Israel's Wars for Statehood:

The Eras of Joshua and Ben-Gurion

 

As the Jewish people celebrate the 60^th anniversary of their remarkable achievement of statehood, we will today look at two historical events which marked the creation of the Jewish state in two different eras. We will also give consideration to the involvement of the Sovereign Lord in their victories.

 

The initial state was created in the early biblical era, when Joshua led the people into the land of Canaan. More than 3,000 years later, a Jew named David Ben-Gurion boldly declared Israel a sovereign state in May 1948.

 

The Jews were slaves in Egypt for over four hundred years. God had told Abraham (whose previous name was Abram) of this development long before it took place:

 

"And he said to Abram, Truly, your seed will be living in a land which is not theirs, as servants to a people who will be cruel to them for four hundred years…" (Bible in Basic English, Genesis 15:13, http://multilingualbible.com/genesis/15-13.htm.)

 

Afterwards, Moses led the people from Egypt through the Red Sea and they encamped in the wilderness for 40 years. Upon Moses' death, God miraculously guided Joshua and the Jewish people in wars leading them to take possession of their land.

 

The Lord, in His "coronation" of Joshua as leader of the people, told him to "Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.¹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage: do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." ²

 

Furthermore, the Lord Himself defined the boundaries of the land He was giving to His people:

 

"From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border."³
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To gain possession of the land, Israel had to fight:

 

"And the men of Ruben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. About forty thousand, prepared for war, crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho.^"4

 

Afterwards, in the New Testament, in the Book of Acts (13:19), Paul the Apostle recalled, before the Jews gathered in Antioch in Pisidia, that the Lord had destroyed seven nations on behalf of His people, the Israelites (also known as Israelis). Paul argues, "And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment."⁵

 

From the scriptures we have examined, it is clear that God was at all times involved in Israel's acquisition of the land. Although much time had elapsed, God kept His word to Abraham.  One ought not to conclude that God's actions were unfair. He definitely chose to do this because, as a result, when we today read of His mighty acts, we come to revere Him. However, it seems that mankind forgets quickly, so once again the Lord makes promises, to an Israel in captivity, that He will re-gather them to the land they were taken from, the land He had given to Joshua, in fulfilment of His word to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And so we have the account of the Declaration of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948.

 

Let's reflect on the interventions of God during these early days of the modern State of Israel.

 

David Ben-Gurion's Bold Move

 

The Romans had passed an edict exiling Jews from their homeland after the time of Jesus Christ. Five hundred years would pass before Byzantine governors permitted the return of the Jews to the Holy Land way back in 638 (CE).

 

Ever since the Jews have maintained a presence in Palestine. Author, David Brog tells of efforts by both Jews and Christians in 1896 to see the establishment of a Jewish state. He  notes Jews had been spordically returning to Jerusalem and other holy cities in Palestine throughout the centuries of their exile…⁶

 

The efforts to aid in the return of Jews to Palestine became known as Zionism.

 

In the meantime, the Ottoman Empire, an Islamic power, reigned from 1301-1922. The Ottomans had dominion over a great expanse of land that included Egypt, Greece, Palestine, Hungary, and Syria among others. But the Empire fell to an invading British army. Upon this historic event the British Empire accepted the Mandate by the League of Nations to administer law and order over Palestine. The Mandate specifically obligated Britain to implement the terms of the Balfour Declarations⁷, which in essence granted legitimacy to the eventual the State of Israel.

 

1948 marked the end of World War II. Six million Jews have been slaughtered by the Nazis in Europe during this war. Thousands of European Jews are homeless and are seeking refuge…Western states deny them entry. The people have few options, so they attempt to enter Palestine, their homeland and that of their forefathers. However, the British officials who have authority over Palestine say, Not so! The refusal by the British military was in essence a violation of the very Mandate they were obliged to operate under. The Balfour Declaration of 1917 was named after former prime minister and then British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour. In the Balfour Declaration His Majesty's Government viewed with favour the establishment in Palestine a homeland for the Jewish people…⁸

 

Consequently, the Jews in Palestine, seeing all this, carried out clandestine activities to bring Jews into Palestine whom the British military had refused entry and sent off to Cyprus. Simultaneously, Jews in Palestine were required to band together for their own internal security because the Arabs, armed by the British, were attacking them. Therefore, the Jews took up arms against the British and Arabs to fight for their independence.

 

Remember also that during World War II many Jews fought alongside the Allies against Hitler's axis of evil.

 

At the end of the British Mandate, Ben-Gurion stood before the People's Council and declared Israel a sovereign state. Ben-Gurion further pledges:

"THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations."⁹

The words were not quite out of Ben-Gurion's mouth when five Arab countries allied themselves to do battle against Israel. On May 15, one day after the establishment of the State of Israel, the Arab armies of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invaded the new Jewish state. The Arab forces were significantly larger than Israel's and were better equipped. Yet, coordination and organization were lacking, and the Arab armies were often at odds with each other, seeking to incorporate territory from Palestine into their own states. Despite their small numbers, the Jews were well-organized, well-disciplined and highly motivated.10

The Arabs were defeated! Again the Lord protected this infant nation, though it was vastly under-equipped and faced an arms embargo. Yes, Israel triumphs!

 

 

Sources:

 

¹Prophecy Study Bible, New King James Version, John C. Hagee, General Editor Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, (Joshua 1: 6 &, 9).

 

²Ibid.

 

³American Standard Version, (Joshua 1: 4, http://multilingualbible.com/joshua/1-4.htm.).

 

⁴Prophecy Study Bible, New King James Version, John C. Hagee, General Editor Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville (Joshua 4:12-13).

 

⁵Ibid (Acts 13:19).

 

⁶Brog, David.  Standing with Israel. Why Christians Support the Jewish State. Front Line, Florida, USA. 2006 (p.93).

 

⁷Ibid, 111.

 

⁸ " ,110.

 

⁹" Published in the Official Gazette, No. 1, of the 5th Iyar 5708 (14th May 1948). Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948 (http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Declaration%20of%20Establishment%20of%20State%20of%20Israel)
¹⁰The War for independence. Anti- Defamation League, (ADL) (http://www.adl.org/israel/record/48war.asp).

Other sources

BBC - Religion & Ethics - Ottoman Empire (1301-1922): Introduction  

http://www.google.bs/search?hl=en&q=the+ottoman+empire&btnG=Google+Search.

Ottoman Empire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire.

British Mandate of Palestine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Mandate_of_Palestine.

Cherub A. Nicholls

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