Nancy’s Kitchen

This is a tough question! If we want to go back to original ownership, a friend reminded me that that owner would be the Creator - Almighty God.

History tells us who “owned” and who “occupied” and who “conquered” the land through the years. The Bible tells us that God gave certain land to Abraham and his progeny through Isaac. It even describes the land given and it’s boundaries. He even told them to “take the land” by force. When they followed God’s instructions, all went well for them. When they did not, they had to deal with un-friendly peoples living in their territories. Does that make them the owners for all eternity? Good question.

It appears that every time the Israelites stopped following the ways of God, God allowed them to be routed from the land, taken into captivity, until they repented and purposed to serve God whole-heartedly again. When this happened, they were allowed to “return home to Israel”. Sometimes, Scripture informs us, God pre-set the time they were to be in captivity before they could return. Then, when the time had been fulfilled, political situations changed, and they were allowed to return home.

Who lived in the land during their absences? What happened to these residents when the Israelites returned? Did they co-exist peacefully? How did the residing (occupying) people receive the returning people? These are questions for another student of the times… I don’t have those answers right here at my fingertips. Food for thought.