Israel - A Chosen People In A Promised Land - Part 1
INTRODUCTION
It is October 2023, and I lay these words down with a heavy heart. It is a time when the topic of Israel as a nation is front page news once more. On Saturday the 7th October 2023, around 2,000 Hamas terrorist operatives invaded Israeli territory and attacked many towns and kibbutz. They would spend the next several days butchering over 1,000 men, women and children, the elderly and very young, in the most barbaric and horrific ways (including the beheading of infant babies, and the raping of women) – with over 2,000 wounded. In addition to these murders, they have killed around 120+ Israeli Defence Force (IDF) soldiers, during the same period. They also kidnapped over 100 civilians and soldiers. At the same time as the ground attack, well over 3,000 rockets were being fired into Israeli territory from Gaza. For some perspective, these numbers are well above the total casualties of the IDF forces during the entire Six Day War in 1967.
           This was a surprise attack and caught the Israeli military and nation unawares. Part of the reason for this was that the nation of Israel was finishing off celebrating the ‘Feast of Tabernacles’ or ‘Sukkot’ (in Hebrew), which is a biblically mandated celebration for the Jews (Exodus 34:22, Leviticus 23:42-43) and it was a holy sabbath day for them because of this. The level of surprise was the same (if not more) than the Yom Kippur War in 1973, which coincidently (or not) was 50 years ago, almost to the day of the attack by Hamas terrorists. Israel then declared war under Article 40 of its ‘Basic Law’, the first time since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Â
           What has been unprecedented, is the coverage of the conflict via social media (almost more so that the war in Ukraine). Both the Hamas terrorists, and Israeli civilians caught in the horrific events, filmed the scenes for all to see. Despite the evidence against Hamas, with all the footage and other forms of evidence, there has been a battleground forming online in social media spaces. Many have taken a stand for Israel and its people. Whilst many others have taken a stand against Israel, and this has spilled out into the streets of cities around the world with a significant Muslim population. The calls for violence against all Jews around the world is resounding loud and clear.
Unfortunately, in this space many ‘Christians’ have stepped into the picture and have publicly stated that while the events are terrible, people should not be supporting Israel at all. Their viewpoint is that the covenant that God has with the nation and people of Israel no longer stands because they turned their back on the Messiah and killed Jesus (rather than the sins of all people who have ever lived and will live in the future). Thus, they have no right or claim to the land they currently inhabit. This view forms the heart of ‘Replacement Theology’.
It is saddening that Christians who are meant to be followers of Jesus deny the blessed and chosen status of the ethnic group that their saviour belongs to. Jesus was, and still is a Jew. He is not European, he is not African, he is not Arabic or Turkish – he is Jewish and was from the tribe of Judah, which is a tribe within the nation of Israel.
It is into this space that I have chosen to create this study. In it I will outline the following:
A)  Biblical Israel: Outlines and discusses God’s promise to Abraham extends to the future, where God promises that his family will become a great and chosen people (a nation), with their own land, and in later scriptures the fulfilment of a kingdom.
B)Â Â Historical Israel: Explores the history of Israel and the Jewish people post-exile, through the middle-ages and into modern times. Â
C)  The Issue of Palestine: Outlines and explains the origins of the name ‘Palestine’ and the history of the Palestinian people group.
D)  Israel’s Wars: A brief walk through the wars and conflicts Israel has fought since 1948, and their significance to biblical prophecy and also current events.
E)  Israel’s Prophetic Future: The Bible has a great many prophetic scriptures that relate to Israel and its future. Some of which we are possibly seeing to start to blossom into fulfilment in our current day (2023).
F)  Christian Responses: Explores the reaction of Christians around the world to the current (2023) events in Israel – both the positives and the negatives.
It is my hope that this study helps inform you of the background and issues that form the basis for the current conflict. It is also my hope that this study helps you to understand the word of God in greater depth and understanding in relation to things concerning Israel as a nation and her relevance to the modern church.
For the other parts of this study please follow the link below…