"Hear the word of the Lord, O nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: `He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.' Jeremiah 31:10Perhaps there is no greater veracity to the God of the bible than the existence of Israel. The prophets predicted Israel would be reborn again and that the Jews would return. For nearly 2000 years it seemed impossible. Then in 1948, against all odds, it happened just as the bible predicted. Lets take a look at what makes Israel a modern day miracle.
The Jewish people
"Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known--wood and stone. And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul." Deuteronomy 28:64-65
Jewish diaspora (or dispersion) began as early as the Babylonian exile in 597 BC. In 70 AD the Romans, under Titus, destroyed Jerusalem and the second temple. According to the 1st-century historian Josephus about 1.1 million Jews were killed. Jews would be scattered around the world for the next nearly 2000 years. Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed the land Palestine after the Jews ancient enemies the Philistines. Over the course of there diaspora the Jews endured numerous incidents of persecution and by many accounts are considered to be the most persecuted people in history. Miraculously, not only did they survive but managed to retain there unique cultural identities without having a homeland.
Israel born in a day
"Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons." Isaiah 66:8
Nations rarely, if ever, are born in one day but this is exactly what happened just as the prophet Isaiah predicted. Since 70 AD Israel has passed through several hands, from Romans, to Arabs, to Crusaders, and back to the Muslims again. From 1516 to 1918 the Ottoman Turks controlled the region. The end to the Ottoman Empire came after they sided with the wrong side and lost in World War 1. From 1917-1948 Israel was under British control. It would take a holocaust for the world to recognize the need for a Jewish homeland. On November 29th 1947 the United Nations voted in favor of a partition plan to create two states, one Jewish the other Arab. Names were debated on what to call the fledgling state. Do we call it Zion? Do we call it Judea? David Ben-Gurion suggested the name Israel and at the last moment it was approved. On May 14th 1948 Israel was declared a nation in one day.
The Jews return home
"Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel."' Ezekiel 11:17
The desire for the Jews to return to there homeland began in the late 19th century with Theodor Herzl who is considered the father of modern Zionism. Herzl organized the First Zionist Congress in 1897. In 1950 the Law of Return granted every Jew the automatic right to return to Israel and become a citizen. A mass immigration began shortly thereafter with holocaust survivors coming from Europe and others from Libya, Yemen, and Iraq. The late 1950's and early 1960's saw another wave of Jewish immigrants from North Africa, Poland, Hungary, and Egypt. In Russia, Jews began returning in mass in the 1970's and after the fall of the Soviet Union some 700,000 Russian Jews immigrated to Israel. In the mid-1980's and early 1990's, special operations were carried out to bring Jewish community's from Ethiopia and resettle them in Israel. From 1948 to 2009 over three million Jews have immigrated to Israel.
The desert blooms
"The whole land [is] brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and His wrath." Deuteronomy 29:23
"The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." Isaiah 35:1
"So they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities [are now] fortified [and] inhabited." Ezekiel 36:35
Deuteronomy foretold that the land would become desolate because of Israel's idolatry, but Isaiah and Ezekiel promised that the land would eventually be restored. During the Ottoman Empire the Turks placed a tax on every living tree. The more tree's on a person's property the more taxes they had to pay. In an attempt to avoid the tax, trees were cut down in mass which ravaged the landscape and made the land desolate. In 1867 Mark Twain visiting Israel, then called Palestine, wrote "Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies. There is hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive and cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, have almost deserted the soil." In 1901 the Jewish National Fund was formed to help restore the land of Israel. Swamps were drained, deserts were irrigated, and trees were planted. Today Israel is one of two countries on earth that has more tree's today than it did 100 years ago.
Revival of a dead language
"For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him with one accord. " Zephaniah 3:9
The Hebrew language began to decline in use as early as the Babylonian captivity of the Jews in the 6th century B.C. Even in the time of Jesus the predominant Semitic language was Aramaic. For thousands of years Hebrew was relegated to religious services and sacred texts. It wasn't until the late 1800's that Eliezer Ben-Yehudah became the driving force behind the revival of Hebrew as a common language. It was a rule in Ben-Yehudah's house to speak only Hebrew and he raised his son speaking Hebrew exclusively. From that one household Hebrew grew to became the official language of Israel. To this date Hebrew is the only successful instance of a complete language revival.
Surviving against all odds
"I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God." Amos 9:15
Israel is situated in perhaps the most dangerous hostile part of the world, surrounded by enemies. Since Israel became a nation she has fought many wars that have threatened her very existence. When fighting broke out in 1948 British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery commented that Israel would survive no longer than three weeks. But just as Amos predicted, Israel continues to survive.
1948 The War of Independence:No sooner had Israel declared statehood when it was attacked by several Arab nations including Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Azam Pasha, Arab League Secretary General, said "This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the crusades.". Israel had not been an effective fighting force in over 2000 years. They had no tanks or cannons, and only a few obsolete planes. Weapons and ammunition were in short supply, a few months earlier the U.S. placed an arms embargo on the region to try to prevent bloodshed. David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, said "The best we can tell you is that we have a 50\50 chance." To everyone's surprise Israel won in January 1949 and even gained territory.
1967 The Six-Day War:Tensions were rising yet again. In May of '67 Egypt's president Nassar stated "The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are poised on the borders of Israel...to face the challenge, while standing behind us are the armies of Iraq, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan and the whole Arab nation. This act will astound the world. Today they will know that the Arabs are arranged for battle, the critical hour has arrived. We have reached the stage of serious action and not declarations." The writing was on the wall and Israel decided the best defense was a good offense. So on June 5th Israel launched a preemptive attack defeating three Arab armies in just 6 days. The stunning victory lead to the capture of the Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, Gaza, the West Bank, and for the first time in over 2000 years the Jews had control of Jerusalem.
1973 The Yom Kippur War:On October 6th 1973 a surprise attack was led by Egypt and Syria on Judaism's holiest day, Yom Kippur, knowing Israel's guard would be down. The Israeli forces were initially unprepared and overwhelmed by the attack. The story goes that the outlook was so dire that Prime Minister Golda Meir considered using nuclear weapons as a last resort. However with the help of U.S. aid Israel managed to rebound and repeal the attacks in spite of it's earlier losses. The war ended in a decisive victory for Israel on October 25th 1973. As a result of US support of Israel, OPEC placed an oil embargo on shipments to the US and other industrial nations.
Israel and particularly Jerusalem will increasingly become the center of attention as time moves on. The Arab\Israeli conflict has become the Gordian Knot that no politician has solved. Eventually the entire world will be drawn into the conflict. Keep watching!
