This morning this song touched my heart. It was recorded around two years ago at a live concert that I attended here in Jerusalem. The theme of the concert was Panai el Adonai (My face toward the Lord) and featured songs of intercession and prayer for our people and land.
Israel needs prayer and intercession at this time like never before. In the first four chapters of the Book of Isaiah we see the juxtaposition of God’s judgment and his final restoration on Jerusalem and Judah. How is it that God both punishes Jerusalem and blesses her at the same time? It seems contradictory but we see it happening even now in our own time. Living in the mountains of Judah, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, I see it every day. I see the wonderful blessing of God’s restoration of Jerusalem and of all of Israel, blessing upon blessing, but I see also His judgment for her many sins. God is restoring Israel, even while she is unrepentant and sinful, not because Israel in any way deserves it, but because of his love for his chosen people and his love for the whole of mankind, and for his own name’s sake.
Last weekend (4-5th May) around 700 rockets and missiles were fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Four Israeli civilians were killed and scores injured. A number of homes, a kindergarten and a factory were hit. One of those killed was in a car targeted by anti-tank fire from Gaza. The death toll could have been much higher but once again we saw the protection of the Lord as most of the rockets landed in the sea or on open land, or were shot down by our Iron Dome defense system. Nevertheless, some 35 rockets landed in Israeli towns.
Israeli victims of the latest round of rockets. From left: Moshe Feder (68), Pinchas Menachem Prezuazman (21), Ziad Alhamamda (50), and Moshe Agadi (58).
Israel retaliated to this bombardment by attacking some 180 military targets in Gaza, including a multi-storey apartment building that served as the headquarters of Hamas’ security and services. Sources report that around 23 Gazans were killed including several civilians Amongst those killed in Gaza were a woman and her small child who were hit by an errant rocket fired from Gaza (though of course they blamed it on Israeli fire). Israel also carried out at least one targetted assassination, killing Hamed Ahmed Abed Khudari, who was in charge of large-scale money transfers from Iran to terror groups in the Strip.
All this took place while Hamas and Islamic Jihad representatives were in Egypt negotiating the terms of a ceasefire with Israel. So one might ask why this escalation at this time? It came after and Israeli soldier was killed by sniper fire on the Gazan border the previous Friday and Israel responded by attacking some Hamas targets. But one might ask why the Gazans responded with such a massive bombardment. The theory is that Gazan terrorists want to derail the Eurovision Song Contest which is due to take place in Tel Aviv, with the finals on the 18th of this month.
However, less than 48 hours after the agreement to a ceasefire came into effect on Monday, Channel 13 News said that the head of the Islamic Jihad terror organization, Ziad al-Nakhaleh claimed that his organization and Hamas coordinated the attack while in Egypt for the truce talks, saying, ” The last escalation was only a live fire drill in preparation for the major campaign that is coming.” Al-Nakhaleh also said that he was planning for a war with Israel in the coming months, and that his group and Hamas coordinated the outbreak of the most recent round of fighting (2). He continued saying, ” We decided to fire at an IDF officer and a female soldier last Friday in cooperation with Hamas to respond to the killing of protesters at the March of Return. This was decided while we were in Cairo. The Egyptians didn’t like the fact that this happened while we were in Cairo. Myself and Yahya Sinwar decided to continue the escalation” (2). Yahya Sinwar is the head of Hamas.
It is clear therefore that the barrage of rocket fire had nothing to do with the Eurovision contest but was planned in advance and is preparatory to a larger-scale attack in the coming summer months.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad may be planning war but here in Israel we prefer to make music. Tonight is the final of the Eurovision contest. We are all praying it will pass. We do not know which group will win the contest tonight but here in Israel we already have proclaimed a winner, the Israeli group “Shalva”. This group made up of disabled musicians dropped out of the competition because they did not want to perform on the Sabbath, but they played during the interval in the Second SemiFinals and received worldwide acclaim. The word “shalva” means “serenity”, and this group demonstrates the victory of the human spirit over hardship and trials. If only the Palestinians would come to the acceptance of their situation and learn to make the most of it, as have this group of people. Then we could all live in peace and everyone would have a better life.
Peace seems a long way off. Not only do we have the threat of imminent war with Gaza perhaps only days or weeks away, but Iran and the USA seem to be squaring off for a military confrontation in the Gulf. If hostilities break out you can be sure Israel will be caught up in it. There are reports that Iranian leaders have already told their proxies in the Middle East, Hezbollah, Hamas and other terror groups, to prepare to attack Israel. It is promising to be a ‘hot’ summer, and if all this happens we will be facing the greatest threat to our existence since Israel was declared a state in 1948. We would be facing a massive onslaught of missiles, terrorism and cyber attacks such as we have not faced before. There are reports that the Palestinians are busy developing new weapons, such as drones carrying anti-tank missiles which can penetrate armored vehicles and our anti-missile defense batteries (3). The combined enemy would be overwhelming for a small country like Israel, in spite of our edge technologically. It doesn’t bear thinking about the consequences of such a war, not only for Israel and the USA but also for the whole region, if not the whole world.
And that seems to be just what is happening here in Israel as Spring gives way to summer, and people are making their plans for the long summer school vacation (which begins for most at the end of June). There seems to be a dogged determination not to talk about the ‘situation’ as it is euphemistically called. We still go about drinking and eating in outdoor cafes, lounging on the beaches and cooking barbecues in the parks everywhere, as if all is normal. Of course this is ‘normal’ here and Israelis, and historically speaking, Jews everywhere have learned to ‘make life’ even in the darkest moments and in spite of all. Is this just denial or is it true victory over the Enemy? I don’t know the answer to that one, but underlying this resilience of the people of Israel is a deep faith in the God of Israel, who has time and again rescued and protected us from annihilation until this day.
This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
In the last days
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.
You, Lord, have abandoned your people,
the descendants of Jacob.
They are full of superstitions from the East;
they practice divination like the Philistines
and embrace pagan customs.
Their land is full of silver and gold;
there is no end to their treasures.
Their land is full of horses;
there is no end to their chariots.
Their land is full of idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their fingers have made.
So people will be brought low
and everyone humbled—
do not forgive them.
Go into the rocks, hide in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty!
The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled
and human pride brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
Isaiah 2:1-11
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