From Eliyahu
The nation of Israel is the Chosen Nation, and
the other nations don't seem to be very happy about that. Now-a-days, equality
is the standard. Everyone and everything has to be seen as equal or people start
to get miffed, so how can Israel be the Chosen Nation? Isn't that idea of a
special nation a bit presumptuous?
The short answer is 'no' that's not
presumptuous, its just true. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the
people of Israel are somehow intrinsically better than other people. That is
simply not the case. Israel was not chosen because of some innate superiority of
their own as compared with others. YHWH chose Israel as His nation for a reason
of His own, not because of them. In our last Remnant RoundUp we saw that
the original 70 nations, from which all other nations (with the exception of
Israel) later sprung - all of those 70 nations rejected God.
Some Americans might not agree regarding
America. Doesn't the Pledge of Allegiance call the country "one nation under
God"? Actually, that is a sentiment rather than a reality. How can America be
"under God" when the country has excluded God? The facts are that God has been
expelled from public schools and other public institutions of government. The
law of the land is interpreted as requiring that God must be locked out of
government in America. Separation of Church and State they call it. America has,
in fact, rejected God along with the other nations of the world. But I digress,
so lets get back to the point.
Having been rejected by all the nations of the
world, YHWH set about raising up one nation as His own, to represent Him in the
world. That nation is Israel - the chosen nation, set apart to represent God in
the world. How has Israel performed, so far? Less than perfect, for sure.
However, that is not for the other nations to judge. Israel's performance of
their covenant with Him is for YHWH to judge. He has and He will - but He will
always keep His covenant and He will never give up on His nation. YHWH says:
"Yet for all that, when they are in
the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor
them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I
am YHWH their God; but I will for their sake remember the covenant of
their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of
the nations, that I might be their God. I am YHWH." (Leviticus
26:44-45)
This brings us to questions about the Land of
Israel. Many see Israel as stealing land that belongs to others, which is quite
opposite from the truth. Notice that "the covenant of their ancestors" mentioned
in the passage above begins with the covenant YHWH made with Abram (Abraham) and
his chosen nation of descendants. Scripture says: "In that day YHWH made a
covenant with Abram, saying, To your seed I have given this land, from the river
of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates". Israel has a very
specific land grant from earth's Creator, recorded in Scripture. What other
nation has that? To argue with that land grant is to argue with God. I don't
recommend that.
Actually, the present day State of Israel
occupies much less than the total plot of land that has been granted to them by
YHWH. Don't be too shocked when the day comes in which Israel will dwell upon it
all, just as Scripture indicates. (Genesis 15:18).