The Nation of Palestine
February 4, 2003
By Martha Lucia
The question continues to arise and be tossed around concerning the establishment of the nation of Palestine, we need to look at what God has already established in HIS WORD.
God is quite specific about borders when HE says I give you THIS land, he leaves no gray areas for question.
God spoke very clearly to Abraham when HE promised him a land and a people.
God told Abraham in Genesis 12 that He would make of him a great nation and bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him. God also said that all the families of the earth would be blessed and by you they will bless themselves. In Genesis 15:18-21 God set the boundaries of the land promised to Abraham and his seed (Isaac, Jacob).
Numbers 34:1-12 (Amp) is even more specific.
"And the Lord said to Moses, Command the Israelites, When you come into the land of Canaan (which is the land that shall be yours for an inheritance, the land of Canaan according to its boundaries), Your SOUTH side shall be from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom, and your SOUTHERN boundary from the end of the Salt (Dead) Sea eastward; Your boundary shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin; and its end shall be south of Kadesh-barnea, then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon; Then the boundary shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and it shall terminate at the (Mediterranean) Sea. For the WESTERN boundary you shall have the Great Sea and its coast. And this shall be your NORTH border: from the Great Sea mark out your boundary line to Mount Hor; From Mount Hor you shall mark out your boundary to the entrance of Hamath, and its end shall be at Zedad; Then the NORTHERN boundary shall go on to Ziphron, and the end of it shall be at Hazar-enan. You shall mark out your EASTERN boundary from Hazar-enan to Shepham; The boundary shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain, and shall descend and reach to the shoulder of the Sea of Chinnereth (that is, the Sea of Galilee) on the east; And the boundary shall go down to the Jordan, and the end shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land with its boundaries all around."
Could God have been more specific with the borders of the land HE meant to be the possession of the children of Abraham’s seed (Isaac)?
Amazingly, God also named Ishmael and promised him a land and a people. In Genesis 16 the angel of the Lord found Hagar in the wilderness on the road to Shur. He promised her that He would multiply her descendants so they could not be numbered and that her son would be named Ishmael (the first person God named before his birth). Genesis 16:12 (Amp) says, "And [Ishmael] shall be as a wild ass among men; his hand will be against every man and every man’s hand against him; and he will LIVE to the EAST and on the borders of all his kinsmen." This is a description of the wandering, lawless life of the Arabs, and also describes the land in which they are to live.
In Genesis 17, God continued to speak to Abraham promising to make him fruitful and give him nations. God spoke the following to Abraham concerning Isaac: "I will establish My covenant or solemn pledge with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his posterity after him." (Gen. 17:19, Amp) God did not leave out Abraham’s other son, Ishmael, saying, "I will bless him and make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly: he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation." (Gen. 17:20, Amp) God continued by making it clear that His covenant was with Isaac, "But My covenant, My promise and pledge, I will establish with Isaac." (Gen. 19:21, Amp) God's covenant was with Isaac, the seed of the one to whom all the land of Canaan was given and to whose seed formed the twelve tribes of Israel.
In Genesis 21:12 God once again said that in Isaac will Abraham’s posterity be called. He also said in Genesis 21:13 that He would make a nation of the son of the bondwoman (Hagar) because he (Ishmael) was the offspring of Abraham. Hagar was in the wilderness of BEERSHEBA when she heard the voice of the Lord as He promised to make of Ishmael a great nation – and he (Ishmael) dwelt in the wilderness of PARAN.
In Genesis 22 God instructed Abraham to take his son – HIS ONLY SON – to Mt. Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice to God, but then at the last moment God stopped him. (This act is a fore-shadowing of the Father God offering His ONLY SON JESUS to take away the sin of the world.) "And in your seed (Christ) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." (Gen. 22:18, Amp)
Genesis 25 – Abraham gave all that he had to his son Isaac. He gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them to the EAST country, away from Isaac, his son of promise.
"(v. 12) Now these are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bore to Abraham. (v. 16) These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments (sheepfolds); twelve princes according to their tribes (foretold in Gen 17:20) (v.18) And (Ishmael’s sons) dwelt from HAVILAH to SHUR, which is before Egypt in the direction of Assyria. (Ishmael) dwelt close (to the lands) of all his brethren." (Gen. 25:12, 16, and 18, Amp)
God gave Ishmael and his descendants a land. Looking at a biblical map, it appears to be the wilderness of Shur, the wilderness of Paran, the wilderness of Sin and the wilderness of Sinai. I am not sure if this is correct in today’s maps or not, but one thing I am sure of is this - God promised both these sons of Abraham land and people.
God gave both Isaac and Ishmael a land and a people, but the battle goes far beyond sibling rivalry. It is about the infallibility of the Word of God and His promises and the fullness of those promises. Satan is continuing to fuel this feud between two brothers attempting to stop the promises of God from coming to pass, but his attempts are futile. There is one spot on the earth that God swore by himself to give to a certain people, for a certain purpose. Satan will never allow (without a tremendous battle) that one spot on the earth, the temple mount in Jerusalem, to be under the control of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for he knows when he looses control of that spot the scripture in Luke 21:24-27 will be fulfilled. Satan's time is short. The enemy is once again asking the question, "Hath God said?"
Zechariah 14:2 says God will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, but the Lord will fight against those nations. Zechariah 2:11 says, "Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day and shall be My people." Does this mean that our nation does not have to be counted among the “All Nations” that come against Jerusalem, but can become one with the Lord and His purposes for Jerusalem?
We must pray for the leaders of the nations, (especially our nation) that they not come into agreement against the covenant of a Holy and Righteous God that would put our nations under the hand of God’s judgment instead of His Blessing.