The Origins of Israel's Presence

The Word of God

* I searched for an online source to be able to share a link to the instructive article by Eitan but did not find one. So in order to share this with my mailing lists, I am uploading it here. We need to be equipped to answer the accusations and questions that are being posed about Israel. This will help many to do that.- DDiorio

The Origins of Israel's Presence
by Eitan Shishkoff
Founder of Fields of Wheat
Northern Israel

“Aren’t the Israelis just colonizers, imposing their imperialist, racist designs on the poor Palestinians?” This is a version of what’s been posed around the world as historically accurate “analysis” of what’s been happening since October 7 and ever since the Jews declared statehood in 1948. In this update we felt it timely to step back from our “on the ground reports” to look at the origins of Israel’s presence on the narrow strip of land at the east end of the Mediterranean Sea. As ambassadors of the God of Israel, whose sacred truth stretches from Genesis to Revelation, we must equip ourselves to answer the question posed above.

     Understanding the eternal purposes of the King of all the Earth regarding Israel is essential in these days of grueling, complex war on the ground—and the deceptive war of international opinion. Is it legitimate and just for us to say that this is the divinely granted home of the Jews?

     Is God Sovereign? | Before reviewing the biblical basis for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob having “title deed” to the land of Israel, a foundational issue must be addressed. That is, the sovereignty of God. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the people and all who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). Is the Almighty really almighty? Does He actually have all authority in heaven and on earth? “Yeshua said to them…’All authority has been given to me in heaven and on the earth…”(Matthew 28:18).

     Way back in Genesis, we see God choosing one man. After Adam blew it, the LORD needed another human son who would be truly faithful. He found Abraham. And all history has been impacted by their first recorded conversation. “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  (Genesis 12:1-3 emphasis added)

     Israel’s Calling = To Serve All Mankind | The key here is that Abraham’s family has a calling to serve every family in the world. God guarantees that through him He will bring redemption to ALL humanity. This profoundly consequential promise is emphasized again in Genesis 18:18, 22:18 and Galatians 3:16. Here is our response to the false claims that we Jews want genocide. Our purpose is in no way to destroy, but to serve all mankind. Oddly, perhaps this explains the resentment against us. The Father set us apart to reveal Himself in His dealings with us throughout history. We were not chosen to lord it over others, as anti-Semites think. But to serve every nationality in humility. (In this, we have often failed and are certainly still being tested!) Later, at Mt. Sinai, the LORD tells Moses that the children of Israel will be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6). This defines our role of securing atonement for all the other nations, which was forever fulfilled through the ultimate High Priest, Yeshua our Messiah.

     But whose land is it really? | Nearly 4000 years ago Abram dwelt in Canaan. In another divine encounter the LORD set in motion an everlasting covenant, changing his name to “father of many nations.” | “…the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him ‘I am Almighty God (El Shaddai); walk before me and be blameless…And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also, I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.’ “  (Genesis 17:1,7-8 emphasis added)

     Clearly, the Almighty is emphasizing the “forever” nature of His relationship with Abraham’s heirs. This eternal covenant contains a specific “land grant.” Appearing also to Abe’s son, Isaac, and his grandson, Jacob, the LORD carries His promises through to the Tribes of Israel in perpetuity (see Genesis 26:3 and 35:12). Our stewardship of the land must include gracious relationships with those NOT of the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:21;23:9). The word “stranger” can also be translated “resident.” And while the treatment of the 2,000,000 Arab Israeli citizens living peacefully within Israel’s borders is not perfect, they are entitled to equal rights under the law, are represented in the Knesset, and have full access to higher education and every profession. (We were cared for by an Arab Israeli doctor this very morning.)

     Are we imperialistic colonizers who dispossessed an indigenous Palestinian nation? Are these charges historically accurate? | Briefly, we have to look at the basic history of the 20th century. When Jews began returning to Palestine in the late 1800s and first decades of the 1900s they were called Palestinians. That’s right! Because there was no such Arab-speaking nationality then defined with that term. We honor the Arab families who have lived for centuries, tilling the land between Lebanon in the north and Egypt in the south, between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. However, when protesters chant “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free,” they fail to realize that (1) this territory has been inhabited by the Jewish people since the time of Abraham, a presence of some 4000 years.

     And (2) the name Palestine (Palestina) was given to this real estate by the Romans after conquering Jerusalem and the Jewish nation in 70 CE. It was never used exclusively to describe a local Arab-speaking population until September,1948 when the so-called “All-Palestinian Government” was formed (in Cairo) in reaction to Israel’s independence. “The institutions of a Palestinian nationality emerged slowly in the Palestinian refugee diaspora” (Wikipedia, “Palestinian Nationalism”). Yasser Arafat and others popularized the term from 1954 on with the formation of the Fatah and PLO movements

     Please know that we do not begrudge our Arab brethren who want to self-identify as Palestinians, given the broad acceptance of the term in today’s vocabulary. However, the charge is patently and historically false that we are colonizers imposing a foreign government upon the Arab residents of Judea and Samaria, Gaza, the Galilee, and Jerusalem.

     We were exiled from this land nearly 2000 years ago after living here the previous 2000 years. We began returning, legally purchasing land in order to resettle in fulfillment of God’s promise to the Hebrew prophets. Then, after the murder of 6,000,000 Jews for the “crime” of being Jewish (1939-1945) we declared that our ancient homeland was once again a sovereign nation. We were immediately attacked from every direction by six Arab countries, determined to destroy the Jewish state at its rebirth.

     Modern Israel: A Miracle, not a Menace | Beloved readers, we confess that as a modern nation we have imperfectly governed the land divinely granted to us. Thousands of Arab residents were expelled from their homes during the War for Independence. Nineteen years later, left with the perplexing dilemma of territory captured in the 6 Day War of 1967 (the Gaza Strip, Judea-Samaria), a significant number of Arabs came under Israeli rule. Our government’s intention was not to be an “occupying force,” but to assist them in establishing a good life. Tragically that intention has received the response of pre-meditated terror and slaughter ever since.

     We hate the notion of being a “menace” to our Arab-speaking neighbors. This is a conflict Israel sought repeatedly to avoid. Yet the appalling events of October 7 left no choice but to take solemn measures. Yes, there is continuing opposition to the Jewish people living in the land where God instructed us to live. But the miracle is that we are back in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob so long ago. Truly, God’s promise was and is “to all our generations.”

In the words of His prophets, “If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 31:37). “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no one passed through you, I will make you an eternal majesty, a joy of all generations…and your people shall inherit the land forever.” (Isaiah 60:15,21 emphasis added)

     Planting a Seed for A Different Harvest | We are simultaneously living out two realities rooted in God’s covenant dealings with mankind. First, our very existence as Jewish disciples of Jesus living in Israel is the fulfillment of His eternal covenant with Abraham. Second, we share equally the New Covenant of Yeshua with our Arab brothers and sisters. We are one in Messiah!

     That is why Fields of Wheat is determined to establish a Messiah-centered young adult discipleship experience for both Jewish and Arab believers. We are convinced that all the political and historical analysis will not overcome the personal experience of individuals. The future will be shaped by relationships forged in love and trust by God’s Spirit and His word.

     Please pray with us that on the one hand Israel may defeat the wickedness of Hamas and Hezbollah. That their attempts to destroy us with terror and continual, unprovoked rocket/drone/missle attacks will fail. And on the other hand, we are praying earnestly that we may respond with Yeshua’s answer, bringing together Arabs and Jews in His love, learning to serve the King’s purposes in true brotherhood. So that in the very part of the world where hatred and strife are trying to rule, the heavenly Kingdom of God will be seen. - Eitan Shishkoff, Fields of Wheat Founder

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