Many people who read the Bible get bored with certain parts of it. Unless the portion they are reading has some immediate relevance to their situation in life, they are not really interested. Why? Perhaps because they only want to use the Bible for their own purposes, forgetting God's greater purposes. Even if we cannot see how a particular section might apply personally, the obligation to be attentive to the whole message remains.

As when a puzzle with many pieces comes together, so is the method for learning the Scriptures. The more pieces come into place, the more we see the final picture, and the more we understand our place in that picture. To have a well-adjusted life, we must see where we fit into God's plan. To fit into God's plan, we must understand it. We cannot effectively function as agents of God's message unless we comprehend that message.

Let us not reduce the Bible to merely a self-help manual. Certainly it does contain everything we need for a successful life, if we put its teachings into practice. But we dare not restrict God's Holy Word to being just a personal success booklet. If we do so, we are making ourselves more important than God. The Scriptures, after all, are not about us, but about Him.

The Bible contains His broad plan for the history of mankind. Israel plays a central role, from Genesis to Revelation. That plan is unfolding just as the prophets said it would. The Scriptures cannot be broken; it must happen just as the Bible pronounced. And so in these days, we see Israel coming into a brighter spotlight on the world stage. With the beginning of the Zionist movement in the late 1800s, Israel is now progressing towards the fulfillment of their final destiny in God's plan.

God's redemptive process of grace was initiated with Abraham. The descendants of that man were chosen to be God's holy people, His treasured possession. (Deuteronomy 7:6) They were the prime players in much of the Biblical narrative. Then the good news of grace was extended to the entire world as well, to the Gentiles. But as we approach the final days before the Kingdom of God comes to earth, the emphasis is swinging back towards the Jews once again.

Unless we appreciate the significance of the latter-day return of the Jewish people back to their homeland, we cannot begin to understand God's prophetic plan. The gathering of Israel to the covenant land is not just a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. It is a harbinger of even more significant prophetic events yet to come.

In the Bible, the physical restoration of Israel after years of desolation is repeatedly associated with an inevitable spiritual restoration. The prophets saw this confluence in the same scene. This means that one would happen in the same era as the other. For example, Ezekiel foresaw the return of the people to the land as coincident with the spiritual regeneration: "'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:24-26 NIV)

In fact, Israel is told to pay attention to the fact that their gathering back to the land promised to Abraham means that God is once again "choosing" them. It signifies a dramatic change in God's disposition towards the Jews. "My heart is changed within me, all my compassion grows warm and tender." (Hosea 8:11) "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Just as I had determined to bring disaster upon you and showed no pity when your fathers angered me,' says the LORD Almighty, 'so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid.'" (Zechariah 8:14-15 NIV)

Yes, for a long time God had "determined to bring disaster" to the Jews. Any frank reading of the Bible portrays an unmistakably sad story of the chosen people, who brought anguish upon themselves through unfaithfulness to God. This was ultimately expressed through the very long forced exile of two millennium. During this time of banishment among the nations, all of the dreadful consequences that God had explicitly warned through the prophets occurred.

Yet the prophets also foresaw the end of that exile, a time of glorious rejuvenation for Israel. As extreme as the period of consolation was, the phenomenon of consolation would be even more extreme. This is the period of time during which we now live.

Few people understand this is happening, because few people take the time to pore over the Scriptures. For those who do, the handiwork of God in these days is an unmistakable confirmation of the prophets' reassuring promises for Israel.

But God makes it clear that He is not doing it only for Israel's benefit. Nor is He doing it based on Israel's merit. His is doing it for the sake of His Name, to demonstrate His greatness, holiness, power, and reliability to the entire world. The people that God had once chosen to be His very own will once again be His people. This mission for which He initially selected them, to be a witness to the entire world about the true God, would not end up as a failure.

Frequently, the prophets indicated the fresh restorative actions God now takes for Israel are taken proactively. This means that God is doing it based upon His own choice to do so, not based on any prime action of the Jews. Just as He acted of His own accord to call Abraham, He now acts of His own accord to call Abraham's descendants back to Himself.

My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. (Jeremiah 24:6-7 NIV)

Israel returns to Him in response to God's rekindled affection for them expressed in His benevolent actions. He has not waited for a full-fledged repentance before beginning to act. This is what many Christians misconstrue in their incorrect analysis which maintains God will not begin to do anything on Israel's behalf until they repent.

No. As Israel sees the kindness of God and begins to understand what He has been doing, this will lead them to full repentance. It is very vital to understand this is we are to correctly interpret the events of today from a prophetic perspective.

This is especially true in regards to the conflict between Israel and the Arab/Muslim peoples. God has ordained the returning Jewish people would be surrounded by contemptible neighbors who would aggressively resist the establishment of the new nation. He did this so He could demonstrate His greatness once again in coming to their aid as they call out for help. He will once again perform great wonders to set His people free.

It is no accident that Israel is vehemently opposed by vicious neighbors. God ordained it to be. "Zion stretches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The LORD has decreed for Jacob that his neighbors become his foes; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them." (Lamentations 1:17 NIV) Perhaps you might not like this proposition, that God has raised up Israel's opponents in these last days to display His power. It certainly is not without precedent for Him to do so. "For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: 'I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.'" (Romans 9:17 NIV)

Ahhh, you might say, God would not do anything like that today. He would not come against one group of people for those reasons. Why not? He has already told us He is going to do exactly that. Can we insist that He not act in a certain way? He can do anything He wants with anyone He wants. And it will be with just cause that He acts, for the enemies of Israel have distinguished themselves in hatred and violence for a very long time.

God will indeed help Israel against their fierce foes. After He has come to their defense, it will be Israel gratefully proclaiming these words of Psalm 124 to the Lord:

Copyright 2005 Trumpet Sounds - Use permitted with attribution and link