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Israel, het land van Gods
uitverkoren volk JEHUDIM
Jerusalem, Our Eternal Home
If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not
remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem my
highest joy. Psalm 137:56
In 1903, Joseph Chamberlain, the British Colonial Secretary, made an
offer to Theodore Herzl and his Zionist group. The British were prepared to
give the Jews 5,000-square miles in Uganda, Africa to serve as a Jewish
homeland. The proposal evoked a fierce debate. On one hand, the land would
provide the Jews with a homeland where they would be free to live in peace and
protect themselves from danger.
On the other hand, it fell far short of the Zionist dream to return to
the ancient homeland of the Jews Israel. Thankfully, the offer was declined
because the land was deemed unsuitable. However, the question remained: Even
though the historical homeland of the Jews is Israel, does it really matter
where the Jewish homeland is today?
Psalm 137 answers that question with an emphatic Yes! For 2,000 years, Psalm
137:5 has been a cornerstone of Jewish worship and devotion: If I forget you,
Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. For centuries, we longed
for, prayed for, and worked for the Jewish return to Jerusalem. At times of
joy, this verse was read as we remembered Jerusalem. A small part of every
Jewish home was left unfinished to remember the destruction of Jerusalem. Every
year on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, we spend the day fasting and
crying over Jerusalem.
Jerusalem. Not Poland, not America, and not Uganda. Jerusalem is the only
capital the Jews have ever had, and Israel is the only Jewish homeland that
will ever be!
This is because Israel is where the Jews belong. In Deuteronomy 1:8, God
says, See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the
land the LORD swore he would give to your fathers . . . and to their
descendants after them." Guess which land God was talking about? Not
Uganda! The land of Israel was promised to the children of Israel and their
descendants for all eternity.
In Jeremiah 50:19, God says, But
I will bring Israel back to their own pasture, and they will graze on Carmel
and Bashan; their appetite will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and
Gilead. Even though the Israelites would go into exile, God would bring
them back. Not to New York and California, but to Carmel and Bashan in Israel.
Israel is our eternal homeland.
Van: Rivka Biesemans
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