Will Israel take possession of the land?

“Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed” (Joshua 13:1).

We do well to ignore what the news media tells us more than to accept it point blank. Of course, we are also realists concerning facts on the ground; but above and beyond that, we are bound to Holy Scripture. For that reason, we mostly reject the statements made by world leaders and, in the below case, by the Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry.

A report by a United Nations Commission of Inquiry blamed Israel’s “persistent discrimination against Palestinians” for violence between the two sides:

“Forced displacement, threats of forced displacement, demolitions, settlement construction and expansion, settler violence, and the blockade of Gaza” were identified as “contributing factors to recurring cycles of violence” by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.
-www.timesofisrael.com, 7 June 2022

When checking the facts, there are indeed some truths expressed by the UN Commission; however, it is one-sided. “Demolitions,” for example, occur after a terrorist commits crimes in Israel; subsequently, his house is demolished. This is nothing new; the Arab news source Miftah reports on their website: “1930s: British administration in Palestine uses house demolition as a means of quelling the indigenous uprising against British rule.”

The blockade of Gaza was also identified as a “contributing [factor] to recurring cycles of violence” by the UN Commission. No mention of the fact that Gaza is governed by a globally recognized terrorist organization, Hamas. 

Wikipedia states, “By 21 May [2021], when the ceasefire came into effect, at least 4,000 rockets had been fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel.” The question immediately arises, who is threatening whom? Quite obviously, militants in Gaza continue to threaten Israeli civilians.

Some basic human principles that have governed the world for 6,000 years, need to be mentioned. War decides the borders of a nation. The victor writes the new agreement, laws, understanding, etc., and sets the borders. 

This writer recalls how in 1945, the victorious Red Army defeated Nazi Germany. The family with 8 children had to make a decision; namely, to sign a document identifying their willingness and true intention to become law-abiding Soviet citizens, or leave. They left.

Another striking case is Hungary, which lost 72% of its territory after the First World War. The citizens were forced to either leave or accept the citizenship of the victors.

We may also mention the 35 sovereign nations established on the American continent (North and South). The original inhabitants were not asked; they were either killed or forcefully subjected to the new nation by whatever name. 

As Christians—whose guideline is the written Word of God—we should be fully aware that the whole conflict in the Middle East is not due to the so-called Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. The opposite is true; it is because of the Arab occupation of Israeli territory up to the Euphrates River in the north, and down to the River of Egypt in the south. In the west, across the Jordan River the southern border is the River Arnon, presently occupied by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Thus, the question, will Israel take possession of the land? The opening Scripture says, “…there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.” It is not for us to say, except to publish what is written.

What will happen to the Arab Palestinians? God already made provision: “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:34).

When will that take place? When the Prince of Peace comes. One of His first official decrees will be the elimination of all weapons throughout the world, based on Isaiah 2:4: “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

In the meantime, our Christian duty is not only to proclaim the truth of the Gospel, but also become living examples of the truth—light and salt on the earth. “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men” (2 Corinthians 3:2). We are the ambassadors of Christ, of His Church; we pray for Israel, for the Arab countries, and we also continue to pray for the Church in Ukraine and Russia.

In conclusion, let us not be confused by the things that are highlighted in the news media; rather, to recognize that those things are a shadow of the real thing: the building of the Church of Jesus Christ on earth, the spiritual temple of God, which will climax in its completion and rapture into His presence. From that point on, God will wholly turn to His people Israel.

Midnight Call - 08/2022