Kelvin Crombie asks why there is constant turmoil in and around the nation state of Israel.
If a visitor from outer space visited Planet Earth and glanced through the history books of the last century, I am sure one matter in particular would confuse him (or her or it) – the agitation revolving around the land of Israel. He could quite understandably ask: 'Why all the fuss over such a small bit of real estate?' Indeed, any neutral observer of events in the Middle East over the past 100 years from Planet Earth could ask the very same question.
Ever since the concept of an official restoration of the Jewish people to the land of Israel became tangible, with the vote by the British War Cabinet on 31 October 1917 (thereafter known as the Balfour Declaration), there has been no more contested matter in the world than the legitimacy of the people of Israel to have a political entity in the land of Israel.
But why all the fuss about the Jewish people inhabiting such a small bit of real estate in the Eastern Mediterranean?
Ever since the concept of a Jewish homeland became tangible, there has been no more contested matter in the world than its legitimacy.
The Land Title Deed Bestowed by a Covenant Oath
The fuss is more than just about real estate - strategically important real estate as it might be. The fuss revolves around the very existence of a covenant keeping God. The very fact of God's existence is indelibly linked to the presence of the nation of Israel in the land of Israel. The issue is about God.
In Genesis 12:1-3 God gives various promises to Abram (Abraham) on the condition that he leaves his homeland and goes to the land of Canaan. These promises include becoming a great nation and being a blessing to all the families of the earth. Abram duly obeys the call. Sometime later while in Canaan, however, Abram seeks confirmation from God about these promises, surmising that he should now be birthing a mighty nation which would be a blessing to the entire world. Nothing though was happening as he had no son to whom he could legitimately bestow these promises of God.
There then transpires an amazing dialogue between Abram and God, as found in Genesis 15, where Abram asks for confirmation, initially concerning the need for an heir. God then duly provides a confirmation to this request, and then stating to Abram: "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it."
The fuss is more than about real estate – strategically important real estate though it might be. The fuss revolves around the existence of a covenant-keeping God.
Abram in response asks God: "How shall I know that I will inherit the land?" Now that is hutzpah. After God had just confirmed one of his promises, Abram was now asking for confirmation about another of those promises, the promise of the land. It would be totally understandable if God asked Abram if he was a bit dim minded - BUT he did not.
If the incident occurred today, God may have said to Abram: 'OK, let's go down to the lawyer's office and we will draw up an official contract with the promise of the land, then I will sign it, and in addition I will get a witness to sign it, and it will be officially sealed.'
But lawyers' offices did not exist in those days. Instead God did the equivalent from ancient times – he cut covenant. This is not the place to go into depth about the principles and mechanics of covenant,1 but we see in the transaction recorded in Genesis 15 many of the attributes of cutting covenant as revealed within the entirety of Scripture, and from the suzerainty treaties of the ancient world. God granted a legal transfer of the land of Canaan (Israel) to Abram, a title deed later conferred to his son Isaac, to Isaac's son Jacob and then on to Jacob's sons, and their descendants the children of Israel.
One important matter in the cutting of covenants in antiquity was the swearing of an oath, which effectively placed the legal 'seal upon the deal.' Genesis 15 does not say in actual words that there was a swearing of an oath, but in antiquity often times the 'walking between the pieces' (Gen 15:10,17) did just this. In addition, there are numerous occasions where Scripture informs us of God stating: "the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (e.g. Ex 6:8; Num 11:12) while the writer of the book of Hebrews confirms what happened when God swore an oath (Heb 6:13-18).
God's Character at Stake
There are some wonderful references in Scriptures about the inviolability of an oath sworn to seal the cutting of a covenant. The character of the party who swears the oath is at stake if he breaks or violates his own oath. Thus in this case, the character of God is at stake if He were to break His own oath.
God granted a legal transfer of the land of Canaan to Abram and his descendants (through Isaac and Jacob), sealed by an inviolable oath.
An argument could then be mounted that Israel as a nation subsequently disobeyed God, and thus have come under the curses for covenant disobedience. This argument is true – but these curses are actually associated with a different covenant - the covenant cut with the nation through Moses, in the Sinai desert. The covenant cut with Abraham is a different covenant altogether.
According to the principles of covenant, once a covenant is sealed with an oath – IT CANNOT BE CHANGED. Scriptural examples of how in ancient society one could not alter a covenant, or agreement, once it had been sealed (with an oath) include the case of Joshua with the Gibeonites (Josh 9); Darius and Daniel (Dan 6:15), and the Jewish people during the time of Esther (Est 3:12; 8: 8; 9: 1).2 God's character, therefore, is at stake if Israel is permanently separated from her land.
God Reminded of His Covenant Responsibilities
In the Sinai God wanted to finish with Israel and begin anew with Moses. But Moses would not agree, and reminded God of his covenant responsibility to unfaithful Israel (Num 14:11ff). Then when Israel languished in Babylon, Daniel reminded God of his covenant responsibility to restore them to their land (Dan 9:1-19).
Collective Israel (Judah, with representatives of the northern tribes) was restored, and about 30 AD God cut a new covenant with Israel, with Jesus of Nazareth being the representative Israelite (Jer 31:31-34ff; Matt 26; 28; Mark 14:24 ; Luke 22:20). But Israel again succumbed to covenant infidelity and was exiled by the Romans in the 1st century AD, this time to the ends of the earth.
Then, from the 1600s onwards, when countless Christians throughout Europe began reading the Scriptures, many recognized the need for the people of Israel to be re-established in the land of Israel. These intercessors reminded God of his covenant responsibility. Is it any wonder therefore that from the 1600s onwards we begin to see moves within the church, within geo-politics and within the Jewish people which ultimately brought about a restoration of the people of Israel to the land of Israel in the modern period?3
Throughout history, intercessors have reminded God of his covenant responsibility towards Israel and he has restored them to their land.
The culmination of much of this aforementioned activity occurred from 1915 with the beginning of the Gallipoli campaign, and especially in 1917 when the combined British, Australian and New Zealand forces captured Beersheba, Jaffa and Jerusalem, with the remainder of the land of Israel being captured from the Turks in 1918. This victory over the Islamic Ottoman Empire provided an opportunity for the Jewish people to return to the land covenanted to them, initially through the issuing of the Balfour Declaration by the British Government.4
An Opportunity to Acknowledge God's Faithfulness
In 2017 an opportunity will be availed to us to remember and commemorate these important historical events, and in the process to give glory to God for "remembering His covenant to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (Ex 2:24). This time will involve commemorative events in Beersheba, Jerusalem and Semack on the Sea of Galilee, as well as in London, to remember the issuing of the Balfour Declaration.
Balfour portrait and declaration.Every person who professes to be in covenant with Jesus the Messiah should be encouraged to participate in these events, as they are indicators to us that if God can be faithful to a covenant promise sealed with an oath some 4000 years ago – then He will surely remain faithful to His covenant promises to us through Jesus.
2017 marks the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration and provides a tangible opportunity for us to make a fuss as well – professing that he who cuts covenant is faithful to his word and oath.
The fuss made by the 'kingdoms of the world' over the ownership of the land of Israel will continue, as many entities continue to covet the land and many further attempts will be made to separate the people of Israel from the land of Israel. But 2017 will provide us with a tangible opportunity to also make a fuss - and to profess that He who cuts covenant is faithful to His word and to His oath.
References
1 Two books have written by the author on the mechanics of covenant, The Oath of the Covenant and In Covenant with Jesus. Both are available through CFI and CMJ.
2 Jesus also alluded to the seriousness of swearing an oath (Matt 5:33-37).
3 Much of this activity is described in For the Love of Zion, and Anzacs, Empires and Israel's Restoration 1798-1948.
4 This campaign is presented in a DVD, Gallipoli – The Road to Jerusalem, Heritage Resources Pty Ltd 2015. Copies available through CMJ and CFI.
© Kelvin Crombie 2015 (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and www.heritageresources.com.au). Reproduced with kind permission.
