Zionism is a movement born of a promise. In order to fully understand Zionism we must first have an understanding of that promise and all that it entails.

God said to Abraham, "I will give you and your descendents after you the land in which you are now foreigners, all the land of Canaan, as a permanent possession." (Genesis 17:8)

God made a promise to Abraham to give the land of what we now know as Israel to Abraham's descendents as an everlasting homeland. Now, some confusion can arise from this verse alone as the Arabs are also descendents of Abraham through his son Ishmael. However, the Lord does not leave His Will incomprehensible.

In Genesis 28:13 God again promises the land of Canaan, this time to Jacob, Abraham's grandson and the father of the Tribes of Israel, leaving little doubt as to whom the original promise was made.

God's promise of land to Israel was, moreover, sealed in a covenant between God and the Nation of Israel. Israel did repeatedly break this covenant, and for their disobedience were punished with exile from their God given homeland. However, part of the promise and the covenant was a guarantee from God that He would one day restore Israel to her promised land.

The Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land. (Isaiah 14:1)

However, the full meaning of this promise goes deeper than merely assigning a homeland to a tribe of nomads. The words of the Psalmist explain it best:

For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling. (Psalm 132:13)

God chose Jacob and his descendents for a purpose, to be a holy nation through whom the light of His truth would be made known to the world. God chose a nation, Israel, amongst whom He would dwell, therefore the chosen dwelling place of that nation would be also the physical dwelling place of God on this earth.

A promise of land was made to Israel so that the chosen place would be the source from which God's ultimate plan of redemption would spread throughout the earth. This plan of redemption and all of its components were specifically set out by God in His Word. None of it can come to pass until all components are in place, including, indeed requiring, the Chosen People inhabiting the Promise Land.

We all read God's word and find various promises that He has made to mankind, through Israel, that apply to our lives. We then stand on those promises as sources of hope and inspiration for our lives. Zionism is no different. Zionism stands on a Biblical promise made by God Almighty, a promise that for thousands of years has brought hope to the Children of Israel.

And so, we have our Biblical base for Zionism, a promise from God to the Children of Israel, a promise of land, and a promise recorded for all time in His Word.