long as he and the
patriarchs were in Canaan (Palestine) they viewed themselves
as sojourners and strangers. They never claimed it as their
home (Hebrews 11:9,10). They died in faith, as strangers
and pilgrims in the land, looking for the land which God
promised them, 11:13-16.
For the ancient patriarchs the literal Promised Land is not
considered the ultimate "geographical" destiny of Israel.
That land was the "heavenly city" called the new Jerusalem
which equates with the church/kingdom of the living God
(Hebrews 11:16; 12:22-24).
Second, Jesus ties his own eschatological hopes not to the
earthly Promised Land. Though a king, he did not rule a
kingdom of "this world" (John 18:36) but, like other Jews,
to this new Creation the life of "the world to come". The
early Christians hope was not tied to the literal land but
simply for a new, heavenly Jerusalem. It was for a new
Creation. There is not one word in all the New Testament
that mentioned the hope for Israel returning to the land
forever.
The Hebrew word translated 'forever' and 'everlasting'
is "olam"
a. "meaning a very long time" - TCWD
b. "may cover a person's lifetime (Exo 21:6; 1 Sa 1:22)
- ibid.
c. "a period of many generations (Josh 24:2) - ibid.
d. "the time of the present created order" (Psa 73:12)
- ibid.
e. "The term 'forever,' for a perpetual possession, means
as long as the order of things to which it belongs
lasts." - Barnes f. "...to the end of the present
dispensation."
If 'everlasting' always meant lasting forever, then we
should still be observing: a. Circumcision - (Gen. 17:10-13)
The Passover - (Exo. 12:14) The Feast of Unleavened Bread
- (Exo 12:17) The priesthood of Aaron - (Exo 29:9 )
The Sabbath - (Exo. 31:16-17) The sacrifices, with their
portions for the priests - (Lev. 6:18; 7:34-36; 10:15)
Fasting and animal sacrifices on the Day of Atonement
- (Lev. 16:29-34) The Feast of Tabernacles
- (Lev. 23:39-42). ...and many other elements of
the Law described as 'everlasting ordinances.'
Both peoples, Israeli and Palestinians, will have to learn
to co-exist peacefully. The legal principle was this: that
the land belongs to God and that we are merely leasing
it (Leviticus 25:23).
--
It's hard to stumble when you're down on your knees.
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
