THE EARLY AND THE LATTER RAINS

 

Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

Hosea 6:3

This week most of the country received its eagerly awaited first rain of the rainy season. Unusually it came in from the south and it was the southern desert areas that received the most. Eilat received 27.7 mm overnight, more than its average annual rainfall, and was inundated by serious flooding. Elsewhere gentler rains fell but here in Jerusalem all we got was a sprinkle during the night.


Flooding in Eilat
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4871361,00.html

 

As a child growing up in rainy New Zealand I can remember my Sunday School teacher explaining to us that in the Bible rain represented the blessing of God. I could never really 'get it'. Rain was something that ruined outings,  shut us up indoors for days on end, and was just plain miserable. It wasn't until I came to live in Israel that I began to understand what a blessing rain is. In New Zealand 8 days without rain constitutes a 'drought'. Here in Israel we have every year 7-8 months without a drop of rain.  The landscape turns brown, everything gets covered with a layer of dust and the ground cracks open. By autumn it is as if all of the Land is gasping for rain and as we pray the prayers for rain during the Festival of Succot our eyes turn skyward searching for the first rain cloud.  Usually it comes some time in October but this year summer seemed to stretch on endlessly, until this week when at last the temperatures have cooled and at least some parts of the country received the delicious refreshment of the first rains.

 

 

In the Bible the first rain is called the 'Yoreh' and the latter rain the 'Malkosh'.  The meaning of these ancient words is a matter for debate.  The root of 'yoreh' means to teach or to shoot . The meaning of 'malkosh' is less clear. It could be derived from the root 'lksh' which means to be tardy or late, or it could be a combination of two words 'maleh' to fill, and 'kash' stalk.

 

In the Middle East the agricultural growing season is the winter, the rainy season. The early rain, in October or November, is the rain that softens the soil and causes the seeds to germinate and begin to grow.  Then follows a drier period but one in which intermittent rain falls, allowing the plants to grow and mature. Then in February- March the heavier latter rains begin, bringing about the time of flowering and the ripening of the seed.  The rains usually peter out by the end of March.

 

 

At the foot of Mt Sinai, after the LORD had given Moses the tablets of the law for the second time, He promised Israel this,

 

And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹⁴ then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.

 

Deuteronomy 11:13-14

 

 

In the Bible there are several other references to the early and latter rains, and there is much argument about their interpretation. Are the early and latter rains only to be taken literally, or do they have a deeper symbolic meaning? I think it is both. It refers to the very concrete and real blessing of the rain for the good of the land and its inhabitants, but it also has a deeper symbolic meaning. 

 

Some see the first rain as referring to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the second rain of another outpouring of the Spirit before the return of the LORD.

 

I think however that Hosea 6:3, quoted above, suggests a somewhat different interpretation, namely a linkage between the early and the latter rains and the coming of the LORD as Messiah, His first coming and His second. At Jesus' first coming he died and was resurrected just as a seed must 'die' before it can germinate. The Kingdom of God began to grow. Since then it has continued to grow, watered by the rains of the Holy Spirit, looking forward to the final flowering or fulfillment when Jesus returns again to take his Bride.

 

Joel 2 describes the events leading up to the second coming of the LORD. When great and terrible armies will come up against Israel, causing the hearts of the people to be melted by fear. Then a trumpet will be sounded in Zion to gather all the people before God in repentance, and the priests will call out to God for help:

 

Blow the trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
¹⁶ Gather the people,
Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes;
Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
And the bride from her dressing room.
¹⁷ Let the priests, who minister to the Lord,
Weep between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should rule over them.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”

 

Then God will drive away Israel's enemies and restore the blessing to the Land, giving the former and latter rains, so that the crops may prosper again:

¹⁸ Then the Lord will be zealous for His land,
And pity His people.
¹⁹ The Lord will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied by them;
I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.

²⁰ “But I will remove far from you the northern army,
And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land,
With his face toward the eastern sea
And his back toward the western sea;
His stench will come up,
And his foul odor will rise,
Because he has done monstrous things.”

²¹ Fear not, O land;
Be glad and rejoice,
For the Lord has done marvelous things!
²² Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;
For the open pastures are springing up,
And the tree bears its fruit;
The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
²³ Be glad then, you children of Zion,
And rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has given you the former rain faithfully,^[d]
And He will cause the rain to come down for you—
The former rain,
And the latter rain in the first month.
²⁴ The threshing floors shall be full of wheat,
And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.

Joel 2

 

Israel has always been described as a stiff-necked or stubborn nation.  What will it take to bring her to her knees in repentance and supplication before God? Perhaps only abject fear as the fearsome armies confront us from the north. Then we as a nation will repent and cry out to God who will hear, have pity on us and send us salvation.

 

The rabbis have an interesting third alternative meaning to the word 'malkosh'. Rabbi Nehilai ben Idi said that the [latter rain is termed malkosh] 'because it is a thing that removes the stiff-neckedness of Israel'. This is based on the understanding that perhaps the word is derived from a combination of two words  'mal' to remove and 'kosh' - stiffness or stiff-neckedness. http://www.yeshiva.co/midrash/shiur.asp?id=6909

 

Many of us here in the land are feeling that we are seeing the beginnings of a softening of the spiritual stiff-neckedness that has for so long afflicted the people Israel. People are fearful of the future and are watching events unfold around us. The threat to our survival seems to grow daily. At the same time there seems to be more of an openness to the person of Jesus than perhaps ever before. The Bible teaches that the veil which hides the truth from the eyes of Israel will be lifted when they turn to Jesus.

 

But their  [the children of Israel] minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. ¹⁵ But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. ¹⁶ Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

 

2 Corinthians 3: 14-16.

 

We here in the Land long for this day but tremble because of the events that must occur in order for it to happen. Already we see the stage being set. Right now the Middle East is in turmoil and the world is focused on the battle against Dayish (ISIS) and the civil war in Syria. As I write the Iraqi forces, backed by US air strikes,  are mounting a massive offensive against Dayish with the intention of retaking Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, Dayish's last major urban stronghold. Meanwhile, in Syria, Assad's forces, backed by Russia, are gaining more and more control. It is possible that these regional confrontations will soon be resolved and we will be left with a new reality in the Middle East, a nuclear armed and powerful Iran backed by Russia and an irresolute American presence struggling to shore up the rest of the fractured and divided nations. The stage will then be set for the great battle described in Joel 2, when the northern army (v. 20) will swoop down on little Israel.

 

Blow the trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For the day of the Lord is coming,
For it is at hand:
² A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
A people come, great and strong,
The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any such after them,
Even for many successive generations

 

Joel 2: 1- 2

 

 

Some other news from Jerusalem

 

Four days ago another committee of the UNESCO, the World Heritage Committee, passed yet another resolution in which the Temple Mount was referred to by its Arabic name without mention of Jewish or Christian ties to the site. It was passed however without a majority vote: 10 nations voted for, 8 abstained, 2 voted against and one was absent.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon,  condemned the decision, saying,

“The absurdity continues, and UNESCO has adopted yet another ridiculous decision that is completely disconnected from reality,” he said in a statement. “UNESCO embarrassed itself by marching to the tune of the Palestinian pipers. All attempts to deny our heritage, distort history and disconnect the Jewish people from our capital and our homeland, are doomed to fail.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/unesco-adopts-another-resolution-erasing-jewish-link-to-temple-mount/

 

As the United Nations tries to rewrite history archaeologists are unearthing the truth. At Tel Lachish a large city gate has been uncovered and the findings there support the Biblical historical account. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4861075,00.html

 

 

 

THE CITY GATE AT LACHISH
By Wilson44691 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15414426



 

 

The Army from the North.
Today (1st November) reports are coming in that a Russian convoy composed of the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky, the large antisubmarine warfare ships Severomorsk and Vice-Admiral Kulakov and support vessels have entered the Mediterranean on their way to take up position in the Eastern Mediterranean. Analysts believe that this fleet will have little strategic value in the battle arena of Syria but " is saying to the world, but first of all to his own citizens, that Russia once again has super-power aspirations". https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-russian-aircraft-carrier-group-arrives-mediterranean/
http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.749859

A few days ago the Observer ran a headline that put it very succinctly : "Syria's Civil War is Over - Russia won."  http://observer.com/2016/10/syrias-civil-war-is-over-russia-won/

Winter has now officially arrived in Israel and the dark storm clouds are gathering.


 

  AT THE APEX OF ABSURDITY

 

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!

Isaiah 5:20

 

This week the United Nations organization that is responsible for education, science and culture (UNESCO) voted to rewrite history exchanging truth for a lie.  With this, it seems the world has reached the very apex of absurdity. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. 

 

The draft proposal, which is entitled "Occupied Palestine", was submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan on behalf of the Palestinians, was approved at the committee stage by 24 votes to 6, with 26 abstentions in Paris on October 13 (the day after Yom Kippur no less!). The resolution will go before UNESCO's Executive Board, which is made up of these same nations, for adoption next week.

 

Twenty-four countries voted in favor of the proposal: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chad, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan and Vietnam.


Six countries voted against it: Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States.


While 26 countries abstained from the vote: Albania, Argentina, Cameroon, El Salvador, France, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Haiti, India, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kenya, Nepal, Paraguay, Saint Vincent and Nevis, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and Ukraine.

Serbia and Turkmenistan were absent from the vote.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4866113,00.html

The proposal affirms the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the three monotheistic religions, but then goes on to list a great many accusations against Israel, which it refers to as the "Occupying Power". Many of these are gross exaggerations or simply factually erroneous. Israel's rightful claim to her holy sites of worship and her historical connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall is ignored while Palestinian claims are emphasized. Israeli grievances are not mentioned.  The full text of the proposal can be seen on this website - it makes for interesting reading:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-new-unesco-resolution-on-occupied-palestine/

Although the document does not blatantly state that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall it strongly implies this by omission. The Temple Mount and the Western Wall are referred to only by their Muslim names.

Reaction in Israel has been strong. Prime Minister Netanyahu said this."
 

“To say that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall is like saying that China has no connection to the Great Wall of China or that Egypt has no connection to the pyramids... By this absurd decision, UNESCO has lost what little legitimacy it had left.”

 

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/30272/Default.aspx

The Temple Mount and the Western Wall. The Temple Mount, known to Muslims as el-Harem al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) with it's golden Dome of the Rock Islamic shrine and lead-domed al-Aqsa mosque, dominates this aerial view of the Old City of Jerusalem, 2 October, 2007 David Silverman/Getty Image

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-jerusalem-unesco-motion-jewish-ties-temple-mount-noble-sanctuary-el-harem-al-sharif-a7360776.html

And on his facebook page Netanyahu said: "Is it any wonder the UN has become a moral farce when Unesco, the UN body tasked with preserving history, denies and distorts history?"

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-jerusalem-unesco-motion-jewish-ties-temple-mount-noble-sanctuary-el-harem-al-sharif-a7360776.html

The President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin,  commented:

“No forum or body in the world can come and deny the connection between the Jewish people, the Land of Israel and Jerusalem – and any such body that does so simply embarrasses itself. We can understand criticism, but you cannot change history.” 

And the opposition leader Isaac Herzog said UNESCO is giving a “bad name to diplomacy.”

“Whoever wants to rewrite history, to distort fact, and to completely invent the fantasy that the Western Wall and Temple Mount have no connection to the Jewish people, is telling a terrible lie that only serves to increase hatred...On this matter there is no disagreement among the people of Israel, and I urge UNESCO to withdraw this bizarre resolution and to engage in protecting, not distorting, human history.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/unesco-backs-resolution-ignoring-jewish-link-to-temple-mount/

Even the Director General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has spoken out against this proposed resolution, saying,  

"Jerusalem is the sacred city of the three monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

“To deny, conceal or erase any of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim traditions undermines the integrity of the site, and runs counter to the reasons that justified its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list [in 1981]."

 

Until now all previous resolutions have referred to the area using both the Jewish/Christian term  the Temple Mount and the Muslim name Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary). Over the past year however the Palestinians have submitted a number of resolutions that have referred  to the Temple Mount area only as Al-Haram Al-Sharif and the Western Wall only by its Muslim name of Buraq Plaza.   

 

Bokova has consistently fought against this trend, and she said that Jerusalem is

a  “microcosm of humanity’s spiritual diversity” and is a place where “different peoples worship the same places, sometimes under different names... The recognition, use of and respect for these names is paramount. The Al Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram al-Sharif, the sacred shrine of Muslims, is also the Har HaBayit – or Temple Mount – whose Western Wall is the holiest place in Judaism, a few steps away from the Saint Sepulcher  and the Mount of Olives trees revered by Christians.”

 

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/UNESCO-Director-General-criticizes-harmful-drive-to-erase-Jewish-ties-to-Temple-Mount-470135

 

While this all might seem a trivial matter of semantics, it is no such thing. It is a subtle and pervasive effort to undermine and deny Israel's right to exist and the right of both Jews and Christians to worship in their holy places. It is shocking that so many nations and individuals are buying into the Lie. Only 6 of the 56 nations represented in the UNESCO committee had the insight and courage to vote against this proposal. They were Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States. How many will vote against it when it comes up for approval at the Executive Board next week. How will your country vote? Pray for your leaders that they will have the wisdom, understanding and courage to stand up and be counted amongst those who stand with God and His Holy Chosen People.  I fear for those nations who do not stand with Israel in these times. God will judge those nations, for he has never revoked the blessing on Israel:

 

I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;

Genesis 12:3

 

We know that there will be a time of deception in the end times, during which many, even from the elect, will be deceived into believing a Satanic Lie, and Jesus himself prophesied, 

 

 

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ² not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. ³ Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin^[ is revealed, the son of perdition, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶ And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He  who now restrains will do so until He  is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, ¹⁰ and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, ¹² that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

II Thessalonians 2 

However we also know that the Lord has chosen Zion and one day will  establish His Kingdom centered on the Holy Mountain. He will not be mocked.

 Again the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘I am zealous for Zion with great zeal;
With great fervor I am zealous for her.’

³ “Thus says the Lord:

‘I will return to Zion,
And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth,
The Mountain of the Lord of hosts,
The Holy Mountain.’
Zechariah 8: 1-3

 

^{To live in such times as these we who call on the name of God must determine to walk in truth, to take courage and above all stand up and be counted.}

 

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

 

Ephesians 6: 10-13.

 

http://data.whicdn.com/images/194316532/large.jpg

 

THE SCAPEGOAT

 

As I drive down the hill on my way home from work I often gaze upon the mountain of Azazel, known as Gebel Muntar in Arabic. This conical mountain, the highest in the area, lies about 10km southeast of Jerusalem in the barren Judean Desert. It is to this mountain the 'scapegoat' bearing all the sins of the people of Israel was banished on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). 

 

Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. ⁷ He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁸ Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. ⁹ And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

 

And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. ²¹ Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. ²² The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

 

Leviticus 16: 6-10, 20-22

View of Judean Desert as seen from the top of Mt Azazel

http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/Munttar.html

This extremely dry and barren desert land which is still largely unchanged from Biblical times is steeped in myth and mystery, as is the word Azazel itself.  Azazel has become a swearword in modern Hebrew: lech l'azazel meaning 'go to hell'. Thus Azazel has come to mean Hell.   In the times of the Temple the scapegoat was led out into the desert, the sins of Israel laid upon it, and it was cast over the steep cliffs on the east of the mountain to  its death. In the Zohar and the Apocryphal literature Azazel is identified as a fallen angel or even as a demonic god.

However it seems to me that the real meaning is simpler. This word Azazel is probably the combination of two Hebrew words 'Az meaning goat, and 'azal' a primitive root used mainly in poetry meaning simply 'to go'. We still use this root in modern Hebrew. I would say 'Col ha'lehem azal' meaning 'all the bread has gone (as in run out)'.  If this is correct then Azazal simply would mean 'the goat that has gone out'. Thus the word usually translated into English as 'scapegoat' simply means the 'goat that has gone out' into the desert.

In the passage above we can see that God commanded three sacrifices to be carried out on the Day of Atonement. The first was that of a bull which was to be sacrificed for atonement for the sins and uncleanness  of the High Priest and his family. Then one goat was to be sacrificed by fire to the LORD for the purification of the Holy Place, the Tabernacle and the Altar. Then the second goat was to be sent off alive into the desert bearing the sins of Israel.

I see this second goat, the live goat bearing the sins of Israel, as a prophetic forerunner of the Messiah, who though he was cast into the wilderness of death, lived before God and carried away the sins of Israel and all the world.

Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; ²⁵ not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— ²⁶ He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. ²⁷ And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Hebrews 9: 23-28

Whatever the case, we are now preparing for the Day of Atonement, or Yom Hakippurim, which begins on Tuesday night. Since the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD the bull and the goats are no longer sacrificed.

Yom Kippur is a time when all Israel stops. For 26 hours no cars move on the roads, except for emergency vehicles. All places of work are closed, except hospitals. Most people fast, eating no food nor water, and many gather in the synagogues for special services. There are 5 prayer services held during the course of the day.  It is the most solemn day of the Hebrew calendar and one which has retained its sanctity in spite of the pressures of modern consumerism. A hush falls over the land. It is a time for reflection and introspection. A time to repent before God for the sins we have committed. A time for  returning to God.

Yom Kippur in Jerusalem
http://igoogledisrael.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/YomKippurJerusalem2.jpg

Please pray with me that all Israel will turn back to God, seek his Truth and his Messiah, this year.  Time is running out (azal)!  Israel is facing threats more severe than any it has ever faced before - including the Holocaust.  We are sitting on a time bomb and the clock is ticking. At any moment the tension could escalate to full-out war.  And the song that keeps resonating in my head is ' I wish we'd all been ready....".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9mETkfC7xQ

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

Matthew 24: 42

This week has been a tense one here in Israel. On Wednesday a rocket fired from Gaza landed in the town of Sderot.  It landed in the street in front of the house of the Mayor and just meters away from a school.  For some reason the rocket interception system failed to bring it down, but praise the LORD that He steered it away from the school. The following day Israeli forces bombed several Hamas targets in Gaza.

Yesterday, Sunday, a 60 year old woman and a 29 year old policeman were killed when a terrorist opened fire on a bus stop and nearby cars on a major arterial road located on Ammunition Hill. Five others were injured and the terrorist was shot dead as he was attempting to flee into the neighboring Arab village of Sheikh Jarrah. This terrorist had links to Hamas and was about to go to jail for assaulting a police officer on another occasion.

Levana Melihi and Yossi Kirma , victims of  yesterday's terror attack
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4864763,00.html

Tension is very high in the city during these holy days, and thousands of police are patrolling the danger points.  The West Bank is closed off except for humanitarian emergencies but many Arabs in the city, like yesterday's terrorist, have Israeli citizenship and can therefore move freely around the country. Please pray we can get through the rest of the High Holy Days without any further terror attacks. It is very hard, almost impossible, to anticipate and prevent these 'lone wolf' attacks.



Prayers at the Western Wall on Yom Kippur
http://st.depositphotos.com/1009778/2727/i/950/depositphotos_27273603-Wailing-wall-in-jerusalem.jpg
 

 Please pray for us in the coming days, for peace in Jerusalem and all the Land, but above all that all the residents of this region, Jew and Arab alike, will find the peace that passes understanding, in their Messiah Yeshua. 

THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,   “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.  You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.’”

Leviticus 23:23 -25

 

Blowing the Shofar
http://www.dailydoseofemuna.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/maxresdefault-1.jpg

And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets.

Numbers 29:1

 

Today is the First of Tishrei, the seventh month according to the Jewish calendar and we are celebrating the Feast of Trumpets as commanded by the LORD.  There are two basic sounds made by the shofar, the tru'ah which is a series of short staccato blasts and the t'kiyah, a long sustained blast. The t'kiyah was a call to arms, to war, and the tru'ah was a call to gather together. The type of trumpet call we are commanded to sound on this day is the tru'ah - the call to gather together before God, a holy convocation.

 

The Bible does not explicitly give the reason for this Feast except that it is to be a memorial.  We might ask: a memorial to what? Perhaps it is the memorial of another great convocation, when the sound of the trumpets were heard,  the time when all the people of Israel gathered together and stood before the LORD God at the foot of Mt Sinai.

 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. ¹¹ And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹² You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. ¹³ Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”....

 

Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. ¹⁷ And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain^[ quaked greatly. ¹⁹ And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. ²⁰ Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

Exodus 19: 10-13, 16-20

 

This week's parasha begins in Deuteronomy 29:10 and is called Nitzavim . The passage begins, in Hebrew, with the words 'Atem nitzavim'( which translates as 'you shall stand'). This phrase occurs almost 300 times in Scripture and always to enter into some kind of agreement or covenant.

 

All of you stand today before the Lord your God: your leaders and your tribes and your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel, ¹¹ your little ones and your wives—also the stranger who is in your camp, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water— ¹² that you may enter into covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath, which the Lord your God makes with you today, ¹³ that He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Deuteronomy 29:10 - 13

 

I believe then that this Feast is intended as a memorial to the covenant relationship between God and his people. It is a time for us to stand up before God and renew our commitment to those covenants. It is a time of self-reflection and sober accounting. It heralds the 9 Days of Awe leading up to the most solemn day in the Hebrew calendar, the Day of Atonement.

 

So today  a hush has fallen on the city. All shops and businesses are closed, no work is done, and the religious are in the synagogues praying. The sound of the blowing of shofars is heard from time to time, but all else is quiet.

 

On the Eve of the First Day of the Blowing of Trumpets I participated in a holy convocation here in Jerusalem, perhaps the first of its kind ever. Somewhere between 600 - 800 Jewish, Arab and Gentile believers in Yeshua, from all over Israel, gathered together to worship at a location in the center of Jerusalem. Smaller similar events have been held in the past but this was the first that was organized and sanctioned by the majority of both Jewish and Arab congregational leaders from the whole land.  It was a very blessed night as we worshiped together seamlessly slipping from Hebrew to Arabic and back again. I could almost feel God smiling at us in pleasure, and the heavenly angels joining in song with us. How significant it is that Jews and Arabs can fellowship together as one, right here in the heart of Jerusalem, where there is so much hatred, pain and hurt. Only in Yeshua is there any hope for mutual forgiveness and reconciliation. All the world leaders can  talk and talk and talk about peace, but it cannot happen without the healing that can only be found in Yeshua.  We took up a very large offering which is to be sent to help refugees in war-torn Syria, an expression of our love even for our enemies. Yeshua taught us to love our enemies,

 

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:43-48

 

Here in Israel, there are a wide variety of political views amongst believers about the ownership and right to the Land, but we must not allow that to cause us to hate those who stand against us, whether they be Jews or Arabs. One day we will all stand together before God to given an accounting. Not only that but God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and said that in the end times  along a highway stretching from Egypt, through Jordan and  to Assyria  in the north, a region encompassing Jordan, Syria and Iraq today, many will come to believe in the God of Israel. Many who are now our enemies will become our brothers and sisters in the LORD God of Israel. What a wonderful promise!

 

 http://bibleoutlines.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Assyria-Egypt-highway.jpg
 

In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.

¹⁹ In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. ²⁰ And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. ²¹ Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. ²² And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.

²³ In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.

²⁴ In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, ²⁵ whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

 

Isaiah 19:19

 

At a time of great turmoil and suffering amongst the peoples of the Middle East, especially in Syria and Iraq, when the evil face of Islamic Fundamentalism is being revealed and is causing many Muslims to question their faith, here lies hope. God loves the Muslim peoples and longs for their salvation. He longs for them to be set free from the lies and the oppression, and terrible violence, they are experiencing under Islam. We hear many reports of thousands, even tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of people across the Middle East, receiving visions and dreams of Yeshua, abandoning Islam and following Yeshua. There is a great hunger for the gospel in these places. We are living in a time of terrible, horrendous events, terrible suffering, violence and genocide,  but also a time of great hope. Please join with me to pray for all the peoples of the Middle East, for we are bound together as brothers, Jew and Arab and Gentile alike.  Pray especially for those brave ones who are faithfully preaching the gospel in spite of the risk to their own lives. 

 Thousands of Muslims See Jesus in Dreams and Visions.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDAICrsmTpA

 

A GIANT AMONG GIANTS

 

Today (Friday 30 September)  Israel is mourning the passing of the last of her great founding fathers, Simon Peres. who died of a stroke on Wednesday, 28th September, at the age of 93.  As I am writing I am watching on TV his funeral which is taking place right now on Mt Herzl here in Jerusalem. Attending the funeral are twenty-five heads of State and numerous other dignitaries including US President Obama, US Secretary of State John Kerry, ex-US President Clinton, French President Francois Hollande, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Egyptian Foreign Minister Samah Shoukry, and Prince Charles of Wales. King Felipe VI of Spain , the Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands,  and Mahmoud Abbas the President of the Palestinian Authority.  In all ,representatives of around 100 nations were present, representing over half of humanity. This is an indication of the high regard with which Peres was held amongst world leaders, and all the people of Israel.  Even those who did not agree with his policies or decisions admit that he was a great man, who selflessly gave his whole life in service to Israel, and never lost his optimism and vision for peace.



http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2011/1105/360_peres_0526.jpg

 

 

Simon Peres was born Szymon Perski in 1923 in Wiszniew, Poland (now Vishnyeva, Belarus). His father was a timber merchant and his mother a librarian. His family immigrated to Israel when Szymon was 11 years old, in 1932. All his extended family that remained in Poland perished in the Holocaust.  In 1945 he and David Ben Gurion found a nest of bearded vultures (lammergeiers) in the Negev and, since the bird is called peres in Hebrew, Simon adopted Peres as his surname.

Lammergeier in Flight
http://01271bfede0954168758-da1041207dde8e2d0a75af6fbedebedf.r83.cf1.rackcdn.com/20100324034104.jpg

This magnificent bird, with its nearly 3 meter wingspan, can be seen soaring over the cliffs and crags of the mountains of the Negev. So too did Simon Peres soar high above us all.  All his life he dedicated his whole life to service and his life story is nothing less than astounding. He began as a shepherd on a kibbutz and rose to become both Prime Minister and President of Israel. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in  and even was made an honorary Knight of the United Kingdom in 2011, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from  the United States in 2012. Back home he served in nearly every ministerial position at some point during his record-breaking 48 years as a Member of Parliament. In spite of this, he somehow managed to be an exemplary family man and happily married to his wife, Sonya, for 67 years until her death in 2011. He raised 3 children and was grandfather of 8. He wrote books, poetry and songs. He was known for his pleasant manner  and his moral integrity.  You can read more about his amazing life on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimon_Peres.




Shimon and Sonya Peres flying over Kibbutz Alumot in 1985. Photo: Chanania Herman (GPO)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4861303,00.html

 

With so many world leaders present in our city today, you can imagine  what a security nightmare this poses. An unprecedented level of security has been set up all over the city and also at the airport and along the roads leading to Jerusalem. Many of the streets of the city are closed and movement around the city almost impossible. Some 95,000 people have arrived at Ben Gurion Airport for the funeral, and this is in addition to the usual heavy traffic prior to the beginning of the High Holy Days.  As a consequence we decided to close our school for the day. Our congregation has also had to cancel its meeting today because of the road closures. Such is life in Jerusalem.

  An impressive line up of world leaders attend the funeral of Shimon Peres
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/09/israelis-world-leaders-gather-peres-funeral-160930063814074.html


Peres was a man who always looked with optimism towards the future. In the year 2000 he said this,
 

Israeli children should be taught to look to the future, not live in the past. I would rather teach them to imagine than to remember."

                                 Jerusalem Post, May 4, 2000And in 2011, he said this:Sometimes people ask me, 'What is the greatest achievement you have reached in your lifetime?' So I reply that there was a great painter named Mordecai Ardon, who was asked which picture was the most beautiful he had ever painted. Ardon replied, 'The picture I will paint tomorrow.' That is also my answer."
When I look at a life like that of Peres I am humbled. How could one man accomplish so much? It makes me feel very inadequate and inconsequential. However I am inspired by such men. May I never lose hope and never stop believing that I can make a difference, even in my small corner. The Apostle Paul also urged us to look forward, not dwelling on our failures or mistakes, but pressing ever onwards to the goal:

"...one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3: 13-14

 

May we all be people who persevere in our faith, walk in humility and with purpose aiming for the highest goal.