The story of Israel shows us how faithful God is. When you lay it out the way the Bible does, it can really touch your heart. The Bible isn’t confusing when you just follow what it says. God laid the story out step by step, from Abraham all the way to the day when He brings His people back and they look at the One they pierced.

Even today, world leaders talk about the land as if the Jewish people just took it from someone else. When former President Obama said Israel “took land off people,” he was repeating something that doesn’t match what the Bible says. God Himself gave that land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as an everlasting possession (Genesis 17:8). What politicians say comes and goes. God’s covenant does not. Leaders can talk, but they don’t get the last word. God’s Word does.

The Foundation: Abraham and the Everlasting Covenant

About two thousand years before Jesus, God called Abram out of Ur and made a promise to him. In Genesis 12:1-3 (NKJV) He said: “Now the Lord had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”

God expanded that promise in Genesis 15 and again in Genesis 17:7-8: “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

This promise didn’t depend on Abraham being perfect. It depended on God keeping His word. God confirmed it to Isaac (Genesis 26:3-4) and then to Jacob (Genesis 28:13-14). Later God changed Jacob’s name to Israel (Genesis 32:28). From then on, the land and the people are tied together. This isn’t just a spiritual idea. It’s a real land God gave by promise to a real people.

The Nation Formed, Settled, and Tested

God, in His love, brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. At Mount Sinai He gave them the Law through Moses. Then under Joshua He brought them into the land He had promised. After that came a long time of the judges. Then God raised up the kingdom under Saul, David, and Solomon. He promised David a throne that would last forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16), and Solomon built the first Temple in Jerusalem.

After Solomon the kingdom split. The northern part (Israel) fell to Assyria in 722 BC and most of the people were scattered. The southern part (Judah) lasted until Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC. Even when God judged them, He kept a remnant and promised He would bring them back. The prophets talked about both the scattering and the future return.

Returns After Exile and the First Coming of the Messiah

Later a remnant came back from Babylon under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. They rebuilt the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem. Centuries after that, the Messiah came — Jesus, the Son of David. He offered Himself to the nation. Most of the nation rejected Him. In 70 AD the Romans destroyed the Temple and the people were scattered among the nations.

Jesus said in Luke 21:24 that Jerusalem would be “trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” During this long time God has been calling people from every nation to be part of the Church. But Romans 11 is clear: God has not rejected Israel. There is a partial hardening until the full number of Gentiles comes in, and then “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25-26).

The Partial Return in Our Day

In 1948 the modern State of Israel was born again. Many of us see this as a partial fulfillment of the prophecies about God bringing His people back (Ezekiel 36–37, Isaiah 11:11-12, Jeremiah 16:14-15). The dry bones have started coming together. The people are back in the land. But most of them have not yet turned to the Messiah. The full spiritual restoration is still coming.

The Future: God’s Gathering of Israel in the Tribulation

The Church age ends when Jesus takes the Church home (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52). Then Daniel’s seventieth week begins — the seven-year Tribulation (Daniel 9:24-27). During that time God turns His attention back to Israel.

Here’s what the Bible says will happen:

A remnant will be protected and sealed. Revelation 7:1-8 talks about 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel.

God will start gathering the people from the nations (Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 16:14-15; Ezekiel 36:24). Deuteronomy 30:1-6 is important: when they are scattered, if they turn back to the Lord, He will bring them home, change their hearts, and they will love Him.

The Antichrist will make a seven-year agreement with many in Israel, then break it in the middle (Daniel 9:27). He will set up the abomination of desolation in the Temple (Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:4).

There will be great trouble for the Jewish people (Matthew 24:15-21; Zechariah 13:8-9). Two-thirds will be cut off, but one-third will be refined and will call on the name of the Lord.

At the end the nations will come against Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2-3; 14:2). Then the Lord will pour out His Spirit. They will look on the One they pierced and mourn (Zechariah 12:10). Then “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26). The Deliverer will come out of Zion.

Jesus will return in power and glory, destroy the armies against Jerusalem, and set up His kingdom. Israel will be fully restored to the land under the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-28). They will be the head of the nations, and the Messiah will reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years (Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-3; Revelation 20:4-6).

In short, the promise God made to Abraham is still in force. The return we see today is real, but it’s not the whole story. The Tribulation is when God finishes gathering and refining Israel, brings them to repentance, and saves the remnant. The thousand-year kingdom is when every land promise is fully enjoyed.

Keep reading these passages in your Bible with the Blue Letter Bible: Genesis 12, 15, and 17; Deuteronomy 30; Isaiah 11; Jeremiah 30–31; Ezekiel 36–37; Daniel 9; Zechariah 12–14; Matthew 24; Romans 9–11; and Revelation 7 and 12. God is faithful. What He promised Abraham He will finish. He hasn’t forgotten His people.

May the Lord bless you as you study His Word and stand with Israel. He is faithful, and His Word will never fail.

Peter