Written by: Vivienne Myburgh
Article source: JOY! Magazine
Israel is the only nation that God Himself drew the borders of, “When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance” (Deut 32:8-9).
God has chosen to place His Name and His identity there
In Genesis 17:8, God confirms the eternal nature of the land covenant with Abram and his descendants, “Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
In biblical terms, anyone recognising a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria is effectively seeking to deny the eternal covenant between God and the Jewish people. In doing so, they are coming against His Word and effectively against God Himself.
Q. Is the Israel of the Bible the Israel of today?
It has to be the same Israel, as the scriptures refer to a time in the future where she would have been in exile, but will be brought back again, to the very same land. How else can we explain the words that the prophets wrote regarding Israel, which are only being fulfilled through present day Israel? “‘So then, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt…’” (Jer 23:7-8). This was the biggest miracle of the ancient world… they wrote about it, and they feared the God of Israel because of it! And yet, Jeremiah prophesied about a day that would come where another miracle would exceed even that one… “But, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.”
Moscow is due north from Jerusalem. Between 1991 and 2000, nearly 1 million Jews from Russia came to live in Israel. This prophecy has never been fulfilled before. Clearly Jeremiah was referring to present day Israel. The miracle of the Jewish people coming home is in fulfilment of almost 100 biblical prophecies and has taken place before the eyes of the nations – yet, they have not declared that the Lord lives because of it. It is one thing for nations to be blind to this, but totally inexplicable when parts of the Church are blind to the scriptures being fulfilled in such a clear way!
Q. How can we support Israel when innocent people are dying in Gaza?
First, there is absolutely no moral equivalency between Hamas and Israel. The Jews have never placed babies in ovens and burnt them alive, while raping their mothers. Whole families were tied up and tortured before being burnt alive – I could go on and on… The atrocities committed on the 7th October were the worst committed in a single day since the Holocaust and were done with a cruelty not even seen in the Holocaust. Hamas in Hebrew means “violent one” and in Arabic, “zealous and fanatical” – it is a fanatically violent entity!
This war has unleashed unbridled hatred across the world, not against the murderous entity of Hamas but against Israel for defending herself and seeking to bring her hostages home. Israel is doing more than any other army does to safeguard civilians and has managed to achieve a historically lower percentage of civilian deaths (two civilians to one fighter) than almost any other army in modern history (USA in Iraq war was 3:1). This is in stark contrast to the recent Syrian and Russian-Ukraine war, where the dictators involved had no regard for civilian lives. Israel achieved this, even while Hamas fights from within civilian areas and uses them as human shields. Yet Israel continues to be accused and demonised.
October 7th was not just a crime against Israel, but a crime against humanity! If you care about the Palestinians living in Gaza, then you will support Israel in setting them free from the tyranny of Hamas!
Q: What should Christians be doing right now for Israel, what role does the ICEJ play?
We are called to comfort the Jewish people and we do that in practical ways. It is heartwarming that Christians, through the ICEJ, had given first responder equipment to the southern communities who were attacked. They reported that it enabled them to communicate with their security teams within seconds, which saved up to 3000 lives. ICEJ continues to support the communities in the south, who were badly affected, as well as funding and supporting Aliyah, as there is an increase due to increasing levels of antisemitism.
It is important to know the facts in the ongoing media battle. Join our daily Israel update WhatsApp group – contact 083 306 0009. We also have excellent course material for church groups.
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Date published: 29/12/2023
VIVIENNE MYBURGH – national director of International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (South African branch). Email vivienne@icej.org.za
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