God's Covenant with Abraham

     Abraham was both brilliant and very ambitious. He envisaged the conquest of all Canaan. Melchizedek, the Sage of Salem, explained to him that the backward Amorite clans were certainly committing suicide by their foolish practices so that in a few generations they would become so weakened that the descendants of Abraham could easily overcome them. Abraham was persuaded:  he agreed to give up his scheme of material conquest in favor of the spiritual concept of the kingdom of heaven.
     Note carefully the wording of the formal covenant that Melchizedek, speaking for the Most High [the Lord], then made with Abraham: “Look now up to the heavens and number the stars if you are able; so numerous shall your seed be.”

     Now note carefully what Melchizedek, speaking for the Most High, did NOT say to Abraham: The Most High did not promise Abraham that the land called Israel would belong to the Jews in perpetuity.

     When this covenant was made with Abraham, the Most High [the Lord] began his special oversight of the Jews.

     There are several passages in the Old Testament that seemingly give credence to their claim that the land called Israel belongs to them in perpetuity: Genesis 12:7; 13:14-17; 17:8; 24:7; 48:4.
     Genesis 13:15 is particularly explicit: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

     However, when the Jews conspired to bring about the crucifixion of Jesus, they broke the covenant that Abraham had made with God. In consequence of that event, the Most High ceased his special oversight of the Jewish nation. From that point onward, the Jews were on their own among nations. As we know, the Jews met their fate in 70 A.D. when the Temple was totally destroyed and the Judeans were dispersed throughout the world. The nation of Israel ceased to exist.

     My understanding of these events is that the Jews lost in perpetuity their claim to the land known as Israel.

     We are told that the Jewish religious leaders completely rewrote their known history during the Babylonian captivity. After that time, the Jews were taught a fictitious version of their history. Among other things, the Jews suddenly became the "chosen people;" they were taught that God had surely promised them that the land called Israel would belong to them throughout all future time.

     It seems reasonable to conclude that the Jews have no valid claim to the land called Israel.
     Actually, whether the Israelis are entitled to the land of Israel is now a moot point: strictly rhetorical. The die is cast. The Israelis are firmly entrenched in present-day Israel.
     On Osama's Day of Armageddon all Mid-East countries will vanish from the face of the earth. This catastrophic event will effectually solve the problem.

Source:
     The Urantia Book, Uversa Press 2003. [93:6:1-4] [97:7:1-4] [97:9] [175:3:2] [176:1:2]
http://www.urantiabook.org . fellowship@urantiabook.org .
     The King James Study Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville TN

     NOTE: Numerous statements in this paper were quoted verbatim from the source.

Revised May 22 2007