In a conversation on religious questions,Fredric II, King of Prussia (1740-1786) asked Joachim von Zieten, General of the Husars,whom he esteemed highly as a Christian, “Give me proof for the truth of the Bible in two words!” To whichZeiten replied, “Your majesty, the Jews!” The General’s statement reflected his understanding ofnot only the miraculous preservation of the Jewish people, but his belief that their preservation was for the purpose of bringing God’s unfulfilled promises to pass. To Zeiten, the present existence of the Jewish people was proof that God’s Word was true because Scripture had promised that they would remain until all that had been prophesied concerning them was fulfilled. Remarkably, this expression of faith was made in a day when the Land of Israel was desolate of a Jewish population and the majority of Jews were scattered among the nations.
A century before Zieten, Martin Luther also struggled with the significance of Jewish existence,but came to a very different conclusion based on his observation of the miserable condition of the Jew sin his day (sadly, one largely imposed upon them by the Christian Church). Deciding that such Jews could not be those to whom the Bible referred in its promises of future restoration, he said:If the Jews are Abraham’s descendants, then we would expect to see them back in their own land. We would expect them to have a state of their own. But what do we see? We see them living scattered and despised. As a result, he continued to accept the spiritual interpretation of his Augustinian order that the Church is the only heir of the promises to Abraham.I wonder what Luther would say if they lived in our day when almost six million Jews have returned to the biblical homeland to regain their independence in a developed Jewish state whose technology and military achievements are the envy of the world?How different might have been the religious and political history in Germany and Europe (and the world) had Luther rightly understood God’s purpose for preserving the Jews?
The modern return of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel has been called the “Miracle on the Mediterranean.” Such a return by a people group that had been scattered among the nations is unprecedented in history. Indeed, the Jewish People are the only exiled people to remain a distinct people despite being dispersed to more than 70 different countries for more than 20 centuries.
Mark Twain made an observation in Harper’s Magazine:The Egyptian, Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor,then faded to dream-stuff and passed away.The Greek and Roman followed, made a vast noise and they are gone. Other peoples have sprung up, and held their torch high for a time,but it burned out and they sit in twilight now or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was,exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age,no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal, but the Jew. All other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?
Because Mark Twain was an agnostic and skeptic,he could only recognize the miracle of Israel’s preservation, but could not understand the reason for it.
In all of human history there have been less than ten deportations of a people group from their native land.These people groups disappeared in history because they assimilated into the nations to which they were exiled.
The contrast here with other historical exiles should not be overlooked. While other people groups were exiled to one country, the Jews were dispersed to many different countries, and in fact were scattered to every part of the earth. {as the Bible said}
The Jewish people alsohold the distinction of being the only people to have successfully revived their ancient tongue after more than 2,000 years!!
Moreover, the Jewish people are the only people to have returned en mass to their ancient homeland and to have restored their national independence by reestablishing their former state.
Even though the Jewish people did not have a homeland, a common language or a shared history (the factors that historians use to define a nation), they have remained a distinct people. This fact impressed the great secular historian Arnold Toynbee who remarked that there was no natural explanation for the survival of Jewish People through the ages.
Gods faithfulness was seen even in spite of the national sin of the Jewish people in breaking their covenant with God, for the Lord promised that when he punished them they would not be annihilated as a people as would be their enemies:“For I am with you, declares the Lord, to save you;For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you, only I will not destroy you completely” (Jeremiah 30:11).
When God made the covenant with Abraham why did he walk through the divided animals alone? Abraham was asleep.Why do you think God made the covenant in that manner?