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One of the questions I’m often asked is, “If God gave the nation of Israel the land with no strings attached and as an everlasting possession, why have they been kicked out of the land twice (722 and 586 BC the first time and 70 AD for the second time)? The answer is that the land has always belonged to them, but because of disobedience God has not always allowed them to live in the land.
God’s promise to them is a prophetic promise that a time will come when they will completely turn to God, and the land will be restored for them, and they will live in it without interruption from then on. Notice these words of Joel:
Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber. Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’” Then the Lord will be zealous for His land And will have pity on His people. The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations. - Joel 2:15–19 (NASB, emphasis added)
There will come a time when the entire nation, as a nation, will repent and totally turn to the Lord, “the Lord will be zealous for His land,” and they will never again be a reproach among the nations.
That has not happened yet. But God has said it will. Joel goes on:
Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad, For the Lord has done great things. Do not fear, beasts of the field, For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, For the tree has borne its fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full. So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the Lord your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before. The threshing floors will be full of grain, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. “Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. “You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. “Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the Lord your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. - Joel 2:21–27 (NASB, emphasis added)
The books of Daniel, Ezekiel and Revelation, among several others, speak prophetically of God restoring the land and the people to the land in the last days.
Do we believe God? Is God true to His Word? Can we trust the Scriptures to be accurate in all that they say?
The answer to all those questions should be a resounding “yes.” God has kept His word in the past in restoring the land and the people to the land. And God will do the same in the yet future.
God is not finished with the nation of Israel as a nation among the nations. Nor is He finished with the land.
The Israelis in the land today take immense pride in their land and take great care of it. But God has even more in store for them and their land.
We should remember, and never forget.
Originally posted on drricktaylor.com.