2013-04-12
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I was led to write about Israel’s enemies and her long history of being persecuted. Many of her enemy nations have disappeared, but Israelremains. For the last two weeks, I have repeated my own belief that she will never be destroyed entirely until it is time for God’s people to be raptured off the face of the present earth. Scriptures like JER 2: 3 back up this stand. We must remember PS 105: 15 reveals God’s heart. “Do not touch My anointed ones; do My prophets no harm.” Yet God has allowed a great number of trials over the last 3000 years of Israel’s existence and history. We must remember that either when we are dealing with a nation or with an individual that working through trials allowed by God is His way of maturing people and separating the sheep from the goats [MT 25: 32].
Having said all of this, there is a matter which personally breaks my heart concerning Israel. It is that sometimes the people of this important little nation are their own worst enemies, due to the personal disobedience to God of some Israelis. Of course, this is nothing new. An example from the past was that of Joshua’s soldier, Achan’s sin in JS 7. Basically, the Israelites were ordered to kill all the Canaanites they encountered-men, women, children, and their animals. They were not to take loot or to enter into any treaties with them [DT 7: 1-2]. God had promised this land toIsrael, and all had been going well so far. But Achan decided to hold back booty, and things stopped going well. Joshua got Achan to admit he broke the covenant, and then, Joshua confessed what happened before God. The soldiers stoned Achan, and forward progress in the taking of the Promised Land was allowed to move forward again. The Israelis who murdered Izrak Rabin were most definitely disobedient to God. And I’m sure that the Israelis today who persecute Messianic Jews are disobedient to God, Surely the man who set off the bomb that critically injured Ami Ortiz when he was age 15 in March of ’08 was disobedient to God. (Ami’s mother, Leah Oritz is a dear friend of mine). At best such disobedience delays the final end times solution to this problem, and at worst, I am wrong aboutIsrael never being erased from the face of the earth.
Prophecy is in line with Israel’s suffering. DN 12: 1, “At that time Michael [the archangel who is Israel’s guardian angel] the great prince who protects your people will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people –everyone whose name is found in the Book [God’s Book of Life] –will be delivered.” This time of distress is clearly the Tribulation, and we can question if we are actually living in the period close to the onset of this seven years of God’s decisions for the world. MT 24: 21, “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” The consistency of these prophecies shouldn’t be ignored. JL 3: 1-2, “Blow the trumpet inZion; sound the alarm on My holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the Day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand—a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come.”
Another question must be asked: What is the solution for Israel’s final fate and that of all who believe in the Lord Jesus-Jew and Gentile alike? It’s a huge question, one that we must look into the Scriptures for any answers. For the ancient Jews, the answer was found in JER 31: 31-34, “’The time is coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house ofIsrael and with the house ofJudah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers, when I took them by the hand and led them out ofEgypt, because they broke My covenant though I was a Husband to them. This is the covenant I will make with the house ofIsrael after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer with a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying , ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the Lord. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’” My heart flutters every time I read this passage; that’s how important I think it is. Let’s look at more prophecy concerningIsrael’s future.
EZK 36: 7-8, “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I swear with uplifted hand that nations around you will also suffer scorn. But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home.” Could this mean that Israel’s present enemies will suffer scorn? I’m inclined to believe our Protector tells the truth! When He mentions producing “branches and fruit” here I take this in two ways. One is the more obvious, that God means to not let Israel starve and for her people to continue to multiply. But there is another way to look at this. If we see the number of Jewish people who are doctors, lawyers, scientific researchers, entertainers and industry leaders, etc.-people making important contributions- the list is a much larger percentage of the world’s Jewish population than many other groups. As for the phrase “soon come home,” we have no way to know if this is in God’s time or having anything to do with man’s timekeeping. God made it clear in MT 24: 36 that He, the Father, alone, not even the Lord Jesus, knows exactly when He will send Jesus to rapture the believers and begin the end time events recorded in the book of REV. There is more on the solution, and I will pick up with it next week.
PRAYER: O Lord, You give us much to consider in today’s devotion, and we thank You for it. This is a complicated subject, because human beings are complicated and imperfect. All we can do is to continue to examine our individual lives for sin and work to expunge it, cooperating with Your own efforts. We are so very grateful to have a loving, patient God, Who is always with us and willing to help us. PS 108: 12-13, “Give us aid against the enemy [adversary], for human help is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies.” We recall the story of a young David slaying the huge giant, Goliath with one stone and a simple sling shot [1 SAM 17: 44-51]. Such a victory couldn’t happen without Your intervention. Your strength has no limits, nor does Your sovereignty. You are a God, Who loves and protects His people. NH 1: 7, “The Lord is good; He protects His people in times of trouble; He takes care of those who turn to Him.” You are a God Who even today protects His peopleIsrael. My friends there reported Hamas’ [an Arab hate group living in theGaza strip and in PLO territory] rocket attacks recently. They became so frequent and destructive thatIsrael finally fought back. You brought the Egyptian president Morsi to arrange a cease-fire. You are a powerful and wise God. We worship You in prayer and study of Your word. We thank and praise You in the mighty and holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: As I mentioned above, the Lord has given us many indications of His solution to the problem Israel and all believers in Him have. I am led by the Spirit to continue writing about this next week. Our covenant relationship with our Strong Tower is and should be our first priority in our lives. When we need His help, we should appeal to Him. 1 K 8: 28, 30, “Yet give attention to Your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord, my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying in Your presence this day...Hear the supplications of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive.” We pray that Israel’s enemies will be vanquished, and that those who hear the truth and receive it are saved. We live in a world full of trials and difficulties that interfere with our happiness and good health. Our best approaches are to turn to God in prayer, ask for His advice and wisdom, and follow it—even if it takes us out of our comfort zones. Israel, a country the size of the state of NJ, is always going to be important to everyone of us, even if one is a Gentile believer. We must pray PS 122: 6, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem [and all of Israel]. May she always prosper.” I urge you to pray not only Israel’s protection from her enemies outside her borders, but also for the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ [my Yeshua] to spread to traditional Jews within and outside of Israel. We must remember IS 26: 3, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are fixed on You. Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the Eternal Rock.” Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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