I have a question for you. Have you ever wondered why fake news outlets are so bent on demonizing Israel? People are literally boycotting products made by Jewish people because they live in Judea! Somehow they are convinced that giving militant terrorists (whose charter, by the way, explicitly says that their goal is to wipe Israel off the map) a state in Israel’s biblical heartland will bring peace to the region. Their conclusions are obviously ridiculous and lacking common sense. However, their passion and intensity begs the question: Why are they so obsessed with cursing the land and people of Israel?
Thankfully, the Bible sheds much-needed light on the current situation and gives us hope for a day when there will be true and lasting peace in the holy land. Genesis Chapter 12 says that Almighty God made a covenant with our Father Abraham. According to that covenant, God would make Abraham a great nation and give him a very specific land.
As I write this, I’m actually sitting in my office, located on biblical Mt Gerizim, just one mountaintop over from Elon Moreh (Mt. Kabir), the exact location where God spoke the Genesis 12 covenant to Abraham. It’s amazing to be right here where God spoke and made the covenant that would launch God’s master plan of salvation for all humanity. I can just imagine God’s voice, booming from the clouds and echoing through the valleys as he made a covenant with Abraham, “Lezarecha eiten et ha’aretz hazot: to your descendants, I will give this land.”
This very significant biblical place, Elon Moreh, where Almighty God covenanted this very specific piece of real estate to Abraham, is located in the same area that you’ve probably heard referred to in the media as the “West Bank.” Almost every political leader in our times is obsessed with stealing this land from the Jewish people, the descendants of Abraham, and turning it into a Palestinian State.
There are actually four locations where God covenanted the land of Israel to the Jewish people. Elon Moreh, Bethel, Hebron, and Gerar. Each of these is located in the so-called “West Bank” except for Gerar, which is located in the modern Gaza Strip! In case you’re not aware, the Gaza strip is located in southern Israel. Jews were expelled from there in 2005, and the land was given to the Arabs. Since then, Israel has seen nothing but rockets and terrorism come from that place. So, my point is that all four of these locations where God covenanted the land to the Jewish people are the exact areas that the so-called Palestinians want to take over.
The Bible also records four purchase deeds to this land. Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah in Hebron, Jacob bought the parcel of land in Shechem, King David bought the Temple Mount, and Jeremiah bought the field in Anatot. Once again, all of these places are located in what the mainstream media would call “the West Bank.” Biblically, the area is called Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria.
Obviously, the name “West Bank” is not mentioned in the Bible, so many Christians don’t realize how biblically, archaeologically, and prophetically significant this area is. The vast majority of the Bible was either written or occurred in the so-called “West Bank.”
So the next time you hear “the West Bank” mentioned in the news, be aware that they are not referring to a meaningless place with no historical or biblical significance; they are talking about the biblical heartland of Israel that was covenanted by God to the Jewish people forever.
As you can see, there is a very real spiritual battle that is expressing itself in very physical ways in Israel today. Attacks against the Jewish people have been consistent throughout history. Pharaoh, Amalek, Haman, Antiochus, Titus, the Crusaders, the Inquisition, Martin Luther, and Adolf Hitler, all hated the Jews. Unfortunately, many Christians continue in their footsteps in our times.
As people who believe in God and the Bible, I encourage you to get involved. It’s time for us as Christians to repent and turn from our 2000-year track record of hatred and persecution of the Jewish people. We are biblically mandated to love, bless, and serve Israel. Let’s take up our Genesis 12 calling and stand with God’s chosen people.
