v 15 I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession.
Today I might have to challenge your views about the 21st Century.
Just how permanent did God mean that to be? Does it include even today?
Does this promise to Abraham and his descendants include the current occupation of the land of Israel? And what about Jerusalem itself?
Historically, the Jews have been ousted from the land several times. Moses led the nation back from Egypt and saw the people resettled in the Promised Land. Jerusalem was besieged, captured, destroyed and the people then taken away as captives into Babylon. It was through men like Ezra and Nehemiah that the city was rebuilt and the nation restored. In Jesus’ day the Romans ruled the land and in AD 70 eventually flattened Jerusalem again.
There were Crusades in the Middle Ages to take back Jerusalem from Muslim invaders. From 1517 – 1917 it was ruled as part of the Ottoman Empire and then from 1917 to 1947 it came under British Mandate. It was not until 1947 that once again Israel was established as a sovereign state. Today, there are challenges as to the extent of the territory Israel should govern. Current conflict between Jews and Arabs is a long-running saga.
So what does God’s promise to Abraham really mean? Should Christians support Israeli claims to territory? (Many US Christians backed Ex-President Trump because he supported Israeli claims to territory.)
Well, there is something to think about, and I am not going to try to give you an answer! All I can say is ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem’ (Psalm 122).
—