Covenant Land Part 7
The area known as the "West Bank," is in the news almost daily. Abraham was in the mountains of Israel in the heart of the area referred to as the West Bank when the Lord promised him the land. The boundaries of the land promised to Abraham INCLUDE all of modern day Israel, the disputed territories and much more, including Jerusalem. As we have stated over and over in previous journals – THIS PROMISE WAS UNCONDITIONAL and not based on Israel’s faithfulness. When God made this covenant with Abraham, He already knew what would happen years ahead concerning Israel and her faithfulness to her Creator.
By Chris McDonald
TEXT:
Jeremiah 31:10 -
Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off,
and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd
doth his flock.
Hosea 1:9-10 - Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people and I will not be your God. [10] Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
There are several Old Testament prophecies regarding Israel’s dispersion and
regathering. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, gaze through the lens of time to
reveal that Israel’s COVENANT-keeping God would graciously offer His
out-stretched wings as a place of divine protection specifically during the time
of their gathering to the Promised Land:
Jeremiah 31:10
Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off,
and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd
doth his flock.
Jeremiah declared God’s precise will to the Gentile nations. This was a
prophetic declaration that God would perform a sovereign extraction of the
Jewish peoples and that ALIYAH would be fulfilled! In this verse we find three
truths:
• God Himself was the One who scattered Israel from Her homeland
• The same God Who scattered Israel will gather her back to Her own Land
• God will not merely gather Israel, but will KEEP her and put a divine hedge of
protection around her as she is being gathered.
Hosea
The parabolic prophet Hosea adds another layer of truth concerning Israel and
the end time return to the Land:
Hosea 1:9-10 - Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people
and I will not be your God. [10] Yet the number of the children of Israel shall
be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall
come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my
people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
The prophetic statement, “You are not my people,” was pronounced at a time when
Israel languished in a state of rebellion and sin. But thank God, God’s words of
judgment always included a ray of hope when they pertained to Israel. With every
word there was a promise to be found because of the COVENANT He made with
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The true word of God CUTS and it cuts deeply sometime,
but the wounds are not meant to destroy, but to bring healing and restoration.
On the heels of judgment, God offered the Hebrew children a staggering promise.
The land of Israel was the place where they were told they were “not” His
people, yet He promised in this same place, in the land of Israel, “It will be
said to them, ‘You ARE the sons of the living God!”
Contemplate the meaning of this verse. Hosea 1:10 speaks not only of a physical
relocation and restoration, but also of a spiritual rebirth or revival that will
take place among God’s covenant people when they have returned to their
covenant-given land. God is declaring a miracle of Biblical proportions indeed.
This is one of the major reasons “Aliyah,” or the return of Israel to the land
is so important as it relates to end time events and seasons. This is also the
reason why the return and settlement of the Jewish people on the Land is so
hotly contested in the Spirit realm. There are end time prophecies spoken 3,500
years ago beginning to be fulfilled at this very moment simply because of this
return. These prophetic utterances could not have been fulfilled until this took
place.
Israel’s return to the land has to do with the “end of one age and with the
beginning of another; the world is now in the terminal season,” says Malcolm
Hedding, former chaplain of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.
The restoration of Israel is no political accident. It is a PROPHETIC event in
light of what is ahead. The rise of the Antichrist, the great Tribulation period
and the Second Coming of Christ are ALL tied to where Israel is today – in the
LAND God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The Two Regatherings
The emergence of Israel as a nation since 1948 is the central most important
piece of prophetic history in this generation we’ve ever known. It’s funny that
the late U.S. President Harry S. Truman recognized this but modern so-called
preachers do not! Scripture has foretold plainly that the Jewish people would
suffer two major dispersions, or scatterings, from their own land, followed by
two miraculous regatherings. The second regathering that took place in 1948 will
be the last! She will not be scattered again from the Land, even though she will
suffer greatly at the hands of the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation. It
will seem like she will lose the battle, but just when the devil and his man of
sin think they have won, the LORD HIMSELF will appear in the heavens and come to
Earth to destroy the son of perdition with the brightness of His coming!
2 Thes. 2:7-8
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let,
until he be taken out of the way. [8] And then shall that Wicked be revealed,
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with
the brightness of his coming:
We dealt with this in an earlier lesson but it don’t hurt to repeat it to help
keep these things fresh on our minds of remembrance. The first scattering was in
the years when the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel were exiled in the land of
Babylon, that period in which the Jews of the Judean kingdom were displaced from
the country after the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem itself by
Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel 1:1-6
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. [2] And the Lord gave Jehoiakim
king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which
he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the
vessels into the treasure house of his god. [3] And the king spake unto Ashpenaz
the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of
Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; [4] Children in whom was no
blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge,
and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the
king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the
Chaldeans. [5] And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat,
and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end
thereof they might stand before the king. [6] Now among these were of the
children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
It was around 605 B.C. when Daniel and his associates were carried away. The
restoration to the land began in 538 B.C.
2 Chron. 36:22-23
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken
by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit
of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom,
and put it also in writing, saying, [23] Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All
the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hath
charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there
among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up.
Ezra 1:1-4
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the
mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus
king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put
it also in writing, saying, [2] Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of
heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to
build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. [3] Who is there among you
of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is
in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which
is in Jerusalem. [4] And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth,
let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods,
and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in
Jerusalem.
The Temple remained in ruins until 515 BC, about 70 years after its destruction
in 587 BC.
Ezra 6:15
And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the
sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
Daniel, a prophet of the one true God and a man of “excellent character,” was in
captivity with the children of Israel in Babylon. It was perhaps their 63rd year
of captivity in a foreign land with a foreign culture, foreign gods and foreign
ways. Daniel was meditating on the Word of God when a revelation based on the
promises of Jeremiah came to him:
Daniel 9:2
In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the
years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would
accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 25:11-12
And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these
nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
[12] And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will
punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity,
and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.
Jeremiah 29:10
For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I
will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to
this place.
Daniel believed the word of God and declared it to be true for his time and
people – that at the end of the 70 years of Babylonian captivity, the children
of Israel would be released from their enslavement and RETURN to their own Land!
Daniel sought the Lord for any reasons or blockades that might yet stand in the
way of the promise of the Lord. (Read his prayer in Daniel 9:3-19)
Jim Goll points out in his book, “Kneeling on the Promises,” and “Praying for
Israel’s Destiny,” tat Daniel responded to this revelation by “kneeling,” on the
promises of God and entered into this promise with resolution and something
called, “identificational repentance.” This type repentance is so needed today
in the Body as those called to intercede (we all have to a degree no matter our
“office” in the Body) where we confess our own sins AND the sins of our people.
Daniel 9:19
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own
sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
At the end of the 70 years the Israelites were released as the fulfillment of
prophecy – their first return to their covenant land. The walls of Jerusalem
began to be rebuilt. The people returned; restoration occurred! The fact that
the word of the Lord happened precisely as had been declared through the lips of
Jeremiah and knelt upon by the prophet Daniel.
Let the reader understand that even though Daniel prophetically interceded for
Israel at the highest level one can really expect on this earth, many more
cycles of faith, sin, repentance, revival and restoration followed. Cycles come
and go with nations, but God’s faithfulness to His word REMAINS.
The Second Regathering
Isaiah 11:11-12
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again
the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from
Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and
from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. [12] And he shall
set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and
gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isaiah the prophet sat in an unusual position in that he not only saw the first
dispersion and regathering but also prophesied the second one. In this passage
above, he predicted the Lord would set His hand a second time to recover a
remnant of His people. Scripture clearly describes a second dispersion and at
some point later, a second regathering. The first dispersion did not send the
Hebrews in various directions at once. They remained together as a collective
entity – a very persecuted but identifiable people in a foreign land. But the
second scattering would send them to regions far away beyond the known existence
of Isaiah’s day – out as far as the four corners of the Earth.
The second dispersion began in AD 70 under the Roman ruler Titus, when the
Jewish people ran fearfully for their lives and fled their homeland once again.
This time the Jewish people were not scattered for 70 years, not just for 500 or
even a 1,000 years – but for 1900 years they were banished to the four corners
of the Earth.
According to Ramon Bennett in his book, When Day and Night Cease, there is ample
evidence to show that the second regathering spoken of by Isaiah began in
earnest in 1948:
“The second regathering began with the trickle of Jews into Palestine after the
turn of the last century. The trickle became a stream after 1948 and then a
river during the 1950s and 1960s. The river is now in flood stage and in danger
of bursting its banks with the masses arriving from the last vestiges of the
former Soviet Union.”
We continue to witness this prophetic regathering with our very eyes at this
very moment! The Holy Spirit is at work today breathing on God’s Word, and the
children of Israel are being called from the four corners of the world. Yes,
there are moves of God elsewhere, but there are none more important or more
prophetic than what God is doing among the Jewish people worldwide! There is a
parallel to the words of Jeremiah and what is taking place today!
Jeremiah 31:8-10
Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the
coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child
and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return
thither. [9] They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead
them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way,
wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my
firstborn. [10] Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the
isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him,
as a shepherd doth his flock.
This is a graphic picture of the painful but providential regathering process.
We are even told of the location – the “north” country – where the primary
exodus will take place. Many Bible teachers believe this north country is the
former Soviet Union where millions of Jewish people have come from to settle in
the land given to their ancestors – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. By June 2000, some
1 million Jewish people had arrived from the land of the north!
They fled for freedom in automobiles, airplanes, trains, buses and ships. Most
were assisted by Christian and Jewish agencies, individuals and groups. It’s the
greatest emancipation since the end of the Civil War here in America! Nothing
has happened like this before and in scope since the first exodus out of Egypt
in the days of Moses. Grasp that last statement and hang on to it deeply in your
heart. The crash of the Berlin Wall, which this writer believes to have deep
prophetic implications, in 1989, the obstacle for much of this to happen was
removed. Jeremiah says they will come with “weeping, and with supplications,” as
the Lord leads them home.
The words “supplication,” means “strong prayer,” meaning that there has been
strong prayer leading up this final regathering of the last days! It is not just
a strong prayer, but a desperate prayer in the hearts of those with a heart and
love for Israel – to not just see her back in the Land, but to see the nation
SAVED and come to CHRIST before it is too late. Those who do not know Christ
will be left behind to experience one of Israel’s darkest hours and friend that
says a lot considering the dark hours she has already experienced prior to
today!
Psalm 126:1-2 - A Song of degrees.
When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
[2] Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then
said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.
The church of the Living God, which is made up right now of mainly Gentile
believers, even though the numbers of Jewish believers are rapidly increasing,
must take up a position of strong and desperate prayer for the continued return
of the Jewish people to the Land. We’re praying for this because with each
Jewish person who returns, that brings us closer to the soon coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ! With each Jewish person who steps foot back in Israel, we’re that
much closer to the trump of God when the dead in Christ shall rise first and
then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together to be with the
Lord in the air!
When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, “we were like them that
dreamed,” said the Psalmist. The heathen round about saw what happened and
proclaimed, “The Lord hath done great things for them.” When we pray, great
things happen! When we take up identificational repentance for our nation and
the nation of Israel – great things will happen. When we humbly go before the
Lord in supplications, tears and intercession – great things happen; our mouths
are filled with laughter and our tongues with singing! This is the time we’ve
been called to the Kingdom for – and the prophetic destiny of the last day’s
church on Planet Earth – to take up the prophetic mantle of intercession for the
nation of Israel!
Not Just From the North, But From The Entire World They Have Returned
There have been several major events that have had prophetic implication as it
pertains to Israel’s return to the land since 1948. In 1991, almost 15,000
Ethiopian Jews were air lifted into Israel in two days in a project called
Operation Solomon. Ethiopians managed to come to Israel by crossing the
wastelands of Africa on foot to Sudan; many risked their lives for freedom!
There were about 250,000 Jewish people who came from Morocco where Jews had
lived since 586 B.C. Of the 105,000 Jews in 1948, some 50,000 emigrated from
Tunisia.
Then there is Iraq. In 1947, there were 130,000 Jews in Iraq, many living in
fear because all Iraqi Jews who went to Palestine and did not return would be
tried in absentia as criminals. In 1949 all bank accounts held by Jews were
frozen….Palestinian Arabs, many militantly anti-Jewish were given the Jewish
public buildings and the vacant former living quarters of Jewish “escapees.” By
1950, Iraq enacted a law that allowed Jews to “leave for good.” Those who stayed
in Iraq found fates similar to those who stayed in Nazi Germany in the 1930s
being hung, slaughtered and murdered in public squares across the country.
Jews also left Syria, Egypt and Yemen, where nearly 50,000 Yemenites were
airlifted to Israel in 1949 and 1950. We mention these nations to give but a
glimpse of the scope of what started taking place in 1948 and continues to this
day as millions of Jews worldwide return to their homeland in Israel. The
promises of God are “yea and amen,” and when it comes to what He said would
happen to Israel – God meant it!
You Shall Shoot Forth Branches and Yield Fruit
Ezekiel 36:8
But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield
your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.
We mentioned the Turkish tree tax in our last lesson but we want to mention it
again here. That tax caused great barrenness by the 19th century in the land we
know today Israel. Some sources say that less than 1,000 trees were left in the
Land. But the Lord promised that the Land would once again “shoot forth
branches.” From 1906-1990, Jewish settlers and visitors planted 256,000,000
trees in Israel! Today forests are spreading across the Land. Orange and
grapefruit trees grow in the plains along the coast. Banana plants and date
palms bear fruit in the Jordan valley.
You Will Be Tilled and Sown
Ezekiel 36:9
For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and
sown:
Where swamps were drained, grains, cotton, flower and vegetables now grow in
fertile fields. Each year corn and wheat fields are pshing farther south into
the desert. Isaiah spoke of this time:
Isaiah 35:1
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert
shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
Isaiah 35:6-7
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in
the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. [7] And the
parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in
the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
In 1992, record breaking rain and snow in Israel caused waters to burst forth in
the wilderness and streams to run through the desert for the first time her
history. In the spring the hills in the desert were carpeted with grass and
flowers.
Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, dreamed of seeing this day. He
lived in Sde Boker, a kibbutz (settlement), which experiments with agriculture
in one of the most barren deserts on earth – the Desert of Zin in southern
Israel.
Israelis use several versions of this idea to this day to trap rain water in
ponds to help the trees survive drought conditions and their shades to allow
smaller plants to grow. In time evaporation from the trees will affect the
climate and increase the amount of rainfall in the area. These new methods have
blessed the world to this day! Many nations are learning from Israel to grow
crops on arid land and how to take small amounts of water to produce food for
more people. This is a promise of the Lord given to Abraham’s son Isaac
thousands of years ago:
Genesis 26:4
And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto
thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed;
Through the spirituality and grace of Isaac’s seed, the nations of the earth
have been truly blessed; through Israel and the Jewish people we have received
the Bible, the Messiah and even now in physical ways as well. God’s word does
not fail!
Romans 9:1-4
I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in
the Holy Ghost, [2] That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my
heart. [3] For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my
brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: [4] Who are Israelites; to whom
pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the
law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Israel Will POSSESS The Mountains Of Israel
Ezekiel 36:12
Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall
possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more
henceforth bereave them of men.
In 1967 in a miraculous six-day war, this promise of God came true – at least in
principle – as Israel took possession of the mountains of Israel, including the
Old City of Jerusalem. Jerusalem which occupied one tiny mountaintop in King
David’s day now spreads over many mountains.
Zech. 2:4
And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be
inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:
Today, Jerusalem is a city without walls. At night the lights of the city look
like the stars that Abraham tried to count.
Genesis 15:5
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the
stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed
be.
This same region is at the heart of the entire conflict concerning the Land. We
will deal with the conflict more in detail in future lessons but let this writer
interject this thought. As we stated in the last lesson, there will NEVER be
peace in the land of Israel between the Muslims and Jews until this issue of
“COVENANT” is resolved. I can tell you that it will NEVER be resolved in the
hearts of the followers of Islam, which is one of the most damnable, deceptive
religions known to man. Islam is NOT a religion of peace, nor will it ever be a
religion of peace.
The only peace Jerusalem and Israel will know will be the day the Lord Jesus
Christ returns to Planet Earth and steps foot on the Mount of Olivet and rules
from Jerusalem! Regrettably, many of Israel’s leaders at the present time do not
know anything about the covenant God made with Abraham nor do they understand
the prophetic implications of the Land they so willingly give away. America is
not innocent in this process as we will see in future lessons. The
implementation of peace plans and back door hand shakes are either done out of
complete ignorance of God’s will for the land or more seriously, out of WILLFUL
ignorance and rebellion in SPITE of what these leaders know about God’s will!
The reason for truth has been forgotten in Israel right now and there is no seat
at the table for the fear of God. The current leadership that was voted in back
in March 2006 has done everything possible even within the past few months to
give back the very land we’ve just discussed in great detail that God gave to
Israel and has promised her through prophets. These same leaders have chosen to
lead the nation away from God’s covenant promises to the Jewish people. They are
deceiving the people of Israel when they promise peace in exchange for land and
concessions!
Jeremiah prophesied this would come:
Jeremiah 6:13-15
For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to
covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth
falsely. [14] They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people
slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. [15] Were they ashamed
when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither
could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time
that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.
The leaders of Jeremiah’s day dealt falsely with the people because of
covetousness and were never ashamed of what they were doing. In addition, the
prophet and priest remained silent as the nation’s soul was sold to the devil in
exchange for a false peace. That is an eerie parallel to the days we live in
right now. The current leaderships of Israel and America are not blushing or
thinking of their actions concerning land that does not belong to them – but to
God!
There is a remnant in the church and even in Israel who see what is happening
and mourn over the abominations being committed in the name of a false peace.
Ezekiel 9:4
And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst
of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that
cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
Jeremiah 8:17-22
For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be
charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.
[18] When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. [19]
Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that
dwell in a far country: Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her king in her? Why
have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange
vanities? [20] The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
[21] For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black;
astonishment hath taken hold on me. [22] Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no
physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people
recovered?
Leaders with no faith in the God of Israel or His covenant always spurn the
right path and refuse to listen to and follow God’s prophetic word. The issues
concerning the land are no different as we will see in future events. When men
follow the dictates of their own hearts instead of listening to God – disaster
always follows!
Proverbs 1:29-33
For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: [30]
They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. [31] Therefore
shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own
devices. [32] For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the
prosperity of fools shall destroy them. [33] But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall
dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
Those who listen to God “shall dwell safely,” and be quiet from the “fear of
evil;” Israel is no where near “dwelling in safety,” right now nor being free
from the fear of evil. That is the way of life right now because of compromises
against terror in the last few years. America is not innocent in this as she has
pressured many of Israel’s governmental leaders into caving into the demands of
the Arab world for Israel to return the areas of land she conquered in 1967,
including Jerusalem.
The writer states these things to you NOT for political jargon. This entire
study is to shake the church into reality that WE NEED TO BE PRAYING ABOUT
ISRAEL’S COVENANT LAND THAT PRESIDENT BUSH HONOR GOD’S COVENANT WITH HER. WE
ALSO NEED TO BE PRAYING THAT ISRAEL’S LEADERS HONOR GOD’S COVENANT LAND AND NOT
GIVE UP THE LAND IN MAN MADE PEACE DEALS THINK THEY WILL BRING ISRAEL SAFETY AND
SECURITY. NONE of that is true. Israel’s safety and security will never rest
with the United States of America and our financial backing. Israel’s safety and
security depends on her COVENANT with God!
If the current leadership don’t know about the covenant, we need to pray the
Lord reveal that to them and they obey it! I’m not hear trumpeting a political
cause or movement. The so-called Christian “Zionist,” movement worries more
about a parcel of dirt than they do Israel’s soul. This writer knows that if
Israel’s soul is right with God – her land will follow! Part of the conflict we
see played out in the media at this present time is Israel’s spanking by God.
God is pressing her in on every side so she will turn to HIM, not to her own
strength to ward off her enemies. The land covenant was only to bring Israel
into the NEW COVENANT – the covenant of a changed heart and salvation through
Messiah Jesus! Glory to God.
There is no middle ground with God and His covenant. You are either living in
Covenant relationship with Him through Christ or you are not! That goes for
America and Israel together!
I Will Multiply Israel On You….Cities Will Be Inhabited….Ruins Rebuilt
Ezekiel 36:10
And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and
the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
Jewish people lived in the so-called West Bank (Judea and Samaria) when Israel
was attacked during the 1948 War for Indepence. Jewish communities in the
captured area were destroyed by Arab forces When Israel recaptured the West Bank
in 1967, the communities were rebuilt! These same communities, destroyed in 1948
are back on the map:
• The Jewish Quarter of the Old City
• Gush Etzion is today Kfar Ezyon
• Kallia is Qalya
• Bet Haarava is Bet haArava
• Atarot is the site of the Jerusalem Airport
• Neve Yakove is rebuilt
In addition, ancient Jewish sites are flourishing again:
1. The modern town of Shilo (1 Sam. 1:3) is thriving
2. Bethel is Bet El (Gen. 35:15)
3. Mount Gaash (Josh. 24:30) supports the city of Ariel (population, 15,000)
4. Kiriat Arba (Josh. 20:7) is now a Jewish town near Hebron
5. Others too numerous to mention
1 Samuel 1:3
And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the
Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the
priests of the Lord, were there.
Genesis 35:15
And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.
Joshua 24:30
And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is
in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
Joshua 20:7
And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount
Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.
In the next lessons, we will turn our attention to the conflict that rages over
the covenant land of Israel. There is a conflict that will either bring blessing
or a curse to both America and Israel. As we close this message/lesson today,
let this writer leave you with the words of the prophet Isaiah and that of the
Psalmist:
Isaiah 45:22-23
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and
there is none else. [23] I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my
mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.
Psalm 9:19-20
Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. [20]
Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men.
Selah.
Those who fear the Lord will embrace covenant promises including the promises
which embrace God’s covenant land of Israel. We in the church need to wake up to
the hour we live in and intercede for Israel to honor her covenant promises with
God through the decisions of her government and leaders. And while we pray for
Israel it will not be a bad idea to pray that America cease from pressuring her
to give up land “for peace.” Be blessed.
If you were blessed by this journal or have a question, please leave us a post below.
Related: The Times of the Gentiles (Covenant Land Series)
A Covenant God and A Covenant Land (Covenant Land 1)
The Two Covenants (Covenant Land 2)
Israel: God's Prophetic Anvil (Covenant Land 3)
A Covenant With Death and With Hell We've Made Agreement (Covenant Land 4)
The Mountains of Israel Part One (Covenant Land 5)
Israel's Return To The Land (Covenant Land 6)
The Prophetic Promise of Return (Covenant Land 7)
The Palestinian Cause And Israel's Land (Covenant Land 8)
For a complete Bibliography of this message series click here
The Gaza Strip - Now Occupied In Full By The Palestinian Authority
The Settlements (RIGHT)