PRAY FOR ISRAEL!
A week ago, no-one could envision as we gathered here that things will never be the same again! We prayed fervently before our God for Israel, and we continue to pray fervently: moment by moment, day and night – without ceasing. There is never enough time to prepare for the unspeakable. Our hearts are constantly pounding in our chests that triggers memories in Jewish history: things that were unimaginable are now becoming real and vivid. And the loss of life among Israeli civilians is unprecedented and casualties both military and civilian are growing exponentially. But we can pray… As God’s watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem, we share the intense pain of Israel and the Jewish people and will not stand by silent. We are sick amid the stifling and putrid hatred that permeates within this land as we shed so many tears.
This generation can now make sense of the stories shared to us by our parents and grandparents – the horrors that we could only have imagined are now a reality. But we can pray…
Barrages of Kassam rockets continue to be fired from Gaza throughout Israel in such high volume that even though they are not precision weapons some are managing to get through the Iron Dome and wreaking destruction.
Many people have been asking why the initial attack by Hamas could have succeeded given Israel’s intelligence services, some of the best intelligence services in the world? It took at least one year to plan, and thousands of people were involved. One could simply put it down to human error the same as what happened in the Yom Kippur war. However, there is also a biblical perspective:
Rabbi Yosi Shulam wrote this: “There is only one answer to this question, and it is a very sad answer. The Bible teaches us the following lesson, a lesson that is hard for us to digest! Here is the Biblical answer taken from Israel’s prophets. Here are the words of Amos the prophet that teach us that nothing happens to Israel that is in the natural. All that happens is from God and God is always righteous.
Amos 3:2, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.” 3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? 4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he has caught nothing? 5 Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth if it has caught nothing at all? 6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it? 7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. 8 A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?”
The war launched by the Hamas terror group in Gaza on Saturday is considered by many to have been jointly orchestrated by Iran and Russia because of the sophistication of the attack and type of some weapons used. Leaders of Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other terrorist groups were trained by Iran and Russia with careful planning spanning of almost a year. Their objective has been to cause turmoil in the Middle East, derailing peace talks with Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries as well as diverting U.S. attention from Ukraine. This war is nothing about disputed territory but a focused attempt to destroy the Jewish people.
Another element in this war becoming increasingly apparent is likelihood that the war will extend to include the Iranian proxy Hezbollah stationed in Lebanon assisted by Iran and Syria who boast an estimated 150,000+ precision guided missiles aimed at all the cities throughout Israel together with tens of thousands of fully trained and battle-hardened soldiers. Citizens in northern Israel are exiting their homes for safe houses and bunkers as the threat of a multi-front war heightens Currently, Israel is facing bombardment from 3 sides – Hamas from Gaza, clashes with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and artillery fire from Syria. Thousands of residents of south Lebanese villages are also fleeing their homes.
Israel’s stated intention is to cleanse the land of the remaining terrorists followed by an imminent ground invasion of Gaza to destroy the terrorist organisation of Hamas. Around 300,000 Israeli troops are currently amassed near the border of the Gaza strip and special forces have already entered the Gaza strip to assess the situation.
The IDF has called on all the 1.1 million residents of Gaza City to move south because terrorists are using them as human shields, hiding in residential houses of civilians and other buildings. Hamas told them to stay put. In other words—Israel is trying to save Arab lives while Hamas is willing to sacrifice them!
Hamas rules over their own people with the same terror that we see displayed against Israel. The Gaza refugees are trapped in the middle. Although many are still avid supporters of Hamas, (they voted Hamas into power) many are simply pawns entrapped by all this terrible violence caused by their own people.
There are levels and complexities to what’s happening that remain speculative but in all probability we are on the precipice of a major regional war in the Middle East. The US military is already directly involved and to a lesser extent also Russia and China who behind the scenes have war ships at the ready in Alaska.
True stories concerning victims of Hamas’ barbaric evil is too horrific and unimaginable to share let alone digest and cannot be equivocated, justified or excused. Those who attempt to do so are equally party to the crimes committed. As I shared in this week’s devotion: “In these perilous times as the return of the Lord draws ever close, amid the increasing polarisation between righteousness and ungodliness, we must actively engage the satanic hordes of evil. Today it may be your next-door neighbour who is being afflicted but tomorrow it could well be you.” Martin Niemöller, the German Lutheran theologian wrote in 1943,
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Although it’s hard, we need to hear peoples’ stories – we owe that to them at the very least. We are humbled and broken but determined to do whatever it takes as we stand side by side, shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish brethren.
But how much more does everything happening illustrate the need for the Jewish people to embrace their Jewish Messiah: Yeshua. Scripture tells us that someday soon they will look upon Him whom they pierced and recognise and mourn and this remaining remnant will turn to Him (Zech.12:10). Because only then will there be true peace that we all hunger and pray for.
And so we will now engage in prayer as led by the Ruach with the understanding that the battle is the Lords! And in it all we recognise the place worship. Worship is our battle cry through which we engage and plunder the demonic forces who are behind everything that we see happening. So we will begin with a time of worship and then proceed from there with the understanding that we need Holy Spirit’s wisdom and revelation to be praying strategically and in the Spirit against the forces of darkness in the terrible situation facing Israel.
