On October 7, 2023, it happened in Israel, Hamas broke through the border barrier and invaded Israel, causing a large number of deaths and taking hostages. In response, Israel attacked Gaza with bombs and the army invaded Gaza. This resulted in many deaths and the destruction of almost all the infrastructure. The stated goal of the military action was to destroy Hamas. Only just before President Trump’s inauguration, more than 15 months later, did a so-called “ceasefire” materialize. The official death toll in Gaza is around 43,000, but other numbers are circulating in the media. Doctors working in Gaza, on the basis of their experience, put the death toll at more than 200,000, most of them women and children. Against the backdrop of a much smaller number of deaths on the Israeli side and a few hundred hostages, I question the legitimacy and proportionality of the actions of the Israeli government and army. Looking at the images of what Gaza looks like now, recovery seems virtually impossible, at least in the short term.
There are many questions to be asked about the situation that has arisen, and it seems to me that we should then identify these questions and deal with them one by one:
– How did the State of Israel come into being?
– Does the State of Israel have a right to exist?
– Is Zionism and the resulting state of Israel the fulfillment of biblical promises?
– What is the position of the local Palestinian population and what should be our relationship to them?
– Can Israel simply seize Palestinian property?
– Is Palestinian resistance legitimate or terrorist?
– Can Hamas be considered a legitimate resistance movement, or is Hamas by definition a terrorist organization?
How did the State of Israel come into being?
At the end of the nineteenth century, a movement arose to create a homeland for the Jews. This movement came to be known as the Zionist movement. In this movement they looked for ways to realize one or the other. The fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and the subsequent division of territory among the Western powers provided an opportunity to lobby Western politicians for a possible claim to part of the British Mandate in Palestine, with the express desire to create a Jewish state. After World War II, the United Nations was founded. With the Holocaust still fresh in its memory, the first thing this organization decided in 1947 was to divide Palestine into a Jewish and a Palestinian part. In May 1948, under the leadership of Ben Gurion, they officially declared the state of Israel. This, in a nutshell, is the genesis of the current state of Israel.
Does the state of Israel even have a right to exist?
Had there been no use of violence, the commitments made by the French and the British would have allowed the local population in Palestine to choose self-government through elections. These commitments were fulfilled elsewhere, resulting in the creation of several Arab states, but they were not fulfilled in Palestine. The majority of the population at that time was Palestinian, so it was obvious that an autonomous Palestine would have been created, which would have included the Jews who had settled there. In such a case, there would not have been a Jewish state. If the UN had not decided to divide the land at that time, this would also have been the likely outcome. One might question whether the UN was acting within its authority when it decided to partition the land.
Is Zionism and the State of Israel that resulted from it the fulfillment of the biblical promises?
Within the church tradition, the vast majority have held that the church of Jesus Christ, is to be seen as the continuation of ancient Israel, that which constituted Israel under the old covenant is the church made up of Jew and Gentile together under the new covenant. In the nineteenth century, this thinking was challenged by the theology of John Nelson Darby, who developed, among other things, the idea that Israel and the church are two distinct entities, each with its own gospel, and should not be confused. The gospel of the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus would be for Israel, while the gospel of grace proclaimed by Paul would be primarily for the other nations. He therefore foresees a future restoration of physical Israel with Jerusalem as its capital. This body of thought met with much opposition within the church of the day; a man like Spurgeon, among others, a London Bible teacher within the Baptist movement, was a very outspoken opponent of this body of thought. Darby’s ideas received a huge boost in the first half of the twentieth century with the publication of the so-called Scofield Reference Bible with Darby’s commentary. At the time, this Bible was distributed in virtually every theological college in America. Over time, this body of thought gained more and more ground within various church movements. The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and the takeover of Jerusalem in 1967 had a tremendous impact on this, so that today most evangelical and orthodox reformed church movements have adopted this body of thought on Israel.
But is this what the Bible teaches? Is physical descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the standard, or is it something else? John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul all speak of the descendants of Abraham as those who repent and accept Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah. But just a few scriptures:
8Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
(Luke 3:8)37I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. 38I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. 39They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 40But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
(John 8:37-40)
16Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
26For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
(Galatians 3:16-18;26-29)
The quotes referred to do not tie offspring or seed to physical criteria, but to repentance and faith, and this is not only true under the New Covenant, but was always the condition under the Old Covenant as well. After Israel was brought out of Egypt, that entire generation perished in the wilderness because of unbelief.
30The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; 31and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. 32Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,
(Deuteronomy 1:30-32)
Later, when Israel falls into unbelief, resulting in disobedience, Israel is taken into exile at various times and the temple, which is a picture of God’s presence, is destroyed. The last significant example is the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in the year 70 by the Roman army led by Titus. Return seems possible only when faith and obedience are restored.
1And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 2and shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 3that then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. 4If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5and the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
(Deuteronomy 30:1-5)
The question that can be asked today is whether the present-day Israel has fulfilled these conditions. If it has not, then the claim that the present state of Israel is the fulfillment of the biblical promises cannot be sustained.
Note: Paul refers to Deuteronomy 30 in Romans 10 when he explains what the conditions are to be saved, this applies to the Jew as well as the Greek, there is no distinction based on ethnicity.
For more information on this topic, please see my article on Israel on my website.
What is the position of the local Palestinian population, and what should be our relationship with them?
35% of the Palestinian population are listed as Christians and must be considered descendants of Abraham and therefore heirs of the promises according to the text quoted in Galatians 3. These 35% are our brothers and sisters; we are joined together in the Spirit into one body, the body of Christ. These 35% therefore have as much claim to the promise and possibly to the land as the Jews, who could not qualify because of their unbelief, at least if we take Moses at his word in Deuteronomy 30.
7Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
(Galatians 6:7-10)
In this light, our first allegiance should be to these 35% Christians in Palestine and not to the Jews living there who are only 2% Christians. Thus, many of the Palestinians are our brothers and sisters. Israel bombs not only Hamas, but also these Christians and their churches. If Israel were truly God’s people, they would obey the Law of Moses, including the laws of war in Deuteronomy 20.
19When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) to employ them in the siege: 20only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.
(Deuteronomy 20:19-20)
The bombing of such an entire area is in stark contrast to this quote from the Law of Moses. Furthermore, it is also true that both Abraham and Isaac and Jacob lived in peace among the people of their day. Simeon and Levi are condemned by Jacob at the blessing because of their violence against the people of Shechem.
5Simeon and Levi are brethren;
Instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6O my soul, come not thou into their secret;
Unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united:
For in their anger they slew a man,
And in their selfwill they digged down a wall.
7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;
And their wrath, for it was cruel:
I will divide them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.
(Genesis 49:5-7)
The way the Zionists and the State of Israel have acted since 1947 stands in stark contrast to this statement by Jacob. If you would like to read more from a perspective other than the mainstream, I would recommend the book “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” by Ilan Pappe, a Jewish-Israeli historian.
Can Israel simply take possession of Palestinian property?
President Trump of the United States, after the ceasefire was established, said that the return of the local population of Gaza did not seem possible given the scale of the destruction, only to call on Egypt and Jordan to receive the Palestinian population of Gaza. It seems that in this way Israel could begin to appropriate the area with its natural resources and beautiful coastline. Just thinking along these lines seems to reveal an agenda to steal land. If you take something that does not belong to you, the Bible calls it theft, the law says that you must even return strayed animals to their owners. In addition, of course, there is all the laws concerning land ownership tied to the Jubilee year, and these rights also applied to the alien who was recognized as a fellow citizen of the people.
34But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
(Leviticus 19:34)
This law did not only apply at that time, but also affects the current indigenous population, i.e. the Palestinians.
Is the resistance on the Palestinian side legitimate? Is it terrorist?
During World War II, a resistance movement arose in the Netherlands to oppose the illegitimate German government. Although this movement was predominantly non-violent, there were instances where weapons and other violence were used. From our point of view, we think that this resistance, even if it involved proportionate violence, was lawful; of course, the German rulers however did not see it that way, they considered the resistance to be terrorist. In comparison, the resistance of the Palestinians can be seen as legitimate. The inhabitants of Gaza and the West Bank consist largely of refugees from other areas of Palestine that have been allotted to Israel. Under international law, Israel is obliged to allow refugees to return to their homes. They have been systematically denied this right by the Israeli government. Standing up for your rights, as many see the Palestinian resistance doing, is therefore perfectly legitimate. To call any form of resistance a priori a terrorist action is, in my opinion, far too simplistic. Proportional resistance, based on international law as well as historical and biblical law, is not terrorism and is therefore perfectly legitimate. I have already pointed out that in the context of the New Covenant, a Christian Palestinian should be seen as a descendant of Abraham, with all the rights that this entails.
So what about Hamas?
To call Hamas a terrorist organization outright is to miss the point. Hamas was elected by the people of Gaza as their legitimate representative, yet Israel has so far refused to engage in serious talks with Hamas. Of course, targeting innocent civilians can be called terrorist, but that applies to both sides of the conflict; the complete destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure and the unnecessary civilian casualties, mostly women and children, should be judged by the same standard. What also plays a role in the assessment is that Palestinians are seen by many in Israel as cattle, not people, and yes, you apply different standards to cattle than to fellow human beings. Jesus says that we are to love our enemies, and that does not mean that you can call your enemy cattle.
In conclusion
21And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
(1 Kings 18:21)
Israel in the time of Ahab and Jezebel had fallen into idolatry, and the majority of true prophets of God had been killed. Elijah challenges the people to stop eating from both plates, a little of God and a little of Baal. In Elijah’s time, there was only a small remnant that had truly remained faithful to God. This small remnant walked in the footsteps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; this small portion kept the laws of God. In Exodus 19, there are clear conditions for being called God’s people, and this is what Moses had to say to the people:
4ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. 5Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
(Exodus 19:4-6)
On the basis of this verse only the remnant can call themselves the people of God, this was true at the time of Elijah and it is still true today. The vast majority of Jews in Israel in no way meet these criteria and therefore should not be considered by us to be the people of God. I once heard someone say that in the end, only Jesus fully met these conditions; He is the only remnant. This is also why Peter declares the same passage to apply to the church of Jesus Christ, Jew and Gentile together.
4To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture,
Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious:
And he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient,
The stone which the builders disallowed,
The same is made the head of the corner,
8and
A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence,
even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
(1 Peter 2:4-10)
To apply different standards to Israel than to the rest of the world, including the Palestinian people, who at least partially meet these criteria, must be considered a double standard. The morality of God’s laws applies to anyone who wants to follow in the footsteps of Abraham. Jesus reproaches the Jews in John 8 for not following in the footsteps of Abraham, declaring that they do not have Abraham as their father, but the devil. Setting different standards for Israel must therefore be seen as a kind of idolatry, comparable to the worship of Baal in Elijah’s day. It is time for repentance, lest we ourselves be judged and lose the blessings that God promises us by being God’s people and counted as Abraham’s descendants, not without explicit conditions of a moral nature. The main condition in this text is “Come to Him”, without Jesus there is no people of God.
