God's promise of Israel

Ezekiel 37:7-11

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' "So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.'

Ezekiel 37:21-23

and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

The gradual growth of the Israeli nation from scattered skeleton to full body development is startling. As Ezekiel's prophecy indicates:" There was a noise, and...a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone".Then, "the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above:but there was no breath in them"

From the sound of an earthshaking event, which was WWI, the seemingly dead nation of Israel was to gradually formulate a body, after which the spirit would be breathed into it. This was how Israel was formed, beginning in 1917.

During WWI, german machine guns and other advanced weaponry were cutting down the flower of Europe's manhood. England was desperate to find a rapid method of manufacturing TNT and a smokeless gunpowder. A brilliant Jew named Chaim Weizmann invented such a formula that made possible the rapid production of these vital materials, thus changing the course of the war.

Could it be mere coincidence of language that the impetus to officially start the regathering of Israel was prophesied as a 'noise and shaking,' and that the fulfillment took place during the loudest war--due to the prodigious amounts of TNT and gunpowder used--the world had ever yet known?

In return of Chaim Weizmann invention of the formula, David Lloyd George, representing the British government, told Dr. Weizmann to name his price. Rejecting personal award, Weizmann requested that Palestine be declared the international homeland for the Jewish people. And it was granted.

The gathering of the Jews into Palestine after the signing of the agreement was indeed a gradual development--'bone to his bone.'In 1917, it was estimated that less than 25,000 Jews lived in the land. By 1922, there were 83,000;by 1932, there were 180,000; by 1935, there were 300,000; by 1937, 430,000; and by 1945, more than 500,000. Today, the population is at 5 million and growing. So as the Bible says,"bone came to [his] bone."

But while God blessed Israel, Britain reneged on her 1917 agreement. In 1939, after much deliberation over the growing conflicts between Arabs and Jews, Britain issued a white paper that favored Arab independence and control of the area. After failing to keep peace between the Arabs and the Jews following WWII, the British withdrew from Palestine; shortly thereafter the National Council and the General Zionist Council proclaimed from Tel Aviv the establishment of the sovereign state of Israel. The date was May 14, 1948. Since then, God's time clock has started ticking.

Jerusalem, A Burdensome Stone

Zechariah 12:2-3

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.

Isn't Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, the Palestinians and the Arabs? Jerusalem is now hated and in danger of being attacked by the Muslims. But God also says in this verse that 'all who heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.' Though Iran might try to attack Israel, they will never NEVER SUCCEED!

This was predicted long ago. Many ancient prophecies are unfolding before our eyes...but they could not be fulfilled until Israel was back in her land, as she is today after 2000 years in exile. Praise the Lord!