The Nation of Palestine

February 4, 2003
By Martha Lucia

The question continues to arise and be tossed around concerning the establishment of the nation
of Palestine, we need to look at what God has already established in HIS WORD.
God is quite specific about borders when HE says I give you THIS land, he leaves no gray areas
for question.
God spoke very clearly to Abraham when HE promised him a land and a people.
God told Abraham in Genesis 12 that He would make of him a great nation and bless those who
blessed him and curse those who cursed him. God also said that all the families of the earth
would be blessed and by you they will bless themselves. In Genesis 15:18-21 God set the
boundaries of the land promised to Abraham and his seed (Isaac, Jacob).
Numbers 34:1-12 (Amp) is even more specific.
"And the Lord said to Moses, Command the Israelites, When you come into the land of
Canaan (which is the land that shall be yours for an inheritance, the land of Canaan
according to its boundaries), Your SOUTH side shall be from the wilderness of Zin along
the side of Edom, and your SOUTHERN boundary from the end of the Salt (Dead) Sea
eastward; Your boundary shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin;
and its end shall be south of Kadesh-barnea, then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass
on to Azmon; Then the boundary shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and it
shall terminate at the (Mediterranean) Sea. For the WESTERN boundary you shall have
the Great Sea and its coast. And this shall be your NORTH border: from the Great Sea
mark out your boundary line to Mount Hor; From Mount Hor you shall mark out your
boundary to the entrance of Hamath, and its end shall be at Zedad; Then the
NORTHERN boundary shall go on to Ziphron, and the end of it shall be at Hazarenan. You shall mark out your EASTERN boundary from Hazar-enan to Shepham; The
boundary shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain, and shall
descend and reach to the shoulder of the Sea of Chinnereth (that is, the Sea of Galilee) on
the east; And the boundary shall go down to the Jordan, and the end shall be at the Salt
Sea. This shall be your land with its boundaries all around."
Could God have been more specific with the borders of the land HE meant to be the possession
of the children of Abrahams seed (Isaac)?
Amazingly, God also named Ishmael and promised him a land and a people. In Genesis 16 the
angel of the Lord found Hagar in the wilderness on the road to Shur. He promised her that He
would multiply her descendants so they could not be numbered and that her son would be named
Ishmael (the first person God named before his birth). Genesis 16:12 (Amp) says, "And

[Ishmael] shall be as a wild ass among men; his hand will be against every man and every mans
hand against him; and he will LIVE to the EAST and on the borders of all his kinsmen." This is
a description of the wandering, lawless life of the Arabs, and also describes the land in which
they are to live.
In Genesis 17, God continued to speak to Abraham promising to make him fruitful and give him
nations. God spoke the following to Abraham concerning Isaac: "I will establish My covenant or
solemn pledge with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his posterity after him." (Gen.
17:19, Amp) God did not leave out Abrahams other son, Ishmael, saying, "I will bless him and
make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly: he shall be the father of twelve princes, and
I will make him a great nation." (Gen. 17:20, Amp) God continued by making it clear that His
covenant was with Isaac, "But My covenant, My promise and pledge, I will establish with Isaac."
(Gen. 19:21, Amp) God's covenant was with Isaac, the seed of the one to whom all the land of
Canaan was given and to whose seed formed the twelve tribes of Israel.
In Genesis 21:12 God once again said that in Isaac will Abrahams posterity be called. He also
said in Genesis 21:13 that He would make a nation of the son of the bondwoman (Hagar)
because he (Ishmael) was the offspring of Abraham. Hagar was in the wilderness of
BEERSHEBA when she heard the voice of the Lord as He promised to make of Ishmael a great
nation and he (Ishmael) dwelt in the wilderness of PARAN.
In Genesis 22 God instructed Abraham to take his son HIS ONLY SON to Mt. Moriah and
offer him as a sacrifice to God, but then at the last moment God stopped him. (This act is a foreshadowing of the Father God offering His ONLY SON JESUS to take away the sin of the
world.) "And in your seed (Christ) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." (Gen. 22:18,
Amp)
Genesis 25 Abraham gave all that he had to his son Isaac. He gave gifts to the sons of his
concubines and sent them to the EAST country, away from Isaac, his son of promise.
"(v. 12) Now these are the descendants of Ishmael, Abrahams son, whom Hagar the
Egyptian, Sarahs handmaid, bore to Abraham. (v. 16) These are the sons of Ishmael,
and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments (sheepfolds);
twelve princes according to their tribes (foretold in Gen 17:20) (v.18) And (Ishmaels
sons) dwelt from HAVILAH to SHUR, which is before Egypt in the direction of
Assyria. (Ishmael) dwelt close (to the lands) of all his brethren." (Gen. 25:12, 16, and
18, Amp)
God gave Ishmael and his descendants a land. Looking at a biblical map, it appears to be the
wilderness of Shur, the wilderness of Paran, the wilderness of Sin and the wilderness of Sinai. I
am not sure if this is correct in todays maps or not, but one thing I am sure of is this - God
promised both these sons of Abraham land and people.
God gave both Isaac and Ishmael a land and a people, but the battle goes far beyond sibling
rivalry. It is about the infallibility of the Word of God and His promises and the fullness of those
promises. Satan is continuing to fuel this feud between two brothers attempting to stop the

promises of God from coming to pass, but his attempts are futile. There is one spot on the earth
that God swore by himself to give to a certain people, for a certain purpose. Satan will never
allow (without a tremendous battle) that one spot on the earth, the temple mount in Jerusalem, to
be under the control of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for he knows when he
looses control of that spot the scripture in Luke 21:24-27 will be fulfilled. Satan's time is
short. The enemy is once again asking the question, "Hath God said?"
Zechariah 14:2 says God will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, but the Lord will
fight against those nations. Zechariah 2:11 says, "Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord
in that day and shall be My people." Does this mean that our nation does not have to be counted
among the All Nations that come against Jerusalem, but can become one with the Lord and His
purposes for Jerusalem?
We must pray for the leaders of the nations, (especially our nation) that they not come into
agreement against the covenant of a Holy and Righteous God that would put our nations under
the hand of Gods judgment instead of His Blessing.