Israel's Covenant - God's Faithfulness

Whose Land Is It?

2007-12-22T18:40:00.000-05:00

First of all, let's establish whose planet this is:

* "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
Genesis 1:1

* "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein."
Psalms 24:1

And it's quoted and repeated in the New Testament:

* "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness."
1st Corinthians 10:26

The Lord then claims ownership of the land of Israel:

* "So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion MY Holy Mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again."
Joel 3:17

* "For on MY Holy Mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me…"
Ezekiel 20:40

* "For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of MY people, my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up my land."
Joel 3:1-2

* "Yet I have set my King on MY Holy Hill of Zion."
Psalms 2:6

* "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all MY Holy Mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."
Isaiah 11:9

To Whom Did God Give The Land of Israel?

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To Abraham

* "On that day the Lord made a COVENANT with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates."
Genesis 15:18

* "And I will establish my COVENANT between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an evelasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, ALL THE LAND OF CANAAN as an EVERLASTING possession; and I will be their God."
Genesis 17:7-8

Then to Abraham’s son Isaac:

* "And God said, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and thou shalt call his name ISAAC; and I will establish my covenant with him for an EVERLASTING COVENANT, and with his seed after him."
Genesis 17:19

* "But I will establish my covenant with ISAAC, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year."
Genesis 17:21

* "...for IN ISAAC SHALL YOUR SEED BE CALLED."
Genesis 21:12

And then to Isaac's son Jacob:

* "Remember his marvelous works which He has done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth, O seed of Abraham his servant, you children of JACOB, his chosen ones!"
1st Chronicles 16:12-13

* "Then Jacob said to Joseph: 'God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land TO YOUR DESCENDANTS after you as an everlasting possession.'”
Genesis 48:3-4

He Repeats To Make It Clear:

* "O seed of Abraham His servant, You children of JACOB, his chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which he made with ABRAHAM, and his oath to ISAAC, and confirmed it to JACOB for a statute, to ISRAEL for an everlasting covenant, saying, 'To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance…'”
Psalms 105:6-11

Jacob's Name Changed To Israel:

* And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel...
Genesis 32:28

God Told Moses His Covenant Is With Israel:

* "Then the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: 'Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL as a possession…'”
Deuteronomy 32:48-49

The Borders of The Covenant Land:

* "On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates."
Genesis 15:18

What About Ishmael -The Father Of The Arabs?

2007-12-22T18:30:00.000-05:00

The Covenant Is With Isaac, and Specifically NOT To Ishmael

* "And Abraham said to God, 'Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!'

Then God said: 'No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

BUT my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year. Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.'"
Genesis 17:18-22

Scripture Adds More About Ishmael:

* "You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him. and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.''
Genesis 16:11-12

It's amazing how a prophecy spoken more than 3,000 years ago is visibly accurate to this day!

Judgment Comes

2007-12-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

Was The Land Covenant Conditional?

The covenant itself is not conditional, it has been stated several times that it is an everlasting covenant. However Israel was forewarned that the results of disobediance and rebellion would be the loss of possession of the land for a period of time.

Possession Of The Land Required Obedience

* "I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant …BECAUSE they have forsaken my law which I set before them and have not obeyed my voice…"
Jeremiah 9:11-13

* "All nations would say, `Why has the Lord done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’ Then men would say: `BECAUSE they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt; for they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that is written in this book. And the Lord UPROOTED THEM FROM THEIR LAND in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’"
Deuteronomy 29:24-28

* "For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, nor do they seek the Lord of hosts. THEREFORE the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel …for the leaders of this people cause them to err ...for everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks foolishness ….through the wrath of the Lord of hosts, the land is burned up and the people shall be as fuel for the fire, no man shall spare his brother."
Isaiah 9:13-19

* "For Jerusalem stumbled and Judah is fallen BECAUSE their tongue and their doing are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of His glory. The look on their countenance witnesses against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom, they do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves."
Isaiah 3:8-9

The First Captivity

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After many years of rebellion, in spite of God's warnings, Israel still did not repent and finally the judgment came. It was to come as captivity in two stages. First the northern part of Israel would be taken by Assyria. Later, the southern part, called Judah, would be taken to Babylon where they would remain for 70 years.

First Captivity Prophesied

* "Inasmuch as these people refused the waters of Shiloh that flow softly, and rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah’s son, now therefore behold, the Lord brings up over them the waters of the river, strong and mighty, the king of ASSYRIA and all his glory…he will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel. Be shattered O you peoples, and be broken in pieces…"
Isaiah 8:6-9

* "I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of BABYLON, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon and slay them with the sword. Moreover I will deliver all the wealth of this city, all its produce, and all its precious things; all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give into the hand of their enemies, who will plunder them, seize them, and carry them to Babylon."
Jeremiah 20:4-5

* "Therefore thus says the Lord: 'Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of BABYLON, and he shall take it. And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger; BECAUSE the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands,'' says the Lord. For this city has been to me a provocation of my anger and my fury from the day that they built it, even to this day; so I will remove it from before My face because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger they, their kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem…'"
Jeremiah 32:28-32

* "And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, `Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.' "Yet you have not listened to Me,'' says the Lord, "that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: `BECAUSE you have not heard My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' says the Lord, `and Nebuchadnezzar the king of BABYLON, my servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations...'"
Jeremiah 25:4-9

* "All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, BECAUSE you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees He gave you."
Moses -Deuteronomy 28:45

* "But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, `Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?' Then they will answer, `BECAUSE they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.'"
2nd Chronicles 7:19-22

They Were Told How Long This Judgment Would Last

* "...And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon SEVENTY YEARS."
Jeremiah 25:11

* "For thus says the Lord: After SEVENTY YEARS are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place."
Jeremiah 29:10

The First Captivity In Two Stages

The first captivity took place in two stages, first the northern kingdom, then the southern kingdom later.

721 BC –Assyrian invasion.
The northern kingdom of Israel was taken into captivity.

586 BC –Babylonian invasion.
Solomon’s Temple was destroyed, 100,000 Jews killed, the southern kingdom of Judah was taken in captivity to Babylon.

The Temple was destroyed on the 9th day of the month Av.

Someday, far into the future, the second Temple would be destroyed on the same date, the 9th of Av.

The Second Captivity

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They Will Be Scattered Throughout The Whole World

* "And the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, FROM ONE END OF THE EARTH TO THE OTHER; and you shall serve other gods of wood and stone which neither you nor your fathers have known. And among these nations you shall find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of your foot, but the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul; your life shall hang in doubt before you; night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life."
Deuteronomy 28:64-66

* "Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,'' says the Lord. For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel AMONG ALL NATIONS, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, `The calamity shall not overtake us nor confront us.'"
Amos 9:8-10

* "I will scatter them also AMONG THE GENTILES whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them."
Jeremiah 9:16

The Second Captivity

The second captivity took place in 70 A.D.

Titus and the Roman Tenth Legion destroyed Judah and Jerusalem and drove the survivors into exile throughout the entire world.

The second Temple, the one that was standing in the time of Jesus, was destroyed once again on the 9th day of the month Av.

This dispersion lasted until the rebirth of Israel on May 14, 1948.

The Second Restoration Prophesied

Note: not “if” but “when”

* "When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished TO THE MOST DISTANT LAND UNDER THE HEAVENS, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more propserous and numerous than your fathers."
Deuteronomy 30:1-5

The Miraculous Preservation Of Israel

2007-12-20T18:00:00.000-05:00

Consider the miracle of Israel’s preservation:

Having been scattered for over 2,000 years, yet she remained a separate, identifiable people. When was the last time you saw a Hittite, or a Girgashite, an Amalekite, or any of the other “ites” who were contemporary with Israel? It is an utter astonishment that despite all these odds, Israel remained a people.

Israel has survived assimilation, pogroms, crusades, and all Satan’s efforts to do away with her including the Holocaust. Israel has survived because the covenants God made with her are eternal.

* "He has remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an EVERLASTING COVENANT, saying, 'To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance...'''
Psalms 105:8-10

And even when they're banished in judgment, the Lord will still remember his covenants to their fathers and will bring them back to their land. As the Lord spoke through Moses:

* "Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I WILL NOT CAST THEM AWAY, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. But for their sake I WILL REMEMBER THE COVENANT of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord."
Leviticus 26:44-45

The Restoration

2007-12-20T17:30:00.000-05:00

There are multitudes of Scriptures about the regathering and restoration of Israel. I’ve taken prophecies from several different Biblical prophets to show the unanimity of the Word of God. If you’d like more insight, read the prophets in depth, especially Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah.

Imagine reading these a hundred years ago...
when Israel was still a barren wasteland, before the rebirth of the nation Israel which took place in May, 1948:

* "For behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I WILL BRING THEM BACK to the land which I gave to their fathers and they shall take possession of it."
Jeremiah 30:3

* "Thus says the Lord God: 'Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone. Therefore say, Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.'”
Ezekiel 11:16-17

* "And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me."
Jeremiah 33:7-8

* "Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem and they shall be my people, and I will be their God,in truth and in righteousness."
Zecheriah 8:7-8

* "Behold I will gather them FROM ALL THE COUNTRIES to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and great indignation. I will bring them back TO THIS PLACE, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God."
Jeremiah 32:37-38

How do we know this is speaking of the restoration taking place now?

Because: in the first judgment, in the first captivity, Israel was taken captive into Babylon. In the second captivity, Israel was scattered throughout the entire world and many of the prophecies state that they will be brought back not from one place, but from the entire world.

This Second Restoration Will Be Permanent

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God says through the prophet Isaiah:

* "It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again THE SECOND TIME to recover the remnant of his people who are left… He will set up a banner for the nations and will assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. …And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off..."
Isaiah 11:11-13

and through the prophet Amos:

* "I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and NO LONGER shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,'' says the Lord your God."
Amos 9:14-15

and through the prophet Ezekiel:

* "Thus says the Lord God: Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. …Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, where your fathers dwelt. And they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children FOREVER."
Ezekiel 37:21-25

An ongoing process until all of Israel has been regathered:

* "For on my holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve me...

I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles.

Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised my hand in an oath to give to your fathers."
Ezekiel 20:40-42

God Will Judge Those Who Despised Israel

2007-12-20T16:43:00.001-05:00

There are many, MANY prophecies about the judgments to come upon the nations that opposed God’s work of the restoration of Israel. In one place or another all the Arab nations are named, along with the names of many others including Russia. I’ll show a few prophecies, but will continue to keep this as concise as possible.

We've all seen the pictures on our tv's...
of the "Palestinians" rejoicing over a successful terror attack on Israeli busses and restaurants.

* "For thus says the Lord God: Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel, indeed, therefore, I will stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I WILL DESTROY YOU, and you shall know that I am the Lord.''
Ezekiel 25:6-7

God has seen every tear Israel has shed and will not forget....

* "Egypt (south of Israel) shall be a desolation, and Edom (east of Israel) a desolate wilderness, BECAUSE OF VIOLENCE against the people of Judah, for they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. …for the Lord dwells in Zion."
Joel 3:19-21

Satan has been allowed a certain amount of time...
to oppose God's restoration of Israel. That time is quickly going to run out:

* "And there shall NO LONGER be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.

Thus says the Lord God: 'When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments ON ALL THOSE AROUND THEM who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.''
Ezekiel 28:24-26

And in that day the violence against Israel will STOP

* "…the sons of those who afflicted you shall come bowing to you; and all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you the city of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel. …VIOLENCE SHALL NO LONGER BE HEARD in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders, but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise."
Isaiah 60:14-18

God heard every word they have boasted against Israel...

and will judge their hatred that goes back to the beginning

* "Because you have had AN ANCIENT HATRED, and HAVE SHED THE BLOOD OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end, therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you.

Since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. Thus I will make Mount Seir (east of Israel) most desolate, and cut off from it the one who leaves and the one who returns. And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall. I WILL MAKE YOU PERPETUALLY DESOLATE, and your cities shall be uninhabited; then you shall know that I am the Lord.

Because you have said, `These two nations and these two countries (Israel and Judah) shall be mine, and we will possess them,' although the Lord was there, therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, ‘I will do according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, `They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.' Thus with your mouth you have boasted against Me and multiplied your words against Me; I have heard them. Thus says the Lord God: The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate.

AS YOU REJOICED because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, so I will do to you; YOU SHALL BE DESOLATE, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom all of it! Then they shall know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 35:5-15

God's promises to Israel to coincide with his judgment upon the nations

* “…thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, WHO GAVE MY LAND TO THEMSELVES as a possession, with whole-hearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country.

Therefore prophesy ….thus says the Lord God: I have lifted My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame. But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. …….I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 36:5-11