Numerous Old Testament prophecies predicted that when the Lord removed the Hebrew people from their land it would become desolate and unproductive to the Gentile peoples who should then try to inhabit it (See Deuteronomy 29:23). Yet it also predicted the return of the land’s usefulness would coincide with the return of the Hebrews to it. When the Jews began returning to the land of Israel in the latter part of the 19th Century it was a malaria infested wasteland. The first Kibbutz was founded in 1909 and a more organized work of reclaiming the land’s agrarian treasures began. Ezekiel spoke of this time by writing “The fields that used to lie empty and desolate – a shock to all who passed by – will again be farmed. And when I [the Lord] bring you back, the people will say, ‘This god-forsaken land is now like Eden’s garden! The ruined cities now have strong walls, and they are filled with people! Then the nations all around … will know that I, the Lord, rebuilt the ruins and planted lush crops in the wilderness. For I, the Lord, have promised this, and I will do it.’” (Ezekiel 36:34-36*) Through Isaiah the Lord proclaimed what He would do for his people when He reinstated them to their land, “I will open up rivers for them on high plateaus. I will give them fountains of waters in the valleys. In the deserts they will find pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the dry, parched ground. I will plant trees – cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine – on barren land. Everyone will see this miracle and understand that it is the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, who did it.” (Isaiah 41:18-19)
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