SPRING HAS SPRUNG
For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
The rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
Song of Solomon 2: 11-12
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| Black Iris and white broom (rotem) in Iris Reserve, Netanya |
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| Mountain lupin (tormus) on Har Hatormosim, Judean Hills |
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| Anenomes on Har Hatormosim, Judean Hills |
Every spring hordes of Israelis make a kind of pilgrimage to see the wildflowers blooming in parks and wilderness areas all over the Land. It expresses their deep connection and love for the Land. Sadly the wildflowers that once covered wide swathes of the landscape are now largely confined to small reserves here and there, and every year more habitat is lost.
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http://expo.kkl.org.il/files/projects/ecology.jpg |
Turtledoves are harder to find than the wildflowers, and I don't think I have ever seen them in the wild. They are rare in Israel now as they have been driven out of their habitat by invasion of the similar laughing dove from the Indian subcontinent. Laughing doves are now very common.
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| Laughing dove By Charlesjsharp - Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31334619 |
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| Turtle dove https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/European_Turtle_Dove_(Streptopelia_turtur).jpg/250px-European_Turtle_Dove_(Streptopelia_turtur).jpg
The turtle dove is so named not because it resembles a turtle in any way but because of the "tur tur" sounds it makes. The laughing dove makes a similar sound and in the spring one can hear their peaceful gentle 'turring' filling the air. Indeed at this time the air is full of the sound of birds. As I write I can hear the monotonous and tinny-sounding sreet sreet sreet of the great tit, a winter visitor to Israel, and the high tsit, tsit tsit of the resident Palestinian sunbirds feeding on the nectar of the almond blossoms outside.
This scripture passage is a beautiful picture of the marriage of the Lamb to come, as he calls his bride to be. It speaks of hope and tender love. Here it is in full:
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My beloved spoke, and said to me:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
11 For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
11 For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
14 “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”
Song of Solomon 2: 11-14
At the closing of the winter season we look forward to the warmth and vibrant life that comes in spring. Every year this season resonates with the hope of better things to come. In Israel spring always seems to come suddenly, just when winter is at its most fierce. I believe this is prophetic of our times. When I turn on the TV all I see are images of terrible things, wars, disasters, diseases, crime and unrelenting suffering, the tragic results of sin out of control. But I believe that when things will seem like they can get no worse, then suddenly Yeshua will come and call his bride to come away to His secret place.
This weekend we in Israel, and Jews all over the world, celebrate the Feast of Purim. The whole book of Esther is read in every synagogue and many dress up in costume. Costume parades are held in every town and city. Hamentaschen (Haman's Ears), a three cornered cookie, are eaten and gifts are given to the poor.
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| http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/03/16/article-2582150-1C56A5FB00000578-241_964x604.jpg |
This feast commemorates the rescue of the Jewish people of the Persian Empire from the wicked Haman, the political aide to King Xerxes in around the year 500 BC. Haman had cunningly convinced the King to pass a decree which would have led to the destruction of the Jewish people. Queen Ester, who was herself Jewish, was warned of the plot to kill all the Jews by her uncle Mordecai who said to her:
Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4: 13-14.
Esther then, acting contrary to the accepted protocol of the Court, risked her own life to bring the matter to the attention of the King. According to the law of the Persian Empire, the King could not rescind his own decree but he issued another, permitting the Jews to take up arms and defend themselves. As a result all the Jews were saved, Haman's plot exposed and Haman himself was executed.
This event in Jewish history is especially poignant today as we once more stand in the face of threats from the current manifestation of the "Haman spirit" in Iran, which is modern day Persia. Again and again we hear Iranian leaders threatening to annihilate Israel, boasting that they can hit Tel Aviv with their missiles, even as they continue to work towards reaching nuclear capability. This would be terrifying were it not that Holy Scripture clearly states that all those nations which rise up against Israel will be destroyed ( See Joel 3.2 & Zechariah 14.2). Iran as it calls for the destruction of Israel, is ultimately calling for its own destruction. Pray that God will have mercy on the people of Iran. Reports are that many in that country are experiencing revelations of Yeshua, often supernaturally in dreams and visions.
At the same time consider this: has God called you to be a modern-day Esther? Have you been brought into the kingdom for such a time as this? Are you willing to stand up in your own country and speak up for the Jewish nation, even at the risk of your life? This is the challenge that I believe the worldwide Body of Christ is being given at this point in history. I believe that we must choose which side we are on, the side of God and his Kingdom, or the side of the enemies of the Kingdom of Light. There is no sitting on the fence, and sadly some who call themselves believers in Jesus risk being found on the wrong side come the day of the final judgment.
Then the Lord will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east....
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east....
And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be—
“The Lord is one,”
And His name one.
In that day it shall be—
“The Lord is one,”
And His name one.
Zechariah 14: 3-4, 9
For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land.
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land.
Joel 2: 1-2
Meanwhile, life here in Israel continues. This week has been relatively quiet. This is rare. Even so all is not so rosy. In the news this week is the warning that we have once again suffered poor winter rains and our water supplies are very low. This February, usually our wettest month, recorded the lowest rainfall for the last hundred years (since 1920). The Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Israel's main water resource, is 4.3 m below what is considered to be full. Ynetnews reports that "Due to low levels of precipitation in the western Galilee over the last four years, the lack of available water volume in the Kinneret is the largest it has been in 100 years". This is worrying since this is the case even though the Water Authority has almost entirely stopped pumping water from the Kinneret. The Water Authority is working to stablilize Israel's water supply by building desalination plants. A desalination plant is planned for the Galilee region but has been stopped because of objections from the local residents. Around 50% of our water supply comes from recycled water which is mainly used for agriculture. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4931746,00.html
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| Kinneret shoreline Photo: Avihu Shapira http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4931746,00.html |
In my last blog I wrote about the ammonia tank in Haifa. It has still not been emptied as required and continues to pose a serious threat to Haifa residents.
Poverty continues to affect one in three Israeli children.
http://www.yadezra.net/breaking-israel-news/?gclid=CMr58ZPyudICFUG4GwodDJkL3w
More and more are feeling the pinch economically as the cost of living continues to rise and salaries and wages remain static. This is particularly acute here in Jerusalem as shortages in housing and the greed of landlords are causing rents to skyrocket. The continually growing population and the inability of the construction industry to keep up is pushing up prices on new housing, and fewer and fewer are able to buy their own homes.
In Jerusalem many are leaving the city in search of affordable housing in the periphery. Jerusalem now has a negative growth rate in spite of the high birth rates among the Arab and religious Jewish populations. Last year Jerusalem lost Jerusalem lost 7,851 inhabitants continuing the trend apparent over the last few years. Most of those leaving are young, secular families. They cite the " poor quality of life and of municipal services and the high cost of housing" as the main reasons they leave. Another factor is " the relative scarcity of high added-value jobs, which means low salaries" . In addition Jerusalem is one of the few cities in Israel where the secular population is a "relatively disempowered minority". Jerusalem is one of Israel's poorest cities. Arabs and Orthodox Jews account for 2/3 of the population and both these groups have large families and low incomes. This means they are often exempt from paying municipal taxes and many require social welfare assistance, which leaves the secular earners carrying a larger burden of tax and results in poor municipal services. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4920855,00.html
Our municipality does however do an amazing job with what it has and in recent years has invested quite a lot of money into improving our daily lives and beautifying the city. Here is a sight that cheers me up every day as I drive home from work - some street art on the round-a-bout.
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