THE MYTH OF NEUTRALITY
And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
2 Kings 6: 15 - 17
And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
2 Kings 6: 15 - 17
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| https://godspeaking.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/elisha01.jpg |
This week, Donald Trump, the current front-runner of the race to be the US Republican presidential candidate, when asked whether he would tackle Israeli-Palestinian peace, said he would give it "one hell of a shot" and went on to say "If I win, I don’t want to be in a position where I’m saying to you, and the other side now says, ‘We don’t want Trump involved, we don’t want,’ let me sort of be a neutral guy" http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/national/trump-wont-take-sides-israel-and-palestinians#qHAdfJguRlUZxsb4.99
Once more we see another Western politician trying to adopt the 'politically correct' stance of neutrality in attempts to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On the surface this may sound fair and correct according to the 'rules' of negotiation and diplomacy, but it is morally indefensible and doomed to failure because it ignores the fundamental problem of the conflict. This is not a conflict about land or resources or political hegemony, it is fundamentally a spiritual conflict between God and those who stand against Him. In such a conflict there can be no neutrality. You are either with God or against Him. There can be no sitting on the fence.
Sadly many in the Christian church, attempting to 'play fair', are trying to do just that, or worse, are choosing to side against God and his redemption plans. I believe that today every believer in Yeshua has to decide on whose side he or she stands in this conflict, for it is not just another political argument, it is a conflict which will decide the fate of the whole world, and every one of us.
The bottom line, is this - do you believe the Bible or not? If you say you do, then there is not much left to argue, for the Bible clearly states, not only once, but many times, that this small sliver of land, the land of the ancient Canaanites, was given to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the people of Israel, for an everlasting possession:
Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
Genesis 17:8
(See also Genesis 12:3, 15:18, Genesis 48:4)
Over against this the Islamists claim this land for their god Allah. There are those who claim the current 'intifada of knives' is the result of Palestinian despair, the Israeli settlements, the Wall etc etc, ignoring the fact that Palestinian terror goes back long before those issues arose. The Palestinians themselves reject this analysis. Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in a Friday sermon, said "Those claiming that the intifada and revolution are caused by despair ...(portray) the Palestinian youth as desperate and confused, which is why he takes a knife and attacks a soldier or someone else - as if this is an intifada of the desperate, confused and suicidal who want to depart from this world... but this cheapens the meaning of the struggle ... what motivates the youths of the West Bank is the spirit of jihad" . Haniyeh then went on to list the real reasons behind the Palestinian attacks:
- first and most importantly - holy war or jihad
- the desire to liberate Al Quds (Jerusalem)
- the rejection of the two-state solution based on the 1993 Oslo Accords, opting instead for Palestine to replace the State of Israel.
(Tsvi Sadan "Despair, Hope and Palestinian Terror" p.10 Israel Today March 2016)
The inescapable fact is that the Islamic world claims this Land as theirs, one hundred percent. It is their belief that it is forbidden to relinquish even one centimeter of this land to non-Muslims. There is no room for neutrality here. Either the Land belongs to the people of Israel, under the God of Israel, or it belongs to the Muslims under Allah.
For example, in the days of the kings of Israel, the King of the northern kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam, the son of a servant of Solomon, and not of the line chosen by God, the line of David, rose up in rebellion against the king of Judah, Abijah, and brought up against him an army of 800,000 warriors, outnumbering those of Abijah two to one. Abijah stood up and proclaimed to Jeroboam these words.
Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel: 5 Should you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt? 6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord. ... And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hand of the sons of David...Now look, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper. "
2 Chronicles 13
And the LORD fought on Abijah's side and Jeroboam was defeated that day.
God has a plan of redemption for the world and the nation of Israel still has a central role to play. For this reason, God has restored the people of Israel to their rightful land at this time, so that the last chapter of redemption can play itself out. If you stand against Israel at this time, you stand against the will and purpose of God at your own peril.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying Israel is morally perfect or always right. The calling of Israel as God's chosen people does not depend upon merit, just upon God's choice. Neither am I saying that God does not love the Palestinians nor am I saying that He wants to destroy or even dispossess them of any land or possession they rightfully own. Nothing could be further from the truth. God loves all people equally and longs that each one will be saved. But if the Palestinians, or anyone else, stand against God's will there is a price to pay. Equally so, if they choose to stand with God they will also be blessed by Him . If you really care about the Palestinians and their welfare, then you need to stand with Israel and allow God to work out his perfect plan which will be not only for the blessing of Israel, but also for the Palestinians, and indeed the whole world. Only then will there be peace on Earth.
In the meantime there is no peace. As I am writing reports are coming in of yet another major terror attack, this time in Turkey. As of now, 4 are dead, three of them Israelis, and 36 injured, including 11 Israelis. This attack was carried out by Mehmet Ozturk, a terrorist linked to the so-called Islamic State. This follows an earlier attack Sunday last week in Turkey in which 34 people were killed and 125 injured. http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.708608
God has a plan of redemption for the world and the nation of Israel still has a central role to play. For this reason, God has restored the people of Israel to their rightful land at this time, so that the last chapter of redemption can play itself out. If you stand against Israel at this time, you stand against the will and purpose of God at your own peril.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying Israel is morally perfect or always right. The calling of Israel as God's chosen people does not depend upon merit, just upon God's choice. Neither am I saying that God does not love the Palestinians nor am I saying that He wants to destroy or even dispossess them of any land or possession they rightfully own. Nothing could be further from the truth. God loves all people equally and longs that each one will be saved. But if the Palestinians, or anyone else, stand against God's will there is a price to pay. Equally so, if they choose to stand with God they will also be blessed by Him . If you really care about the Palestinians and their welfare, then you need to stand with Israel and allow God to work out his perfect plan which will be not only for the blessing of Israel, but also for the Palestinians, and indeed the whole world. Only then will there be peace on Earth.
In the meantime there is no peace. As I am writing reports are coming in of yet another major terror attack, this time in Turkey. As of now, 4 are dead, three of them Israelis, and 36 injured, including 11 Israelis. This attack was carried out by Mehmet Ozturk, a terrorist linked to the so-called Islamic State. This follows an earlier attack Sunday last week in Turkey in which 34 people were killed and 125 injured. http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.708608
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| Photo: Charlie Bokovza The three Israelis killed in Istanbul on Saturday http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4780699,00.html |
Here in Israel the terror wave, dubbed the Intifada of Knives, continues. Although this past week there have not been any Israeli fatalities, a number of attacks left several Israelis injured and a number of Palestinian terrorists dead.
On Monday I was talking with one of my colleagues at work when she received a phone call. She blanched and her hand began to shake. After she hung up she explained that it was her son calling to assure her that he was OK. A Palestinian rammed his car into his unit which was at the Elias Junction near KIryat Arba, next to Hebron, and then exited his car and started firing at the soldiers, who returned fire killing the terrorist. A few minutes later a second Palestinian vehicle plowed into the soldiers at the scene of the first attack. The driver was shot dead. In this double incident, one soldier was lightly hurt by gunfire and three others were wounded by the ramming or flying shrapnel. http://www.timesofisrael.com/two-stabbing-attacks-thwarted-within-minutes-in-west-bank/
On Tuesday a 17-year-old Palestinian girl, who had left her home with a knife and the intention to carry out an attack, was arrested. On Wednesday a 14-year-old boy was arrested carrying a knife and he told police he intended to carry out an attack.http://www.timesofisrael.com/two-stabbing-attacks-thwarted-within-minutes-in-west-bank/
On Thursday two terrorists attacked and seriously injured a female soldier as she alighted from a bus at the Ariel Interchange. The terrorists were shot and killed by other soldiers. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Initial-report-Israeli-stabbed-in-suspected-terror-attack-near-Ariel-448283
On Friday afternoon two terror attacks were thwarted within minutes of each other, one at Gush Etzion junction and the other at the Binyamin Industrial estate. http://www.timesofisrael.com/two-stabbing-attacks-thwarted-within-minutes-in-west-bank/
Under such threats we are preparing to celebrate the Festival of Purim this week. In Jerusalem we celebrate Shushan Purim on the 15th Adar, which begins on the evening of Thursday 24th of March this year. Elsewhere Purim is celebrated on the 14th Adar, which begins on the evening of Wednesday 23rd March. Purim commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from the evil plot of Haman who intended "to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day." You can read the whole story in the Book of Esther, which is read in its entirety in synagogues on this day.
Traditionally Purim is the day when Jews go crazy. Children and adults alike dress up in fancy dress, and parades and street celebrations are held in all major towns or neighborhoods. Large concentrations of people are a security nightmare. Please pray for safety this year.
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| Purim at Mammilla Mall, Jerusalem, 2014 http://rjstreets.com/2014/03/19/march-madness-purim-now-jerusalem-marathon/ |
Now to some happier news:
The sixth annual Jerusalem marathon was held this last Friday. In spite of the terror risk a record breaking 27,500 runners set off from the starting line, including 2,400 foreign runners from 62 countries. Over a thousand soldiers secured the route. The weather was perfect as the whole city celebrated this event. The full marathon of 46 km was won by Kenyan runner Kpkosgei Shadrack, 25, in the time of 2:16:33, two minutes faster than last year. It is considered a tough marathon because of the hilly nature of Jerusalem's terrain. There were also six shorter routes including a half marathon, a 5 km route, a 1.7 km family run and a 800m special needs course.
http://www.jta.org/2016/03/18/default/despite-terror-threat-jerusalem-marathon-draws-record-participation
http://www.timesofisrael.com/kenyan-runner-wins-jerusalem-marathon/
If any of you are interested, the next marathon will be held on March 17, 2017. You can register here http://www.jerusalem-marathon.com/indexEn.aspx
The sixth annual Jerusalem marathon was held this last Friday. In spite of the terror risk a record breaking 27,500 runners set off from the starting line, including 2,400 foreign runners from 62 countries. Over a thousand soldiers secured the route. The weather was perfect as the whole city celebrated this event. The full marathon of 46 km was won by Kenyan runner Kpkosgei Shadrack, 25, in the time of 2:16:33, two minutes faster than last year. It is considered a tough marathon because of the hilly nature of Jerusalem's terrain. There were also six shorter routes including a half marathon, a 5 km route, a 1.7 km family run and a 800m special needs course.
http://www.jta.org/2016/03/18/default/despite-terror-threat-jerusalem-marathon-draws-record-participation
http://www.timesofisrael.com/kenyan-runner-wins-jerusalem-marathon/
If any of you are interested, the next marathon will be held on March 17, 2017. You can register here http://www.jerusalem-marathon.com/indexEn.aspx
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| Some of the runners (or by that stage walkers?) passing Solomon's Pools outside the Old City walls http://www.goactiveisrael.com/sites/default/files/%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%9F%20%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D1.JPG |
The success of this event underlines Israeli determination to not allow the terrorists the victory in the psychological war we are fighting. We will live and we will live fully. Jerusalem Mayor, Nir Barakat, put it like this, "Through the greatest of trials, Jerusalem does not cancel events ... It’s part of our message. We will carry on as usual".
Perhaps it is this attitude that contributes to Israel being voted the 11th happiest country in this world in 2016, ranking ahead of the USA and UK and many other developed nations, according to a study done by Columbia University http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4779294,00.html.
With God's help we will overcome!!!!!!
Now just to finish up - a very interesting video filmed in the streets of Israel, about Israeli's understanding (or lack thereof) of the forbidden (by today's Judaism) chapter of the Bible, Isaiah 53, the prophecy concerning the Messiah. It is well worth ten minutes of your time to watch it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgEmbZk7YHwWith God's help we will overcome!!!!!!
Now just to finish up - a very interesting video filmed in the streets of Israel, about Israeli's understanding (or lack thereof) of the forbidden (by today's Judaism) chapter of the Bible, Isaiah 53, the prophecy concerning the Messiah. It is well worth ten minutes of your time to watch it.
Our God Reigns.
