Deuteronomy 1:8  “I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.”

There is a war going on in the Middle East that Israel is losing. It is not the War in Gaza. Israel is close to eliminating Hamas. It is not the War with Iran. Israel has effectively destroyed Iran’s nuclear arsenal.

It is the War of Information. With the media and the United Nations against Israel, Hamas and their supporters have bombarded social media, left-wing media outlets and education institutions such as Columbia and Harvard with the lie that Israel is an “apartheid” state and a “settler colonial enterprise.”

What do we mean by “apartheid”? It derives from an African word for ‘apartness.’ It was the ideology of the National Party government in South Africa in 1948. Laws were enacted to force racial groups to live and develop separately (such as prohibiting racial inter-marriage and social integration). Apartheid was a social system to severely disadvantage the majority of South Africa because they were ‘non-white’.

In his June 2024 article “Is Israel an Apartheid State?”, Duncan Kennedy, the Carter Prof. of General Jurisprudence at Harvard Law School, compares Israel to the South African government, concluding that “The basic legal structure of separation and domination in the West Bank, which is effectively race-based (Jewish vs. Palestinian), has to do with, indeed it is itself, the (settler) colonial project.”

What is meant by “Settler colonialism”? It refers to an attempt by an imperial power – in this case, Israel – to replace the native population of a land – in this case, the Palestinians – with a new society of settlers.

The student group ‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ accuses Israel of both apartheid and settler-colonialism against Palestinians: “Zionism stands as a settler-colonial movement, establishing an apartheid state where Jews have more rights than others. Our own history teaches us how dangerous this can be.”

By charging Israel with apartheid and displacing native-born Palestinians, the goal of Hamas, other terrorist organizations, and left-wing universities like Harvard is to switch the narrative from Hama’s slaughter of over 1,200 innocent Israelis on October 7, 2023 to one of racial injustice for the Palestinians.

Does this sound familiar? It is the same tactic is used at America’s leftist universities, teaching our young adults that America was founded as a “settler-colonizer movement” to displace native Americans.

Charles Krauthammer, American political columnist, sees it differently than JVP and Harvard, claiming Israel is the rightful owner of the land: “Israel is the only nation on Earth that inhabits the same land, bears the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God it did 3,000 years ago.”

Who is right? Has the land belonged to the Jews, or were the Palestinians the original, native settlers of the land and Israel is an “imperial colonizer,” creating an apartheid state to displace them?

Looking back in history, we have affirmed in our previous Article #577 that Israel is the rightful owner of the land from antiquity, tracing the historical ownership of the land to the nation of Israel. A condensed summary of Article #577 (1,400 BC – 900 BC, over 3,400 years ago), shows Israel in the land:

1400BC – 1200BC: The 12 Tribes of Israel

The 12 tribes of Israel inhabited the land of Canaan under the theocracy of YHWH. Before these 12 tribes was the state of Canaan, not a Palestinian state.

1200 BC – 1020BC: The Kingdom of Israel

The Kingdom of Israel was established after the 12 tribes were in the land, centered in Jerusalem over an area approximating today’s land of Israel. It was not a Palestinian state.

1020BC – 900BC: The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

Saul was Israel’s first King. Jerusalem was King David’s capital. King Solomon built the First Temple.

After Solomon, Israel split into the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. There was no Palestinian state.

Charles Krauthammer was correct. Israel’s right to their homeland was determined over 3,000 years ago.

Question: Does the Bible say the land occupied by Israel today has always been their land?

The website ‘GotQuestions’ gives an excellent summary on this point: “The promise of land belonging to the children of Israel is permanent.

Even when Israel was expelled from their land, which has happened twice in history (Babylonian exile and Roman destruction of Jerusalem), God promised they would return:

“Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it” (Deuteronomy 30:4–5).

This promise is part of what is today sometimes called the Land Covenant (Deuteronomy 29:1-30:10).

In foretelling the removal of Israel from their land, the Land Covenant anticipated the Babylonian Captivity (586BC) and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem (AD70). In both cases, the promise of the covenant held true: the Jews regained their land and their nation in 537BC and again in AD1948. Israel is still in their land, despite the fact that their conquerors, Babylon and Rome, are long gone.

All of this reinforces the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that God would establish Israel in their land as His chosen people (Deuteronomy 29:13).

The Land Covenant also contains some special promises to Israel that many believe will not be completely fulfilled until the millennial reign of Christ.

According to Genesis 15:18 and Joshua 1:4, the land God gave to Israel included everything from the Nile River in Egypt to Lebanon (south to north) and everything from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River (west to east).

On today’s map, the land God has stated belongs to Israel includes everything modern-day Israel possesses, plus all of the territory occupied by the Palestinians (the West Bank and Gaza), plus some of Egypt and Syria, plus all of Jordan, plus some of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Thus, Israel currently possesses only a fraction of the land God has promised; the rest of their inheritance likely awaits the return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

God has given His word that the nation of Israel will never cease as long as the sun still shines by day and the moon and stars still shine by night (Jeremiah 31:35-37).”

Below are 95+ verses from Genesis through Chronicles (including this week’s verse) confirming God promised the land known as Israel to the Jews. Which means no one can take it from them.

1400 BC (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy) = 47 verses

Genesis 12:1 “The Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

Genesis 12:7 “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.’”

Genesis 13:15 “All the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.”

Genesis 13:17 “Arise, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”

Genesis 15:18-21 “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

Genesis 17:7-8 “I will establish my covenant between Me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

Genesis 24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ He will send His Angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.”

Genesis 26:3 “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.”

Genesis 28:13 “The Lord stood above it and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.’”

Exodus 3:8 “I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”

Exodus 13:5 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.”

Exodus 23:31 “I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.”

Leviticus 20:24 “I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.”

Leviticus 25:23 “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is Mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with Me.”

Leviticus 26:1-5 “You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. If you walk in My statutes and observe My commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely.”

Deuteronomy 1:8 “I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.”

Deuteronomy 3:20 “Until the Lord gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also occupy the land that the Lord your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.”

Deuteronomy 4:5 “See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.”

Deuteronomy 5:31 “Stand here by me, and I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.”

Deuteronomy 11:9 “That you may live long in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Deuteronomy 11:12 “A land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.”

Deuteronomy 11:31 “For you are to cross over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

Deuteronomy 12:1 “These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth.”

Deuteronomy 15:4 “But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess.”

Deuteronomy 17:14 “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me…’”

Deuteronomy 18:9 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations.”

Deuteronomy 19:1-3 “When the Lord your God cuts off the nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses, you shall set apart 3 cities for yourselves in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess. You shall measure the distances and divide into 3 parts the area of the land that the Lord your God gives you as a possession, so that any manslayer can flee to them.”

Deuteronomy 19:8 “If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land that He promised to give to your fathers…”

Deuteronomy 21:1 “If in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him…”

Deuteronomy 26:9 “He brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Deuteronomy 26:15 “Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Deuteronomy 27:3 “You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you.”

Deuteronomy 30:1-3 “When all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.”

Deuteronomy 30:4-5 “If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.”

Deuteronomy 31:20 “When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant.”

1370 BC (Joshua) = 7 verses

Joshua 1:4-6 “From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.”

Joshua 5:6 “The people of Israel walked 40 years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Joshua 21:43-45 “The Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies withstood them; the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”

1000 BC (Judges, Psalms) = 2 verses

Judges 2:1 “Now the Angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And He said, ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you.’”

Psalm 105:11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”

800 BC (Joel) = 1 verse

Joel 3:2 “I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of My people and My heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up My land.”

750 BC (Amos) = 1 verse

Amos 9:15 “I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.

700 BC (Isaiah) = 5 verses

Isaiah 11:11-12 “In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

Isaiah 14:1 “The Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob.”

Isaiah 60:21 “Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.”

Isaiah 66:8 “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children.”

600 BC (Jeremiah) = 18 verses

Jeremiah 2:7 “I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.”

Jeremiah 16:14-15 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.”

Jeremiah 23:3-6 “Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our Righteousness.;”

Jeremiah 30:3 “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

Jeremiah 31:35-37 “Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name): ‘If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever. Thus says the Lord: ‘If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 32:37-44 “I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.”

580 BC (Ezekiel) = 14 verses

Ezekiel 11:17 “Thus says the Lord God: ‘I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’”

Ezekiel 20:42 “You shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers.”

Ezekiel 34:13 “I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.”

Ezekiel 36:24 “I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.”

Ezekiel 37:11-12 “God said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.’”

Ezekiel 37:21-22 “Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.”

Ezekiel 39:25-29 “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy name. They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them have vindicated My holiness in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel,’ declares the Lord God.”

Ezekiel 47:14 “You shall inherit it equally with one another, for I lifted My hand in an oath to give it to your fathers. This land shall fall to you as your inheritance.”

450 BC (Chronicles) = 1 verse

2 Chronicles 20:7 “Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?”

“The Evidence of Faith’s Substance”_Article #647