Day Four: Opposition

Ezekiel 36:1–7 predicts that the recreation of Israel would be strongly opposed by the surrounding nations, specifically mentioning Edom as a proxy for all the surrounding Arab nations. History certainly has validated that prophecy. 

Even before Israel was formed, Arab opposition led to a significant part of the British mandate—land that was originally intended to be part of the new nation of Israel—being set aside for a Palestinian state, the nation of Jordan. As soon as Israel was established in 1948, the surrounding nations fought a war to exterminate the new country—a war in which they were defeated. They tried again in 1967 (the Six-Day War) and again in 1973 (the Yom Kippur War), each time suffering defeat and losing territory to Israel. And the effort by the Arabs (and other Muslim nations, such as Iran) to destroy the state of Israel has continued through the 1982 and 2006 Lebanon wars, the first and second Intifadas, and the Gaza War of 2008. 

That Israel has prevailed and even prospered in the face of these continual attacks fulfills yet another biblical prophecy. According to the prophet Amos, once they have been regathered, the Jewish people will never be driven out of their land again. Amos 9:15 promises, “I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them.”

Today, opposition to Israel is growing worldwide—the whole world seems to be turning against it. Even as some Arab states are normalizing relations with Israel, others, especially Iran, are doubling down in their antagonism. 

The Bible predicts that opposition will increase and that sometime between now and the return of Christ (the timing of the prophecies is unclear) coalitions of nations will launch attacks against God’s people. Ezekiel 39 predicts one such invasion and promises God will miraculously defend his people. And Zechariah 12:3 promises, “On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations.”