The Land Of Israel - Part Three

As part of our study of the land of Israel, in the previous message we learned that two British men in the early nineteen hundreds felt that the Jewish People should have their own land and nation. Lord Balfour made a declaration called The Balfour Declaration saying, "Palestine should become the home of the Jewish People." We will study in this lesson how this declaration was received.

In July 1922 the League Of Nations empowered Great Britian with the Mandate for Palestine in which Great Britian was charged with establishing a Jewish home in Palestine. The land allocated to the Jewish People by the League Of Nations had Syria as its northern border, Transjordan as its eastern border, Egypt as its southern border and the Mediterranean Sea as its western border.

How was the Balfour Declaration and its approval by the League Of Nations received? Unfortunately, it was strongly opposed by neighboring Arab States resulting in violence during 1920, 1921, 1929 and 1936 through 1939. There were attempts to establish talks between Jews and Arabs that never took place. The British Government even proposed dividing Palestine into a Jewish and Arab State that was rejected by the Arabs. As history illustrates, this same conflict continues to the present day!

This conflict led Great Britian in May of 1939 to develop what was known as the White Paper putting restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine. The result of this was it became very difficult for the Jewish People attempting to flee from the Holocaust. However, they developed a network of immigration activities assisting the Holocaust survivors to come back to Palestine. Between 1945 and 1948, 85,000 Jews were brought back to Israel in secret using dangerous routes. Some were caught and sent back to Europe or put in detention camps.

The next lesson will look at the steps taken to establish the State Of Israel! Stay Tuned. 

Blessings,

Frank       

The Land Of Israel - Part Two

Our new series is about the physical land of Israel - past, present and future. In our first message we learned that God spoke numerous times to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob proclaiming that He would give to them and their descendants the land "From the river Egypt to the river Euphrates." This information is found in Genesis 15:18.

How did the concept of the Jewish people living in their own God-Given land actually take place? We need to first realize there is a connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem going back 3,000 years to King David who established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Jerusalem was the center of the Jewish people's faith and identity. King Solomon built the first Temple in the tenth century which was destroyed in 586 B.C. A second temple was built a century later but was destroyed in 70 A.D.

Currently, some of the Jewish people are still dispersed around the world because of their disobedience to God. Even in their dispersion, God's people desire to be back in Israel saying, "Next Year In Jerusalem." This dispersion is still active today but many Jews are moving back to Israel on a regular basis.

Let us go back to the original question for this message - how did the idea of a particular land for the Jews designated by God come into being? Toward the end of the 19th Century dispersed Jewish people started believing they were not safe because of Anti-Semitism. As a result, the concept of a State of Israel surfaced and this became known as Zionism.

A Jewish man, Chaim Weizmann, invented an important material needed for arms production in Great Britain. Two important British government leaders, Lloyd George and Lord Balfour took notice of Chaim and started a Zionism Movement proposing the return of the Jews to their own land. 

As a result, Lord Balfour made a declaration known as the Balfour Declaration stating that "His Majesty's Government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." Please stay tuned for our next message describing in detail the response to the Balfour Declaration! 

Blessings,

Frank

The Land Of Israel

Today starts a new series in which we will study Israel from the time it was proposed by Jehovah God to Abraham through today. Israel is the most contested piece of land throughout history. In fact, there have been 3,700 terror attacks in 2022. We will look at Israel's history, current day Israel and its future.

How did the concept of a particular piece of land to be given by God to His Chosen People take place? Numerous times in the Book Of Genesis our Lord clearly describes to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that He is giving to them and their descendants a particular piece of land.

In Genesis 12:2 God says to Abraham, "I will make you into a Great Nation." It is important to understand that God is talking to Abraham but it is intended for Abraham and his descendants through Isaac, Jacob, David all the way to Jesus. Also, the Great Nation has a twofold meaning referring to the physical land but also to a nation of people who became the Jewish People.

Jehovah God in the Abrahamic Covenant describes the land He is giving to His Chosen People in Genesis 15:18 saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates." Please note this is a much larger piece of land than current day Israel. Studying this in greater detail will be in future messages.

Following are messages by God describing the land He will give to His Chosen People:

To Abraham: Genesis 13:14,15 "Look from the place where you are - northward, southward, eastward and westward for all the land which you see I give to you."

To Abraham: Genesis 17:8 "Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan."

To Isaac: Genesis 26:3 "Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands."

To Jacob: Genesis 28:4 "And give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which I gave to Abraham."

To Jacob: Genesis 35:12 "The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you."

The Word of God clearly shows He gave the current land of Israel, including Judea and Samaria, to His Chosen People, The Jewish People.  Next week we will start looking historically at how the land of Israel became a reality. Stay Tuned!

Blessings!

Frank   

Ukrainian Support Update

Recently, For Zion's Sake Ministry reported on how Israel was very much involved in helping the people of Ukraine leave their country in a time of war. We desire to update our reporting by showing that Israel is still very much involved.

Our source for this update is a Ministry called Bridges For Peace whose purpose is to help Jewish people who have moved to Israel get adjusted to their new home. Bridges For Peace has been on the ground in Ukraine from the very beginning rescuing Ukrainian Jews plus others and flying them to Israel.

Here is the updated story! Approximately, 20,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived safely in Israel. An average of 251 arrive daily, with over 36,000 waiting to board a plane to Israel. Before the war in the Ukraine, 30,000 immigrants would arrive each year. 

Israeli Government Agencies and Charities are overwhelmed with the need of establishing these new immigrants into Israeli society. Initially, they are housed in a Government sponsored hotel but that only lasts for two weeks. Almost all of them are senior citizens or mothers with young children. The majority of the Ukrainian men have to stay to fight the war.

The Israeli Government provides some financial assistance for one year. Then the immigrants must find a job or receive financial help from a Ministry like Bridges For Peace. Currently, there are 800 refugees in hotels and 1,500 are expected to arrive very soon.

Bridges For Peace has an Adoption Program in which a person can sponsor a new immigrant for one year. Bridges For Peace provides food, a transportation pass for busses and trains, gifts on holidays, meets urgent needs and provides lots of love and advice. The Sponsor learns all about their adoptee and can even correspond with them.

If you are interested in becoming a Sponsor, please check their website at www.bridgesforpeace.com or you can telephone the International Headquarters 972 2-624-5004. 

Jehovah God says in Genesis 12:3 "I Will Bless Those Who Bless Israel."

Blessings,

Frank      

  

God Keeps All His Promises - Part Six

We are concluding our current series about God Keeping All His Promises with a discussion about the most important promise God made and kept. Jeremiah 31:31,33,34 says, "Behold, the days are coming, says The Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah . . . I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My People. No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, 'Know The Lord, for they all shall know Me.'"

Jehovah God promised that He would establish a New Blood Covenant! How and when did our Lord accomplish this critically important miracle? He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to be crucified and to rise from the dead.

God says, "I will put My Laws in their minds and write them on their hearts." This is a declaration by God that when a person receives Jesus as their Savior and Messiah, they also receive The Holy Spirit who comes to live within their hearts enabling them to sin less. Notice also in Jeremiah 31:34 God says, "For all shall know Me." Once again, through receiving The Holy Spirit upon salvation a person receives God to live within them resulting in developing an intimate relationship with God Himself. Bless His Holy Name!

Jeremiah 31:34 also says, "For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more." How does Jehovah God remember our sin no more? Hebrews 9:9,12,17 describe why Jesus came to earth saying, "Behold, I have come to do Your Will, O God . . . After He had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever, sat down at the right hand of God . . . their sins and their lawless deeds I remember no more."

Possibly, after reading these messages about God keeping all his promises, you realize it is time to receive Jesus as Savior knowing your sins are forgiven and you will spend Eternity in Heaven. You can receive Jesus as your Savior by praying this prayer:

Jesus, I Know I Am A Sinner

Please Forgive Me Of All My Sins

I Proclaim That Jesus Is Lord And

God Raised Him From The Dead

Please Come To Live Within My Heart Granting Me Salvation

Thank You, Jesus . . . Hallelujah!

Blessing,

Frank         

God Keeps All His Promises - Part Five

The Book Of Joshua opens with Jehovah God saying to Joshua in verses two and three, "Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them - the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses."

As we continue our series about God keeping all His promises, please notice that He mentions a number of promises in Joshua 1:2-3. Our Lord tells Joshua, "Every place you put the sole of your foot I have given to you." In effect, God is telling Joshua, Caleb and the Israelites to go across the Jordan River and conquer and possess "The Promise Land."

Joshua 1:4 actually outlines the boundaries of the land to be conquered and possessed by God's Chosen People. The Southern boundary is Egypt, the Northern boundary is Lebanon, the Eastern boundary is the Euphrates River and the Western boundary is the Mediterranean Sea. These are the exact boundaries of the land given to Abraham and his descendants in Genesis 15:18.

Very important! God promises Joshua in verse 5, "I will not leave you nor forsake you." The remainder of this message will illustrate all the areas of the Promised Land where Joshua "Set the sole of his feet" and the Israelites conquered the land:

Jericho - "The seventh time the priest blew the trumpets and the people shouted, the city was doomed to destruction." Joshua 6:16-17

Ai - "So it was that all who fell that day, both men and women were 12,000, all the people of Ai." Joshua 8:25

Amorites - "Then Joshua spoke to The Lord in the day when The Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel and he said in the sight of Israel: 'sun, stand still over Gideon . . . so the sun stood still . . . till the people had revenge upon their enemies.'" Joshua 10:12-13

Northern Canaan - "But The Lord said to Joshua, 'do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel.'" Joshua 11:6

Joshua 11:23 summarizes all the territory conquered by the Israelites saying, "So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that The Lord had said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war."

Yes, God Keeps All His Promises! What A Mighty God We Serve!

Blessings,

Frank

    

God Keeps All His Promises - Part Four

We have been studying how Jehovah God keeps all His Promises. In last week's message, God declared at Mount Sinai to the Israelites "I will make you into a great nation." He has kept this promise beyond measure!

At the same time at the base of Mount Sinai the Israelites were worshipping a false god in the form of a golden calf. When Moses observed this activity upon coming down from Mount Sinai, he broke the tablets of God's Law on the ground. God then told Moses to "Cut out two stone tablets like the first ones and bring them to Me." Exodus 34:8-10 says, "So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. Then he said 'if now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.'"

Jehovah God's response to Moses shortly after witnessing His people's disobedience is one of unconditional love and grace. Instead of judging His people He responded by saying in Exodus 34:10:

I Make A Covenant With Your People

I Will Do Marvels Before Your People

I Will Do Marvels In Nations

All The People Of The World Will See My Work

I Will Do An Awesome Thing

He has kept all these promises! God established the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12:3. He gave the land of Israel to His Covenant People in Genesis 15:18. Our Lord God has protected His People around the world and made them blessings wherever they live. These are all marvelous, blessed promises kept!

The last promise made by God in Exodus 34:10 says, "For it is an awesome thing I will do with you." He keeps this promise every minute of every day for all His people - Jew and Gentile! Bless His Holy Name!

Blessings,

Frank