Nowhere Else to Go
Nowhere Else to Go
Welcome to Israel: Land of Hope1
(the land of Zion and Jerusalem),2
where prophets walked and prophesied
for their God, our God:
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.3
And the Lord spoke to Abram, and he obeyed
and sojourned to the land of Canaan,4
where, upon Moriah’s altar, the Akedah5 took place,
and God bestowed upon Abraham a descendancy
as countless as the grains of sand and
as numerous as the stars in heaven.
And to Abraham’s progeny, God kept the covenant made.
Isaac believed, as did his father, and was blessed.6
And Isaac blessed the younger of his sons with inheritance.7
And Jacob wrestled with God and was counted bles'sed.8
Then famine drove Israel9 and his sons to journey to Egypt,10
where, in time, the Hebrew children suffered bondage
and were refused pilgrimage to worship Elohim
in the desert, lest they return.11
But the Lord delivered them from Pharaoh.12
Through the wilderness, Moses led the Israelites and,
with his last breath, climbed Mt. Nebo’s height
to gaze upon the Promised Land and then died.13
Joshua, at the Lord’s invitation, crossed the Jordan River
into a land flowing with milk and honey.14
David (the apple of the Lord’s eye)15
purchased the threshing floor from the Jebusite,
where King Solomon built the Lord’s temple
on Mount Moriah in the City of David,16
a city we shall never abandon.
There is no other land for the Israelis:
this is our country! Our nation! Our home!
Our God’s gift to His chosen people.17
We bless those who bless us.18
Should we relinquish our sovereignty?
We have nowhere else to go.
***
Notes:
Passages are from the Tanakh (Tanach)—Hebrew Bible (English translation by Rabbi A.J. Rosenberg), which is divided into three sections: 1) Torah—Pentateuch or Teachings (five books of Moses); 2) Nevi’im—Prophets; and 3) Ketuvim—Scriptures.
1 Hatikvah: Israel’s national anthem, which means “The Hope.”
2 Isaiah 2:3 & Micah 4:2: “…for out of Zion shall the Torah [the Law] come forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
“From Zion to Jerusalem” – “The ‘internal-external’ meaning of the Holy City,” is an article by Rabbi Chanan Morrison (Arutz Sheva - 01/06/08): “…In short: ‘Zion’ looks inwards, at the city’s inner significance for the Jewish people, while ‘Jerusalem’ looks outwards, at the city’s external role as a spiritual focal point for the entire world.
3 Exodus 3:6: And He said [to Moses], “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look toward God.
4 Genesis 12:1-9: The Lord speaks to Abram, and he obeys and sojourns to Canaan.
Genesis 12:7: And the Lord appeared to Abram and He said, “To your seed I will give this land.”
Canaan: named after Canaan (son of Ham and grandson of Noah). This area encompassed present-day Israel and parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
5 Genesis 22:1-18: Akedah (the binding of Isaac). God blesses Abraham and his seed.
6 Genesis 26:1-5: God’s Promise to Isaac. 3“Sojourn in this land, and I [God] will be with you, and I will bless you, for to you and to your seed will I give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham, your father.”
7 Genesis 27: Isaac blesses Jacob (the younger of the fraternal twins) rather than Esau.
8 Genesis 32:25-32: Jacob wrestles with God and is blessed.
9 Genesis 35:9-12: 9And God appeared again to Jacob when he came from Padam aram, and He blessed him. 10God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name. And He named him Israel.” 12“And the land that I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, I will give to you and to your seed after you will I give the land.”
10 Genesis 46:6: “…and they came to Egypt, Jacob [Israel] and all his descendants with him.”
11 Exodus 3:18: … and God said to Moses; “…and you shall say to him [Pharaoh]; ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has happened upon us, and now, let us go for a three days’ journey in the desert and offer up sacrifices to the Lord, our God.”
Exodus 5:1: And afterwards, Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “So said the Lord God of Israel, ‘Send out My people, and let them sacrifice to Me in the desert.’”
Exodus 14:5: When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people. They said, “What have we done, letting Isra’el stop being our slaves?” (CJB)
12 Exodus 14: Moses and the Israelites cross the Red Sea.
13 Deuteronomy 34:1: “And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, [to the] top of the summit facing Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the Land:…”
Deuteronomy 1:8: “See, I have set the land before you; come and possess the land which the Lord swore to your forefathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them and their descendants after them.”
Deuteronomy 34:5: “And Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there, in the land of Moab, by the mouth of the Lord.”
14 Joshua 3:17: “…and all Israel passed over on dry ground, until the whole nation had completely passed over the Jordan.”
Exodus 3:17: “…to a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Book of Joshua: Joshua’s victories, including Jebus (Jerusalem).
15 Psalm 17:8: “Guard me as the apple of the eye; in the shadow of Your wings You shall hide me.”
16 2 Samuel 5:6-10: King David defeats the Jebusites and captures Jebus, the stronghold of Zion (Jerusalem), and makes it his royal capital.
1 Chronicles 11:4-5, 7: 4“And David and all of Israel went to Jerusalem, that is Jebus, and there were the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land. 5And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You shall not come here,” and David captured the citadel of Zion, that is the City of David…7And David dwelt in the citadel; therefore they called it the City of David.”
2 Samuel 24:18-25: King David purchases the threshing floor located on Mount Moriah, owned by Araunah [Aravnah or Ornan] the Jebusite for 50 shekels of silver, upon which his son, King Solomon, built the First Temple. The temple was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C. and then rebuilt 70 years later by Jews returning to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity.
1 Chronicles 21:18-25: King David buys the threshing floor on Mount Moriah.
1717 Genesis 17:8: …and God spoke with him (Abram) saying… “And I will give you and your seed after you the land of your sojournings, the entire land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be to them for a God.”
Deuteronomy 7:6: “For you are a holy people to the Lord, your God: the Lord your God has chosen you to be His treasured people, out of all the peoples upon the face of the earth.”
Isaiah 40:8: “The grass shall dry out, the blossom shall wilt, but the word of our God shall last forever.”
1818 Genesis 12:1-3: And the Lord said to Abram; “…and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you.”
Psalm 118:26: “Blessed is he who has come in the name of the Lord; we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.”
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