2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
There are a couple of questions which we need to examine to have a fuller understanding of God’s sovereign rights and His will concerning the land (earth in general and Israel, in particular). What are God’s rights concerning all of earth, and what is His will concerning Israel’s territory? The very best place to go for answers is the Scriptures. REV 4: 11, “Our Lord and God! You are worthy to receive glory, honor, and power. For You created all things and by Your will they were given existence and life.” Now, when one thinks of it, this is getting down to basics! Satan didn’t create the earth, nor did mankind. In my book, the Creator is also the Owner. REV 5: 1, “And I saw a mighty angel who announced in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break open the seals and open the scroll?’” Because I’ve been writing about this recently, you’ll remember that the context of that question was John’s vision in which he sees that only Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah, the Lamb Who was slain for us, is worthy to open the seals on this mortgage to earth. Why is that? Because God, the Sovereign Owner of this land, had commanded that Christ was to wrest dominion over earth back to Him from the devil who had stolen it at the time of the original sin [GN 3: 1-6]. The seals that Christ was to open were the series of judgments that would once and for all separate the sheep [righteous] from the goats [unrighteous-MT 25: 32] and put an end to evil.
The knowledge that God owned the earth should have been understood right from the beginning. However, it wasn’t, which is in my belief the reason God prompted David to write in PS 24: 1, “The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord; the earth and all who live on it are His.” Under the circumstances, it stands to reason that it is God’s prerogative to give it to whomever He wishes. That’s what He did when He created mankind. GN 1: 27-28, “So God created human beings, making them to be like Himself. He created them male and female, blessed them, and said, ‘Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals.”
This leads us to the question still at the basis of a painful, wasteful conflict today: What is God’s will for Israel? We all know about the horrific suicide bombings that are being carried out at the hands of terrorist organizations like Hamas and the PLO. Innocent men, women, and children are being slaughtered in the name of Islamic Jihad. I’m not afraid to say that this is truly the work of the devil. Today’s problem is nothing new. Control of Israel’s territory has been disputed right from the beginning of its history. I have often reiterated that Israel’s true territory is outlined in GN 15: 18-21-a spread of land that is far larger than modern Israel occupies today. I have also written about the long litany of other entities holding parts of that land over history, people’s like the Babylonians, Assyrians, the Medo-Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Crusaders, the Muslims of the Ottoman empire, the British, and the Arabs. The dream of the PLO is to take Jerusalem as their capital and push Israel westward to the Mediterranean Sea, even if they never state that in English. But God’s will has always been that the Jews should have control over Israel. Part of His covenant promise, often prophesied before it came to pass, was that Israel would regain its nationhood after the two dyasporas [scattering and loss of nationhood by the Jews]. That came to pass on May 14, 1948. Yet, it wasn’t until the Six Day’s War of 1967 that Jews could access their holiest place, the western wall, in Jerusalem.
God’s will that His chosen people should live in the Promised Land was made clear when He decreed that Joshua would have His presence and assistance in taking the land from its original inhabitants, the Canaanites. These were an idolatrous people, and God would use their defeat at Jewish hands to demonstrate His sovereign superiority. Jeremiah acknowledges that it was the Lord God Who ordered him to buy that field in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin from his cousin, Hanamel, as a message to all of us that His will was that the Jews, who would soon be punished in the Babylonian Captivity were meant to return to the land and eventually prosper there. JER 32: 25, “Yet, Sovereign Lord, You are the One Who ordered me to buy the field in the presence of witnesses, even through the city is about to be captured by the Babylonians.” Anyone without Jeremiah’s faith would have questioned his sanity in carrying out this transaction, but we must remember that the faithless are not allowed to see into God’s will or the future. Jeremiah goes on to say in JER 32: 26-27, “Then the Lord said to me, ‘I am the Lord, God of all mankind. Nothing is too difficult for Me.” What foolishness it would be for us to forget this! We should meditate on how this important fact impacts our individual lives.
PRAYER: O Lord, Israel has fought many enemies, often severely outnumbered. And yet, after 3000 years of a tumultuous history, she still exists today. That is at Your will. This fact alone should motivate us to believe that the promise of the book of Revelation will indeed come true. We are impatient, Dearest Abba, because of the pain, sorrow, and loss that Satan and his followers cause us. We see injustice all around us and want to see it stopped. Busloads of innocent workers and high school children were ruthlessly murdered by Hamas a couple of weeks ago as they rode in a Jerusalem bus. There is dishonor even within the ranks of Israel’s borders due to disobedience to You. We must try, as hard as it is, to wait for Your perfect time to put all of this to an end. We must stand fast in our trust and obedience to You, knowing full well that all these martyrs will be avenged by our Blood Avenger, Jesus Christ [REV 6: 9-11]. We beseech You, Lord, to bring Him to us soon. We confess our sins and pledge to live our lives with Him in leadership until that Day comes. Maranatha! [1 COR 16: 2]. Let it come soon. There will be a day when peace will reign not only in Israel, but all over the entire earth. That is because You have promised it, and we believe You are a Promise-Keeper. For now, we beg You to bring peace and comfort to these grieving families, reminding them that You are a just, compassionate, and superior Sovereign over all of us. David’s words in PS 6: 4-10 expresses what is in our hearts today. “I am worn out with grief; every night my bed is damp from my weeping; my pillow is soaked with tears. I can hardly see; my eyes are so swollen from the weeping caused by my enemies. Keep away from me, you evil men! The Lord hears my weeping; He listens to my cry for help and will answer my prayer. My enemies will know the bitter shame of defeat; in sudden confusion they will be driven away.” Our faith is in You, Dear Lord, and we offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, honor, glory, trust, obedience, praise, and thanksgiving. We are Your servants and Your friends. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
I have written that what we learned in Jeremiah about the sale of this piece of land in Israel is a foreshadow of the great story of the return of dominion over earth into God’s hands by His Son. There are more citations to support this assertion, ones from which we can mine some powerful lessons. These will be the subject of tomorrow’s message. In times of pain and sorrow, it is hard to look to God and praise Him. And yet, we must! Not for allowing the sorrow do we praise Him, but for never allowing it for unrighteous reasons. God wants us to have faith in Him and to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He never allows bad things to happen without a very good reason. Nor does God ever allow eternal injustice. Justice will come in God’s own time and in His own way. We can take comfort in knowing that He will bring it in the way that it does the most good. Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem and all the earth [PS 122: 6]. Never forget the our Deity is a loving and kind God, Who will not let His children suffer needlessly. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn