16 October 2024
Israel is fighting a war on seven fronts for its survival. Its main enemy is the revolutionary regime in Tehran – the radical Shiite Mullahs who hijacked Iran in 1979. Their goal is to destroy the west, and to export their revolutionary Islamic ideology around the world. This regime attacks Israel directly but operates through its many allies and proxies in the region. Its most important proxy is Hezbollah, in Lebanon.
But we who observe the events in and around Israel from the outside do well to remember that there is so much more to Israel than war and conflict. Israel is a Jewish state. The Jewish people are a nation, not a race or ethnic group. The modern State of Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people, and home to both Jews and non-Jews. In just decades, amidst many challenges and difficulties (internal and external), together they have built a thriving, dynamic country.
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"The modern State of Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people, and home to both Jews and non-Jews."
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This coming week, the Jewish people will celebrate Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, an annual week-long festival they are commanded to observe in the Torah. During this week, Jews are commanded to live in shelters (“booths”) outside, the roof of which is made of branches so that they can see the stars in the sky.
The tradition developed to conclude with a day set aside to celebrate the Torah – known as Simchat Torah (meaning “delight in the Torah”). It was on Simchat Torah a year ago that Hamas brutally invaded Israel, and massacred and violated 1200 innocent people and took 300 hostages back into their underground tunnels in Gaza.
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"It was on Simchat Torah a year ago that Hamas brutally invaded Israel, and massacred and violated 1200 innocent people and took 300 hostages back into their underground tunnels in Gaza."
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This season is a reminder that the Jewish people made their way through the wilderness for forty years, before reaching the promised land, protected only by the shelter of temporary booths. It recalls the trials and ordeals facing the Jewish people, their reliance on God for His provision, and the hope of the ultimate promises given to them.
Prophetically, being the start of the harvest season, it also points towards the ingathering of all nations.
And so, we in the nations are reminded that our present and future are deeply connected with God’s path with the Jewish people. It is only when the Jews are fully regathered in the land, living in deep connection with their Creator, that we Gentiles will also learn to be dependent on God. Then, but not before, will our nations experience the peace and security for which they so deeply long.
How different that is to what we see today. It seems that the nations are only interested in criticizing Israel. Israel can do no right. The United Nations has become a place where Israel’s worst enemies spew their hatred of the Jewish people without any consequences.
Let us pray this coming week for the Jewish people around the world, for Israel, and for all in the land. Let us also pray for the enemies of the Jewish people – that their hearts will be turned. And let us pray for the leaders of our nations: that they will understand the difficulties and challenges facing Israel, and recognize the many blessings brought to the world by the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
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Simchat Torah – The Joy of the Torah
Rev Kees de Vreugd: “Seven days is the feast of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. On the eighth day, the Bible tells us, there shall be a ‘holy convocation’ (Leviticus 23:36). In Jewish tradition, this day is called Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day of Assembly), after Numbers 29:35. The Hebrew ‘Atzeret’ is translated as solemn or closing assembly.”
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Regime change only solution for Iran, observers say
David Isaac at JNS: "To espouse a policy which would free the world of such a regime should be regarded as a moderate approach.”
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The Biden-Harris Administration's Misguided Policy On The Palestinians
Bassam Tawil at Gatestone: “Harris's repeated talk about the need to establish a Palestinian state in the aftermath of the October 7 atrocities against Israelis is the best gift the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group could have wished for.”
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Preventing the West Bank from becoming Gaza
Neomi Neumann at AIJAC: “The operation begun on August 27 by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in the northern West Bank is another milestone in Israel’s struggle against Palestinian terrorism from that territory.”
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My Journey From a Jerusalem of Ghosts to the Living Jerusalem
Niall Fergusson at The Free Press: “To understand Israel today, you must first understand what befell the Jews of Europe. It is the story of what can happen to a people without a nation state. It is the story of a people without an army of their own. And it is a story of what could happen again if the enemies of the Jewish people are given a chance, once more, to fulfill their fantasies… You will now see why, when I first saw the video footage of what Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad had done on October 7 last year, my first thought was of the Holocaust. I recognized immediately what the terrorists were doing. By murdering defenseless women and children, as well as men, they were enacting a trailer for a second Holocaust.”
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Spain’s Israel Problem
Daniel S. Mariaschin at JNS: “The Sánchez government has been particularly aggressive in its criticism of Israel, predating the massacres carried out by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. Spain is part of a group of “never-Israel’’ governments inside the European Union, including Ireland, Norway and Slovenia, that compete to see which can excoriate Israel more. It’s no coincidence that all four countries have recognized a Palestinian state in the wake of the fighting.”
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Overcoming | The Book of RUTH with Johannes Gerloff #46
It is fascinating to observe how Boaz deals with the dubious situation. His decision forms the basis for a unique ruling dynasty.
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SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK:
Ezekiel 38:17-23
“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You are the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel. At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. This is what will happen in that day:
When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.
I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
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