The Eternal Roar
The God of Israel Has Not Forgotten
I am a religious Zionist, and because I am a religious Zionist, I reject the idea that the story of Israel is merely a story of politics, armies, elections, diplomats, or historical accidents. The State of Israel is not a coincidence. It is not a mistake of history. It is not the product of the United Nations. It is not the achievement of foreign governments. It is not the creation of wealthy Jewish donors in New York, London, or Los Angeles. The modern State of Israel exists because the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob made a promise, and unlike human beings, He keeps His promises.
The Torah could not be clearer:
“And I will give unto you, and to your seed after you, the land wherein you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.” (Genesis 17:8)
Not temporary.
Not conditional upon the approval of the United Nations.
Not subject to the permission of foreign kings, presidents, empires, journalists, academics, activists, or social media influencers.
An everlasting possession.
That promise survived Egypt.
It survived Assyria.
It survived Babylon.
It survived Greece.
It survived Rome.
It survived the Crusades.
It survived the Inquisition.
It survived the pogroms.
It survived Auschwitz.
Because God survives them all.
The greatest mistake people make when discussing Israel is believing that they are watching an ordinary nation living through ordinary history.
They are not.
The Prophet Isaiah declared:
“Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your seed from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back; bring My sons from far and My daughters from the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 43:5-6)
Look around.
Jews came from Yemen.
Jews came from Iraq.
Jews came from Morocco.
Jews came from Ethiopia.
Jews came from Russia.
Jews came from America.
Jews came from France.
Jews came from Iran.
Jews came from every corner of the earth.
Exactly as Isaiah described.
The Prophet Ezekiel stood in a valley filled with dry bones and was asked:
“Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3)
For centuries the nations laughed.
They looked at the Jewish people and saw dry bones.
They saw a scattered nation.
A broken nation.
A defeated nation.
A nation with no army.
No king.
No land.
No sovereignty.
No future.
Then God answered the question Himself.
“Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the Land of Israel.” (Ezekiel 37:12)
What was the twentieth century if not the greatest demonstration of that prophecy in human history?
The Nazis turned Europe into a graveyard.
The Jewish people walked out of those graves.
Three years later, Israel was reborn.
Tell me another nation that did that.
Tell me another people exiled for nearly two thousand years who returned speaking the same language, reading the same Bible, praying toward the same city, and reclaiming the same homeland.
History has no comparison.
The Talmud teaches:
“אין לך קץ מגולה מזה”
“There is no more revealed sign of redemption than this.”
And what is that sign?
The mountains of Israel once again giving forth their fruit to the Jewish people (Sanhedrin 98a).
For centuries travelers described this land as barren.
Mark Twain described it as desolate.
Today it exports fruit around the world.
Its deserts bloom.
Its vineyards flourish.
Its cities rise into the sky.
Its population grows.
Its economy expands.
Its enemies predict collapse.
Its children build the future.
The Prophet Amos foresaw it:
“And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be uprooted from their land which I have given them.” (Amos 9:15)
Never again.
Not because of politicians.
Not because of tanks.
Not because of fighter jets.
Not because of American aid.
Those things matter.
The IDF matters.
The courage of Israeli soldiers matters.
The sacrifices of generations matter.
But every religious Jew understands that none of those things stand alone.
King David wrote:
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we remember the name of the Lord our God.” (Psalm 20:8)
Israel does not survive because it has an army.
Israel has an army because God decided the Jewish people would never again walk defenseless into the slaughterhouse.
Every generation has its Pharaoh.
Every generation has its Haman.
Every generation has its Antiochus.
Every generation has its Hitler.
Every generation has its terrorists, tyrants, and fanatics who announce that this time the Jews are finished.
And every generation discovers the same truth.
The Jews bury their enemies.
The enemies do not bury the Jews.
That is not arrogance.
That is history.
The Haggadah declares:
“In every generation they rise against us to destroy us, but the Holy One, Blessed Be He, saves us from their hands.”
Not once.
Not twice.
In every generation.
Egypt failed.
Babylon failed.
Rome failed.
The Crusaders failed.
The Inquisitors failed.
The Cossacks failed.
The Nazis failed.
The Soviets failed.
And those who dream of Israel’s destruction today will fail as well.
Because they are not fighting merely against a country.
They are fighting against a covenant.
They are fighting against a promise.
They are fighting against words spoken by God Himself.
The nations see a tiny strip of land.
God sees the fulfillment of His oath.
The nations see another war.
God sees another chapter in a story that began with Abraham.
The nations see coincidence.
Faith sees providence.
The nations see survival.
Faith sees redemption.
The nations see Israel.
Faith sees prophecy walking through history.
And so let the experts predict disaster.
Let the academics write their papers.
Let the journalists announce the end of Zionism for the thousandth time.
Let the enemies gather.
Let the doubters doubt.
The mountains of Israel are standing.
Jerusalem is standing.
The Jewish people are standing.
The State of Israel is standing.
And above them all stands the God of Israel, who declared:
“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall My covenant of peace be removed.” (Isaiah 54:10)
Empires rise.
Empires fall.
Ideologies rise.
Ideologies fall.
Kings rise.
Kings fall.
But the covenant remains.
And because the covenant remains, Israel remains.
Am Yisrael Chai.
“All the land in Canaan.” I don’t think that Israel is occupying all that land, but they should. Yes, land for peace was a terrible mistake. In a couple of weeks I will be walking on the land of Israel!
As a Christian, I read portions of the Bible pretty nearly every morning. Today, I was reading chapters 11-12 in Exodus. I don't know how they are delineated in the Hebrew Bible, but it's the chronicling of God leading the Israelites out of Egypt. It is such a powerful account, I was thinking as I read. God is so personal. Maybe if the enemies of modern day Israel would read (but they won't) the Hebrew Bible a light would go on in their brain: "oh, there really is something to this". But none are so blind as those who will not see. And if they read (but they won't) the Hebrew scriptures, they would learn it's not a good idea to harm the Jews. God says in essence "don't mess with my people the Jews or there will be severe consequences". Thank you for drawing the timeline through history and scripture of the birth of Israel.