HAMAS RATTLES ITS SABRES
Today (Friday) the sirens blared out again in the south as residents scrambled for cover and the third rocket since the August "Ceasefire" slammed into Israel.
 |
| Rocket fired into Israel from Gaza today (19/12/14) http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4605554,00.html |
We still don't know who fired this rocket, but over the last week Hamas has been indulging in some blatant sabre rattling. They have been test firing missiles into the sea and on Sunday this week, they staged a massive rally to celebrate the 27th Anniversary of the foundation of Hamas.
 | ||||||
| Thousands attend Hamas rally in Gaza http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4603331,00.html
At the rally, Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida, had this to say:
"Hamas was able to stop the ambitions of the Zionist enterprise and because of that, it is today on the verge of collapsing and disappearing. We will not lay down our weapons until we use them to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Hamas and its battalions know how to write history. For many years we have produced the al-Qassam army that you and the world sees, the combat units that today are taking part in this spectacular demonstration." |
Now Ben-Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his forces together; thirty-two kings were with him, with horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria, and made war against it. 2 Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, and said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: 3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your loveliest wives and children are mine.’”
“The gods do so to me, and more also, if enough dust is left of Samaria for a handful for each of the people who follow me.”
So the king of Israel answered and said, “Tell him, ‘Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off.’”Ever since the August ceasefire we have been bombarded with a continuous stream of boastful threats from Hamas. They claim to have 'won the war' and that the 'Zionist entity' (their euphemism for Israel, which they will not pronounce) is on the verge of collapse and defeat. They perhaps have gained some courage by the recent collapse of the Israeli government but they do not really understand democracy and its processes. Israel, like most democracies, functions just as well with or without a government in power, at least in the short term. Our military might is in no way diminished and there is nothing like an external threat to bring us all together in unity.
Then the king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter.
In any case, the real issue is not political stability or even military might. As we read in the passage quoted above, Ahab's army was massively outnumbered and outgunned, but God was with Ahab (on this occasion) and gave him the victory. If God is on our side, no one will ever destroy Israel. They may have temporary victories along the way but ultimately they will fall. Where are the Assyrians, the Persians , the Greeks, the Romans, and the Nazis today? The armies of Islam may win the odd battle but in the end God will destroy them.
This is the word of the Lord against the enemies of his chosen people.
For violence against your brother Jacob,
Shame shall cover you,
And you shall be cut off forever...“For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near;
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.
16 For as you drank on My holy mountain,
So shall all the nations drink continually;
Yes, they shall drink, and swallow,
And they shall be as though they had never been...
“But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance,
And there shall be holiness;
The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
And the house of Joseph a flame;
But the house of Esau shall be stubble;
They shall kindle them and devour them,
And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,”
For the Lord has spoken.
Obadiah 1: 10, 16-18
As Hamas is busy rebuilding its terror tunnels and rearming for the next round of war with Israel, the people of Gaza continue to suffer. Tens of thousands are still living in tents supplied by the refugee agency UNRWA as the winter cold takes hold and the rains flood the streets with raw sewage.
 |
| http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79359000/jpg/_79359383_79359382.jpg |
 |
| https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5520/11452173323_e0351cef38_c.jpg |
Of the $US 54.4 billion aid promised during the negotiations in Cairo two months ago, barely 2% has been received, at least partly because Hamas has not honored its commitment to hand over control of Gaza's border crossings. There are also reports that Hamas is diverting those funds which have been received to rebuilding its terror tunnels instead of building homes. http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Report-Material-for-Gaza-reconstruction-diverted-to-Hamas-for-tunnel-reparations-385178 In fact it seems that Hamas is doing everything in its power to prevent any reconstruction of Gaza so that it can use the suffering of the people as a propaganda weapon against Israel. Israel Today reported that " Israel, for its part, has been working for months with the UN to advance the reconstruction in Gaza. But every step of the way, Hamas has scuttled any progress, such as when it suddenly raised taxes on imported cement."
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/25655/Default.aspx
Some news just coming in ( Saturday 20/12) ....
Israeli jets have bombed a Hamas training institution in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza Strip last night in retaliation for yesterday's rocket attack on Israel. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4605646,00.html Tensions are escalating and one cannot help but wonder if we are already about to start the next round of conflict with Hamas in Gaza - just 4 months after the end of the summer's war. I hope not for everyone's sake.
Now for another, but related, topic...
SEX SLAVERY IN THE ISLAMIC STATE
A pamphlet entitled " Questions and Answers on Taking Captives and Slaves" published by the Islamic State (ISIS) was recently distributed in Mosul, Iraq. In a question and answer format it explains the official position of the Islamic State concerning female slavery.
The 27 questions and answers have been translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Here are some excerpts as quoted by the Jerusalem Post:
Question : "Can all unbelieving women [ that is, non-Muslim women] be taken captive?”
Answer : “There is no dispute among the scholars that it is permissible to capture unbelieving women."
Question: “Can one have intercourse with a female captive?”
Answer : “There is no dispute among the scholars that it is permissible to capture unbelieving women."
Question: “Can one have intercourse with a female captive?”
Answer: “It is permissible to have sexual intercourse with the female captive. Allah the almighty said: ‘[Successful are the believers] who guard their chastity, except from their wives or [the captives and slaves] that their right hands possess, for then they are free from blame [Koran 23:5-6].’”
“If she is a virgin, he [her master] can have intercourse with her immediately,” explains the pamphlet. “However, if she isn’t, her uterus must be purified [first]... ” [How to purify a uterus is not explained in the pamphlet].
And on child rape....
Question: “Is it permissible to have intercourse with a female slave who has not reached puberty?”
Question: “Is it permissible to have intercourse with a female slave who has not reached puberty?”
Answer: “It is permissible to have intercourse with the female slave who hasn’t reached puberty if she is fit for intercourse; however if she is not fit for intercourse, then it is enough to enjoy her without intercourse.”http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/ISIS-published-female-sex-slave-handbook-384510
One can only ask - in what way could a girl who hasn't reached puberty ever be 'fit for intercourse' or rape? What an abomination!!
All this is not just theory, the Islamic State is practicing mass female slavery in the areas it has overrun. According to researchers of the University of Bristol's Gender and Violence Research Center, ISIS has kidnapped more than 2,500 Yazidi women, after killing the men. The women and girls are being subjected to systematic rape and sex slavery. In Mosul in Iraq and in Raqqa in Syria they have been paraded in markets carrying price tags, like cattle. According to one 19 year old girl, Jana, who managed to escape, the young women of her village were herded into a big house with hundreds of other young women, and ISIS men would come and chose three or four at a time to take home with them. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/30/world/meast/isis-female-slaves/
With so much that is dark and tragic in the world today it is important to search for points of light too. There is still much that is good and beautiful and the apostle Paul, who also lived in dark times, advised us (even when he was in jail) to meditate on,
whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy.Philippians 4:8.
Here are a couple of things that are of good report and lovely:
ISRAELI AID TO SENEGAL
Israel is always in the news and is often painted unfairly and incorrectly as the cause and focus of all the violence in the Middle East. What is not often spoken about is the massive amount of aid that Israel gives to other countries in need, especially in the continent of Africa. For example, earlier this month Israel, working in cooperation with the ‘Fondation Servir le Senegal' organization, inaugurated an irrigation project in drought prone Senegal. Fifty farm plots have been set up in the city of Fatick and these will be run by women allowing them to improve their family income. These plots will use a low-pressure, drip irrigation developed in Israel to improve crop yield and quality.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4603023,00.html
 |
| Growing lettuce in Senegal using drip-irrigation (Photo: MASHAV) http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4603023,00.html |
NEW SONGS OF WORSHIP
On Wednesday of this week I joined around 2000 others in two concerts in which were presented the best of the new Messianic worship songs written over the last few years. Worship leaders and singers from many congregations around the country joined together to put on this memorable event. These concerts were recorded live and the DVD or CDs will soon be available for purchase. I am always blown away by the power and beauty of our worship songs in Hebrew. There is a cadence about them that is just so uplifting and special. Many of the songs presented were written and sung by members of the worship team of my own congregation, Shemen Sasson, and that made it even more special for me.
During the concert I felt that God was just smiling at us and saying proudly "They're my people". At times like that it is encouraging to think that everyone of us is a point of light helping each in his way to hold back the encroaching darkness.
 |
| Photo credit: Hannah Nesher (used with permission) |
"God is for us, our covering and strength, our very great help in trouble".
HALLELUJAH - THE LORD REIGNS!!!
