Why May 1948? (Part 1)

See the series here

 

Have you wondered why The Lord allowed the re-establishment of Israel in 1948, long before His promised Millennial Reign? He had allowed the land, iteratively, ‘to vomit out’ (i.e., exile) Jacob’s descendants, just as He had instructed Moses to warn, if they fell into persistent sinfulness. They largely did, wanting to be, not special, but ‘just like everybody else’. Thus, out of their lands, they were vomited, iteratively. ¹

-then-the World Exile (2,670 years)

About 390 years after ancient Israel had been split into 2 nations (Israel--10 northern tribes; and Judah--2 southern tribes), The Lord severely judged the northern nation for their persistent, gross sinfulness. He dispatched Assyria to attack it repeatedly, and finally, to conquer and enslave its people. For millennia, they became ‘the 10 lost tribes of Israel’, scattered across the world. This was the longest of all the exiles experienced by Jacob’s descendants. What might that spiritually signify to you?

3. The Babylonian Exile (~70 years)

 

Similarly, about 136 years after Assyria conquered Israel, The Lord dispatched Babylon to attack and eventually conquer Judah and Jerusalem, its capital, to enslave many Jews, and to destroy the Temple. Though many Babylonian captives were a righteous remnant, The Lord declared the sins of Judeans were much worse than those of the Israelites, whom He had exiled to Assyria! This notwithstanding, He had predicted after a pre-determined, 70-year exile, many would return to Judah, with their Babylon-born descendants. Most of the latter books of The Old Testament chronicle relevant aspects of their captivity in Babylon, their release by Persia, and their return to Judah over several decades. The unique manner, and timing of their permission to return to Judah was spiritually pivotal in that it:

 

    •  Correlated with The Lord’s promised judgment on Babylon for its persistent sinfulness  

       (Persia conquered Babylon);

    •  Fulfilled a ~150-year old prophecy that pre-named the king who would facilitate their release from captivity (Cyrus, first king of Persia);

    • Allowed ample time for every precursor to the birth of Christ to be fulfilled—rekindling Jewish lifestyles and customs in Palestine, rebuilding Jerusalem and the 2nd temple, and re-establishing religious functions, etc.;

    •  Allowed for new generations to return to gage their fidelity to The Lord’s plan for Judah; and

    •  Facilitated every prophecy concerning The Lord’s birth as a man, His ministry and eventual self-sacrifice for the sins of mankind—a sacrifice that still today, can be imputed as having been made for us, personally. 

 

4. The AD 70 Exile (~1,878 years)

 

It seems safe to conclude the AD 70 Roman invasion of Judah, that destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, fits The Lord’s pivotal pattern of allowing the land to ‘vomit’ out Jacob’s descendants after His long-term Grace to them had expired, without any substantive repentance for their persistent sinfulness. Their GREATEST sin was likely their failure, about 7 decades earlier, to perceive, believe and receive Him as their long-promised Messiah. They were driven out of Jerusalem and Judah to join the massive, global, Jewish diaspora. Much later in their exile, some of Jacob’s descendants returned to buy parcels of land in Palestine. In 1948, The Lord initiated the first stage of His ancient promises to regather Jacob’s descendants to the covenant land. ⁴

 

So what might be His strategic purposes 

for their last return to Palestine??

 

See Part 2

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¹ Note how The Lord used a similar ‘vomit out’ metaphor in His harsh letter to the church at Laodicea, when many members had become lukewarm in their Christian faith and passion? The Lord well knows lukewarmness is the first step that leads to backsliding, then to full-blown apostasy. See: Revelation 3:13-22, and also Laodicean Lackadaisicalness (Series).

² See: Israel, a Model (Series)). Ponder other ways in which Israel has effectively modeled behaviors that the whole world later mimicked.

³ Their disobedience was no surprise to The Sovereign Lord. Thus, it’s not conclusive that their disobedience triggered the need for an extra 40 years of Grace to the Canaanites, while the Hebrews completed their wilderness wanderings.

⁴ See: Hasty Jewish Migrations (Series)