May 20, 2011 A.D.: Obama Instructs Israel On Where Its Borders Ought To Lay?
Joplin, Missouri in the USA was hit by one of the deadliest tornados in US history just after President Obama's new move to help re-draw the borders of Israel. Coincidence, right? Well, only God knows that, but if you perform an internet search for something like "major U.S. natural disasters who's timing related to treatment of Israel" you will find a pretty scary list of natural disasters which occurred just as one US President or another was trying to meddle with the borders of Israel. These aren't small disasters, either. Some were record setters. It is a sobering topic to look into. The website 'Truth or Fiction' is one place to see some of these listed, or it used to be anyway!
In a move that suggests the our American President does not comprehend or else does not believe the religion that he claims to follow (Christianity) to a very great extent, President Obama showed the world that it is his business and falls within his authority to redraw the borders of Israel in a way that is more pleasing to the Arab world and to America (well, he actually did not consult America, which is 70% Christian and would not feel very well represented by a President that wants to go playing with Israel's borders like he is smarter than God almighty who specifically set them. Our Presidents are supposed to represent us, but sometimes the spotlight of world adulation is just too much of a draw for them.) Obama is not the first President to try to play 'Savior of the Middle East'. All recent Presidents have at least dabbled in it. Maybe they should dabble in saving the USA from debt instead?
In a case of what seemed like utter disregard towards God's proclamations concerning Israel, President Obama went public with the opinion that the geography of Israel (the Apple of Almighty God's Eye) is something that any world leader such as himself, with a pencil and an eraser and a head full of ill formed notions ought to be able to approach the map and retool. President Obama suggested a return to 1967 borders, which would give the Palestinians / Arabs a great deal of strategic advantages in any future attack against Jewish Israel. Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu wisely rejected any such foolishness, out loud and publicly, in the American people's hearing. I think most of us sort of think of Israel as having national sovereignty already, but Mr. Netanyahu reminded us anyway. Perhaps he had deduced that certain people thought otherwise.
God help us that we have elected an American President with such inarguable disregard for God's word concerning this regathered nation of Israel. Israel is simply not an apple to be pared down by every passing corrector of God. It is the land given specifically by God to the one people on all of this earth that he chose by name and in particular to be his own special nation. Through the fortune shown to little Israel, the rest of the world was destined to see and understand the power of the God that protected it. God's might would be shown through the tender and solicitous care he displayed towards Israel. God chose a small and humble group of people as His own for a reason. It would be clear to the world that way that it was the God, and not the human might of that particular group of people, that made Israel great. (Of course, the Israelis themselves are equal to any other people so far as I know, outside of Almighty God's favor for them!)
No President of America (again, a 70% Christian nation) should be unable to understand that the Christian does not disrespect the nation that God the Father has named most precious and His own. It is madness to side with that nation's enemies. It is madness to carve down their borders to give their Arab enemies greater opportunities to harm them. In short, nothing about Israel is ours to delve in or interfere with. America's position is similar to being a 2nd or lower son of the world's greatest king (Jesus). Israel is that same King's first son, who presently has issues with King Jesus, but will grow out of them. We are to love Israel as God loves Israel, and as Jesus loves Israel. We are to love Israel as a King's younger son should love his older brother the Crown Prince. America's blessings have been many. We have no reason to complain. Israel is more favored than us in certain regards, by the will of God. But that is God's business. He chooses who He chooses and blesses who He blesses.
But to think it our job to interfere in the plans of God concerning his heir? Madness. To think it is our job to help place Israel in a weaker and more indefensible posture concerning its enemies? That could only bring God's anger upon America. God's anger can be terrible.... terrible, terrible, terrible!!
Jesus shall be King over both the Jews and the Gentiles one day; we Christians believe that. Presently the Jews don't understand that Jesus was the Messiah. Our scriptures say they one day will. And they will be a favored people once they do. In the meantime, the nation of Israel is in God's hands, in His love, and under His protection.
It is a wild sort of madness to presume to alter God's plans, or to fool with the borders of His favored people. We can show respect to God the Father by respecting and being loyal to His people Israel. Through their mistake, 2000 years ago, the Gentiles received Jesus and a chance at salvation through Jesus. But the Jews, though punished, did not have their destiny erased. They will come to believe in Jesus also. Then, God shall dwell in Israel, among these Jews and the Israelites and whomever else He chooses. Some Gentiles will live there too. But there will be no Canaanite in His city. Not in His house, at least. This is what scripture says:
Zechariah 14:21 "Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day, there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord Almighty."
Are today's Palestinians descendants of Caanan? Well, ancient Philistines (who were supposedly from 'Caphtor' which was ancient Crete's name for a time) were descendants of the Casluhites (a son of Mizraim) but apparently also descendents of the 'Caphtorites', who were also sons and descendants of Mizraim, who was a son of Ham. Mizraim (a founder of Egypt) was a brother to Canaan, who was also a son of Ham, but Canaan was cursed by Noah. In short, both Caphtorites and Casluhites are people considered ancestors of the people who settled ancient Crete and maybe Cyprus as well, and both those peoples came from Mizraim, who was the founder of Egypt and a son of Ham. Those two peoples seem to have come, eventually, to be referred to as Philistines.
By Abraham's time, a people referred to in the Bible as Philistines had horned in on the land of the 'Avim' in what is now mainland Israel, and the King named Abimelech that took Sarah captive from Abraham for a time was a Philistine king from Gerar, a mainland town. So, it is truer to say that the old Philistines were Hamites (Hamitic) than to say they were Canaanites. They probably weren't Canaanites to any great degree at all. Canaan was cursed by Noah for embarrassing and disrespecting him, but not all of the sons of Ham were cursed.
So, the ancient Israelites were specifically told by God to take the land of the Canaanites and to destroy the Canaanites, man, woman and child. It's true!! Most of what is modern Israel was land which was peopled by Canaanites. God told Israel to wipe them out. Israel did that in part, but not in whole. They never quite got around to wiping all of the Canaanite peoples out, and just as God predicted, the false gods of those Canaanites led many of the Israelites astray. The Israelites began to worship those false gods along with the real one, and at times instead of the real one. They took Canaanite women for their wives at times.
And the Philistines? They just invaded parts of the region at about the time that Abraham was promised that it would one day all belong to his descendants. That was probably about 2000 to 1950 B.C. King David fought and subjugated the Philistines though, and that was probably about 980 B.C. And in the days of Solomon, David's son and successor, 'Israel' belonged quite extensively to the Israelites. They ruled over most all of the land. And today, you just have to accept the fact that God gave the Israelites 'the promised land'. Modern Israel has not dealt ruthlessly with the Palestinians. Quite the opposite. The Palestinians have tried to deal ruthlessly with Israel.
It's a little messy. But....we Americans are a people of the Bible. The Bible speaks plainly - God granted the Israelites the promised land. So, as far as our nation thinking to start carving away parts of Jewish controlled Israel in order to dole it out to Israel's avowed enemies....bad, bad idea. Very bad idea!! America needs to just keep proclaiming itself a servant of Jesus and a friend of Israel, which is a just and levelheaded nation, and which will deal with the Palestinians a whole lot kindlier than the Palestinians, if given the upper hand, would ever deal with them! It's not America's business to interfere with God's stated plans. Hopefully we will be wise about that.... otherwise, we will be punished horribly, I suspect. And rightfully so...we were made by God. He is our Creator. What arrogance to oppose Him, right?
As for where the modern Palestinians originated, that's probably a tough determination to make. But what shakes out between them and Israel should be left to those two involved parties to the greatest extent possible. America isn't even running all of its own affairs well right now. We know that. Let's not sally forth and reshape the world's boundaries. Let's fix our own messes for a while and listen prayerfully to God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. That is a most excellent foreign policy to persue according to the lessons of history. Can you name a nation that came to ruin or lasting harm for honoring God and respecting all that is important to Him? Neither can I!