Israel (7) - Land Rights

Many Christians claim that God has given Israel the right to all the land within its biblical boundaries. The same people believe that Christians must bless the nation of Israel to receive the blessings of God. They also believe that the existence of the nation of Israel is necessary for the Second Coming of Jesus. The truth is quite different.

God did not give the land in perpetuity. It was a gift, conditional on obedience to his law. While promising to bless Israel, God warned that if they failed to keep their side of the covenant, they would be removed from the land.

If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the Lord your God You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess. Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other…. Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life (Deut 28:58,63-66).

The Mosaic covenant made life in the land conditional on obedience to God. It also promised a promise of return to land contingent of faith in God.

When you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers (Deut 30:2-5).

The Jewish people still have a claim to their homeland, but it depends on their turning back to God and fulfilling their covenant. While promising to bless Israel in the land, God also warned that they would lose the land, if they failed to obey the law, God gave the land in perpetuity, but the gift was conditional on keeping the covenant. While the old covenant is being broken, the promise of the land is on hold.