Wildflower meadow, Mt Gilboa, Galilee, 12 April 2019
Last weekend a friend and I spent a few days in the north, in the Galilee and Golan region, enjoying the wonderful spring weather and the green, green landscape resulting from this year’s abundant rainfall in Israel.
On our way northwards we stopped off to visit Mt Gilboa in the hope of finding the exquisite Gilboa Iris still in bloom. We were probably about a week too late and only found a couple of shriveling blooms, but we were not disappointed in the abundant profusion of other meadow flowers and the views from the hilltop of the green and fertile Jezreel Valley below.
Mount Gilboa, 12 April 2019
When I walk in these lovely meadows in the Galilee I feel very close to my Lord, Yeshua (Jesus). The Bible tells us that he was given to rising early to go out to the wilderness to pray (Mark 1:35). I am sure he must have loved these wildflowers as much as I do. He is after all the Creator who made all these beautiful things, and in them I can see His design and love. For example, the picture below is the Judean bugloss. The flowers are pinkish red when they start to bloom but after they have been pollinated they turn blue. This is an adaptation to save the insects from wasting their energy looking for nectar in a flower that has already been pollinated. God thought of everything.
Judean bugloss (Echium judaeum), Mt Gilboa, 12 April 2019
In Spring Mount Gilboa has a spectacular profusion of flowers and their associated insects and other animals. Here are just some of them.
Dwarf chichory (Chichorium pumilum) on Mt Gilboa, 12 April 2019Hairy flax ( Linum pubescens) on Mt Gilboa, 12 April 2019Flower beetle on Holy Milk Thistle (Silybum maritimum), Mt Gilboa, 12 April 2019Camomile, purple clover and hairy flax in the wildflower meadows of Gilboa, 12 April 2019A native bee (Israel has about 1100 species of bee!) on the inflorescence of Ferulago syriaca , Mt Gilboa, 12 April 2019Common scabious (Scabiosa prolifera), Mt Gilboa, 12 April 2019Aleppo buttercup (Adonis aleppica) on Mt Gilboa, 12 April 2019Purple clover( Trifolium purpureum) and Ainsworthia trachycarpa , Mt Gilboa, 12 April 2019Syrian thistle (Notobasis syriaca), Mt Gilboa, 12 April 2019
Mount Gilboa is the site of King Saul’s death after he disobeyed God, consulted a medium and was mortally wounded by the Philistines.
Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.
The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and set up camp at Gilboa. When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”
I Samuel 28: 3-7
The medium called up from the dead the prophet Samuel who said,
Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. 1The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”
I Samuel 28: 16-19
The Philistines defeated the army of Saul and killed his three sons, Jonathan, Abinadab and Malkishua. Saul was mortally wounded and, when his armor bearer was afraid to kill him, Saul took his own sword and fell on it, ending his life (I Samuel 31: 1-6).
When David heard this news he was stricken with grief and took up this lament:
“A gazelle[alies slain on your heights, Israel. How the mighty have fallen!
“Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
“Mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain, may no showers fall on your terraced fields For there the shield of the mighty was despised, the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.
“From the blood of the slain, from the flesh of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied. Saul and Jonathan— in life they were loved and admired, and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
“Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and finery, who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.
“How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights. I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.
“How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!”
2 Samuel 1: 19-27
The lushness of the mountain in spring may belie David’s curse on this mountain, but visit it in summer and all is dry and sere. Apart from the pine forest planted by the Jewish National Fund in recent years, this mountain is unforested and barren, unlike the other mountains in the region, and there are no signs of the once-terraced farmland that David spoke of.
For more information about Mt Gilboa I recommend the following link:
For more on our Galilee travels see the post on Nimrod’s Castle (coming soon).
The barren northern slopes of Mt Gilboa rising at the junction of the fertile Jezreel and Jordan Valleys, with the mountains of Jordan beyond. https://biblewalks.com/sites/SaulShoulder.html
All photos on this website can be used for personal or educational use, but any commercial use requires my permission.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert in plant identification in Israel. I have done my best to correctly identify species and apologize for any errors.
A Land of Milk and Honey, Beit Guvrin in the Judean foothills
Today is the first day of the LORD’s Passover Feast. It is my favorite of the Feast days of Israel, perhaps because it was the first I became acquainted with, but also because of its rich symbolism and its close ties with the coming of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah. Every year we celebrate it but every year it is as if I come to it anew. It never grows tiresome and I love the prayers and songs of this time which are full of our collective memory of how God has kept and provided for us through the generations. Its a time that stimulates faith and fills the heart with joy.
The story of the Passover focuses on the Exodus from Egypt, when God stretched forth his hand and brought the Israelite people out of slavery with mighty signs and miracles, and led them through the wilderness for forty years providing for their every need, until they entered into the Promised Land, Israel. For those of us whose Lord is Yeshua, it is a powerful parallel and foreshadowing of our personal salvation in which we were set free from slavery to sin and death, and given a full life of freedom and liberty as sons and daughters of the living God. Of course, it is also especially meaningful because our saviour and Lord, Yeshua, was crucified on the day of the Passover sacrifice and rose on the third day, the first day of the week following the Passover Shabbat, the day of the Wave Offering (Leviticus 23:9).
This Passover my focus has shifted a little. Instead of concentrating on the Exodus from Egypt I have been considering in more depth the entrance into the Promised Land. Perhaps this was largely triggered by a trip a friend and I made last week up into the Galilee and the Golan, during which we were reminded of the abundance and beauty of this glorious Promised Land. It is a good land, full of fruitfulness and health, but one that is totally dependent upon the blessing of God. If He withholds the rain, the land languishes and dies, but when God blesses us with good rain, as he has done this year, the land simply bursts forth with life.
Butterfly and wildflowers on Har Yona, Nazareth Illit, Galilee, April 2019.
” Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.”
Deuteronomy 8: 6-9
Saar waterfall, Golan, April 2019
Fields on the Golan, April 2019
The People of Israel crossed over the Jordan River on the 10th Day of the First Month (Nisan, as it is known today). On the same day, all the men of Israel were circumcised and while they were still raw and healing 4 days later, all Israel celebrated the Passover on the 14th of Nisan. On the next day, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the manna stopped and they ate for the first time of the fruit of the Promised Land, their own God-given land. How wonderful that must have felt!
On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho….
On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after[d] they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.
Joshua 4: 19 ; 5: 10-12
Some years ago I was visiting a friend in Eilat and as I left we prayed together for my journey. I was surprised when in the midst of our prayer she asked God to give me revelation as I journeyed northwards to my home. I admit I was a bit skeptical at that moment, but as I traveled I did indeed receive a revelation that has never left me. It was mid-summer and the desert of the Negev was sere and seemingly lifeless, and it stretched on mile after mile after mile. Then suddenly, and it was suddenly, just a few kilometers south of Tel Aviv, the landscape turned green and fertile. In that moment I understood just how vulnerable we were. We teeter on the very edge of the great desert that stretches across the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula. How desperately we need to cling to God and his provision of rain in order to survive. God has not given us a land of abundant rainfall and lush greenness, as in the countries of western Europe for example, but rather a marginal land, a ‘land of milk and honey’, right on the edge of the desert, so that we may not grow lazy and lax and forget our need for total reliance on God. This is the grace of God for Israel, and indeed it has also been the grace of God in my own personal life.
Israel’s possession of the Land and the enjoyment of its abundance was always conditional. As long as they were faithful to the LORD God of Israel they would remain in the land and be blessed with prosperity, but if they should turn aside to foreign gods or forget the God of Israel, and sin against Him, then He would cast them out. However it was never final, there was always a way of repentance and return. Moses warned the people of Israel saying.
“…but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land. Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.
Deuteronomy 4: 22-31
We know that on two occasions God did cast the people of Israel out of their land because of their idolatry and sin, but in our days he has had mercy upon us and brought us back home again. Not only that, but he has prospered us beyond all imagining. Today Israel proudly stands amongst the most powerful nations on this Earth and as I travel about the land I am constantly awed by what has been achieved in just 70 or so years. But herein lies great danger, the danger that we will take the glory to ourselves and forget the LORD and his mercies. It is He who has done it and not us. Please pray that the people of Israel will not be puffed up and proud, glorying in our accomplishments, but that we will humble ourselves and pray to God with thankful hearts for what He has done, so that we may continue to enjoy his abundant blessings.
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down,and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied,then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 8 : 10-20
Orchards in the Galilee
OTHER PRAYER POINTS:
Elections:
We prayed, we voted but it is God who establishes our leaders for His purposes. The elections are over and the Likud Party, led by Binyamin Netanyahu, and the Blue and White Party, ed by Benny Gantz, were tied with 35 seats each. To form a government, a party has to have a minimum 61 seats in the 120-strong Knesset (Parliament). This means that each party will have to form a coalition with other parties in order to reach this minimum. There is no way the Blue and White Party can do this, because the left is currently very weak. Only the Likud Party has the possibility of succeeding. This means that Likud is currently negotiating with the right-wing religious parties in order to gain the required 61 seats. It seems likely that Netanyahu is set to serve a record-breaking 5th term as Israel’s Prime MInister. In short, the elections have changed little, with the religious right coming out more powerful than ever. The exceptional success of the Blue and White party may however serve as a warning to Netanyahu that there is growing discontent with the inordinate power yielded by his religious coalition partners, alienating the secular majority. Please pray that the new government, whoever they are, will pay due attention to the internal distribution of wealth, narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, and boosting the education, health and welfare sectors.
Gaza border tensions:
Since the Egyptian brokered ‘ceasefire’ came into effect the Gaza border tensions eased some. Some of the troops and weapons that had been moved there have now been redeployed elsewhere. The situation still remains very tense and the ‘March of Return’ demonstrations continue IDF forces. On Friday about 6,000 Palestinians demonstrated at the border and according to Hamas sources, 46 were injured (1). A shot was fired at Israeli forces defending the border and in response an Israeli aircraft and a tank attacked two military positions belonging to Hamas (2). As I am writing reports are coming in of a loud blast heard by residents of Israel’s Shaar Negev region, adjacent to the Gaza border. It appears at this stage that two rockets fired at Israel fell short, landed in an open area in Palestinian territory and exploded. The Israeli airforce has already responded. This could signal another escalation of tensions there. Please pray for peace and a long-lasting resolution of these issues.
Passover security
There is always a heightened threat of terrorism during the Jewish Feasts in Israel. As is usual, the West Bank and Gaza are under ‘lockdown’ for the duration of Passover, in an effort to prevent attacks. Today a 20 year old Palestinian attempted to attack soldiers at the Tapuah Junction in the West Bank but was thwarted. Please pray that our streets, synagogues, churches, parks and other places where many people gather during this festive season will remain safe. Pray too for the safety of all those who daily put their lives on the line so that Israeli citizens, pilgrims and tourists can be safe.
May you all have a peaceful and blessed Passover and Easter season, in the name of Yeshua and the LORD God of Israel.
The Nazareth Iris (Iris bismarkiania) Har Yona, Nazareth Illit, 4 April 2019 Copyright: Talia Voice
Last week a friend and I traveled up to Nazareth Illit (Upper Nazareth) to see the rare and endangered Nazareth Iris growing there on Har Yona. After a longish period driving around in circles, we did eventually manage to locate the right area. This spectacular flower is found in only a few isolated places around Nazareth and it is thought there are only about 4,000 individuals surviving in the wild. It is a species that has proven almost impossible to breed artificially as it needs very specific conditions including a cold winter and a hot, dry summer. The Nazareth Iris is listed as an Endangered Species in the IUCN Red List. In an effort to save this species which is being threatened by the spreading development of new neighborhoods, bulbs were gathered and brought to Har Yona, a hilltop in the town of Nazareth Illit, where it can be protected. Now there are some tens of individuals growing there in a semi-managed environment. They have a short flowering season in March-April. The flowers are pollinated by the black native bumble bee and the lower petal of the flowers (the landing pad) has a black spot that looks like a bee, in order to attract other bees.
Here are some more photos of the area. Please note these photos are copyright. You can use them for personal or educational purposes but you need my permission for any commercial use.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert in identifying Israeli flora and fauna, so please correct me if I have made errors.
The Nazareth Iris (Iris bismarkiana)
Nazareth Iris, Har Yona, Nazareth Ilit, 4 April 2019
On Har Yona there are a mass of other wildflowers too. Here are just some we saw.
Reversed trefoil (Trifolium resupinatum Har Yona, Nazareth Ilit , 4 April 2019Trifolium plebeium Har Yona, Nazareth Ilit, 4 April 2019
Lycaena thersamon butterfly on Artemis sp. daisy. Har Yona, Nazareth Ilit, 4 April 2019
A rather tired and tattered Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) resting during its migration to Europe Har Yona, Nazareth Ilit, 4 April 2019
Jerusalem pine in flower Har Yona, Nazareth Ilit, 4 April 2019Salsify (Tragopogon coelesyriacus) Har Yona, Nazareth Ilit, 4 April 2019Adonis microcarpa amongst camomile daisies Har Yona, Nazareth Ilit, 4 April 2019Orchid species ? Har Yona, Nazareth Ilit, 4 April 2019Lotem, or Pink Rock Rose Har Yona, Nazareth Ilit, 4 April 2019View of Mt Tavor from Har Yona, Nazareth Ilit 4 April 2019
I am sitting out on my deck enjoying the peace of Shabbat and the green lushness of Spring (aka the weeds in my garden!!) Spring has truly come now after a long and wet winter. The Land is a garden of glorious wildflowers and all the fields and open spaces are green – for a few short weeks, until the first sharav (hot, dry east wind) comes and kills them all off. The birds are all singing joyously and the air is full of butterflies.
Spring wildflowers in Nazareth, Israel 4 April, 2019
Just a week ago, when I last wrote, we seemed to be on the brink of yet another war with Gaza. Seven Israeli civilians had been injured, and their home destroyed in the central town of Mishmeret by a missile fired from Gaza. Hamas claimed that this attack was another ‘mistake’. Forgive me if I don’t believe it was any mistake. It is the third time that Hamas claimed a missile was fired by mistake – the first towards Beer Sheva in October last year, followed by two towards Tel Aviv in February this year and then this latest one. Hamas seems rather accident prone!! The truth is that either rouge elements in Hamas, or Islamic Jihad operatives probably fired them. Whether or not these attacks were sanctioned by the Hamas leadership is unclear, but Israel always takes the position that Hamas is to be held responsible for any attacks coming from its territory. Consequently, Israel retaliated by attacking many Hamas positions and bases in the Gaza Strip, and during the following night some 60 rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza.
The weekend following was the first anniversary of the so-called March of Return and also Palestinian Land Day. Hamas called for massive rallies along the border fence. They hoped for a million men to come. In preparation for these expected riots and attempts to infiltrate Israeli towns the IDF brought forward several armored divisions, tanks and artillery, canceled weekend leave and called up many reservists.
In the event only 40,000 ‘demonstrators’ turned out – perhaps largely due to the unseasonably wet and cold weather. Although the numbers were lower than Hamas expected, the riots were particularly violent and as a result some 4 Gazan rioters were killed. They were however prevented from infiltrating Israel.
Whilst all this was happening an Egyptian delegation was in Gaza trying to broker a ceasefire agreement between Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Israel. This past Wednesday it was announced that Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Israel had agreed on calm and Hamas and IJ had promised to stop the border riots and the release of incendiary and explosive balloons into Israeli territory in return for some concessions from Israel, including the reopening of the Erez Crossing and the expansion of the fishing zone. In spite of Israel’s concessions, which have already been enacted, the violent riots along the border continued this Friday as they have done for the last year. Both Hamas and Israel are now claiming that no ceasefire has been reached and this coming Tuesday Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are planning to begin an open-ended hunger strike demanding the unjamming of their cell phones, family visits and improved conditions.
Although we do seem for now anyway to have taken a step back from the brink of war, nothing has really changed. There is growing feeling here that Hamas is just playing cat and mouse with us and we are the mice! They are cynically taking advantage of the fact we are reluctant to go to war, which would exact a high price on all sides with a lot of civilian deaths and suffering. They push us to the brink and then demand concessions to ease the pressure. This has been going on for years and years, and the Israeli population, especially those living in the south have had enough. A large group of southern residents have set up a protest tent camp in the middle of Tel Aviv demanding a stronger and more decisive action from the government and our armed forces. We seem to be getting closer and closer to having no choice but the retake the whole of the Gaza Strip and depose Hamas and disarm Islamic Jihad. This would be almost impossible as several generations now have been brainwashed from birth to hate Israel. We could not rule such a population and no one else wants to try either. Nor do they seem capable of ruling themselves. It is a seemingly insoluble dilemma.
The “Jewish Press” published a summary of the border incidents over the last year (3), saying that,
“The total number of border incidents since March 30, 2018 stands at 2,199, including:
* 1,233 rocket/mortar bomb launches * 18 incidents of gunfire from the Gaza Strip * 94 IED incidents, where one or several explosive devices were hurled across the security barrier * 600 Molotov cocktail incidents * 152 incidents of arson/burning tires/hurling of various objects.”
In addition, “arson balloons and kites launched from the Gaza Strip are believed to have caused a total of 1,963 fires, sometimes as many as 30+ in a single day.
These fires have caused extensive damage in a land area of approximately 35 square kilometers, including 13 sq. km. of nature reserves and 11 sq. km. of Jewish National Fund forests. The combined damages suffered by Israelis due to rocket fire and arson balloons from Gaza are estimated at approximately NIS 35 million.”
Perhaps the most affected Israeli town is Sderot, a town of some 28,000 inhabitants. Sderot lies less than one kilometer from the north-eastern corner of the Gaza border, and since 2001, it has ‘absorbed’ a rain of some 13,000 rockets fired from within Gaza. Can you imagine that? What if 13,000 rockets were to fall on your town or neighborhood? What if your children are growing up knowing nothing else but ‘code red sirens’ and bomb shelters. Sderot is the ‘bomb shelter capital of the world’! All homes, schools and public places have bomb shelters and often, specially reinforced roofs. Residents have less than 10 seconds to reach shelter when the sirens go off. It means you must live in a constant state of hyperalertness, always looking around for the nearest shelter in case the sirens sound. Most of the population are suffering from some degree of PSTD. Yet, in spite of this, the town is growing as new neighborhoods and even a new shopping mall are being built. This is the spirit of Israel. The more our enemies try to destroy us the more determined we are to not only survive, but flourish.
Hamas has vowed to turn Sderot into a ‘city of death’, but when the Messianic believers in the town began to fast and pray for its safety “ a vast number of miracles began to occur. Although a constant barrage of rockets were being launched daily, even hourly, the great majority of them failed to reach their targets and actually fell between houses rather than on houses. If they did fall on houses, it always happened when people were not home and the houses were empty. Whether they were shopping or on vacation, it was remarkable that this was the pattern.” (2) I would recommend you read this full article published in Kehila News. It is a great testimony to the power of prayer and the courage and boldness of the believers in Sderot. an example to us all: https://kehilanews.com/2019/04/03/city-of-life-in-every-sense-of-the-word/
IN THE NORTH
In the midst of all this, developments were taking place also in the north. On the same night that the missile struck the house in Mishmeret, US President Trump signed a declaration recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Israel conquered the Heights during the 1967 war, and they have had the status of occupied territory every since. This high, plateau covered in large basalt volcanic bolders, was sparsely populated in 1967. Some 80-130,000 of the local residents fled to Syria. The remaining 7,000 now live in a handful of towns and villages around the foot of Mt Hermon. These are mostly Druse, about 50% of whom have accepted Israeli citizenship. and even serve with great distinction in the Israeli army. The others still see themselves as Syrian citizens under occupation, and of course many still have close family members in Syria. Jews have settled the area and it is now home to some approximately 20,000 Israeli residents living in 32 settlements, the largest of which is Katzrin.
In 1981 Israel passed the Golan Heights Law which extended Israeli “laws, jurisdiction and administration”, in effect a de facto annexation. The Golan Heights Law has not been recognized by the UN or any nation until this recent signing of the declaration by the USA. Of course, Syria is not happy about this latest turn of events and vows to ‘reconquer the Heights’ at any cost. It is doubtful that Syria, still reeling from its five-year long civil war, is in any position to do so, but they do have some very powerful allies, Iran and Russia, not to mention Hezbollah. Needless to say the tension on the northern border continues to build and the situation there is as volatile, and greatly more dangerous, than that on the southern border. Please keep praying!
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=204608
ELECTIONS
In just 3 days Israel goes to the polls to elect a new government. It is a national holiday in Israel designed to encourage people to vote. For many it is an excuse for an outing to the beach or the nature reserves. Polls indicate that the election will be closely fought between the incumbent Likud Party, with Netanyahu seeking a 5th term in office as Prime Minister, and the Blue and White Party headed by Benny Gantz. It is very likely that even if Gantz were to win a majority he would have difficulty forming a coalition large enough to oust Netanyahu’s block. Many are very uncertain about how to vote. Please pray that God will raise up in Israel a righteous government that will act according to His will.
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings
Daniel 2 : 21-22
God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings[c]of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.
Psalm 47:8-9
BUTTERFLIES FOR LOCUSTS
I was driving home the other day when I ran into a swarm of insects splatting on the windscreen. At first I thought they must be locusts but I quickly realized they were butterflies, much to my astonishment. A few weeks ago we were warned that, because of the abundant rains this year, large locust swarms were moving up the Arabian Peninsula and might soon arrive in Israel (4). They didn’t – they hit Saudi Arabia and Eygpt instead. And us? We got butterflies!!!! Millions and millions of Painted Lady butterflies, having bred in the lush rain-fed vegetation in the Arabian Peninsula, are now passing through Israel on their way to Europe (4). It was just lovely to watch so many butterflies passing through. God is good isn’t He?
A Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa cardui) Nazareth 4 April, 2019
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS – THEY MATTER MORE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK – AND MAY ALL YOUR LOCUSTS TURN INTO BUTTERFLIES!
