Psalm 105:44

Psalm 105:44

He gave them the lands

We must never forget that the land of Israel belongs to the Lord. Do you remember the words we read in verse 11, taken from Leviticus 25:23-24? “the land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.”  “The land is mine” says the Lord. 

The land was given to Israel as an inheritance, they could farm it, live in it and live on it. They could cleanse it of other nations and powers, they could loan it out, but any contract with others must include a clause that provided for redemption. That is one of the reasons why they lost the land and regained it so often, their landlord was and is, the Lord, and there are terms and conditions that apply specifically to those who live in Israel. Other peoples have tried to take the land, and whilst their destructive influences have been successful, no other nation has ever managed to prosper in that land in the history of mankind. Only Israel has prospered. This is unprecedented. Where foreigners have moved into other countries, they have been able to establish themselves, even here in the UK! But Israel is only for the Jewish people, and following their most recent return a desolate wasteland is productive and flourishing once again. That in itself should convince us that God is in this, that the modern Jewish state is all part of God’s plan. 

The verse before us takes this further, although the land has often been desolate and barren throughout history, when the Jews return to it they are entitled to take whatever has been left behind by foreign settlors or invaders. In Deuteronomy 6:10-12 we read this in more detail. 

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” 

Israel and Israel alone are the only legal heirs to this land and everything in it, and it will always be this way. 

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