Book Review by David P. Craig: 12 Biblical Reasons Why Israel Has a Right to It’s Land
In this brief biblical study David Hocking does an excellent job of giving twelve compelling reasons why Israel has a right to her land. The bottom line in this argument is what does God have to say about this issue? Hocking gives hundreds of passages in this study of God’s specific promises to the people of Israel. He lays out the biblical facts with biblical support, and then lets the reader decide. Here is a summary of the 12 biblical facts of what God has said about Israel and her land:
(1) This Land belongs to God! Leviticus 25:23 states, “The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.”
(2) The Land was given by God to the Descendants of Abraham! Genesis 12:7, says, The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.”
(3) The Gift of this Land to Abraham and his descendants was based on an Unconditional Covenant from God Himself! Genesis 17:7-8 sates: “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
(4) This Land was not given to the Descendants of Ishmael, but rather to the Descendants of Isaac! In Genesis 17:19 God promises, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”
(5) This Land was not given to the other Sons of Abraham, but only to Isaac! In Genesis 26:3 God said, “Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.”
(6) This Land was not given to the Descendants of Esau, but only to Jacob! In Romans 9:10-13 we read, “And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad, in order that God’s purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger. Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
(7) God continued to remind the Children of Israel of this Covenant during their bondage in Egypt and wilderness wanderings! Exodus 2:24, “So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
(8) God told Israel to conquer the Land which He had given them! Deuteronomy 1:8 reads, “See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them.”
(9) Israel’s sin and captivity did not change their divine right to this Land! In Leviticus 26:44-45 God promises to bring them back, “Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. But I will remember for them the covenant with 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.”
(10) God’s Promise to Israel is certain as the existence and order of the universe! Jeremiah 31:35-37 sates, “Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The Lord of hosts is His name: “If this fixed order departs from Me,” declares the Lord, “then the offspring of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever.” Thus says the Lord, “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,” declares the Lord.
(11) The Name of this Land is not Palestine, but Israel! Ezekiel 37:11-12 makes this clear, “Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, sand say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will open your graves and case you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of ISRAEL.”
(12) The full restoration of Israel to its Land with complete peace and security will require the coming of the Messiah! Isaiah 59:20-21 declares, “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord. “And as for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”
For all twelve of these facts Hocking provides many more Scriptures with insightful commentary. The reality is that the Bible is full of passages, plans, and promises for and about Israel and her right to the Land. Hocking’s study is very compelling because of the plethora of biblical evidence in support of God’s plans and promises for Israel and her land.
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