Isaiah 66:8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children.
75 years ago, on May 14, 1948 Israel was reborn, confirming Isaiah’s prophecy. To understand this rebirth a study must start thousands of years ago, when the land was called Canaan. Abraham, of the Bible, is the first patriarch mentioned in the Bible. He received a mandate to leave his home in Mesopotamia and go to the Land of Canaan, this is modern day Israel. There, according to the Scripture, God gave the Land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants. This was probably over 4,000 years ago.
Over the centuries since, there have been various groups controlling what we would call Israel today. In the first century CE, there was a huge rise for hundreds of years in Christianity due to the life of Jesus and the Church which came out of Him. At that time, there was a stronghold of Muslims in the area, then it moved back into Christian hands due to the Crusades, then the Ottoman Empire ruled the land, then in the 20th century Zionism began to rise-up. Zionism was simply the belief in the Israel of the Bible, the Land promised to the patriarch Abraham.
In late 1947, the United Nations voted in favor of the Resolution 181 which became a legal agreement. This agreement led to the withdrawal of the British army, which was finished on May 14, 1948 and that left 650,000 Jews to govern the Land of Israel. The very same day Israel declared its independence. From that time until now, Jewish refugees have flooded the Jewish state. It was not until 2006 that Israel became the home of the largest Jewish community in the world, surpassing the Jewish population which was living in the United States at the time. Of the close to 10 million people that currently live in Israel, over 7 million of them are Jewish. This is fulfillment of an Isaiahic prophecy which you can reference in Chapter 11:11-12.
Why is all this important as a Christian? In the first century A.D., the Apostle Paul anticipated that the new “followers of the Way” (Acts 9:2), or Christians, may become arrogant towards the Jews, so he focused on communicating that Christians should examine themselves and understand that Christianity is rooted in Judaism. Today, Pastor John Hagee of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas says, “Christianity cannot explain itself without Judaism” (The Israel Course, 2020).
Because of the Jewish roots in the Christian faith, Christians should have a heartfelt respect for the Jewish people. From a national sense as a Christian nation, of which many historians call America, should show solidarity towards a Jewish nation, that being the land of Israel (Genesis 15:18) and her people.
In the Holy Scriptures it states, “I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3) when God is speaking to Abraham. In the book of Romans, Abraham is lauded as an important figure in Christianity (Romans 4:2-5, Romans 11:17). Israel is not only an important nation in the Middle East due to its democratic government and alliance with the United States, but it is spiritually woven together with the Christian community in the world. More coming this year on the 75th anniversary of Israel becoming a sovereign state!
Further Resources
The Israel Course, by John Hagee, 2020. https://cufi.org/learn/join/the-israel-course/
Israel at 75 Video.
