LEARNING DAILY

 

Ezekiel 36:22-24, “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went.  And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.  For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.”

 

Stay with me as I am setting the background to answer the question, “Why Israel?”  We have already seen God’s covenant with Abraham still being upheld by Him.  He promised Abraham land and ancestors living upon it forever.  The prophecy given by Ezekiel states He would gather His people that have been scattered to all countries, bringing them back to their own land.  Do you remember the land God promised Abraham – all the land as far as he could see?  That land was the land Joshua led the people into, the Promised Land.  But the people sinned against God and were eventual scattered, removed from the land.  The promise was given that God would bring them back to it.

 

God has kept His promise.  I read that in 1900 there were only about 40,000 Jews living in Israel.  Today the population in Israel is just under nine million (Internet).  God has brought His people back to the Promised land from Europe, Russia, Ethiopia – from the North, the South, the East and the West just like He said He would. 

 

These people have been hated, countries have tried to exterminate them and, yet, God has been with them and brought them back to their land.  Go back to the Scripture above and notice they have profaned God’s name in the land they lived in.  They were idolatrous and violated the life God wanted them to live.  God did not forget His covenant with Abraham!

 

In 1948, Israel became recognized as a nation.  That was a miracle.  Not all were happy about this; we see the problems that result of this with the Arabs that have lived there.  Palestinians have claimed the land as theirs and we have seen the conflicts that have occurred since 1948.  There is no nation of Palestine; it is the name of a region.  What do we do with all of this?  We believe that God is creator of this world and He has given the land to the Jewish people.  Discussion over!

 

So, what does all this mean and where is this discussion going?  One of the indicators for the end times is the Jewish people to be brought back by God to their Promised Land.  We must understand what this means and how God is going to use it for His glory.  It is time to understand and do what Jesus said in Luke 21:28, “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.