The Truth About the "West Bank"

Written by Mitch Glaser

Who really owns Judea and Samaria? This subject can be approached from a political perspective or from a biblical point of view. I prefer to look at the issue biblically.

Clearly, the boundaries established by God in His covenant with Abraham include both Judea and Samaria. How else could we possibly understand the following passage of Scripture:

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite (Genesis 15:18-21)

If we take Scripture literally; then we must come to the conclusion that the nation of Israel is one country and that Judea and Samaria, the West Bank, is part of Israel-deeded by God to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This should not surprise us. The time that God sets the boundaries of Israel is consistent in both the Old and New Covenant Scriptures. As Paul wrote,

and He made from one {man} every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined {their} appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us (Acts 17:26-27)

The Lord God establishes the boundaries of every nation on the planet-including and perhaps even especially Israel. The link between the Land of Israel and the Jewish people was established by God, not man. And this "Land of Promise" includes the West Bank.

Many ask, "When does Israel have the right to take ownership of the land promised to them by God? Now, or when the Messiah returns to rule? " Whatever God's timing may be, I do not think this question determines the issue of Israel's rightful boundaries. Whether the Land will become Israel's possession at the return of Yeshua or prior to that time does not alter the truth that the Land is deeded to Israel.

Let me summarize. The Land of Israel was promised by God to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This includes what is commony called the West Bank. In addition to this, the right of ownership to the Land of Promise began the moment God made His covenant with Abram. Therefore, the Jewish people have always had the right of ownership to the entire Land of Israel, including all its biblical boundaries. However, that does not mean that the Jewish people will have peaceful possession of the Land prior to the establishment of Messiah's kingdom on earth.

This time of shalom, to come is linked to Israel's embracing the person of Yeshua, as promised by the prophet Zechariah:

"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)

We might ask a further question: how long a lease did God establish with the Jewish people? The answer is made clear by the prophet Jeremiah:

'Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and dwell on the land which the LORD has given to you and your forefathers forever and ever (Jeremiah 25:5).

The phrase "forever and ever" is used thirteen times in Scripture and most often refers to the nature of God. This time, the prophet uses this unique double mention of the Hebrew term ~lw[ olam in reference to the nation of Israel to demonstrate that God's promise of the Land of Israel to the Jewish people would endure for all time.

The Bible could not be any clearer on this issue. This lease exists as long as the earth endures-in whatever form. Whether or not the Jewish people live in the Land in peace depends upon Israel's obedience to God. But Israel's obedience or disobedience does not alter God's unconditional promise of the Land of Israel to the seed of the Patriarchs ( Genesis 35:11, Psalm 135:12).

This Article taken from:
The Chosen People Newsletter



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