Artzeinu—Our Land—Israel—How often do you think of Israel as a place on a map or as a modern nation? How often do you think of Jerusalem the capitol of King David and of the Modern State of Israel? For those of us living in this part of the world we can be overcome by the reality of the intensity of life here. The life in the Land is intense but the scrutiny of the International community can be even more intense. Is this focus of the nations justified? I think the answer is yes and no. No, the issues that Israel is scrutinized for are not the right issues, or the focus is disproportionately on Israel with a negative eye. And yet, yes the focus on this Land and City are justified in the sense that we are the navel of the earth. Being at the meeting point of three continents, and the crossroads of multiple cultures, Israel is a nexus for many things happening in our world today. This intensity though, is not a totally new occurrence.

Israel is mentioned over 2,500 times in the Bible and Jerusalem is mentioned over eight hundred times. The Bible speaks not only about theology and faith, but in a large way about this relationship between man and his maker happening in a certain place, this small sliver known as Israel and in this small landlocked capital known as Jerusalem.