HAS THE REED BROKEN?
Psalm 83: 1-4
Living in the Zig Zag
In the last few days several people have asked me why I have not published this blog or written any articles on All Israel News lately, so I will attempt to put pen to paper (metaphorically speaking).
My excuse is that I, like most Israelis, am confused and exhausted by the constant zig zag of the news. One minute we are being told that a missile attack from Iran or Hezbollah is expected any moment. The next minute we are told that a peace deal is about to be signed. Is it war? Is it peace? We are confused. We don't know what to think. It seems that no one, not even our leaders, have any idea what is going on now, much less what will happen tomorrow.
I don't know how much it is just a result of aging, health problems or the constant threat of war and terror, or simply laziness, but I am finding it hard to make even the most trivial decisions these days or to motivate myself into action. The days are flying by at an increasing pace, and I don't seem to be accomplishing much.
We here in Israel are all tired. The adrenaline has run out. It is well known that adrenaline mediates the flight or fight response, but there is another response to danger we are not so aware of - the 'rabbit in the headlights' phenomenon - which psychologists call decision paralysis.
You cannot live constantly on high alert, so most of us are living in a tense state of denial, getting on with our 'normal' lives but knowing that at any moment missiles could be landing, more hostages captured, more terror attacks in our streets, more soldiers being killed or wounded. Its hard to make plans or decisions when you don't know what is going to happen in the next hour, day or week. But somehow you must.
On the surface, life in Israel has largely returned to normal since the Iran 'ceasefire' which started almost 4 months ago now. People are going about their lives with smiles and laughter, children are enjoying their summer break from school at summer camps, swimming pools and shopping malls. Friends are drinking coffee at the cafes, the shops are open, the hotels are full (mainly with Israelis, though some tourists are coming) and the airport is buzzing as thousands of Israelis leave for or return from long awaited trips abroad or family visits. Yet we are tense. You see it on the roads, in the supermarkets and on the streets. Tempers are short, patience is even more lacking than normal. We are somewhat 'twitchy'.
For example, one morning last week I was awakened at 4 AM by my phone going 'ding'. My first thought was "Oh no, here we go again" and I opened the Home Front App to see what was happening. Nothing. It took me a few minutes to realize the 'ding' wasn't an early warning of incoming missiles, just a glitch on my new phone, which for some reason had turned on the system notifications I had earlier turned off (it keeps doing that - so annoying).
This article, published in the Times of Israel, expresses our situation more eloquently than I can: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-sirens-only-we-can-hear/
It seems like the international news media has moved on. Israel's war is no longer of any immediate interest. If you live elsewhere you might be forgiven for thinking the war is over. In reality, though, I fear the war is only beginning. We have a 'ceasefire' of sorts with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, but that is not the same as the ending of hostilities. Today (12 August) is Day 1039 of Israel's war against the Iranian ayatollah regime and its proxies, and there is no end in sight. Our soldiers are still stationed in Gaza and Lebanon and every few days some are killed or wounded. Men and women are still being called up for reserve duty. Spouses are on the front line and children are wondering when, or if, their fathers and mothers will return home. Businesses are trying to function with missing staff. All are weary.
We hear much about the suffering of the people of Gaza and Lebanon but the international community seems unaware that Israelis are suffering too. Or they don't care. The social media influencers and mainstream journalists blame Israel for everything forgetting that it was not us who started this war. We are trying to defend ourselves and surely that is our right. We are not given even a smidgen of credit for all the efforts we have made to protect civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. I do not want to deny or belittle the suffering in those places, which is very great, but Israelis are suffering too.
It is not easy to hear every day the lies and false accusations against Israel and Israelis. It hurts. It makes us afraid for the future. The antisemitism infecting the world today is very similar to that of Germany in the 1930s, only on a global scale. We fear what it will lead to.
In Zechariah 12:1-4 the LORD warns that the day will come when all the nations (yes, even yours) will come up against Jerusalem. I once thought that day was still far off, but in just 3 short years it seems that nearly the whole world has turned against us. The fulfillment of this prophecy in the near future now seems very possible.
The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.
Zechariah 12: 1-4
Has the reed broken?
In April last year I published an article in All Israel News called Is Trump a 'broken reed of a staff"? (a reference to Isaiah 36:6), warning of the dangers of putting our trust in a man, any man but specifically US President Donald Trump, and not in the LORD God of Israel. I know its a bit gauche to say "I told you so", but I am saying it. I told you so. The reed has broken and it is "piercing the hand that leans on it".
As long as the interests of the USA, and Trump himself, coincided with the interests of Israel, Trump acted as a good friend and ally, but inevitably there came a point when those interests diverged. When fuel prices in the USA began to rise, some American soldiers were killed, and the anti-Israel propaganda spread and turned a majority of the US population against the war (according to the latest polls), Trump unilaterally declared a ceasefire. He did this 4 times. First with Hamas in Gaza, then with Hezbollah in Lebanon and twice with Iran. In each case the announcement of a ceasefire was premature. The enemy was not sufficiently defeated to bring them to accept that they had lost the war. They still, in spite of their great losses, proclaim victory.
In no case was Israel consulted before the ceasefire was declared, and nor was it involved in the consequent negotiations and deals, yet we are expected to 'toe the line' and do whatever we were told by Trump. It is extremely patronizing, and his words smacked of schoolyard bullying.
I feel that Trump is first and foremost a businessman, who thinks everything can be solved by negotiation and making deals. I also once believed that 'talking things out' would solve any conflict, but living in the Middle East has shown me that it only works when the two sides have a common world view and moral code. Trump thought that Iran and its proxies would roll over and surrender, would come to their senses and for the sake of their nation or people make a deal. It will never happen. He still seems to think they want peace and prosperity just like we do. They do not.
As I explained in the article referenced above, the Shiite Iranian Ayatollah regime and its proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the Iraqi militias, have an entirely different world view. Their one and only goal is Jihad - world domination under Islamic Sharia Law. They cannot surrender as that would be counter to everything they are and believe in. Likewise they cannot make real, lasting peace with infidels (non-Muslims). It is forbidden by their god, Allah.
What is more, the Iranian regime, like the leaders of their proxies, do not care about the people they rule, except as human shields and props for their propaganda campaign. Let them starve. Let the last drop of water crawl out of the taps. The jihadis will never surrender. They are not even afraid of death. They would rather die than surrender or admit defeat. They long for martyrdom, which according to their religion would guarantee them a place in the afterlife. It is the only certain way for Muslims to attain 'salvation'. We who value life and believe in peace and love cannot understand such a world view, but we need to take it seriously.
The ayatollahs and their proxies may agree to a ceasefire for a period in order to rearm and regroup, or if for some other reason it is to their tactical advantage, and that is exactly what they have done. Not only are they busy rearming, training up new recruits (of which they have an endless supply in their brainwashed young people), they are playing the long game, stringing us along in a clever war of attrition. As a dictatorship, time is on their side. They have no elections looming, and they can afford to wait years, or even generations. Not so democracies which run on a short cycle of 4 years or so. The ayatollahs are holding out for a change of government both in Israel and the USA, and are running a propaganda campaign to discredit the leadership of both nations.
I might be wrong but it seems to me that Trump and the American administration in general fail to understand this tactic. We might have a sort of 'peace' for a while - weeks, months or perhaps even years - but the fight for our survival goes on. We cannot afford to let up our defenses and preparedness for even a moment. We learnt that lesson on October 7, 2023, I hope.
Israel's leaders better understand the Middle Eastern mentality and the nature of our enemies. We do not trust our enemies because we know that lies and subterfuge are endemic to the region. We do not underestimate those who loudly and vocally declare that their one and only goal is to destroy the 'little Satan' (Israel) and then the 'big Satan' (the USA), in order to rule the world under Islam. Europe is already largely defeated.
Why does the West not understand this? We stand to lose a lot more than the rising price of fuel, and the freedom of trade on the high seas. Imagine the power that Iran would yield if it manages to get a nuclear weapon. While the antisemites are busy blaming the Zionists for every crisis and calamity that occurs, from the heatwaves and drought in Europe, to the storming of the border in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, and the failure of Argentina to win the World Cup, they are failing to see that we are fighting a war to protect them and their freedoms and way of life. The irony is that it is those who protest loudest against the war in the Middle East, and against Israel, are those who would suffer the most under an Islamic regime, where even the mildest protest is suppressed by summary executions, where homosexuals are thrown off the roofs of high buildings and women are forbidden to leave the house without a first-level male relative as an escort, drive a car, go to school or marry whom she chooses.
Now we are seeing a new alignment of nations rising in the Middle East, the so-called more moderate Sunni Muslim nations. Just this week three nations, Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed a tripartite defense treaty, which means that if any one of them are attacked the others will spring to its defense. Turkey has the most formidable army, air force and navy in the region and is part of NATO, Pakistan already has nuclear weapons and Saudi Arabia has almost unlimited wealth to contribute. Egypt may also soon join this coalition.
What does this mean for Israel? Nothing good. In the short term these nations may 'deal' with Iran, but they too have the greater goal of disposing of Israel, taking over Jerusalem and forming the greater Arab 'nation'.
The Israeli news outlet, Kan News, reported this week that one unnamed Middle Eastern state advised another to reach an agreement with Israel as a tactical step aimed to lull Israel into a false sense of security as happened before the invasion and massacre of October 7, 2023, and to use the period of calm to build up military strength for a much larger future confrontation.
The guns of war may be temporarily silent, but on the spiritual level there is no 'ceasefire' and the battle still rages. This is where you, my readers come in. Men may plot and make plans but it it the LORD God of Israel who determines what is going to happen. God has set watchmen on the walls and if you belong to Him, you like myself are being called to prayer at this time - Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).
Isaiah 62: 6-7
Some of you may be wondering how to pray, so here are some prayer points:
- Pray that the LORD's name will be lifted up and glorified so that his promises to protect and save Israel are seen by all to be fulfilled. Israel does not deserve His favor but nevertheless He has promised that she will be restored and will play a vital role in the completion of God's plan of redemption.
- Pray that many in Israel will be saved. Give thanks for the Word that is being preached and the fruit we are seeing. Recently 'One for Israel' reached 1 million subscribers on their Hebrew website - that means about 1 in every 8 Jewish Israelis have now been exposed to the gospel. This is just astounding - God is moving powerfully here. Pray for the protection and continuation of this work, and that these enquirers will find their long-awaited Messiah and be saved.
- Pray for the growth and protection of the Body of believers here in Israel and in the other parts of the Middle East, especially those under severe persecution in Iran and Syria. In Iran many Christians and Jews are being imprisoned, tortured and executed. Pray against deception in the Body and for the strengthening of the power of love in our midst. Pray too for physical health as many amongst us are suffering severe illnesses, such as cancer. We are under attack in every realm.
- Pray for our leaders, and your own, that they will make righteous and wise decisions according to the will of God. Jesus taught us to pray "Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven" (Matthew 6:10). Pray for the upcoming elections in Israel and the midterms in the USA. It is God who raises up kings and brings them down (Daniel 2:21). May His will be done.
- Pray against all the forces trying to destroy our nation, and yours, from within, bringing division, lawlessness, anarchy and hatred. This is especially needed right now in Israel as election fever is building. The elections in Israel are scheduled for October 27.
- Pray for our soldiers who are still fighting on the front lines and the families of those killed. Also pray for those injured and for the returned hostages who are still healing from physical injury and battling the effects of trauma and grief.
- Pray for the salvation of our enemies, that they will see the emptiness and evil of Islam and find Truth. This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the people of Judah from among them. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among my people. But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 12:14 - 17
- Give thanks for God's goodness to us. He has protected Israel, our soldiers and our civilians, again and again in miraculous ways. He has protected our economy which has withstood the costs of war and even grown stronger. He has granted us good rain this past winter and we have not experienced the intense heatwaves that are striking Europe. Our winter wheat crop, mainly grown in the northern Negev region, was 150% larger than normal. God has not abandoned Israel.
- When words fail, remember Romans 8:26, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans".
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