Friday, August 19, 2005

Israel's Troubles

I have been watching the happenings in Gaza with the Jewish people being forced out of their homes because of the government's decision to pull out of the area, and I have no idea what to make of it.

I know of God's promise to Abraham back in the ancient times to give this land to him and his descendents if they remained faithful to God. In fact, the borders of the "promised land" are much wider than what Israel has claimed for the last 50 years. Looking at the story of the history of Israel in the OT, it seems that they never received all of the promised land because of their unfaithfulness to God.

I've always heard that God doesn't retract his promises, so I'm guessing that the covenant God made with Abraham still holds true.

What do y'all think about this, or have you given it any thought? Does it matter to those of us who don't live there?

11 comments:

Tony Arnold said...

Not sure how this comment applies, but it is interesting to consider that even though God does abandon his promises, he did let the Iraelites be enslaved to the Egyptian's for a very long time. 500 hundred years, I think?

There were other very long periods of so-called abandonment.

Check out this web site on Don Finto's work in the Messianic Jewish Missionary field. He feels God is reclaiming the Jews in miraculous ways right now. Very positive person.
Caleb Company

Tony

Little Light said...

I think peace is more important at this point rather than who is right or wrong, but like you said, I don't live there (and not that this is going to make things peaceful for that matter).

Tony Arnold said...

I meant "God does not abandon his promises. What an omission!

Tony

JMG said...

I figured that's what you meant based on your context.

I only marked five points off on that one.
:-)

Wasp Jerky said...

You also have to take into account that, if Muslims are the decendents of Ishmael, then they are also the decendents of Abraham, which means that they would also receive the land that God promised, if they were faithful.

JMG said...

I thought of that. Of course, some will say that it was Isaac that was the son of the promise, but God did say that all of Abraham's descendents would be blessed.

jettybetty said...

I am glad you solved this one without me--I do not understand what is going on over there!

JB

Ayatollah Mugsy said...

Please allow me to offer a Muslim perspective. Many Muslims share the Jewish and Christian belief that the occupied Palestinian territories were promised by God to Abraham. However, Muslims also believe that God's gift of Islam -- the most recent of the three major monotheistic faiths -- rendered the previous covenant obsolete. As was mentioned above, others believe that because Ishmael was firstborn, he should inherit the promise along with Isaac.

As a canine imam who strives to be respectful of all faiths, I find it hard to dismiss the claims of either the Palestinians or the Zionists. Perhaps the only viable -- albiet unlikely -- solution is to construct a series of two-story structures across the Gaza Strip and West Bank, with Jews occupying one floor and Muslims occupying the other. Of course, they would have to find some way to alternate so that each faction would have an equal share of good views.

JMG said...

Great idea Mugsy!

I wonder just how much ill feeling there would be between the two factions if there weren't extremists on both sides who felt the need to be so, well, extreme?

Ayatollah Mugsy said...

Sadly, the situation in Gaza continues to produce victims.

JERUSALEM (AP) - About 100 pets left behind when settlers were evacuated from Gaza - including an iguana - have been rounded up so far by animal rights groups, the Israeli government said in a statement Wednesday.

JMG said...

You know, I realize that this is a traumatic situation for these people, but how do they forget that they have pets? I would never leave without my dogs, I don't care how bad things are.