very presence the Turks ran like scared rabbits. Our God can still per form miracles. The events that followed that day (December 9, 1917), are so well known I need not repeat them here. Then came the day when Hitler de creed the destruction o f the Jew, and World War II was on. But Hitler only succeeded in confirming the prophetic Scriptures: “ All they that devour thee shall be devoured” (Jer. 30:16). The combined foes o f the Jew only succeeded in aiding the children of Jacob to realize their dream—a re turn to their ancient home in Pales tine. The day of miracles is not past. “ Behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed” (Ex. 3 :2 ). God was in that bush— Israel for centuries upon centuries has been in the hot flames o f persecution, but Israel is not consumed. “ Dry bones” they may have long appeared to be; but behold, the nations are shaking and the “ dry bones” are rolling about in all the valleys o f the earth, “ bone to his bone.” The trek o f the ages is on! From every land they come, and Jerusalem is their rendezvous! In 1867, there were only 10,000 of Israel’s children in all Palestine; in 1900, about 50,000. In 1948, the Jew ish population reached 655,000. Last December, it passed the 1,000,000 mark! At least 2,000 came from In dia during the past year—and a col ony of Indian Jews is in the home land. Another Indian colony is soon to be founded. The greatest airlift in all history is now in full swing, or ganized to transport 100,000 Jews out o f Iraq, back to their ancient home land. From Tripoli they come— from Portugal— from Cyprus, Yugoslavia, Austria, Cyrenacia, Yemen and Bul garia until six Jewish communities o f the Diaspora are almost completely liquidated. From at least 64 nations they come, speaking 60 different lan guages— a veritable Israelitish tidal wave rolling in and over the little State o f Israel which is only about the size o f Connecticut! Housing, wa ter supply and food, impose extreme austerity upon the land, and yet the poorest and humblest son or daughter o f Israel, receives a warm welcome when arriving in the tiny homeland; 100,000 of the recent immigrants are living in very temporary quarters, but are supremely happy! Are they not in Zion? During the month o f April, 18 new towns were laid out, post offices estab lished, schools were erected and stores were opened. Down on the Egyptian frontier— the country so de- O C T O B E R , 19 5 0
void of vegetation that Jeremiah wrote— “ Baldness is come upon Gaza” (Jer. 47 :5 ), and was described by Luke as “ Gaza, which is desert” (Acts 8 :26 )—a part o f Palestine that has put more land under cultivation than all the rest o f the State o f Israel,—^ down there more than 80 new towns and settlements have begun, the pio neers toiling as they did in the days o f Nehemiah, every man with a trowel in one hand and a weapon in the other. Another 100,000 immigrants is ex pected to swarm into the State of Israel this year out o f Iraq alone. The critics of Zionism have objected that Palestine could never support more than 1,000,000 Jews. Now, these for mer objectors are themselves ad mitting that under the magic touch o f the Jew, at least 4,000,000 can be comfortably cared for. Moreover, there is no unemploy ment. At the latest available statistics more than 5000 factories are running full blast. Extensive programs are be ing worked out. Hundreds o f men are digging, blasting, battering their way through the rocks, while great cranes are lifting huge pipes into long, nar row ditches, which before the end of this year will be pouring desert-heal ing waters out over the centuries- parched ground. Verily, it was writ ten: “ The wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight o f all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden o f Eden . . . I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it . . . So shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men” (Ezek. 36: 33-38). This land is being planted with “ pleasant plants” (Isa. 17:10), the deserts begin to “ blossom as the rose” (Isa. 35 :1 ), “ the glory o f Lebanon shall be given unto it” (Isa. 35:2) as every man plants a tree, and to its branches once again “ the time o f the singing o f birds is come” (Song of Sol. 2 :12 ). Those branches are laden with apples, quinces, apricots, plums, pears, pomegranates, oranges and lemons, not surpassed in the fairest lands o f earth. Marvelous is the transformation! Marvelous is the fulfillment! Across the line from the State of Israel, in old Jerusalem and in Trans jordan, the turbaned (Esau) Arab still sits on the ground amidst squalid surroundings, working only with his ancient stick fo r a plow, jealous and despising his brother Jacob. The des ert is still over there! Only the touch o f the Jew will ever restore it to its
ancient fruitage. (Cf. Num. 13:20-27; Lev. 26:32-35). Once again, the critic a few years ago scoffed at the resurrection o f a united nation for the glory o f Israel must have a cultural background. It was said that it would be impossible to weld together into one nation, a people estranged to each other through long centuries, and speaking fifty or sixty languages. Were there not even fifty or more varieties of Yiddish alone? But God had spoken, and God is not mocked. Upon the slope o f Mt. Scopus, the university was built. And today, un derneath those growing trees and upon those school playgrounds little children gather out o f all nations and for the first time in two millenniums they play and chatter in the pure lan guage o f their ancient fathers— the Hebrew — fulfilling Zephaniah’s sign o f the approach o f Armageddon and the complete end o f Gentile dominion, not over merely a part, but over the whole o f the land that God gave to Abraham and his seed. “ Then will I turn to the people [Israel] a pure language [the He brew], that they may all call upon the name o f the Lord, to serve him with one consent” (Zeph. 3 :9 ). Verily, verily the day dawns when— “ The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from trans gression in Jacob . . . This is my cove nant with them, saith the Lord” (Isa. 59:20, 21). And soon re-gathered Israel will see her glorious Messiah descending the sky above old Olivet, “ King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Rev. 19:16), and they shall cry : “What are these wounds in thine hands ? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zech. 13:6 ). Then shall the blinded eyes of Israel be opened (Continued on Page 18)
Sheep at Ginegar.
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