Israel at 60, Give or Take a Few Thousand Years

This happens to be the title of an article that appeared in both the Israel National News in April and today on the American Thinker website that was written by Steve Feldman and Robert Sklaroff of the Philadelphia District of the Zionist Organization of America.

Unfortunately, this article contains the most glaring error that can ever be made with respect to Abraham and the Nation of Israel - namely the insistence that Father Abraham was a Jew. Clearly, from any honest recollection of the truths offered in the Bible or the Hebrew Torah we can, with the utmost assurance, insist that Abraham was not a "Jew." Now in general, while I agree with the overall summation made by the authors of the article - that the Nation of Israel is well over 60 years old, in fact thousands of years old, I disagree (obviously) with the assertion that this Nation only includes only the actual blood decedents of Father Abraham.

The modern State of Israel is a secular state based on the model of Roman Civil Law that has been in existence for thousands of years and adopted, in fact, by virtually every nation/state in the world. So to insist, as many do today, that God will save this secular nation, outside and apart from what has already occurred in history and what we are assured of will again happen in the future through what the Apostles wrote is just not sound Biblical teaching.

Another point in the article that is a completely misleading is the writers insistence that the first "Jew" to set foot in Israel was Abraham when he purchased the grave for Sarah. This is woefully inaccurate. Actually, Abraham set foot in Canaan (which was occupied by the Israelites after crossing the Jordan during Joshua's day) when he was instructed by God to leave the land he was in for Canaan. - Genesis 12:1-12. Later, after a famine in the land, Abraham left and went to Egypt. After being kicked out of Egypt for lying to Pharaoh about Sarah, Abraham went back to Canaan. In fact, the Bible tells us Abraham went back to the place where he had originally built an alter to the Lord when he first entered into Canaan. - See Genesis 12:8 and Genesis 13:3-4.

The Bible goes on to tell us in Genesis 13 that from where the altar was, in the plain of Moreh, Abraham moved to the plain of Mamre, which is near Hebron, where he built another altar. - Genesis 13:18. Hebron is smack-dab in the mist of Israel, both in Abraham's day and still to this day! This is where God made His famous promise to Abraham (Abram) that He would provide Abraham all the land that he saw.

"For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto The Lord." - Genesis 13:15-18 KJV

The fact as to why the authors of this piece didn't add this information into their article, or just didn't know these facts, is anyone's guess. But to me it is a bit distressing and I cannot honestly believe that no one in the modern, secular nation State of Israel didn't call them on it! These are Bible basics and I would imagine, for those that are claiming the promises God made to Abraham, they would know a little bit more about them.