THE BLESSED PEOPLE
How can I curse
those whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce
those whom the Lord has not denounced?...
those whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce
those whom the Lord has not denounced?...
No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
no misery observed in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
the shout of the King is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt;
they have the strength of a wild ox.
23 There is no divination against Jacob,
no evil omens against Israel.
It will now be said of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’
no misery observed in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
the shout of the King is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt;
they have the strength of a wild ox.
23 There is no divination against Jacob,
no evil omens against Israel.
It will now be said of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’
Numbers 23: 8, 21-23
Living in Jerusalem one can never forget that we are living in the very front line of the great spiritual battle between the LORD and Satan. Periodically Satan tries to destroy the work of the LORD and to bring a curse upon the people of Israel, just as Balak, King of Tzipor, tried to do when Israel was about to enter into the Promised Land after the Exodus. Balak hired a diviner or sorcerer, Balaam, to bring down a curse upon Israel, but to no avail. The LORD God of Israel, spoke to Balaam and told him that the People of Israel were under God's protection and blessing, no curse of man (or Satan) would prevail against that.
Nothing has changed since Balaam's time. Today Israel is standing again at the Jordan, poised to enter into the 'promised land' of redemption and eternal salvation. And Satan is still trying to prevent that by bringing curses upon us, but he will not prevail. He uses many tactics. This week in Jerusalem we have seen two major spiritual assaults aimed at destroying Israel, but many have joined us in fervent prayer and I do not believe these assaults will succeed.
On Thursday the annual Gay Pride Parade was held in the streets of Jerusalem. It is estimated that 25,000 people participated, the largest number yet. This is a terrible affront to God in this Holy City. The Bible clearly states that homosexuality is an abomination before God.
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23 You shall not have sexual relations with any animal and defile yourself with it, nor shall any woman give herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it: it is perversion.
Leviticus 18:22- 23
If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them.
Leviticus 20:13
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| Marchers (Photo Gil Yohanan) http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4831631,00.html |
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| http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/photo/21454200.cms |
It seems significant that this evil festival is being held on this day, the 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, which is a fast day commemorating, among other disasters, the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem by the Roman army in 70AD. We need to pray that the spiritual walls of Jerusalem will not be breached today. Pray, that as in Balaam's day, Israel will be covered by God's blessing. I take comfort in God's words to Abraham regarding Sodom and Gomorrah, when he said that He would not destroy those wicked cities if even 10 righteous men were found in them (Genesis 18). I know there are more than 10 righteous in Jerusalem today and therefore believe God will spare the city, though perhaps through many trials (as is prophesied). Please pray that the righteous in Jerusalem will stand strong and resolute in the face of the constant attacks we all experience.
It is very tragic that our city fathers have bowed down before the gods of this age and allowed these abominations to take place here in the Holy City. However it is far more tragic that the young people of Israel are being drawn into the spirit and values of the increasingly pagan world of our times. One of the reasons I believe is that young people in Israel are presented with only two options. One is the medieval world of religious Judaism which focusses on myriads of man-made rules and prohibitions, and often comes across as narrow and intolerant. We saw that in its most extreme form last year when a young 16-year-old girl was murdered during the Gay Pride Parade by a religious Jew. This world of religious Judaism is also permeated by superstitions and the occult. The other option is the hedonistic and tolerant world of New Age, a westernized version of pagan Hinduism, and which appears much more attractive to a young person. How tragic it is that the average Israeli has little knowledge of their God and the treasures of the Bible, which offer a far better way. I was heartened yesterday to hear of one very courageous Messianic believer who, in her wheelchair, went to the Gay Pride Parade with a banner proclaiming God's love. She said she had many conversations with people who were curious about her message. Please pray that more of us will have the courage to proclaim God's love and the 'better way' to the people of Israel.
What else has been happening in Jerusalem this week?
Last Sunday a major terror attack was thwarted in Jerusalem. Security personnel spotted a man acting suspiciously and discovered that he was carrying an explosive device and knives, and intended an attack on the Light Rail train on Jaffa Road. The man was arrested and the bomb defused.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4829354,00.html
This week the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, released its situation report on the current terror wave. Since October 2015 there have ben over 300 attacks (not including Molotov cocktail attacks), of which 180 were stabbings, 90 were shootings and about 30 were car rammings. The majority of these attacks were 'lone wolf' attacks.
Since January this year the Shin Bet and the Israeli security services have prevented 240 major terror attacks, including stopping 11 suicide bombers, 10 kidnapping attacks and more than 60 other attacks similar in nature to the Sarona Market attack in Tel Aviv. Most of these attacks were planned by Hamas.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4829502,00.html
Another feature of the current terror wave is the large number of attacks carried out by women. The report revealed that more than 40 women carried out, or attempted to carry out, terror attacks. In almost every case they were doing it to restore family honor, in order to atone for something they had done to bring their families shame. In some cases male family members brought these women to the site of the attack. This is a sad new twist to the old problem of honor killings of women in Arab society.
Yesterday news came in of yet another Israeli child who died as a result of inadvertently being left in a car. In our heat it takes little time for a child to die in such situations, and just this summer alone, 4 children have died in this tragic way. In figures released by the organization 'Beterem - Safe Kids Israel', there have been 400 such cases, involving 449 children, in the last 8 years. Twenty two of these incidents ended in at least one death. One must ask why this type of accident is so prevalent here in Israel? These are not bad or negligent parents or caregivers, in most cases, but perhaps just overstressed and overly busy ones. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4831911,00.html
The situation on our northern border continues to be tense. On Sunday the sirens sounded in the Golan Heights as a Syrian drone penetrated Israeli airspace. Patriot missiles were fired but failed to bring down the drone which returned to Syria.
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| Contrail of Patriot missile fired from Safed (Photo: Safed Municipality) http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4829556,00.html |
Now to end with some good news. Recently the Messianic Pro-Life organization, Baad Haim, was presented with an award from the Israeli Government for its “significant contribution to the protection of mothers and children.” It is a great honor to receive such an award and it is a significant indication that Messianic organizations are beginning to become an accepted part of Israeli life. Perhaps one day soon our message will also be accepted!
Leaders of Baad Haim receiving the award in the Knesset. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/29610/Default.aspx
After all, as Balaam the prophet said:
The Lord their God is with them;
the shout of the King is among them.
the shout of the King is among them.
Numbers 23:21
The word translated here as 'shout of the King' is " truat melech" (וּתְרוּעַ֥ת מֶ֖לֶךְ) which could be better translated as 'the trumpet proclamation of a king'. In Balaam's day Israel had no king so this is clearly a reference to a future time when the trumpet or shofar will proclaim the coming of a king, the King, melech Israel, Yeshua HaMasiach.
HALLELUJAH!
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