A Royal Land Grant
The Lord gave Abraham and his descendants, Isaac and Jacob, the title deed to the land of Israel. He declared that it would be their possession perpetually. In Genesis God spoke: “The same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites” (Genesis 15:18-21).
In secular terms, this would be called a royal land grant. This type of grant, common in antiquity, was perpetual and unconditional. The king, or sovereign, possessed all the land and granted parcels of it to loyal subjects as rewards for faithful service. In biblical terms, God is sovereign over all the earth—He created it, and there are no greater rights of ownership than that—so the land is certainly His to bequeath as He wishes.
Years after He made his original covenant with Abraham, God confirmed it. Abraham accepted the terms of the covenant by the right of circumcision: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised” (Genesis 17:4-10).
This covenant with Abraham is an eternal one with no preconditions or expiration date. It was given as an everlasting possession to Abraham and his descendants. Only Mankind is capable of impeding the fulfillment of the contract through disobedience, but the pact can never be rescinded. Moses declared: “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19).
Of what value is this ancient covenant between God and Abraham today? God is still sovereign over the land He bestowed upon Abraham and his offspring. He has never vacated the title deed, nor as some believe, has He rescinded His covenant declaration. The land still belongs to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants—as numerous as the sands of the sea.
The Jewish people have a God-given, inalienable right to possess the land of Israel and the entire city of Jerusalem. Many have the mistaken idea that an inalienable right is one which cannot be taken from you. In reality, it means just the opposite: It is one that cannot be given away, sold, surrendered, or legally transferred to another. Giving away any of the land violates the covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and places the nation of Israel outside God’s covenant blessings. Likewise, the nations that are coercing Israel into giving up the land come under the curse of God.
