Who deserves the land of Israel?
Who deserves the land of Israel?
It's a simple question to ask, one that you might think Christians and non-Christians might ask themselves, but seldom do.
It is sometimes astonishing to learn just how many Christians and theologians, and especially those who advocate support for the modern Israeli state, simply do not know very well their own Bible.
As a direct result, they also fail to fully understand exactly who deserves the land of Israel.
Many would immediately say without thinking or any hesitation:
"Why... Israel does! The Jewish people deserve the land of Israel!"
This answer may sound like it should make sense, right?
After all the Jewish people are Israel, aren’t they?
Are they all of Israel ?
Do the Jewish people in fact deserve all the land of Israel/Palestine?
Did God ever say so?
Why don't we take a quick look in the Holy Bible to find out?
First, you'll look at what the Bible says about the land, specifically regarding Israel.
Deuteronomy 34:1-4 (KJV)
And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And YHWH shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, [2] And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, [3] And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. [4] And YHWH said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.
If you notice, YHWH, the Hebrew God of Israel, shows and gives to Moses the Israelite nations' boundaries. Also notice YHWH names specific tribes of Israel such as Dan, Naphtali, Ephraim, Manasseh, Judah.
These names are specific tribes of Israel.
The land inheritance is found in another section of the law (or the Torah), in the Old Testament book of Numbers.
Read and closely notice, all of the names of the tribes given allotments of land "for an inheritance."
Numbers 34:1-29 (KJV)
And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying, [2] Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:) [3] Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: [4] And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon: [5] And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea. [6] And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border. [7] And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor: [8] From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad:
[9] And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar-enan: this shall be your north border. [10] And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham: [11] And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward: [12] And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about. [13] And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which YHWH commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe: [14] For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance: [15] The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising. [16] And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying, [17] These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. [18] And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance. [19] And the names of the men are these: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. [20] And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. [21] Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. [22] And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli. [23] The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod. [24] And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. [25] And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulon, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. [26] And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan. [27] And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. [28] And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud. [29] These are they whom YHWH commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
The first thing you should notice, is the land mentioned (Numbers 34:1-29) in the ancient borders of Canaan, is allotted to the children of Israel, and each tribe mentioned by YHWH is allotted land for its inheritance.
It's therefore very important to understand which of the land the Jewish people actually received from God.
To help you understand this, you will look at a brief charted study of the tribes that receive lots of land by inheritance right according to the Word of YHWH to his servant Moses.
Below is a colorful chart showing all of the tribes of Israel which according to the Hebrew Bible text will receive land inheritance allotments.
Look at the following charted list below and see what the Holy Bible, the Word of God, says regarding each tribe of Israel.
As you look at each tribe compare the Word of God to the modern day understanding of the land inheritance rights as taught by many Christian preachers, most Bible prophesy authors and all so-called "Christian Zionists."
Amazing! Is it not?
Surprisingly, a majority of the modern church, and today's Christian theologians, Bible prophesy authors, and self-professed Christian Zionists, do not seem to know or can correctly identify, the true Biblical borders of the land inheritance which the Jewish people receive!
Now take a look at the biblical Inheritance of the 12 tribes of Israel, of whom only the tribe of Levi has no land inheritance.
Note the above color breakdown of tribe name (blue and yellow) and associated tribal symbols (above) as you look at what most Bible commentaries as the supposed or alleged ancient borders of each tribe in its allotted land inheritance will receive.
The Land inheritances of the tribes of Israel
It's painfully obvious that a majority of the world's Christians seem to have no idea of just who deserves the land of Israel, and even worse they have no idea of who ISRAEL as, 12 separate Hebrew Israelite tribes, even was.
Thus, it is quite common for Christians to make blatantly ignorant error filled statements like the claim that:
"The land that God promised to Abraham belongs only to the Jewish People."
Such statements are not only without a biblical foundation, they are not of the truth or a myth and a distortion of reality.
The Jews or the Jewish people who might possibly be descended from the house of Judah— only deserve their rightful allotted inheritance of two tribes of the bottom half of the present Israeli modern "Jewish" state in the middle east.
This further proves the sand-like foundation of false theology today rampant in many churches and Bible commentaries which (regardless of their correct Bible maps showing divided lots of Israel) teach that the Jewish people deserve and have an unchallenged undeniable right to the land of Palestine, thus Christians make the mistake of creating a basis of support for the "Jewish State of Israel," which does not currently deserve to own, or rightfully have any rights to the northern section of territory, unless they can prove to have biblical based blood line inheritance to the ten northern tribes of Israel.
Even then, to take this land by force and shedding blood would be contrary to the Word of God—especially under the New Covenant.
Of course, this will be very difficult for the Jews to claim this ancestry of the house of Israel, because the Holy Bible never states that any tribes, other than the two tribes of Benjamin and Judah (a portion of Levi at one time before the Babylonian captivity) are or could be correctly identified as "Jews" or "the Jewish people"
This is because the other 10 tribes of Israel were never called or biblically known as "Jews," they are simply Israelites, of the children of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Furthermore, the 10 tribes did not practice anything like Judaism (as it did not exist yet) as they even had forsaken God's holy laws and their Hebrew customs and had become no more identifiable as "Israelites," once they were scattered and lost into the gentiles (other nations), and thus adopted the lifestyles of the heathen and their gods and like traditions.
Therefore the Jewish people or anyone "Jewish" cannot in large numbers claim decent of the ten lost tribes of the House of Israel—which was given the northern land inheritance of the Israelite kingdom.
The last main mention of the land inheritance of the children of Israel, is in the book of the prophet Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 47:13-48:14 (KJV)
Thus saith the Lord God; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.[14] And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance. [15] And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad; [16] Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazar-hatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran. [17] And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side. [18] And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side. [19] And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward. [20] The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side. [21] So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.
[22] And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. [23] And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord God.
[48:1] Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan. [2] And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher. [3] And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali. [4] And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh. [5] And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim. [6] And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben. [7] And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
[8] And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it. [9] The oblation that ye shall offer unto YHWH shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth. [10] And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of YHWH shall be in the midst thereof. [11] It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray. [12] And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites. [13] And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand. [14] And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto YHWH.
Ezekiel 48:22-29 (KJV)
Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince. [23] As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion. [24] And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion. [25] And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion. [26] And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion. [27] And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion. [28] And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea. [29] This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord God.
What does God say about His land He gave to the children of Israel (that if they obey His commandments they would remain and live on the land promised to Jacob and his seed forever)?
Ezekiel 36:1-38 (KJV)
Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of YHWH: [2] Thus saith the Lord God; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession: [3] Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people: [4] Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about; [5] Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. [6] Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: [7] Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.
[8] But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. [9] For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: [10] And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: [11] And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am YHWH. [12] Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men. [13] Thus saith the Lord God; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations; [14] Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord God. [15] Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord God.
[16] Moreover the word of YHWH came unto me, saying, [17] Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. [18] Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: [19] And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. [20] And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land.
[21] But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. [22] Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. [23] And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am YHWH, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. [24] For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
[25] Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. [26] A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. [27] And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. [28] And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. [29] I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. [30] And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. [31] Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. [32] Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. [33] Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. [34] And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. [35] And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. [36] Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I YHWH build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I YHWH have spoken it, and I will do it. [37] Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. [38] As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am YHWH.
Just as the church has misidentified Israel, so have the majority of theologians misinterpreted the Bible prophesies concerning the children of Israel and their land inheritance.
In their misidentification of this, they have incorrectly applied these prophesies to a modern state-let created in 1948 by the United Nations, built upon the foundations of pharisaical Judaism, and aided by Russian military arms, facilitated by militant and racist Zionism, and self-fulfilling actions of Jewish settlers who claim to the title of "Israel" and the land—an inheritance of the 12 tribes of Israel.
In addition, the Jewish people of the secular Israeli state today overwhelmingly deny YHWH's Christ, His Servant David's Kingship and refuse to enter into YHWH's (New) Covenant made with Judah and Israel, (Jeremiah 31:31) and continue living in sin, as well as defile the land with innocent blood (of the Palestinian and Christian Arab neighbors) and break all of God's holy laws by their own man-made traditions.
Deut. 19:10 (KJV)
That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which YHWH thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
Numbers 35:33-34 (KJV)
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. [34] Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I YHWH dwell among the children of Israel.
The Holy Bible clearly identifies Israel as drastically different and the land will be given to only to the twelve tribes of Israel and their children, once they have been saved of their sins and cleansed by YHWH and gathered according to God's Holy Word, His promise and by His time by His Power and by His will.
This happened when JESUS made ATONEMENT for all of Israel (and all of mankind) on the Cross and the true inheritance of land will happen when YHWH's Anointed Returns, When our King of Israel, King JESUS returns!
Then God shall create a new earth and a new heavens where a new Jerusalem will be brought to the Israel of God who shall live in a new promised land where God is finally worshiped worldwide in truth.
He is RETURNING SOON!
I pray that you have learned a great deal from this simple graphical study.
It's been said, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Praise God for His WORDS and His testimony of truth, of which His people, the children of the 12 tribes of Israel, believe and in faith, await for YHWH's fulfillment to be one day returned back to the promised land and receive their inheritance according to His Mercy and Holy Word.
Praise YHWH for He is good and His Mercy endures forever!
This article was just a primer on the fully expansive topic of “Israel.”
If you would like to learn more about the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and why it is important to understand “who Israel is today,” then please click the large blue link below and continue learning about God's Chosen Peoples -- Israel.
