Proof God Is King over All
There is a famous story that is often told but can be attributed to different personalities from the nineteenth century. One version is that the German Kaiser asked Otto von Bismarck, a man well known for his wise and insightful quotes, “Can you prove the existence of God?” Bismarck is said to have replied, “The Jews, your majesty. The Jews.”
Whether the conversation is fact or fable in no way diminishes its profundity. The journey of the Jewish people on this earth is astounding proof of the existence of God for several reasons.
Their Story Foretold
The story of the Jewish people is, in fact, the story of the Bible, so their journey not only proves the existence of God but the accuracy of Bible. Promises God made thousands of years ago are being fulfilled today—exactly as the Hebrew prophets said they would.
This year we are celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the founding of Israel, which took place on May 14, 1948. The Hebrew prophet Isaiah described that event perfectly when speaking of a restored Jerusalem: “Shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children.” We are in effect celebrating a day Isaiah foretold over 2,500 years ago.
God told the children of Israel through Moses that blessing and prosperity were theirs in the promised land if they walked uprightly with Him. He also told them of the many difficulties that would befall them should they reject Him and follow other gods. Hundreds of years later, the Hebrew prophets began to warn the wayward people of Israel that judgment was around the corner, and when it arrived, they would be scattered and the land made desolate. Judgment arrived just as they predicted.
But the Hebrew prophets knew this devastation was not forever. God had also promised through Moses that even if His children were scattered to all the nations, He would one day bring them back. Many prophets described and longed for that future return, and we are the privileged generation to witness it. Current events are playing out exactly as Isaiah and Jeremiah, amongst others, described them.
The Bible’s accuracy is a testament to the all-powerful God who wrote the script and is fulfilling it. His Word is true because He stands behind it. What He said He will and can do because He is the King over all the Earth.
Their Survival Guaranteed
Because of the special calling of the Jewish people—to be the vehicle of God’s magnificent plan of redemption—they would suffer much opposition and even threats of annihilation. For this reason, God promised they would always be a nation before Him, thereby guaranteeing their survival. Jeremiah said that even if all other nations are destroyed, they would remain (Jeremiah 30:10), and Isaiah said that their existence will be for as long as that of the eternal new heaven and new earth that He will create (Isaiah 66:22).
Their survival through centuries of exile, persecution, and threats of annihilation is a testimony to the power of God. No better example of this is found than in the 1948 War of Independence when the largely untrained and ill-equipped Jewish fighters defeated the invading armies of five Arab countries. Another example is the Yom Kippur War when the Jewish State suffered a surprise attack on their most holy day on which they fast and pray all day. One of the most dangerous fighting arenas was in the Golan Heights where a handful of Israeli tanks miraculously defeated thousands of Syrian tanks. Had they not maintained control of the Golan Heights, the little nation would not have survived.
Their Miraculous Return from Obscurity
We are the privileged generation to witness Israel’s survival and triumph in the face of great opposition. But let’s be honest and ask ourselves: If we were reading the Bible 200 years ago when the land of Israel was a desolate, forsaken region that had been in the heart of Islamic empires for over 1,000 years—empires that had extended all the way from India in the East to Spain in the West and even into eastern Europe—who would have predicted the end of the rule of Islamic empires over those lands?
We must admit that to any casual observer of history, it looked like it was all over for the Jewish people. They were in exile, often reviled and persecuted. All of the promises God had made to them in the Hebrew Bible looked to be impossible to realize—promises of a restored Jerusalem that would become the leader of the nations and from where the glory of the Lord would shine forth throughout the world.
Today we celebrate their miraculous return and the emergence of Israel as a world leader in many fields. The tiny, forsaken land is blooming and prospering. Jerusalem is becoming center on the world stage, and while much of the attention today seems to be negative, we know that it is only because Jerusalem is moving toward her prophetic destiny—from obscurity to center stage, just as God had promised. What more proof of the existence and power of God, King over all, does anyone need?
Help with the modern-day restoration of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel.