70th Anniversary of Israel

"Seventy has always been significant in the life of the nation of Israel. Even before Israel was known as a nation, 70 was significant.
- After the universal flood, 70 nations were named in Genesis 10.
- Jacob (who was renamed Israel by God) and his family were 70 in number when they went down to Egypt.
- Moses appointed 70 elders of Israel.
- Israel was held captive in Babylon for 70 years. - Daniel speaks of 70 weeks of years, all of which have been fulfilled except for the 70th week.
- The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70AD by Roman General Titus.
- 70 scholars translated the Hebrew Scriptures into the Greek Septuagint.  

Today, May 14, 2018 marks the 70th anniversary of Israel becoming a nation. May 14, 1948, was the day God decided he would once again bring his people to the land he promised to them as their permanent home. On that day, 11 minutes after declaring statehood, President Harry Truman was the first to recognize the new Jewish Nation. Iran was the second nation to recognize the Jewish state.

Preceding the May 14th Declaration, the Arabs incited vicious and deadly riots against Jewish villages.  Almost immediately upon becoming a nation, Israel was attacked with a vengeance by well-armed and well-trained neighbors.

Israel fought with sparse arms. They had no tanks and only a handful of obsolete airplanes. David Ben-Gurion, who became Israel’s first prime minister, was told the nation had a 50/50 chance to survive.

Israel did survive but the cost was high. She lost approximately 1 percent of her population of 650,000 people in the war for independence. Israel not only survived — she prevailed and she has prevailed ever since.

The Arab armies lost in humiliation and have never recovered from their loss. While Israel celebrates her birthday, the Arabs continue to riot on her borders and remember the day of celebration as “Nakba” day — the day of the catastrophe.

Although the olive branch of peace has been extended by Israel numerous times over the past 70 years, only Jordan and Egypt have signed peace agreements. Israel will continue to seek peace with her neighbors. Scripture tells us peace will elude Israel until Jesus, the Messiah returns.

In spite of the tumultuous events surrounding Israel, the nation perseveres and prevails and continues to bless the world with her many accomplishments. Israel leads the world per capita with the highest number of doctorate degrees and university degrees, the most engineers, physicians, scientists, and technicians. Israel has more museums and orchestras, reads more books, and produces more scientific papers. Israel has more Nobel prizes per capita than the US, France, and Germany.

Israel is the only nation in the Middle East where Christians, Muslims, and Jews are all free to vote and where women enjoy full political rights. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Christians flourish and are not persecuted.

Israel is making a huge difference in the world of the special needs population as they have dedicated time, resources, and research in the study of Autism.

It is difficult to find any area in the world where Israeli innovation and advancements have not improved lives. Some of those areas include technology, agriculture, science, and medicine as well as in the arts, music, and literature.

There are so many successful start-up companies coming out of Israel that she has become known as the start-up nation. When you visit Israel you can feel the “can do” attitude in the air, the people work and fearlessly move forward even when facing seemingly overwhelming odds.

Israel is an ancient nation guaranteed by God to stand forever. No other nation has such a promise and no other nation is in such a covenant relationship with God. It would be wise to heed the ancient words from the book of origins when God promised Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.” History has shown God has not forgotten His promise to His people.

So, on this 70th anniversary of the rebirth of an ancient nation in their homeland, I applaud and admire Israel with all of my heart. May God continue to bless and keep you, may you soon know the peace of God within your hearts and within your walls. Happy 70th Birthday Israel!"

Ginger Williamson, a Ridgeland resident who has studied Israel for 20 years, teaches the subject in churches, Bible studies, small groups, and seminars. She can be reached at gingerw003@yahoo.com.