God’s Chosen People.

God said,’ I have scattered you in the countries of the world, I will gather you back from the nations where you have been scattered and I will give you the land of Israel once again. They will truly be my people and I will be their God’

A few short weeks ago a serious conflict broke out after Israel responded to persistent rocket attacks on the Southern part of the country from Palestinian territory. Peace was eventually negotiated but already a leader of the Palestinian group Hamas has called for the removal of Israel and the establishment of the Palestinian capital in Jerusalem.

In 1993 Israel ceded the territory of Gaza to the Palestine National Assembly following an agreement in Oslo, which was seen as a gesture of the desire for peace in the region. Sadly that has failed in the intention for there has been constant strife.

On 14th May 1948 the United Nations granted independence to Israel and the nation was born with its own distinctive ‘Star of David’ flag. This fulfilled Biblical prophecy that God would bring His people home at last. Ever since that time Israel has been under attack from hostile nations which surround this little country the size of Wales. The nation has faced overwhelming forces and against such odds has fought off enemies in two wars, which has resulted in a general consensus of opinion that God was certainly with them. Anyone who challenges this should study the recapture of the Golan Heights, which was an achievement beyond human endeavour alone.

The significance of Israel in world affairs is immense in that the Bible story is based on Israel and Christianity begins and ends there. Jesus was born there, (a Jew), our faith is based on a book written by 39 out of 40 writers who were Jewish, and our God is the God of Israel.

Despite this being so, the nation does not appear to have many friends beyond America, and even there the present President does not seem to have the same commitment to Israel as his predecessors. In Britain, during the repeated clashes between Palestine and Israel, the BBC has been less than impartial as prominence has been given to showing the damage caused by Israeli forces without mentioning this was in response to attacks on its territory. Palestinian spokesmen have rightly been given air time to state their case, which has been subject to less severe interviewing than to the more measured tones of the Israeli spokesman, Mark Regev.

When territorial and other disputes surface, our government
rather tends to not support Israel. However, a fascinating fact of history is that numerous British Prime Ministers who took sides against Israel, all subsequently suffered political defeat. Is that purely coincidental?

In numerous Biblical verses it is revealed that Israel was chosen by God, and whilst Jesus was sent to be the world’s Saviour, God has never abandoned His ancient people.

Let is not forget, when the Jews returned to their biblical homeland, it was largely a swamp filled, untilled wasteland. Jewish settlers drained malaria infested swamps and made it a flourishing fruit and agricultural success, planting millions of trees. In the wider world Jews have excelled in science, medical research, finance, the arts, and have a record number of Nobel prizes.

We must pray that both nations will strive to maintain a peace accord, but this can never happen if one party seeks to eliminate the other. It is in the interests of each nation’s population to accept each other’s right to exist, even if they find it hard to be amicable about it. How can life be pleasant for either nation if the threat of more violence is let loose on innocent people?