The land was dead. The land was sold for pennies for the dollar. The land was deserted, basically. And God says, “There is a point in time where I’m going to say this is it. It’s time for my people to come back to their land, but the land is dead so I’m going to speak first life into this dead land.”
So you, oh mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield what? Your fruit to my people, Israel. God says this land belongs to the people of Israel, His people Israel. And God is going to make sure that the land will be sustainable for them to be able to return and live in it. And then he says, “I will have to do it before they come, because,” look what He says, “for they are about to come.”
So once the land had life spoken into it, then comes the return of the people. And it’s very interesting because the Bible says in the same chapter, “For I will take you, the Jewish people, from among the nations and I will gather you out of all countries and I will bring you into your own land.” This is what the Bible says regarding the ownership of the land of Israel. This is what the Bible says regarding the plan of God for the people of Israel, that He will heal the land, bring the people from wherever they were.
Anyone who has visited Israel has experienced the awe and wonder of the land that is home to God’s chosen people, the Jews. The history, the culture, Mount Carmel, The Valley of Tears, Magdala, and a host of other places and things remind us of what a special place Israel was in the past and still is today.
One of the most awe-inspiring sights in Israel, however, is not built with ancient stones, and it’s not a site that has a significant historical event associated with it, like the valley of Elah has with the story of David and Goliath.
This amazing site is called the Jezreel Valley. A rich and fertile farmland that is indisputable evidence that God is true to His word and faithful to His promises. This lush and fertile valley had remained dormant for nearly 2000 years, and yet today it is teeming with crops and flowers.
Ezekiel 36:34-36
“The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it.”
In light of all we see going on in the Middle East surrounding the nation of Israel, we can take heart in two amazing evidences of God’s faithfulness. We can recognize that since God brought the Jews back into their national homeland and since He has blessed the land and it has flourished as He promised it would, we can rest assured that the enemies of Israel will not prevail! For no man, country, demon, or devil can cause God’s promises to be thwarted or reversed.
There is also a personal reminder here for us and that is when life seems like a long, dry season and it feels like what we have prayed for and sought after is never going to happen, God will always keep His word and our enemies cannot do anything to change that.
Like the Lord’s promise to Israel and to the land that it would flourish in preparation for the Jews to return en masse, so too He may be preparing something for you that is yet unknown. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He has told us nothing can separate from His love and no one can snatch us from His hand. That means the dry times are not our destiny, but are only temporary.
So what do we do in times such as these, when Israel is surrounded by enemies, when much of the church has lost its way, when evil and good have exchanged definitions? Remember the Jezreel Valley. A place that was once marshland and infertile is now rich in agriculture and farming. All this is based on the fact that the One who promised is faithful, and He will do it.
We have a home awaiting us that is even more lush and beautiful than the Jezreel Valley, or any other place on earth. God has promised that, through the shed blood of His Son, we can spend eternity there with Him. There will never be another dry time or shed tear or experienced pain. There will never be any sorrow or death. If He is faithful to a piece of land, how much more will He be faithful to us, His children!
Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus