Cherub Nicholls

Israel at 60:

God's Covenant to Israel

Then all shall know that He is the Lord

In the life of a man or woman age sixty may be considered old. In most countries, 60 (or around there) is the age of retirement. But in the life of a nation, 60, is young. We will reflect on the promises found in the Word of God that were made to the Jewish people by God that enabled them to possess their land amid a plethora of geopolitical atrocities.

As you peruse the Holy Bible commonly referred to as the Word of God, you will hear God speaking in the first person, saying to His servants what He desires to accomplish in the world, what makes Him aggravated, yes angry as well as jealous, and what makes Him pleased. Oh! You must not be taken aback at the thought that God does have emotions… He made us after Himself, so He too has emotions, but here's the difference between God and man. He is unlike man, He is God. He does not change, will never grow old and He will always be Sovereign/Ruler. He is always!

God the Lord Almighty: "Let Your will be done on earth"

This is what the Lord has said: When I have got together the children of Israel from the peoples among whom they are wandering, and have been made holy among them before the eyes of the nations, then they will have rest in the land which is theirs, which I gave to my servant Jacob (Ezekiel 28: 25) And they will be safe there, building houses and planting vine-gardens and living without fear; when I have sent my punishments on all those who put shame on them round about them; and they will be certain that I am the Lord their God (Ezekiel 28:26).¹
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Despite the fact that Israel was scattered throughout the world, God stated that He will bring them back to the land He bequeathed to their forefathers and them. We are aware that centuries had elapsed before this promise was fulfilled nevertheless, it has happened just as the Lord has spoken. It is clear that God in His wisdom expected that there would be strong opposition to the presence of the Jews in the Middle East, but He has made a commitment to defend them and by so doing, establish in the minds of the peoples who will see His mighty acts that He the God of Israel, the only God. .........................

And there will no longer be a plant with sharp points wounding the children of Israel, or a thorn troubling them among any who are round about them, who put shame on them; and they will be certain that I am the Lord (Ezekiel 28:24, ibid)².
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No Challenge to Israel's Survival can Deter God's Plans

The strident attacks by the Palestinians point to the fact that this outcome was already anticipated by God and so their terror attacks and claims to the land will never change God's plans. Yoav Stern, an Israeli news correspondent wrote on Tuesday May 5 of the grief and sufferings of the Israeli people during a remembrance ceremony. She notes, speaking at the ceremony for Israel's fallen, held at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said "sixty-three years since the end of the Holocaust, the greatest atrocity in human history, we remain surrounded by countries, by peoples, by organizations, that refuse to come to terms with our existence in our homeland."³

He (the Chief of Staff) also addressed the bereaved families directly, saying, unfortunately, this last year we added, with a shaking hand, more names to the memorial wall. Since last year's Memorial Day, and through this week, 65 more dead were added, since the records began, when the first Jews moved outside of Jerusalem's walls, has reached 22,437 dead in Israel's wars⁴(ibid).

The troubles the Jewish people have faced while they were in foreign lands and in their own homeland have not "disabled" them from being "at the head and not the tail". A census report released also on May 5, in Israel reveals that the Jewish people are tenacious.

The report published in the Haaretz, a local on line newspaper reveals that "Israel's population totaled 7.282 million on the eve of its 60th anniversary, including 156,400 babies who were born over the last year, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported Tuesday. That is more than nine times the 806,000 people who lived here when the state was established in 1948.

Since last Independence Day, the population has grown by 1.8 percent, including both births and some 18,000 new immigrants.

Just over three quarters of all Israelis 5.5 million people are Jews, while 20 percent (1.5 million) are Arabs. Of the Jews, 69 percent were born here, compared to only 35 percent in 1948."⁵

The State and the Covenant

On May 14, 1948 David Ben Gurion, with a company of approximately 200 persons, by dint of boldness declared Israel a State, despite the objections of US President Harry S. Truman. Arieh Handler, now 93, was among the dignitaries present at the Museum of Art in Tel Aviv for this historic event, the declaration of the State of Israel. Handler is known to be the only witness alive. Here he recounts his story for the BBC News. He states "When I left the meeting to go back to my family, Egyptian planes were already bombing Tel Aviv, and Glubb Pasha [the British commander of the army of Transjordan] was leading an Arab army - they were stopped by the Haganah [Jewish defence force] not far from where I lived" ⁶… I would say many things - not only in the Jewish world, but in the world on the whole - would have been different if Ben Gurion had not declared this state.⁷

Finally, Jeremiah the prophet wrote as was commanded of him by God: Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write you all the words that I have spoken to you in a book.⁸ For, see, the days come, said the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, said the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.⁹

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Cherub A. Nicholls

Source:

1). Ezekiel 28:25-26, Multilingual Bible, Bible in Basic English, ..http://multilingualbible.com/ezekiel/28-25.htm.

2). Ezekiel 28:24, Ibid

3). IDF Chief: 63 years after Holocaust state's existence still questioned.

By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/981338.html.

4). Ibid

5). Israel at 60: Population nears 7.3 million, 76% Jewish

By Haaretz Service, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/981336.html.

6). BBC News, 'I was at Israel's founding', http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7384204.stm.