Keys To I.S.R.A.E.L. - Celebrating God’s Holy LandSample

Partners with Zion

Days 41-50 focus on the letter “A” in I.S.R.A.E.L. — Aliyah, or immigration to Israel —and explore the fulfillment today of biblical prophecy and God’s promise that He would bring back His children to their ancient homeland, Israel.

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Theodor Herzl was the father of the modern State of Israel. Like many great men, he kept a diary. Herzl recorded the journey that he underwent trying to birth the State of Israel into being, and he spoke about those who helped him along the way. One name, in particular, is mentioned more than any other in the entire account.

That name is Reverend William Henry Hechler. The greatest ally of the Jewish journalist from Vienna was an English priest. Hechler’s partnership with Herzl played a fundamental role in the re-establishment of the State of Israel and the return of the Jews to their homeland.

Partnership between Jews and Gentiles for the sake of Israel goes back thousands of years to biblical times. The book of Ezra opens with a monumental declaration by Cyrus, King of Persia. Seventy years after the Jewish nation had been exiled from their homeland by the Babylonians, the Persians had taken control and initiated the Jewish return to their land. Not only did Cyrus grant permission for the return and rebuilding of the Temple, he also urged local residents to donate to the cause. It was with the help of these Gentile friends that the Jewish people were able to return to their homeland.

Sound familiar?

The time period that we are living in today shares many similarities with the time period in which Ezra lived. While his generation saw the first people in history to re-establish a homeland after being exiled from it, today’s generation is witnessing the only nation in history to return to its homeland twice! And just as the initial return to Israel was only possible because of the partnership between Jews, Gentiles and Christians alike, today’s return to Zion is the product of a Jewish and non-Jewish alliance once again.

I don’t think that’s an accident. God wants to give all people a chance to be involved in the rebuilding of the Holy Land. Israel may be the homeland of the Jewish people, but Israel is for everyone. The Holy Land contains everyone’s past and also their future. The Scripture tells us that the third and final temple will be a house of prayer for all nations. So it is only fitting that every nation should have the opportunity to contribute to its making.