Out of Zion

Dr. Susan Michael: Well, I am in the land of Israel, and I have great news to share. It is flourishing. It hasn't always been this way, and it's almost as though that the people that were designated to inhabit this land when they were not in it, it in a way died, but they're back home now, and the land is flourishing. So welcome to this week's Shabbat Shalom devotional, when I seek to share just a little inspiration and bring a little peace to the close of your very busy week. You know, we're reading through the Torah, and this week we're reading Genesis 25, verse 19 through 28, verse 9. And we read the story of how Rebecca was barren, and so her husband Isaac prayed to the Lord, and she became pregnant with twins, but she knew something wasn't right within.

It's as though they were struggling, and the Lord said that she had two nations inside of her, and after they were born, they continued to struggle. And we've read the story of how Jacob and Esau struggled with each other, and Jacob the younger, it was prophesied, would be the leader. And sure enough, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob, and then Jacob took the blessing of the firstborn. So in the midst of this story of the struggle between these two brothers is the story of a famine, and I find it so interesting. You know, when Abraham entered the land by faith, the land that God had promised to him, he encountered famine, and he had to go to Egypt in order to survive.

And here Isaac is encountering famine, so he goes down to the Philistine area. And we're going to read in a few weeks how there was another famine in the time of his son, Jacob. So isn't this interesting? Wouldn't you expect that if God had given you a promised land, you don't expect to go there to starve, right? But it's interesting that it's a land that required faith to enter it. Abraham had to have faith to enter. The Israelites had to have faith in order to go in and possess the land, but it also required faith to remain in the land. It wasn't necessarily an easy land, and because of that, it was a testing ground of one's faith.

But there's another reason why it was difficult. It's because it had not yet been taken possession by the people that God had designated that land to belong to. It was their inheritance, it was their gift, and they had not yet taken possession. But once they did take possession of the land, and they lived according to God's ways and God's law, the land flourished. Well, they were taken into exile, long story, but during that time of exile, the land became completely barren. I talk about this in other podcasts, so I don't have time today to explain the ins and the outs of it. But when the Jewish people began returning to the land in the 20th century, 19th century, they began to plant it, and they turned it into the most amazing, flourishing land.

This people who had been so persecuted that they weren't allowed to even own land in other countries, they didn't have farming skills, yet they came here and they loved the land and they tended to it and they used innovation and technology to where today their apple orchards can produce 10 times more apples than an orchard in Russia. They, their milk cows are producing more milk than any other cows in the world. The desert is blossoming and blooming. they are leading the world in water conservation. It's truly amazing, and it's because the land's owners are back in the land, and it's flourishing, and it is blossoming.

So, with that, I want to wish you a Shabbat shalom, and I hope you're enjoying the view behind me of the beautiful land of Israel.

Announcer: We hope you have enjoyed this episode of Out of Zion with Susan Michael. Be sure to subscribe to Out of Zion now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pray.com, Salem One Place, Salem Life Audio. Out of Zion with Susan Michael is a production of ICEJ USA. All rights reserved.