Have the Jews been disinherited from the land of Israel?
Is it true that the Jewish people stole the land of Israel from the Palestinians? Is it true that the Jewish people have no historical claim over either the land of Israel, or the city of Jerusalem? The answer to these questions is very simple. The answer is — no!
The real truth is that these allegations against Israel are myths that are totally false. These myths have been propagated by both the Palestinians and the mainline press, both our national press and the international press.
These satanically-inspired myths have been perpetrated because God is fulfilling promises today that were made to the Jewish people thousands of years ago. These promises rest on a series of legal agreements, called covenants, made between God and the Jewish people, that center on the land of Israel.
The cornerstone covenant — the Abrahamic Covenant — grants the title deed to the land of Israel to the descendants of the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This unconditional, irrevocable, and everlasting promise was literally sealed in blood (Genesis 12:1–7; 13:14–18; 17:7; 1 Chronicles 16:17–18; Psalm 105:8–11; Romans 9:4)!
God’s Land Covenant promised that Israel will one day become the prime nation of the world, that is, as long as the Jewish people remain obedient to God (Deuteronomy 28:1,13).
The Davidic Covenant promises an eternal King who will descend from the line of King David. One day this Messiah will rule over the entire world from Jerusalem (2 Samuel 7:10–16).
For hundreds of years, Christians have believed that because God said so, we should naturally support the nation of Israel. Seems pretty self–explanatory, wouldn’t you say? Well, not so, says a particular group of Christians, Christians who meet at conferences with names like Christ at the Checkpoint. They question, “Should Christians really support Israel?”
Let’s debunk seven of their most popular myths for why Christians should not support the nation of Israel.
Myth #1: “The Jews killed Jesus!”
Those who accuse the Jews of killing Jesus seem to have purposefully forgotten that the Bible says, “Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:27–28).
So, not only did both Jews and Gentiles participate in murdering Jesus, but in truth, we are all sinners, and therefore all of us are responsible for Jesus dying on the cross. But, reality check, Jesus Himself clearly stated that He alone laid down His life, and that no one took it from Him (John 10:15–18).
Myth #2: “The Jews have been disinherited because of their unbelief.”
The Jews may have been evicted from their land — twice — due to their rebellion against God. But, as Psalm 105 explains, God guaranteed in His Abrahamic Covenant that the land of Israel unconditionally and forever belongs to the children of Jacob. And, as the Apostle Paul argued in Romans 9–11, “Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself… Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all!” And so, no, God has neither disinherited the Jewish people nor revoked His land covenants.
As Psalm 105 explains, #God guaranteed in His Abrahamic Covenant that the land of #Israel unconditionally and forever belongs to the children of Jacob. Click To TweetMyth #3: “The Church has replaced Israel and now receives her inheritance.”
Not according to the Apostle Paul! He tells the story of an olive tree whose branches were pruned off due to unbelief, and wild vines grafted on (Romans 11). But, when the natural branches began believing again, they would be grafted back on the tree. Salvation may have come to the wild olive vines — the Church — but God still has salvation planned for the natural branches — a believing Israel who will call Jesus Savior.
Myth #4: “The Jews regathering back to the land of Israel can’t be from God because they haven’t repented and accepted Jesus as their Messiah.”
The Jews returning to Israel in unbelief is exactly what God foretold would happen. Isaiah prophesied the Jews would be regathered a second time from the nations of the world, and Ezekiel made it clear that the Jews would regather in unbelief in order for God Himself to give them a new heart towards Him (Isaiah 11:10–12; Ezekiel 36:22–28). It’s no accident of history that a people dispossessed from their country for 1,900 years could ever have kept their ethnic identity and rebirthed their nation two millennia later. Such a thing has never happened! And this is the nation of the Bible we’re talking about. Therefore, the regathering of the Jews can only be a miracle from God.
Myth #5: “To support Israel is to support every action of the Israeli government.”
Nobody supports every action of any government, even their own. Supporting Israel is to support the redemptive work God is doing in bringing a remnant of their people to salvation in Christ and ultimately into the fulfillment of His covenants.
Myth #6: “The Jews stole the Palestinians’ land and live there illegally.”
First off, the Abrahamic Covenant grants the Jews the eternal deed to the land of Israel. Second, when the Jews began returning in the early 20th Century, there was no such thing as a Palestinian. The handful of Arabs living in that wasteland sold the land back to the Jews at exorbitant prices. And third, Israel was created legally in response to a United Nations declaration passed in November 1947, which authorized the establishment of a Jewish state in the land the Romans had renamed Palestine. You can’t steal land that’s already legally yours!
Myth #7: “To support Israel is to hate the Palestinian people.”
Contrary to Arab propaganda, those who call themselves Palestinians enjoy more freedoms and rights in Israel than if they lived in any Muslim nation. For it’s not the Jews who hate and abuse the Palestinians, but their own terrorist leaders who steal billions of their foreign aid and deny refugees access back to their own home countries of Syria and Jordan. Why, the Palestinians have been afforded several opportunities since 1948 to create another Palestinian state besides Jordan, but each time they have rejected those offers and instead responded with violence. Why? Because their ultimate goal is the annihilation of Israel. So, who exactly is hating who here?
Look , God is Sovereign and if he chose, and He did—to use the Jewish people to get His message out through the gospels and epistles, especially the last three chapters of Romans explains it correctly. We need to go by truth. GOD HAS NOT GIVEN UP ON HIS PEOPLE. Now we gentiles are his people too (Father Abraham) and we have been grafted in.
The OT explains in many variious places and scriptures through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob His plan for that nation before it was a nation.
Hi Nathan, I am a total supporter of Israel, but can you please shed some light on something for me. I was in Israel, with a man from Nazareth. He showed me in Acre where his grandparents used to live. They were scared after the 1948 Declaration and fled because they had been told the Jews would kill them. They learned it was not true, but when they returned to their home in Acre, some Jewish family was living there and would not move out and they felt this was Jewish people stealing their home. I talked about this with a Jewish man in Jerusalem and he said it was a family with nothing, found an empty house, and just moved in and that is okay. Can you tell me more about this event and was it okay or not for the Jewish family from Europe to move into someones house just because the people had left
I’ve been to Akko a number of times and marveled for a “Jewish” town how predominantly Muslim it is. Governments redefine borders causing the people to have to shift around, which can get messy. Just look at American history.
You provided a sound argument from the perspective of a believer, but what is the argument Israel’s possession of the land from a secular viewpoint, leaving out the promises of God to Abraham and his descendants? Non-believers would not accept the argument given in this article.
Besides God and purchased deed, the UN granted lands to both the Jews and Arabs with Resolution 181 in November 1947. The Jews claimed their given statehood in May 1948. A Palestinian state already existed – Transjordan (Jordan).
The sad thing is that the argument about the Jews having owned the land for millenia because God gave it to them is hardly going to wash with those who are not Christian. So as good as your article was it does not help me debate this with unbelieving friends. I can tell them, until I am blue in the face, that God covenanted the land to the Jews 4,000+ years ago and they will just laugh. It would not hold up in a court of law. It is amazing that the Arabs who lived on the land when the Jews started moving back sold the land back to the Jews because, usually, when a Muslim owns anything it belongs to Islam in perpetuity, therefore they must have been desperate. Do we have any proof of this or is the information just apocryphal.
True, but besides God and deed, the UN granted lands to both the Jews and Arabs with Resolution 181 in November 1947. The Jews claimed their given statehood in May 1948. A Palestinian state already existed – Transjordan (Jordan).
What bearing does the Book of Joshua have on this matter?
Read down to the last paragraph and is says that the Jewish people legally purchased the land from the Arab people at exorbitant prices. So even if one is not a believer, one should see that the Jewish people have a legal right to that land.