Isaiah 5:20 New King James Version (NKJV)
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
We are now over 9 hours into the latest Ceasefire and our leaders and the leaders of Hamas are negotiating to try and resolve the mess we are in.
I would like to urge all those who take seriously our LORD's command to "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Psalm 122:6) to pray fervently for God's will to be done.
Here in Israel there is a sense of deep disappointment that after 33 days of warfare we are pretty much back where we started it seems. In spite of all the destruction and loss of life, Hamas is still firing rockets and missiles into Israel, the threat of the underground tunnels remains, and the lives of Israeli citizens, especially those living in the south, and also those of the people of Gaza are still unbearable.
Furthermore we feel pain that, once again, world opinion is turning against us, blaming Israel for all the deaths and destruction - calling good evil and evil good. It shows us that the old-fashioned anti-Semitism that bred Nazism is far from dead.
Since 2001 Hamas militants have fired around 15,000 rockets, mortars and missiles into Israel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel#Casualties.2C_Fatalities_and_rockets_fired,) killing 31 people and injuring thousands. In the period between July 8 and August 6 this year, a total of around 3360 rockets were fired into Israel http://www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/08/05/operation-protective-edge-numbers/. Although Israel has exhibited extreme restraint throughout the 13 years of this bombardment, the situation could not be allowed to escalate further, and it came to the point that we had no choice but to respond. What would your country have done if it had been your town or city being attacked?
The IDF is the most moral army on Earth and has gone to great lengths to spare civilian lives, but yet we are told we should do more! I want to ask our critics, "What more could we do? We warned people to flee with pamphlets, phone calls and texts. We fired warning shots. We held our fire when civilians were detected in the area. What other army in all of human history has done so? Yes, it is tragic that civilians have died, but when you consider scale of the bombing and shelling, the number of civilian deaths is extremely low, compared to other recent wars ( 20,000 in Afghanistan, 600,000 in Iraq, for example). It is also low considering the fact that Hamas deliberately uses its own population as human shields, and in this confrontation this has been proven over and over. Let us not forget also that civilian casualties are a tragic fact of war. It happens.
What of the privations and suffering of the people of Gaza? It was Israel who called for several ceasefires in order to send supplies and aid to the citizens of Gaza. How many other armies have fed and supplied the citizens of their enemy countries? The first ceasefire called was to enable Israeli technicians to go in and repair electric cables severed by Hamas rockets, so that the people would have electricity. In the period between July 8 to August 5 the IDF transferred 1,856 trucks carrying 40,550 tons of supplies into Gaza. Every humanitarian ceasefire we called was broken by Hamas. What did Hamas do to help its own citizens?
In spite of all this, the world is shouting that Israel has committed terrible war crimes and is to blame for bringing this tragedy on the innocent people of Gaza. We could ask,"How innocent are the people of Gaza?" There is the saying " people get the government they deserve". In 2005, Israel withdrew its soldiers from Gaza and all Israeli settlers evacuated the area. The Palestinian Authority called an election the following year, and Hamas, won a majority of seats in parliament. By 2007 Hamas had totally taken over the Gaza Strip by violently ousting its rival Fatah. Of course one cannot blame the little children who have been killed and injured, but to blame Israel for something the Gazans have essentially brought upon themselves is twisted in the extreme.
It defies belief that so many can be so blind and so deceived. The Western media is largely to blame, but the truth is plain to see for anyone who wants to see it and is willing to search just a little. Here are some useful and reliable websites:
How to pray today?
So how can Christians pray into this situation? Here are some suggestions:
- Pray for those individuals and nations who are believing the Lie and the slander against Israel, because they are essentially calling down a curse on their own heads:2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:2-3 New King James Version (NKJV)
As one of the women in my congregation remarked," I am not worried for Israel, but I am worried sick for Europe, the UK and USA."
The Bible teaches that God will judge the nations on the basis of their actions towards Israel
:
For behold, in those days and
at that time,
When I bring back the captives
of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will also gather all
nations,
And bring them down to the
Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I will enter into judgment
with them there
On account of My people,
My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among
the nations;
They have also divided up My
land…
Joel 3: 1-3, 12-21.
- Pray for protection over Jerusalem and the whole people of Israel, both here in the Land and abroad. We have seen many amazing miracles of protection here. May we not neglect to give fervent thanks that God has watched over us - our spiritual 'Iron Dome'.
- Pray for our leaders that they will have great wisdom, divine inspiration, patience and courage during the current negotiations.
- Pray that God will take away the veil that covers the eyes and minds of the leaders of Hamas, that they might see what evil they have done to us and to their own people, repent and be saved. Pray that God will supernaturally reveal himself in Yeshua (Jesus) to them.
- Pray for the people of Israel that they will continue to draw near to their God, cry out to Him, give thanks to Him and also have the blinding veil removed and find salvation.
Finally, I just want to say a big THANK YOU to all you who are praying to the God of Israel at this time. Your prayers matter and they are making a difference. You are front-line soldiers in the spiritual battle. Stand firm, don't stop praying and watch your back.
