Israel - Historical, Legal & Biblical Legitimacy

What is the Historical legitimacy of the nation of Israel?

Biblical History

It would be almost impossible to read the 5 books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, without seeing the promise of the land, then called Canaan. The very first promise to Abram is seen in Gen. 12:1-3

Genesis 12:1–3 TLV

Then Adonai said to Abram, “Get going out from your land, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. My heart’s desire is to make you into a great nation, to bless you, to make your name great so that you may be a blessing. My desire is to bless those who bless you, but whoever curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.

This shows that the Lord God was promising Abram (whose name was changed to Abraham) a land, and a people. Then a little later, we see Abraham complaining that he does not yet have either. We read in Gen. 15:18-20

Genesis 15:18–20 (TLV)

On that day Adonai cut a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River.

So which land is it? Well, everything between the River Euphrates and the River of Egypt. I would like to point out that the only time in history that the people of Israel had this much land, was in the days of the Son of David, King Solomon.

Now, this promised land given to Abraham, was confirmed to his descendants, Isaac (in Gen 26) and Jacob (Gen. 35), whose name was changed by God to Israel.

Near the end of Moses’s life he defeated the kingdoms of Sihon and Og Amorite Kings East and North of the Jordan River. But Adonai refused to allow Israel to have the lands of Moab or Edom, East and South of the Jordan.

In the Book of Joshua, we see the nation of Israel conquering the land of Canaan West of the Jordan river. And what we see is that through divine intervention, the people of Israel rarely lost even a single soldier in the battles that they fought (check out Num. 31).

Archaeological Evidence

Some people think that the Exodus happened during Ramsees II, about 1290 BCE. However Ramsees II’s son, Merneptah, records how he defeated the nation of Israel in a battle. This means that Joshua would have entered the land of Canaan a couple of hundred years before, or around 1500 BCE. It is also around that earlier time, that we see Jericho burned with fire.

There are so many archaeological finds that corroborate the account seen in Scripture. In archaeology we find the names of the northern Kings of Israel: Omri, Ahab, Jehu, Joash, Jeroboam II, Menahem, Pekah & Hoshea. We also find the Southern Kings: David, Uzziah, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Hilkiah, Jehoiachin, and many many more.

The point I am making is this, the children of Israel have a historical right to the land, specifically all the land West of the Jordan River, from the Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt.

Fast forwarding 1500 years we see that the land was called Idumea (or Judea), Samaria and Galilee. And we see that the authors of the New Testament call the people and the land “Israel” over 120 times. As an example let’s read from Paul in Romans 11:1-2

Romans 11:1–2 (TLV)

I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He knew beforehand.

What is the Legal legitimacy of the modern nation of Israel?

We are now going to fast-forward almost 2000 years, but before we do we need to look at one important fact. After the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, and more specifically after the failed BarKochba Revolt in 132AD, the Romans did several things.

They expelled the Jewish people from the land of Israel (but not all of them left),

They renamed the land, Syria-Palestinia, after the mortal enemies of the Israelites, the Philistines.

Now, over the next 1800 years the land of Israel was controlled by the Byzantines from 324 AD, the Muslims from 638 AD, the Crusaders came in 1099 AD, then the Ayyubid Muslims in 1187 AD, the Crusaders came back in 1229-1244 AD, the Ayyubid fought back in 1244 AD), then the Mamluk Muslims in 1250 AD, and then finally the Ottoman Turkish Muslims 1516-1917 AD.

Now what happened in 1917? WW1 finished with help from the Australian Light Horsemen.

Leading up to WW1 there was a rise of Arab nationalism and a desire to break away from the Ottoman Turks and become independent states. You might have heard of Lawrence of Arabia? Lawrence was a British soldier who went around and gathered support to overthrow the Ottoman Empire just prior to WW1. The British made promises to the Arab peoples (see Hussein-McMahon correspondence), that if they helped Great Britian win the war against Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia and the Ottoman Empires then they would be granted independent states.

At the same time Jewish nationalism was rising. British Zionists, such as Chaim Weizmann lobbied the British Government for a greater consideration of a Jewish homeland, especially with the increased Russian pogroms. The idea was that the promise of a Jewish homeland would encourage Jewish people around the world to financially support the British side of the war efforts. From this we get the Balfour Declaration in 1917.

Well, what happened? England and the Allies won WW1 and all of the nations that lost were carved up into independent countries. The new nations created after WW1 include: Estonai, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Finland.

At the San Remo Conference in 1920, the League of Nations divided the Ottoman empire into Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the British Mandate of Palestine. This conference, and its formal recognition at the Franco-British Convention of 1920, established the legal right of all of these nations, including the land west of the Jordan river to be a Jewish state.

In 1922, the British mandate of Palestine was divided into a two-state solution. The land East of the Jordan river was given the the Heshemites and became Jordan. The land West of the Jordan river was to be held in trust until the Jewish people could establish a Jewish nation.

Unfortunately Britain made conflicting promises, miss-managed the mandate, limited Jewish immigration, and when WW2 broke out, even sent ships of Jewish refugees back to Nazi Germany.

After WW2 and the holocaust, Britain turned to the newly formed UN for help. The UN formed a Partition Plan - Resolution 181 (1947). This resolution did not create the state of Israel because a resolution of the general assembly is not legally binding, but only recommended the creation of two more states, a Jewish and and Arab state in the land west of the Jordan river. The Jewish people accepted this, the Arabs refused. Therefore this resolution never became legally binding, and the last international law that defined the borders of the Jewish state of Israel are defined by the San Remo Conference of 1920.

Put it this way, if Israel does not have a right to exist as a nation, then neither do Poland, Finland, Syria, let alone all of the countries of North Africa which were formed in the 1950s and 1960s.

What legitimacy does the modern state of Israel have in the Scriptures?

New Covenant

Firstly, the New Covenant is still for the children of Israel by birthright, and there is nothing in the new covenant that replaces the Abrahamic or the Davidic covenants. And with regards to the Mosaic covenant, the New Covenant does not replace the Law, but rather writes the Law on our hearts, causes us to know the Lord and provides forgiveness for sins. So, the only part of the Mosaic covenant that is superseded by the New Covenant are the sacrifices and offerings for sin and iniquity.

The promise of the land and the covenant of being a people, is still in force from Abraham’s time. The promise of a ruler who is the Son of David, is still in force since David’s time. The promise of provision in the Promise Land and judgement for breaking covenant with Adonai is still in force since Moses’ time. The only thing that has changed is the way of repentance/forgiveness. Adonai provided a Son of David, who according to (Daniel 9:24), put an end to transgression, brought sin to an end, atoned for iniquity and brought in everlasting righteousness.

Re-establishment of Israel

We have seen the one of the greatest miraculous fulfillment’s of Scripture with the re-establishment/rebirth of the State of Israel. In Eze 34 we see a prophesy of God to the people of Israel: Eze. 34:25-30 Listen to the references to the land of Israel in this passage.

Ezekiel 34:25–30 TLV

“I will make a covenant of shalom with them. I will remove the evil beasts from the land, so they may dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest. I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will cause the rain to come down in its season. There will be showers of blessing. The tree of the field will yield its fruit. The ground will yield its produce. They will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am Adonai, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. They will no longer be prey to the nations. The beast of the earth will not devour them. They will live in security. No one will make them afraid. I will make their agriculture renowned. They will no longer be consumed with hunger in the land. They will no longer bear the scorn of the nations. They will know that I, Adonai their God, am with them. They, the house of Israel, are My people.” It is a declaration of Adonai.

Or how about Zech 12:2-5

Zechariah 12:2–5 TLV

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the surrounding peoples when they besiege Jerusalem as well as Judah. Moreover, in that day I will make Jerusalem a massive stone for all the people. All who try to lift it will be cut to pieces. Nevertheless, all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against her. In that day”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with madness. I will keep My eyes on the house of Judah but will blind every horse of the peoples. Then the leaders of Judah will say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength through Adonai-Tzva’ot their God.”

Or how about Deut 30:4-5

Deuteronomy 30:4–5 TLV

Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the heavens, from there Adonai your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Adonai your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, and you will possess it; and He will do you good and multiply you more than your fathers.

But some people might say, “Those are from the Old Testament”…Well let’s see what Paul says later in Rom 11:25-27 where he quotes from the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah.

Romans 11:25–27 TLV

For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be ignorant of this mystery—lest you be wise in your own eyes—that a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer shall come out of Zion. He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

Or how about when the Disciples asked in Acts 1:6-7

Acts 1:6–7 TLV

So when they gathered together, they asked Him, “Lord, are You restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” He said to them, “It is not your place to know the times or seasons which the Father has placed under His own control.

Notice that Jesus does not say “No” but simply “Not yet.”

Future (Current) Promises

There is still the eternal kingdom in Zion that God promised to David. (Isa. 59:20-21, Zech. 14:4)

There is still the spiritual revival and redemption promised in [Ezekiel 36:24-28]. Where the Lord promises that after returning the people of Israel to the Land of Israel, He would spiritually cleanse them and put a “new spirit” within them.

Before our eyes we are seeing Adonai returning the remnant of His people from the four corners of the Earth and restoring the Kingdom of David. (Isa. 11)

And as Jesus said in Matt. 23:37-39, when the people of Israel and the capital Jerusalem calls out for Him to return, his feet will once again stand on the Mount of Olives, just as Zechariah said, and then Jesus will return as King of kings and Lord of lords!