| Christian Life and Doctrine | December 1976 |
The Future of Israel
ONE of the outstanding events in world history during the last half century has been the overthrow of the monarchies of the old world. One of the fruitages of the First World War has been the collapse of many governments which seemed so strongly entrenched when that war began.
But something else emerged from that conflict that was different from the general pattern. The nation of Israel was born. The Jewish people received a national homeland, and the people who through centuries had been scattered and persecuted were returned to the land of their forebears and have since become a nation. The interesting and important part of world history, as it affects the Jewish State of Israel, is that the experiences of this people are a matter of record. The Bible tells us why the Diaspora scattered them, and that in due time they would be returned to their land again.
During centuries before Jesus walked in the fields of Galilee and Judea, the prophecy of Amos applied to the Jewish people when it was said, “You only have I known of all the nations of the earth.” (Amos 3:2) Their prophets had told them of the coming of their Messiah, but when the One whom God had sent came to them, they rejected him.
This was emphasized by Jesus’ words, “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathered her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” (Matthew 23:37,38) Their rejection of Jesus, according to the Bible, was the reason the Jewish people were separated from their land and dispersed over all the earth.
We are not casting any reflection upon the Jewish people in recounting their history, but endeavoring to tell the Bible story of this people. For as God’s hand has been in their affairs in past centuries, both to bless and to chastise, so the prophecies also tell of their return to Palestine at this time; and more important, these prophecies tell us not only of future blessings to Israel, but also to “all the families of the earth” through the outworking of God’s great plan of salvation.
God’s promise to Abraham was, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Gen. 22:18) The Jewish people, although the natural children of Abraham, are not the seed of blessing; for as the New Testament makes it plain, Jesus and his followers are the true seed which will bring blessings to Israel and to the whole family of man. “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy Seed, which is Christ. … And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”—Gal. 3:16,29
Thus we can rejoice in the blessing of all mankind through the thousand-year reign of Christ and his church. (Rev. 20:6) It will be then that the prophecies concerning God’s favor being restored will be fulfilled. Amos, the prophet, again puts it beautifully when he states, “I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, they shall build deserted cities and live in them, they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, make gardens and eat the fruit. Once more will I plant them on their own soil, and they shall never again be uprooted from the soil I have given them. It is the word of the Lord your God.”—Amos 9:14,15, NEB