HEPHZIBAH
"My delight is in her"

You shall also be a crown of glory

In the hand of the Lord,

And a royal diadem

In the hand of your God.

4 

You shall no longer be termed Forsaken,

Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate;

But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah;

For the Lord delights in you,

And your land shall be married.

5 

Isaiah 62: 3-4

As I sit on my balcony the rays of the setting sun turn the whole city of Jerusalem to gold.  I look out over the hills and know that indeed this must be the most beautiful city in the world. Of course there are many beautiful cities and you may not agree with me, but there is truly no other city in the world in which the Lord delights as he does over Jerusalem.

This past week we celebrated the 50th year of the reunification of Jerusalem, which followed its capture by Israel, from the Jordanians, during the 1967 war.  It was a week of many events that took place around the city, beginning with a spectacular laser light show cast onto the walls of the Old City.




  The opening celebrations for the Jubilee Celebrations - a laser light show cast onto the Old City walls.  https://www.jerusalem.muni.il/en/Municipality/Municipal%20info/Pages/AllcelebrationsJerusalem.aspx  

For those of us living here it was a somewhat difficult week. The many events and celebrations drew thousands of Israelis and tourists into the city, and the normally chaotic traffic saw even more disruption.  All this was compounded by the visit of President Trump, for which the entire city center was closed down.  On the Tuesday I set off for work as normal only to find that all three exits from my neighborhood were closed off, even for pedestrians. Only on my third attempt, at around 1PM, did I finally succeed in getting to work. 

However these things are mostly borne in good humor by Jerusalem's inhabitants - it is a small price to pay for the joy of living in the most fascinating and wonderful city in the world. We wouldn't have it any other way. 

What is it that draws some 3.5 million tourists to Jerusalem every year? What is so special? Is it the spectacular vistas that open at every turn,  the golden light of the burnished hillsides and the golden Jerusalem limestone from which the city is built? No, it is because this is the city that God has called Hephsibah (my delight is in her). 

Why did God chose Jerusalem? It is built on a non-descript hill, surrounded by larger and more impressive hills, it is far from any ports or the sea, it is dry and parched and there are no perennial streams nearby, and furthermore it is not on the route to anywhere.  Yet God chose this place as his dwelling place on Earth.  

 “But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go."  Deuteronomy 12:5

There are many passages of Scripture that speaks of Jerusalem as being God's dwelling place, for example:

So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,

Dwelling in Zion* My holy mountain.

Then Jerusalem shall be holy....

Joel 3:17

(* Zion is an alternative name for Jerusalem)

The Psalmist declared, 

For the Lord has chosen Zion;

He has desired it for His dwelling place:

14 

“This is My resting place forever;

Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

Psalm 132: 13

What does it mean that this is the dwelling place of God? God exists outside of the creation and dwells in Heaven, yet he is everywhere in his Creation (omnipresent). So what does it mean that Jerusalem is the dwelling place of God?  It is the place He told David to establish as the place of sacrifice and worship, the site of the Holy of Holies, where He would communicate with mankind, but it is much more than even that. It is a mystery.

After God met with Moses on Mt Sinai and gave him the Torah Law, God instructed Moses saying

 " And let them (the people of Israel) make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them..."  Exodus 25:8.

Furthermore He told Moses, 

You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. 22 And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony,...

Exodus 25:21-22

For many years the Tabernacle and the Ark moved with the People as they wandered in the wilderness, but then when they had at last came into the Promised Land, the Tabernacle was set up at Shiloh, about 10km north of Jerusalem. Inside the Tabernacle the Ark was placed in the Holy of Holies.  After the Ark was captured by the Philistines and later returned to the People of Israel it was set in the Holy of Holies in the Temple constructed by King Solomon on the northern flank of the mountain on which sat Jerusalem, Mt Zion. 

When King Solomon dedicated this first temple in Jerusalem, God spoke to him saying, 

 For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually

2 Chronicles 7:16

Note the words 'forever' and 'perpetually" in this verse.  Solomon's Temple is long gone, but God's presence remains there 'forever'. Some years ago I visited the tunnels that run alongside the Western Wall, the retaining wall of the Temple Mount, and all that remains of the Temple after the sacking by Rome in 70 AD. I was standing a little apart from the group when suddenly I was overcome by the awe and joy of the presence of God. It was very powerful and all I could do was pray.  Then I heard the guide telling us that we were at that point standing as close as it is currently possible to the site of the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant once stood with the Mercy Seat of God upon it.  I can testify that though the Temple and the Ark are lost and gone, there still remains the Presence of God in that place as He promised. I have also heard others say that they too felt a very special Presence when they went to this spot. 

When Trump visited during the week of Celebrations he made history in that he was the first sitting President of the United States to visit to the Western Wall and he, like all who are drawn there, prayed and also left a handwritten prayer in a niche in the Wall, as is the custom. There are many who claim that this was the most significant moment of his visit.  I feel too that there was some deep spiritual significance, especially considering the timing of his visit.  I also pray that Trump will have been deeply touched also by the Presence of the LORD in this place. 

The Jerusalem Forest

Trump prays at the Western Wall.
http://www.endtimenews.tv/2017/05/23/president-trump-prays-at-the-western-wall-in-jerusalem/

Jerusalem is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, established around 5000 years ago. It has been the spiritual center of the People of Israel since David established it as his capital around 3000 years ago (1).  It has been "destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked an additional 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times", and yet it still stands today (2). It has had a complicated and fascinating history and in our times once more has been established as the capital of the People of Israel.  

In the 33 or so years I have known this city I have seen an amazing transformation, from a dusty, run down town  crumbling houses to a beautiful metropolis with tree-lined streets bustling streets, with many cafes and restaurants, theatres and museums (60 museums!), a zoo, a botanical garden, universities and hospitals and lovely green parks and gardens. On the western side a huge forest of Jerusalem pine and cedars has been planted and grown to maturity. 

Jerusalem circa 1900
https://beyondzerosum.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/jerusalem-circa-1900.jpg

Jerusalem today

Jerusalem Botanical Gardens

The Old City walls from Jaffa Gate

 The restored Mamilla Mall just outside Jaffa Gate
 - a high end shopping street lined with bronze sculptures, 
where once bombed out buildings were crumbling to dust. 

The Gazelle Park - an inner city nature park

The Jerusalem Forest
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/PikiWiki_Israel_33188_jerusalem_forest.JPG

In our  generation God is fulfilling his promises and Jerusalem is being restored to its former glory, and even transcending that. As beautiful as it now is, this is nothing compared to what it will be. One day it will not only be physically restored but it will also be spiritually restored, the spiritual center of the World and the place from which the Messiah King will reign.  

According to  both Christian and Jewish tradition there is both a heavenly Jerusalem and an earthly Jerusalem, and we can see this in the New Testament book of Revelation:

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  Revelation 21:1-4

This is the reason the Psalmist exhorts us to 'pray for the peace of Jerusalem' (Psalm 122:6). When Jerusalem knows peace so will the whole world. 

I was glad when they said to me,

“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

 

Our feet have been standing

Within your gates, O Jerusalem!

Jerusalem is built

As a city that is compact together,

 

Where the tribes go up,

The tribes of the Lord,

To the Testimony of Israel,

To give thanks to the name of the Lord.

 

For thrones are set there for judgment,

The thrones of the house of David.

Psalm 122 : 1-5

1.  http://www.ancient.eu/jerusalem/.

2.  https://web.archive.org/web/20080603214950/http://www.momentmag.com/Exclusive/2008/2008-03/200803-Jerusalem.html

JERUSALEM JUBILEE

 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors! 30 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Mark 13: 28-31

http://www.bibleplaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Fig-on-tree-Yad-HaShmonah-tb0325005781-bibleplaces.jpg

I awoke this morning with a strong sense of the presence of the LORD and opened my Bible only to discover that my reading today was Mark 13. As I read this well-known passage, which speaks of the second coming of our Lord, Yeshua (Jesus), this sense of the Presence increased. I wondered what it could mean. I have a feeling that we are standing at the brink of some very important and earth-shaking events - the fulfillment of things which have been prophesied from of old. 

This coming week will be a tense and busy week here in Jerusalem. Between Sunday and Thursday some 40 or so separate events will take place, each involving thousands of people. This will cause a great deal of disruption to our lives because of street closures and security measures.  In addition, on Friday the Muslim month of Ramadan, the annual fast period, will begin. There is often an upsurge of tension, rioting and terror attacks during Ramadan. 

This Wednesday is the 50th Anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, when Israeli forces captured the Temple Mount and East Jerusalem from the occupying Jordanian forces in 1967.  We are therefore entering the Jubilee Year of the Reunification Jerusalem, the time when the Temple Mount and all of Jerusalem came under Israeli control after nearly 2000 years, during which it was 'trampled by the gentiles'.  Yeshua, prior to his crucifixion and resurrection, prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and said that, 

  "... Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled".

Luke 21:24

According to the Luke passage the ending of the times of the Gentile rule over Jerusalem is closely linked with the time of the second coming of Yeshua.

Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.
Luke 21:28

The LORD commanded Israel to keep the 50th year, after 7 cycles of the 7 years of Shmita*, as a consecrated year of Jubilee. This word 'Jubilee' comes from the Hebrew word 'yovel' which literally means a ram's horn.  On the Day of Atonement falling in this year, a trumpet blast on a ram's horn was to be sounded, proclaiming liberty to all the inhabitants of the Land. On this day, all debts would be pardoned, all land returned to its original owners, and all slaves would be set free. 

 ‘And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants.

Leviticus 25: 8-10

This year also marks the 100th year since the British General Allenby's forces liberated Jerusalem from Turkish rule in 1917. It would appear, that even though the Jubilee cycle has not been observed by most Jews for centuries, there is still a Jubilee cycle operating over Jerusalem (for more on this see  the article below (1)). If this is so, then perhaps we can expect another major landmark in the redemption of Jerusalem, this year. 

I wonder what will be the significance of US President Trump's visit to Jerusalem which will take place during the two days preceding Jerusalem Day. He will arrive with an entourage of around 1000 people on Monday evening, and will leave the following evening. Needless to say this necessitates massive security measures and a great deal of disruption to traffic and other activities in the city. 

This Thursday some 25- 30 (accounts vary) US transport planes arrived at Ben Gurion Airport carrying a large amount of logistical support for Trump's visit - including  Black Hawk helicopters, armored vehicles and security vehicles. Among this is Trump's personal transport, a limousine with steel doors nicknamed, interestingly enough, 'The Beast'. This car "forms a seal that keeps the passengers safe in the event of a biological or chemical attack, it is impenetrable to bullets, and the doors are made of plated steel" (2). Trump and his entourage will be staying at the King David Hotel.  His suite is specially designed to withstand a bomb blast, has separate air conditioning system to protect against biological and chemical warfare, the windows are strengthened to protect from an RPG attack and even if the whole hotel were to collapse the room is designed to maintain its integrity.  Some 10,000 Israeli police and security personnel will be involved in Trump's protection. 

The View of the Old City, the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives from the Presidential Suite
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4964436,00.html

So what is all this about? What is Trump hoping to accomplish on this visit? In addition to his visit with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem he will also be talking with  the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem.  Rumors have it that Trump is hoping to broker the 'ultimate peace deal' that will bring peace between the Palestinians and Israel (3). Others think he will announce the movement of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  Only time will tell, but I am sure that God has His plans and whatever happens I suspect it is going to be a significant milestone along the way of God's ultimate plan for the redemption of the world. God is setting the stage for the ultimate fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy:

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness (literally: reeling) to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it....

“The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. 8 In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. 9 It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn....

Zechariah 12: 1-10

* Smita= the agricultural cycle by which the land would be left fallow every seventh year

(1) https://int.icej.org/news/special-reports/jubilee-year-jerusalem

(2) http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4963642,00.html

      http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4959769,00.html

(3) http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.789026
(4)http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2017/5/15/50-jerusalem-facts-for-the-50th-anniversary-of-its-reunification#.WSAQRGiGOyI=

LEST THEY SHOULD TURN

http://www.tiszta-lap.hu/images/images/the-sower-sowing-the-seed-english-school.jpg

This beautiful spring Shabbat morning I was sitting on my balcony reading the well-known parable of the sower (Mark 4: 1-20). Once again I was struck by the words of Yeshua (Jesus) who, when asked about the parable by his disciples and others who were with him, said,

 “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,  so that

‘Seeing they may see and not perceive,

And hearing they may hear and not understand;

Lest they should turn,

And their sins be forgiven them.’”

Mark 4:11-12

This has always seemed rather odd to me. Why on earth would Yeshua not want people to turn and be forgiven?  It seems harsh that some people are denied revelation while others are granted understanding, and consequent forgiveness of sins. 

Seeking to understand this I turned to the origin of Yeshua's quote from the Tenach (Old Testament) which can be found in Isaiah 6:

Also I  (Isaiah) heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send,

And who will go for Us?”

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

 And He said, “Go, and tell this people:

‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

“Make the heart of this people dull,

And their ears heavy,

And shut their eyes;

Lest they see with their eyes,

And hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart,

And return and be healed.”

 Then I said, “Lord, how long?”

And He answered:

“Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant,

The houses are without a man,

The land is utterly desolate,

The Lord has removed men far away,

And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

 

But yet a tenth will be in it,

And will return and be for consuming,

As a terebinth tree or as an oak,

Whose stump remains when it is cut down.

So the holy seed shall be its stump.”

Isaiah 6: 8-13

Isaiah was called to prophesy at a time when God had determined to exile Israel from the Promised Land. The People of Israel had turned away from God and committed heinous sins in the worship of foreign idols. They had even burned their babies alive in the terrible worship of the bull god, Moloch,  right here in the valley of Gai Hinnom (Gehenom) in Jerusalem. God needed to cleanse the land and the people and he would do this by the conquest of the Land and the exile of the people to Babylon. God knew already that the people would not listen to Isaiah's prophecies but He called him nevertheless, so that righteousness would be fulfilled. The people could never claim that they had acted out of ignorance. Rather they would chose not to listen to Isaiah's warnings and repent.  

The people of Israel shut up their ears and closed their eyes and consequently bore the fruit of their rebellion. They were conquered and driven out of the Land for a time, until all the cities were destroyed and the land left desolate. Yet God kept a remnant, the stump, the holy seed, which in due course returned to the Land to repopulate it. 

About 400 years later, Israel yet again turned away from God. They did not receive his Son, blocked up their ears and closed their eyes, and as a consequence were again driven away from the Land, this time by the Romans who destroyed every city. The Land lay desolate trampled under the feet of the Gentiles for two thousand years. Yet, even so, a 'stump' remained and the remnant of survivors has once more returned to the Promised Land.  

Why did Yeshua allow this to happen? Why did he not, at the time of his first coming, open the eyes of all the people to understand and repent? Why did he not save them all when he came two thousand years ago? He knew their hearts.  They were looking for a king, a conqueror who would free them of their Roman oppressors. They were not interested in repentance from sin and did not want to know God in any depth. So the veil that was laid on the People in the time of Isaiah has remained over the majority of the People of Israel until this day. 

In the times of Moses and the Tabernacle, and later also in the Temples, the Holy Presence of God was separated from the People by a veil. This was for their protection. Sin cannot stand before a Holy God. A sinful person coming into the Presence of God would simply be annihilated.  Only the High Priest, appointed by God, and covered by the blood of the sin offering, could enter the Holy of Holies, and then only once a year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). 

When Yeshua died on the cross, the veil of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Why from top to bottom?  Because no human act could do that. Only God himself could tear down the veil from top to bottom.  

Even so the New Testament tells us that a veil remains over the eyes of the People of Israel:

2 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— 13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. 14 But their 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. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 3: 2-18

WE can see in this passage that though the veil remains there is hope, for the veil is taken away whenever one turns to the Lord, Yeshua. There is no true revelation without Yeshua, no remission of sins and no salvation. That is why Yeshua did not allow the people who had not yet received Him to have understanding. That is why He spoke to them only in parables. He is the 'door' and only through Him can entry to the 'sheepfold' (John 10: 1-4), the kingdom of God, be gained. First one must come to Yeshua and then understanding will be given. 

Today the people of Israel cannot understand truly the Holy Scriptures, even though they might study and dissect them day and night (as do many of the religious). The truth is hidden under the veil. They will not find enlightenment until they open their hearts to Yeshua. This must come first. Full understanding does not come until we meet Yeshua, face to face, and invite him into our hearts. Then His Spirit will meet with our spirit and instruct us and lead us into Truth. 

In the 30 odd years I have lived in Israel I have seen a wondrous thing take root. When I first arrived in 1979 there were only about 200 born-again believers in the Land. Now there are many thousands. No one knows exactly how many, but estimates range from 15-20,000 (1). Nearly every city and sizeable town in the Land has at least one congregation or house group that meets regularly. Some estimate that there may be as many as 150 congregations in Israel now. 

At first we were nearly all immigrants, a polyglot collection from every corner of the earth. Now however a new generation of sabra Israelis (Israelis born here) is rising up into leadership, and establishing godly families in the Land. This generation speaks unaccented Hebrew as their mother tongue,  and are part of the mainstream culture in a way we immigrants could never be. 

For example, Kehila News, a Messianic online magazine, reported thus:

"A new and encouraging phenomenon is taking place among Messianic young people in Israel: Israeli students who are believers are openly sharing about their faith in Yeshua at their schools. This sort of boldness seems to have been unprecedented until now."

  

The article goes on to tell the stories of three young believers  who openly taught the gospel to their classes at school. I would encourage you to read what they said - here is the link:  https://kehilanews.com/2017/04/27/israeli-messianic-youth-take-a-stand-for-their-faith-in-school/

We Messianic believers still represent less than 1% of the total population, but there is steady growth as many of the young people are boldly speaking openly about their faith. There are many signs that the veil which has long blinded the people of Israel is at last, being lifted. In many circles Jews are reclaiming Yeshua as one of their own, perhaps partly a reaction to the way that the Palestinians have tried to claim him for themselves by rewriting history. Academics are beginning to study his life and teachings. At the same time the media is reporting on the activities of Messianic movement here in a much more positive light. Many Israelis, turned off by the extreme legalism and arrogance of orthodox Judaism, and the emptiness of secular materialism, are beginning to opening their hearts to seek something more real. We are now more generations separate from the Holocaust which is seen by many Jews (erroneously) as having been perpetrated by Christians. This belief has been a large part of the 'veil'  blinding the eyes of my generation of Jews. Young people today are not so strongly influenced by this belief, though it still persists. Many Israelis today have been deeply impressed and touched that it is Evangelical Christians who have stood by them when it seems to us that the whole world is against us. Most tourists are Christian and tourism is one of our economic mainstays. There are also many Christian organizations that support Israel and help the disadvantaged in our society with outpourings of aid and practical assistance. These things do not go unnoticed. Seeds are being sowed, and I think the ground is getting softer. 

Of course there is opposition. The latest edition of Kehila News reports how several ultra-orthodox Jews rampaged outside two homes of believers, causing damage to property and trauma to the children inside. They were protesting the opening of a new Messianic place of worship in the town of Dimona, in the south (2). This kind of thing is nothing new. There have been many such attacks and some much worse. 

As the veil lifts and more and more people are saved by the preaching of the gospel we can expect more and more 'kickback'. 

This past week I experienced something else which was of great encouragement to me.  Some 600 or so Jewish and Arab believers met together for an evening of worship here in the heart of Jerusalem. For over two hours we sang together in Hebrew and Arabic with such a unity of love and fellowship. I found myself with tears streaming down my face. I could just feel God smiling. It was a taste of heaven to come, when all pain and suffering, hatred and violence will be gone and we will all worship Him as one.  It also showed me that in spite of all that is taking place in the Middle East, the darkness, horror, violence and war, there is still a flame of hope burning, hope for real peace and real reconciliation. This can only happen in Yeshua by the indwelling Spirit of God. Only He can erase and heal the traumas, the mutual fear and hatred so prevalent here. Only in him can we forgive, and be able to love, one another.

Please pray for :

1. Continued and increased boldness among Messianic believers, especially the sabra youth, to preach the gospel openly. 

2. Protection from those who oppose us

3. Healing and forgiveness amongst Jews and Arabs in Yeshua

(1)http://blog.godreports.com/2015/04/more-and-more-jews-finding-jesus-in-israel/

(2) https://kehilanews.com/2017/05/05/protestors-rampage-outside-of-messianics-homes-in-dimona/