Jacob (Israel) and the land. This is the foundation for a meaningful, consistent, authentic Christian perspective of today's Middle East. Anyone who wishes to stay true to the God of the Bible must acknowledge what He has declared regarding the irrevocable, unilateral assignment of the Holy Land to the Jewish people. History itself has progressively vindicated this assignment, and will continue to do so.

For Christians who support Israel, this axiom leads to another inevitable question, one that is often leveled as an accusation. If Christianity is a religion that, at its very essence, is meant to be characterized by compassion and mercy, why does a Christian not sympathize with the suffering of the Palestinian people?

Insofar as the perception may exist that a Christian is unsympathetic towards these people, this is certainly a valid question. The valid answer to it, however, is not one that will be swallowed by many. It is based on facts that they do not acknowledge, because they do not acknowledge the authority of the Bible. According to that Book, the land in dispute, upon which the Palestinians wish to form a state, was granted to Israel. In order to understand the issues of justice and compassion surrounding this conflict, that fact must first be acknowledged. Only then can we examine the question of compassion.

Consider this analogy: suppose I own a tract of land, several hundred acres in the mountains of Tennessee. This land was deeded to my ancestors hundreds of years ago. I had not visited it for some time, but upon arriving there I discover that a small community of people has become established there, without authorization.

My return is greeted sullenly, , but comprehending the reason for their anger, and even though I am under no legal obligation to do so, I offer to sit down with the illegal residents and discuss possible arrangements whereby they might be able to stay on and live peaceably together with me. I stress that I would retain overall ownership of the property, but other than this off them full rights to live as permanent residents on my land.

In response, they round on me, stone my son, stab my daughter, shoot my wife and try to blow me up.

Obviously, I will then use whatever legal means available to have the evildoers among them tried and imprisoned, and would be fully within my rights to evict the rest of them from my property. If they resist, then the governing authority to which I resort will be justified in using forceful means to remove them. Even at this stage I might still be willing to offer some of them the chance to stay, on my terms.

In this scenario, was my response lacking compassion? No, of course not. Though I may sympathize with their plight, the fact remains that the land is mine, and they had no right to live there. If they had not resisted, had not met my compassionate response with violence, we might have come to an arrangement by which they would have benefited fully as co-residents on the land. But if they scorned my outstretched hand, and resisted my efforts to evict them, then forcible removal by the appropriate authorities was a just course of action.

Because God has granted the land to Israel, the ownership is theirs. As the owners, it is within their prerogative to determine the disposition of the land (including the West Bank), in accordance with guidelines that God has prescribed. In the Scriptures God instructs them not to treat aliens harshly, because they were also once aliens. Should this not mean that Israel should allow Palestinians to continue to live in Judea and Samaria, free from what some have erroneously described as "oppression"?

The citizens of Israel tried this approach already. They have been willing to try peaceful coexistence with the Palestinians. Though many said it would not work, that the Palestinians' goal of eliminating the state of Israel had not changed, the people of Israel gave "peace" a chance. We all know the results. Ironically, if in fact the Palestinians had been willing to peacefully coexist with Israel, they would have had a state long ago. But a Palestinian state is not God's will for the Holy Land.

God's stated intention is that the regathered Israel would "dispossess" other peoples from the land designated for them. (Isaiah 54:2-3) Modern sensibility based on so-called "international law" finds this to be dreadful. If you have a problem with it, if you find it to be unjust and lacking compassion, then your recourse is to present your objections with the originator of the policy.

Is He lacking in compassion? Of course not. There is Biblical precedent for His compassion in a situation that closely matches the present. During the initial conquest of the land by Joshua, the people of Israel were also following His directions to take the land away from others. Yet to those few inhabitants of the land who were willing to acknowledge Him, His compassion was great. The response of Rahab of Jericho is illustrative of this. "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." (Joshua 2:9-11 NIV) Unlike her compatriots, she admitted that God had given the land to Israel, (and acted accordingly), and because of this was treated kindly.

If the Palestinians would likewise say "I know that the LORD has given this land to you," then they also would be treated kindly. But instead they combat the expressed intentions of Yahweh, and take up the banner of Allah in their struggle. They have challenged the true God of Israel to a duel by proclaiming that Israel is Muslim land. It is a challenge that God is up to.

This does not mean that Israel has carte blanche to treat the Palestinians brutally. But by their own choice, the Palestinians have transformed the situation into one of armed conflict. Unfortunately, during periods of military conflict, innocent people suffer due to the errant decisions of their leadership. However, it is not only the folly of Arafat that has caused this suffering. In Gaza and the West Bank, a large percentage of the population are now in favor of the violent terror actions of Hamas and the Islamic extremists.

The Palestinian people have been suffering greatly, but it is a suffering that has been self-inflicted. No one wants to see people suffering economic deprivation. But their decisions have placed them in the plight in which they now find themselves. The compassionate approach is this: to urge them to stop the pattern of deadly choices which force Israel to take forceful action, and to urge them to abandon their inevitably vain campaign for a Palestinian state. Not only are they fighting against Israel, but they are fighting against the God of Israel, which is always a losing fight.