Print this page

Continuity of Jewish PresenceA Promise Unbroken

God made a promise as far back as anyone in human history can remember. He promised that His Holy Land, the Land of Israel, would belong eternally to His Chosen People. Over and over, at different point throughout history, we see God speaking to His people and reiterating His covenant to them, reassuring them that no matter what, the Jewish people belong in the Holy Land. Whether He was speaking to the pre-Israelite forefathers, or to the later prophets of His holy nation, the message was the same, strong and clear. "I have given you this land. Live in it long, and well."

Abraham—The Beginning of A Promise

Go To The Land (Genesis 12:1-2)

"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing."

The Covenant (Genesis 15:18) and (17:7-8)

"In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, 'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.'"

"And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

Jacob—Chosen as God's Nation

Dreaming of a Land (Genesis 28:13)

"And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, 'I am the Lord, God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.'"

Jacob shall be called ISRAEL (Genesis 35:12)

After changing Jacob's name: "And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land."

Moses—Chosen to Lead

A Promise Given at a Burning Bush (Exodus 3:17)

"And I have said, 'I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites; and the Hittite; and the Amorites; and the Perizzites; and the Hivites; and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.'"

A History Lesson (Deuteronomy 11:9)

Why obey God? "And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the Lord swore unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey."

Ezekiel—Defining the Land

(Ezekiel 47:14 23)

Ezekiel gives precise definitions for the borders of the land—which included: Northern border of modern Lebanon; parts of modern Syria; Western shore of Dead Sea; and modern day West Bank and Gaza strip.

Isaiah—Prophet of Future Hope

Gathering of the Exiles (Isaiah 11: 11-12)

"And 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, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."

Jerusalem, the Holy City (Isaiah 65:18 19)

"But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying."

Micah—A Time of Peace

Walking with God (Micah 4:2)

"And many nations shall come, and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.'"

Opening up a Bible, one doesn't need to look hard to find the words—the words of the promise from God that His Chosen People and the Promised Land are a natural, predetermined unit.