“When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I have commanded you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where He scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back.” (Deuteronomy 30:1-4 NIV)
These scriptures are a small part of Moses’ final sermon to God’s people. They were standing at the precipice of the Promised Land, leaning in close to hear the dying words of the only leader they’d ever known. Moses had carefully recalled their history to date and then began to speak about the future. It’s pretty amazing to read his prophetic words to God’s people; he spoke of things that would not happen for generations to come. These scriptures prepared the people for the diaspora, but also for the great hope of coming home. The Jewish term we’re looking for is aliyah.
Aliyah has become the preoccupation of my heart. The term is relatively new to me, but the longing I’ve always felt finally has a name.
Aliyah is defined as “going up, ascent, or elevation.”
We first find it in the second to last chapter of Genesis. Abraham is on his deathbed in Egypt, when he begs his son, Joseph, to carry his bones back to the Promised Land. Even Pharaoh is moved by the request, and allows Joseph and his brothers a leave of absence to “carry up” their father’s remains to their homeland.
Jewish culture also calls up for aliyah, when the honor of reciting the Torah is given. The act of reading itself is done on a bimah (a stage or platform) where the reader literally ‘goes up’ but the words, also, lift the reader and listener up, pointing their hearts toward God.
Last but certainly not least, making aliyah happens when Jews come home to the Holy Land. A little research lets us know that this is happening now. In 1948, when Israel became an independent state again, only 600,000 Jews resided within its borders. Now, over six million Jews have returned. The government has made aliyah a national priority, creating generous immigration programs and funding/coordinating dramatic rescue operations. Bible prophecy is being fulfilled as millions of Jews hear the call and make their way back home.
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips.” (Isaiah 49:22 NIV)
The aliyah promise is much bigger than one nation, though. It is through the Jews that all nations will be blessed. Believers benefit from their gathering because we are adoptive sons and daughters, grafted in by the Father’s love. Only we won’t just go up, ascend as the returning Israeli’s do, but heaven itself will come down.
“And I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of the heavens from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now month the people and He will dwell with them. They will be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God!” (Revelation 21:1-3 NIV)
Our God has put heaven within the reach of those who believe in His Son. His love lowers heaven just enough that we can step our foot across the threshold. That’s what Jesus, sinless and crucified, accomplished on an’s behalf. He availed a way for the nations to come home.
“For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22-23 NIV)
Let’s not forget that aliyah is also a term for reading scripture. I wonder if we don’t ‘go up’ every time we open the word? When we read God’s truth, our heart and mind is elevated, fixed on things far larger than ourselves. Scripture is meant to lift our eyes and therefore our lives toward God. The time we spend in the word is divinely designed to prick our hearts toward eternity, toward aliyah.
Lord, today we revel in aliyah, this idea of going up. We long for our hearts and minds to be lifted toward You, to return to our own Promised Land of living in unbroken fellowship with You. May we make aliyah today, as we study Your word and elevate our hearts. Grow the longing in our souls as we wait on You. Amen.