With Prayers For The Landless

I was reading in Psalm 105 this morning

For he (Yahweh) remembered his holy promise
    given to his servant Abraham.
⁴³ He brought out his people with rejoicing,
    his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
⁴⁴ he gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—
⁴⁵ that they might keep his precepts
    and observe his laws.

There is much that I find helpful in the Old Testament to do with God’s steadfast love and faithfulness to his covenant people. But I have a problem with God giving his chosen people land that others have lived in and toiled over. (See above verse 44)

With verses like that in the Hebrew Scriptures, it is, maybe, not surprising that Benjamin Netanyahu is still hell bent on annexing more land from the Palestinian people.

It is possible to find in holy scripture a warrant for the most evil of deeds. Christians must acknowledge that, and attempt to read the whole story of God and his people. In the prophet Isaiah for example, we see that God’s blessing is in fact intended for every people, and not just Israel. And in the verses below, Isaiah had harsh words for those who steal the land of others.

Ah, you who join house to house,
    who add field to field,
until there is room for no one but you,
    and you are left to live alone
    in the midst of the land!
(Isaiah chapter 5 verse 8)

And his conclusion is that they will get their reward

9 But I have heard the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    swear a solemn oath:
“Many houses will stand deserted;
    even beautiful mansions will be empty.
10 Ten acres of vineyard will not produce even six gallons of wine.
    Ten baskets of seed will yield only one basket of grain.”
(Isaiah Chapter 5 verse 9,10)

With prayers for justice for the Palestinian people, and all those whose land has been illegally taken.