OCT 18

Genesis 12:1-3
Memorise Genesis 17:1-8
“I will make of thee a great nation”

Israel is at the centre of three continents as the Lord has said, “This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her” (Ezekiel 5:5).

Since the end of World War II, many young and vigorous nations have been born one after the other, which were once colonies of the great powers. From the ASEAN Bloc have “emerged” the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Many nations have arisen in Africa with new names that old-timers have a hard time to follow. Among all these new nations, there came into being one on May 14, 1948 - the State of Israel. The majority of Israel is made up of returnee Jews, after 2,000 years of exile.

In terms of land area Israel is one of the tiniest in the region. Population-wise Israel has close to 8 million, not that much more than the population of our tiny island state of Singapore. Indeed, Israel is but a speck on the globe, a little dot on the world map. If you stand at a vantage point in the Holy Land on a fine day, say, on the hill of Samaria, you could see almost the four corners of the country. How does a tiny country like Israel become such a great nation as she is today? Israel is featured on the front page world news more often than any other of the new-born nations. Israel is in the news side by side with the super powers, most frequent with the United States. How has little Israel gained such global prominence?

Israel has always been God’s chosen people. From the time that God called Abraham to leave his father’s house and go to a land which God would lead him to, God has always had a plan for Abraham’s descendants. In that first promise made in Genesis 12, God was establishing His covenant with Abraham, that out of his loins would come forth a nation that would be to the blessing of the whole entire world. That nation would in time, be known as Israel. While Israel today has departed from the Lord, and does not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, nonetheless God still has a plan for His own, and will never cast them aside permanently. God is a covenant keeping God, and will always keep His promises perfectly.

Thought: Israel is great only because of God.
Prayer: Lord, we pray that Israel will confess Jesus as Messiah.