I Give This Land To You

Today I am sharing another eye-opening Bible study from Pastor Harry Meyer of Called Together 211 Ministries, titled, I Give This Land To You. (Genesis 35:10-12)

The content of this brief Bible study is to assist the reader in understanding that Israel’s right to the Promised Land is not a political or international issue, but a biblical one. Israel is the recipient of a divine Land Grant given by the Sovereign Lord!

Introduction

No discussion regarding Israel’s right to the Promised Land can proceed without first answering these two questions:

1. Whose land is it?
2. What right do the Jewish people have to the land of Israel?

How we answer these questions depends on one’s worldview―whether it is biblical or secular. Based on our worldview is how we interpret world events and by what right and whose authority nations exist. This is especially true when it comes to the nation of Israel and its borders. There is no shortage of conflicting opinions on the topic of Israel’s right to the land; they range from Israel being the legitimate owner to the occupier. The central question underlying both positions regarding Israel’s right to the land is: “Who has the ultimate authority to determine what right Israel has to the land?” Is it the international community or the Sovereign Lord? 

The biblical worldview supports the self-evident truth that the Sovereign Lord is the ultimate authority since all authorities that exist as governing bodies in the world are established by Him.[1] Therefore, Israel’s right to the land is directly tied to the Lord’s plans and purposes not those of the international community―the United Nations, United States, European Union, Russia, China, or the Palestinian Authority. This divine principle is clearly stated in Psalm 33:9-11:

“For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm. The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.” (ESV)

Any unbiased student of world history can see that Israel’s national history and the Sovereign Lord’s plans and purposes are intertwined. Therefore, the existence of the modern Jewish state of Israel is a testimony to all nations that the Sovereign Lord―the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob―is a Promise Keeper.[2]

Because God is a Promise Keeper, He takes a personal interest in everything that occurs in the land of Israel. His eternal commitment to the land of Israel. Deuteronomy 11:12 states:

For it is “a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.” (ESV)

To help us answer the questions, “Whose land is it?” and “What right do the Jewish people have to the land of Israel?” let’s look at the biblical evidence supporting Israel’s inseparability from God’s plans and purposes. Bear in mind that the Bible does not debate God’s authority; it declares it using the central theme of “God has spoken.”

A Nation is Born

From God’s perspective, the nation of Israel came into existence when He instructed Abraham to get out of Haran―his native country.[3] Israel was birthed while Isaac, the son according to the promise, was still in the loins of his father from the moment God said to Abraham,

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3; ESV).

So, what land did the Lord show or promise Abraham? The answer is found in Genesis chapter 15 which provides the details of God’s Covenant with Abraham. In it, God identifies the land saying to Abraham:

“To your descendants, I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18). 

The biblical evidence shows that the Lord determined Israel’s birth as a nation and its right to the land back in Genesis when He said to Abraham:

1. “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.  And I will make of you a great nation” (Genesis 12:1; ESV).
2. “To your descendants, I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18).

Israel’s exact northern, southern, western, and eastern borders are established by the Sovereign Lord Who revealed them to Moses prior to Israel entering the Promised Land.[4] These borders of the Promised Land encompass many of the disputed territories of the modern state of Israel such as the Gaza Strip and the so-called West Bank. So, if Israel’s right to the land is by a divine Land Grant, then whose land is it? 

Whose Land is It?

The answer is obvious. The title deed to the Promised Land belongs to the one who has the authority to determine the size of its territory along with its borders, and whether or not the tenants have the right to sell it permanently.

Biblically speaking the Sovereign Lord holds the title deed to the land of Israel making Him the legal owner. As the rightful landowner, the Lord instructed Moses on Mount Sinai to “speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you…The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me” (Leviticus 25:1-2, 23).

That the Lord is the legal landowner is confirmed by Christ in the parable of the Landowner and Tenants. Jesus speaks to the chief priests and elders of the people saying,

“Listen to another parable. There was a master of a household who planted a vineyard. He put a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then He leased it to some tenant farmers and went on a journey” (Matthew 21:33; TLV).[5]

In Christ’s parable, the landowner is the Heavenly Father―the Sovereign Lord―the vineyard is the nation of Israel, and the vinedressers in this case a reference to Israel’s religious leadership. That “vineyard” is an idiom for national Israel is validated by the prophet Isaiah. As it is written, “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant plant…” (Isaiah 5:7).[6]

Given the overwhelming biblical evidence, there can be no denying that the Sovereign Lord is the rightful landowner. As such He has the authority to give or lease the land to the tenants of His choosing which brings us to the next question.

What rights do the Jewish People have to the land of Israel?

As with the former question, let’s look at the biblical evidence to arrive at the correct answer―beginning with these biblical truths:

1. As the rightful landowner, the Sovereign Lord gave the land to Abraham and his descendants after him. The Lord appeared to Abraham and made this promise, “to your descendants I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7).
2. The Lord repeated the same promise to Abraham in Genesis 13:15 saying, “for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.”
3. The same promise is repeated a third time in Genesis 15:18 with the Lord stating: “…to your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates…”[7]

The Divine Land Grant

Biblical boundaries of the Land of Israel as described in Genesis 15:18;17:8.

The Sovereign Lord made several promises to Abraham regarding this land when put together reveal:

• To whom the land is given.
• Its borders.
• Condition of ownership.
• Duration of ownership.[8]

The Sovereign Lord foresaw the great turmoil surrounding Israel’s right of ownership to their land down through history, especially in these the “Last Days” prior to Christ’s second coming. Therefore, God made certain that the terms of Israel’s “divine Land Grant” were stated in an all-inclusive unconditional covenant backed by His own oath. In Genesis chapter 17 the Lord appears to the ninety-nine-year-old Abraham and says to him:

“I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly…And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 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” (Genesis 17:1-2, 7-8).[9]

Of importance are the key features of God’s covenant with Abraham since they directly impact events across the Middle East and the world as they unfold currently and in the future.

• First:  The divine Land Grant was given not only to Abraham but his descendants after him.
• Second:  The covenant is unconditional. The Lord swore, “I WILL” do this without placing conditions on the recipients.  
• Third:  The covenant is “established forever” therefore, neither Abraham’s nor his descendants’ behavior can break or alter its ultimate fulfillment. Why, because its fulfillment is solely based on the Lord’s character and faithfulness, not theirs. For the Sovereign Lord, the Strength of Israel does not lie or change His mind! For has He spoken and then not do it or promised and not fulfill it?[10]  

Just how serious is the Lord about His faithfulness when it comes to keeping His covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants? Listen to Moses’ words which he spoke to the Israelites:

“The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Therefore, know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Deut. 7:7-9).

The entirety of the Lord’s oath to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is found in Genesis 15:1-21. These Scripture passages contain important details regarding the irrevocable nature of God’s covenant/oath.[11]

GOD’s Unbreakable Covenant

After Abraham’s rescue of Lot and his family, the Lord came to him in a vision.[12] During this encounter, Abraham believed the Lord regarding an heir, a promised son that would come from his own body.[13] In addition to a promised heir, God gave the land of Israel to Abraham and his descendants on that day. In Genesis 15:7 God said to Abraham, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”

But Abraham, wanting to be certain about the divine Land Grant, asked, “Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”[14] What followed is one of the greatest demonstrations of the LORD’s patience and grace toward mankind. To accommodate Abraham’s need for proof, the Lord performed the most solemn and binding covenant-making ritual known to man during that period.[15] Genesis 15:9-21 gives the account of how God confirmed His promise to Abraham of divinely granting him and his descendants after him the title deed to the land of Israel. The Lord answered Abraham saying:

“Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’ And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.’”[16]

Genesis 15:9-21 gets to the heart of the irrevocable nature of God’s covenant with His servant Abraham. The Hebrew word for covenant comes from the verb “barath,” which means “to cut.” Thus, the Hebrew expression for making a covenant is “to cut a covenant.”[17] Regarding the covenant-making ritual described in Genesis 15:9-18, the Hebrew scholar F. Delitzsch writes:

“The proceeding corresponded rather to the custom, prevalent in many ancient nations, of slaughtering animals when concluding a covenant, and after dividing them into pieces, of laying the pieces opposite to one another, that the persons making the covenant might pass between them…GOD condescended [humbled Himself] to follow the custom of the Chaldeans, that He might in the most solemn manner confirm His oath to Abram, the Chaldean.”[18]

The Lord, taking into account Abraham’s maturity and knowledge of Him, humbled Himself by following a Chaldean custom to assure Abraham of the unbreakable nature of His promise/oath.

The Unbreakable Oath

Consistent with the Chaldean custom, Abraham laid the sacrifice halves opposite each other creating a pathway down the middle. The two parties would walk between the sacrificial halves holding hands and take an oath regarding the terms of the covenant. The final step was sealing the covenant in which the parties involved pledged their lives to one another―that the one to break the covenant would be hewn in pieces like the sacrificial animals. This was serious covenant-making that went far beyond a simple handshake agreement. However, in the case of God and Abraham, an unusual thing occurred.

Abraham was put into a deep sleep and shown a vision of the Lord walking alone, as a smoking oven and burning torch, between the sacrificial halves. Thereby, signifying that the Lord swore by Himself to fulfill His oath to divinely deed the land of Israel to Abraham and his descendants as an everlasting possession.

In Hebrews 6:13 it is written, “for when God made a promise to Abraham because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself.”

The Lord not only gave His word but pledged His faithfulness to fulfill His promise made to Abraham and his descendants.[19] Thus, by two unchangeable things, God’s Word and God’s oath is the promise made certain.[20] Just how serious God takes the fulfillment of His oath is stated in Joel 3:2:

“I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.” (ESV)

This brings us to another question: “Which of Abraham’s descendants are the rightful recipients of God’s divine Land Grant?”

Abraham’s Descendants According to the Promise

Given that Abraham had many children, it is reasonable to ask “Which of his descendants are the rightful recipients of God’s covenant promises, and rightful heirs to the land of Israel?” This question may best be answered by identifying to whom the divine Land Grant was not given. Correctly answering this question reveals the true nature behind the clash over the alleged disputed territories of present-day Israel and the rise in global anti-Zionism.[21]

Abraham’s descendants repeatedly mentioned by the Lord in His covenant are those of Isaac, the “son born according to the promise;” not the descendants of Ishmael, the “son born according to the flesh.”

No one can dispute that Ishmael came before Isaac; even Abraham considered him a likely candidate for God’s covenant promises including the land of Israel. However, God had other plans.

In Genesis 17:18 Abraham said to God concerning Ishmael his firstborn, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” The divine response was instant; God said:

“NO, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year” (Genesis 17:19-21).

Clearly, God blessed Ishmael and promised to make him a great nation. However, His covenant promises would be fulfilled through Isaac―the son born according to the promise―and his descendants; NOT Ishmael. For this is the word of promise “My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you; in Isaac, your seed shall be called.”[22]

Further Confirmation

Further confirmation of God’s election of Isaac and his descendants is given in the New Testament. In Hebrews 11:8-9 it is written:

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.”

Aside from Sarah and her Egyptian concubine Hagar, Abraham had another wife named Keturah who bore him six sons―the ancestors of many Arab peoples today.[23] However, these six sons did not inherit the land. For what does the word say, “Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living, he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country” (Genesis 25:5-6; ESV).

There is no denying that Ishmael and some of the Arab peoples today are descendants of Abraham. Even so, the Sovereign Lord decided long ago how His promises were to be fulfilled; for He is actively watching over His word to perform it on behalf of His chosen.”[24]

Election

This Sovereign act of God is called election by which the Lord decreed His blessings to certain persons and their descendants before the foundation of the world. And so, God choose Isaac and his descendants through whom He would fulfill His oath/promise to Abraham. Concerning Isaac’s descendants, it is written, “as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers!”[25]

So, while in Gerar the Lord appeared to Isaac and instructed him not to go down to Egypt because of the famine in the land, but to stay in the land which He pointed out to him.[26] If Isaac stayed and lived in this land the Lord promised him the following:

“I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” (Genesis 26:3-5; ESV).

So, Isaac settled in Gerar.[27] Now Isaac had twin sons, Jacob and Esau, by his wife Rebecca. The circumstances surrounding Rebecca’s pregnancy and the future of the two babies she carried are a clear demonstration of God’s Sovereign act of election. That is, how the Lord chooses to fulfill His oath to Abraham independent of human efforts or counsel. The first of the two baby boys delivered was Esau, followed by Jacob holding Esau’s heel.

Yet, prior to the twin’s birth the Lord told Rebecca that she was carrying two nations in her womb, two separate peoples, that one would be mightier than the other, and the older [Esau] would serve the younger [Jacob].[28] Years later Esau sold his birthright as the firstborn to Jacob his younger brother for a bowl of lentil stew and some bread.[29] Thus, Esau surrendered his birthright and the blessing of the firstborn.

There are some who falsely teach that the birthright and blessing of the firstborn still belong to the descendants of Esau rather than Jacob. These individuals ignore the truth found in Romans chapter 9 pertaining to the Lord’s promise and His Sovereign rule in the affairs of men. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, writes in Romans 9:9-13:

“For this is the word of promise: ‘At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.’ And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man; even by our father Isaac (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, ‘The older shall serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”

The Lord’s Choice

Make no mistake the Lord did not choose Jacob because he deserved it or because he was better than Esau. No, the Lord made His choice before the two boys were even conceived in Rebecca’s womb. In other words, before the boys could do anything good or evil the Lord decided through whom His oath to Abraham would be fulfilled. Both Jacob and Esau were conceived in a single act between Isaac and Rebecca; meaning they both were physical descendants of the son according to the promise and thus of Abraham and Sarah. Yet, the Lord choose Jacob over Esau through whom to fulfill His oath to Abraham, why? Simple, so that God’s plan according to the election of grace remained a matter of the Lord’s Sovereign choice independent of any worldly accomplishments achieved by Jacob and Esau, but solely dependent on God Who does the calling.

The Lord’s choice of Jacob as the descendant of Abraham (and Sarah) through whom He would fulfill His oath went against every ordinance of man governing the society into which the two boys were born. The societal rule called for the younger to serve the older not the other way around.

God’s plan is and remains a matter of His Sovereign choice including divinely granting the land of Israel to the recipient(s) of His choice. In Genesis 28:3-4 Isaac sent for Jacob and blessed him saying:

“May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be an assembly of peoples; and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.”

It wasn’t simply the blessing of his father Isaac that guided Jacob’s future, but God Himself. In Genesis 28:10-17 we are told about Jacob’s dream of a ladder reaching up to heaven and the angels of God ascending and descending upon it. The Lord stood above it and said to Jacob:

“I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you” (Genesis 28:13-15).

The Lord appeared again to Jacob at Luz (that is Beth-El) in the land of Canaan upon his return from Paddan-aram, and blessed him.[30] The Lord spoke these words of blessing over Jacob, saying:

“Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name…I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land” (Genesis 35:10-12).

As for Esau and his descendants, in Genesis 36:6-8 it is written:

“Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle, and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob. For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock. So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.”[31]

Also, Joseph confirms that Jacob’s descendants, not Esau’s, are the rightful inhabitants of the land called Israel. Before his death Joseph made the sons of Israel (Jacob) swear to exhume his bones and bring them to the land of Israel upon the Lord’s deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt. In Genesis 50:24-26 it is written:

“And Joseph said to his brethren, ‘I am dying, but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land [Egypt] to the land of which He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and to Jacob.’ Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel saying, ‘God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here [Egypt].’ So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.”[32]

The Lord’s covenant oath is key to giving Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants the divine Land Grant to the Promised Land called Israel. Thus, its fulfillment is directly tied to the Lord’s faithfulness, not Israel’s obedience.[33] Therefore, Israel’s ownership of the land is not a political or international issue, but a biblical issue.

God’s Gifts and Calling/Election

There are some, Christians and non-Christians alike, who claim that God’s covenant and associated promises were conditional based upon Israel’s obedience. They link the fulfillment of God’s Land Grant to Israel’s faithfulness in keeping God’s law and commandments. They falsely teach that Israel’s disobedience to God’s law and statutes along with the resulting Babylonian captivity followed centuries later by the diaspora throughout the Roman Empire nullified God’s covenant promises.[34]

In the Church, these false teachers add an additional twist claiming that the covenants (Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic) were cancelled by Israel’s rejection of the Messiah―Jesus Christ. They falsely teach that:

1. Israel has no future in God’s plan as a distinct people and nation.
2. The Church inherited all of these covenants and promises when Israel rejected their Messiah.
3. The Church has become “Israel” in place of the actual Jewish nation and its people―the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob―to whom the promises of God were given.

Replacement Theology

This false teaching goes by the name of “Replacement Theology” and totally opposes the truth found in God’s Word. Saint Augustine, a 5th-century bishop, was responsible for laying the foundation of this false teaching. He taught that the Church had become Israel and was now God’s Kingdom on earth.[35]

Nothing could be further from the truth as written in God’s Word. Israel’s national sins and resulting captivity as well as the later dispersion across the Roman Empire did not alter God’s promise/oath regarding Israel’s divine right to the land.

God’s Faithfulness to Israel

Listen to what the Lord’s Spirit spoke through David with regard to God’s faithfulness to Israel―the Jewish nation:

“If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments, if they break My statutes and do not keep My commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me; it shall be established forever like the moon, even like the faithful witness in the sky. Selah” (Psalm 89:30-37)

Similar words are spoken by the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah. Regarding the Lord’s future restoration of national Israel, it is written:

“For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you; though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished’” (Jeremiah 30:11).

And regarding the Lord’s faithfulness to the Jewish nation, it is written in Jeremiah 31:35-37:

“Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of hosts is his name: ‘If this fixed order departs from before me,’ declares the LORD, ‘then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.’ Thus says the LORD: ‘If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,’ declares the LORD.” (ESV)

According to these verses of Scripture, the Sovereign Lord would punish the nation for its disobedience and discipline its citizens, nevertheless, He will never forsake them or break His covenant with Israel―the nation. As long as there is a sun, moon, stars, and earth there will exist the Jewish nation called Israel with a distinct people―the Jewish people―no matter what they have done. For the Lord has sworn by His holiness never to forsake them or break His oath/promise.

Therefore, even at this present time there is a remnant in Israel according to God’s gracious choice, the spiritual seed of Israel’s future national revival.[36] This event will take place in the near future when the nation of Israel, as a whole, will recognize Jesus of Nazareth as their promised Messiah.

It is a day foretold by the prophet Zechariah in which the Lord will pour out His Spirit of grace and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.[37] And so all Israel will be saved as it is written, “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins” (Romans 11:26-27).[38]

Until that glorious day, God’s election of the Jewish people stands firm with respect to being permanently chosen as God’s people and eternally loved by God for the sake of their fathers―Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.[39]

Why, because “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).[40] The Sovereign Lord does not change but remains faithful to His covenant with the descendants of Jacob for a thousand generations―simply forever.[41]

Do you have a relationship with the King of kings, Jesus Christ?

Works Cited

• C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch. Commentary On The Old Testament. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. Volume 1.
• Lindsey, Hal. The Everlasting Hatred The Roots of Jihad. Murrieta: Oracle House Publishing, 2002.

• [1]  Romans 13:1-2: “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.” (NKJ)
• [2]  Deuteronomy 7:9: “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God Who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations” (ESV). See also Nehemiah 1:5, 9:32; Daniel 9:4.
• [3]  At this point in their lives, the patriarch’s name was Abram and the matriarch’s name was Sarai. God did not change their names to Abraham and Sarah until Genesis 17:5 and 15, twenty-four years after departing for the Promised Land. Nevertheless, throughout this Study, they are referred to by their God-given names of Abraham and Sarah.
• [4]  Numbers 34:1-15
• [5]  Tree of Live Version
• [6]  Isaiah 5:7: “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house (nation) of Israel and the men of Judah His pleasant planting [the plant of His delight].” (Amplified Bible)
• [7]  Matthew 18:16: “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.”  See Deuteronomy 19:15 and John 8:17-18.
• [8]  Hal Lindsey, The Everlasting Hatred The Roots of Jihad, (Murrieta: Oracle House Publishing, 2002), p. 21.
• [9]  On numerous occasions, the LORD refers to the land of Israel by calling it “the land of Canaan.”
• [10]  1 Samuel 15:29; Numbers 23:19
• [11]  Irrevocable―binding, irreversible, unalterable, and unchangeable.
• [12]  Genesis 14:1-24
• [13]  Genesis 15:1-6
• [14]  Genesis 15:8
• [15]  Hal Lindsey, The Everlasting Hatred The Roots of Jihad, (Murrieta: Oracle House Publishing, 2002), p. 22.
• [16]  See Footnote 3, p. 2
• [17]  Hal Lindsey, The Everlasting Hatred The Roots of Jihad, (Murrieta: Oracle House Publishing, 2002), p. 23.
• [18]  C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary On The Old Testament, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc), Vol. 1, p. 137.
• [19]  Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind! Does He speak and then not do it, or promise and not fulfill it?” (TLV) See also 1 Samuel 15:29 and Titus 1:2.
• [20]  See Hebrews 6:17-18
• [21]  These disputed territories are the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Regarding the true nature of anti-Zionism the late British Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks said: “Of course, not all criticism of Israel is antisemitic. But make no mistake what has happened. In the Middle Ages, Jews were hated because of their religion. In the 19^th century and 20^th they were hated because of their race. Today when it’s no longer done to hate people for their religion or their race, today they are hated because of their state. The reason changes, but the hate stays the same. Anti-Zionism is the new anti-Semitism.” (www.israelnationalnews.com/news/210293; www.newsweek.com/jonathan-sacks-anti-semitism-anti-zionism-bds-israel-labour-442978), April 3/4, 2016
• [22]  Genesis 17:21; 21:2-13
• [23]  Genesis 25:1-4
• [24]  Isaiah 55:8-11: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, making it bear and sprout, and providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so will My word be which goes out of My mouth; it will not return to Me void (useless, without result), without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” (Amplified). See also Jeremiah 1:12.
• [25]  See Romans 11:28-29; Deuteronomy 7:6-8, 10:15
• [26]  Genesis 26:1-2
• [27] Hebrew word גְּרָר Gᵉrâr meaning a lodging place (Strong H1642).
• [28]  Genesis 25:19-28
• [29] Genesis 25:29-34; see also Hebrews 12:16
• [30]  Genesis 35:9-15
• [31]  Genesis 36:9-19 gives the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir along with their chiefs.
• [32]  Exodus 13:19; Joshua 24:32; Hebrews 11:22
• [33]  Hebrews 6:13: “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself.” See also Genesis 22:15-18.
• [34]  The Jewish people were dispersed throughout the Roman Empire in 70 A.D. after the first Jewish Revolt against Rome and again in 135 A.D. after the second Jewish Revolt against Rome.
• [35]  Hal Lindsey, The Everlasting Hatred The Roots of Jihad, (Murrieta: Oracle House Publishing, 2002), p. 26.
• [36]  Romans 11:5; 1 Kings 19:10-18
• [37]  Zechariah 12:10
• [38]  Isaiah 59:20-21
• [39]  Romans 11:28-36
• [40]  Deuteronomy 7:6-9, 14:2
• [41]  Malachi 3:6: “For I am the LORD, I do not change [but remain faithful to My covenant with you]; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.” (Amplified)