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!
This week Jews everywhere celebrate the Festival of Purim (Lots), which commemorates the rescue of the Jewish people in the Persian Empire from the evil plot of Haman to exterminate them, as recorded in the Biblical book of Esther.
“…the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants”.
Esther 9: 27-28
The Purim Parade in Mevaseret Zion 2018
Many people flock to the synagogues to hear the reading of Megillat Esther (the Biblical Book of Esther), and every time the name of Haman is mentioned they boo and make derisive noise with various rattling instruments. It is also customary for children and adults to wear fancy dress and to celebrate with great joy. Most municipalities hold a Parade, called in Hebrew Adloyada, which means “until you don’t know” derived from the practice of some to drink wine ‘until they don’t know who they are’. The Adloyada today however are not drunken affairs but rather a family-oriented parade of fancy dress and good, clean fun.
Adloyada at Mevaseret Zion 2018
It is also a time when gifts are exchanged or given to the poor, usually food baskets containing wine, chocolates and other festive foods. A traditional three-sided cookie, called in Yiddish Hamentaschen (Haman’s Pockets) or in Hebrew, Ozeni Haman (Haman’s Ears), which are stuffed with poppy seeds, chocolate, date spread or jam.
Of course amidst all this joy and fun the deeper meaning of the Festival is not lost on us. From time immemorial various people have plotted to destroy the People of Israel, God’s chosen people. Haman is described in the Book of Ester as an Agagite (Esther 3: 1), a descendant of Agag, who was the KIng of the Amalekites. The Amalekites were a people, descended from Amalek, the grandson of Esau, the disinherited elder brother of Isaac. The Amalekites occupied the desert and steppe regions of southern Israel and the Negev.
When the people of Israel came out of Egypt they journeyed through the Sinai and Negev and came to the region of Amalek. As the Israelites traveled the Amalekites attacked, in a cowardly and despicable way, the rear ranks, the weary and tired stragglers. Consequently God told Israel that once they had taken possession of the Promised Land they must ‘blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven‘ (Deuteronomy 17:19).
After Israel entered into the Promised Land, the Amalekites persistently attacked and plundered them. After Saul was annointed King over Israel, God spoke to him saying,
I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack[a] Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
I Samuel 15:1-2.
Saul therefore attacked the Amalekites and conquered them, but contrary to God’s instructions he spared the life of Agag and ‘all that was good’ (I Samuel 15:7-9).
For his disobedience, God rejected Saul as King, and the prophet Samuel was constrained to kill King Agag ( I Samuel 15). If Agag and all his people were destroyed at this time, how could it be that Haman was a descendant of Agag? It nowhere says that every single Amalekite was destroyed at the time of Saul, only those ‘from Havilah to Shur, east of Eygpt’. Is it not probabl there were Amalekites living outside of this area, or who managed to flee beyond this area, before Saul’s army attacked? Or possibly Saul kept some alive, as might be indicated in verse 9 ” But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed“. Whatever the case, Haman, a descendant of Agag, appears approximately 500 years later as the highest vizier in the courts of King Ahasuerus of Persia, and when Mordecai the Jew refused to bow down to him, Haman decided to destroy every Jew in the Persian Empire, which at the time stretched from India to Ethiopia.
In Rabbinical thought the Amalekites have come to represent all that is evil and they are considered the archetypal enemy of the Jews. Although there are no pure- blooded Amalekites living today, the Spirit of Amalek is nevertheless still alive and well. Throughout history many have tried to exterminate the Jews and, thanks to the supernatural protection of God, they all failed. Today, too, there are many who want to annihilate Israel.
I started writing this a few days ago, and then I had no idea how timely it would be. This morning (25/03/19) a missile struck a family home in the town of Mishmeret, about 10 km north of Tel Aviv, injuring the 7 family members inside. The house is totally destroyed but by some miracle, the injured are only moderately or lightly injured. The injured include a baby of 6 months, a child of 3 years, an older sister aged 12, the grandmother aged 60, the grandfather and the mother. The missile, probably a Fajr medium-range rocket supplied by Iran, was fired from the Gaza Strip, some 80 km distant.
The house destroyed by the attack https://images1-ynet-prod.azureedge.net/PicServer5/2019/03/25/9142704/914268901000100980653no.jpg
Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is currently in the USA at the AIPAC conference and is canceling his speech there and returning home. He made the statement that ” There was a criminal attack on the State of Israel, and we will respond forcefully.” This evening (Israel time) Netanyahu met with Trump to discuss the situation and also to witness the signing of Trump’s Presidential Proclamation to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. As I write the IDF is attacking Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip and Hamas has promised to respond. The communities around Gaza and Tel Aviv have been commanded to open the public shelters by the Rear Command. It is likely going to be a long and tense night. Please pray about the situation as it is serious and potentially could lead to large loss of life on both sides if the escalation continues.
There is a lot more I could write about but in the interests of getting this published tonight, I will restrain myself. Please pray about the situation and pray against the Spirit of Amalek. When the Amalekites came out and fought against Israel in Rephidim, during the Exodus, as long as Moses held his arms up Israel prevailed. When he tired and his hands dropped then Amalek prevailed. Fortunately Moses had Aaron and Hur to help him and they supported his hands until victory was gained . If you intercede for Israel, do not let your hands drop. Keep them raised in prayer at this time, and stand with us in intercession. Help us not to grow weary. In the Spirit hold up our hands. God will give us victory over our enemies, just as he did to Moses and the people of Israel, for He is stronger than the Spirit of Amalek .
Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.All these are the beginning of birth pains.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24 :3-4
It is yet another wet rainy Shabbat here in Israel. Praise God for every drop of rain!! The weather pundits are saying this is probably the last winter storm before the Spring sets in. We’ve already had our first Spring sharav (hot dry East wind) and all the lovely spring flowers are adorning our beautiful Land.
MASSACRE IN NEW ZEALAND
Yesterday morning I rose and turned on the TV news and was stunned that the leading headline was about the massacre of 49 Muslim worshipers in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. More than 40 others were wounded. My condolences go out to the survivors and family members of those who were victims of this appalling act. As a New Zealand citizen, and a former resident of Christchurch, I am deeply shocked and saddened, though not surprised, that this has happened.
A few years ago I was boarding an internal flight in New Zealand and was horrified that there had been absolutely no security check of our hand luggage. When I remarked upon this to the man in the queue beside me, he said “Oh no, we don’t need that here. We don’t have any problems with security”. I was appalled. What sort of bubble was he living in? Just a few days earlier there had been a terrorist shooting attack in Sydney, Australia. I wondered just how close did it all have to get before New Zealanders woke up to the reality of the world in which we live?
As we landed in Wellington airport we were greeted by a large sign proclaiming ” Welcome to the Middle of Middle Earth”. I felt it was very appropriate, not just because the movie trilogy “Lord of the Rings” was filmed in NZ, but because in many ways New Zealand was truly like The Shire, the town of the Hobbits in that film. It was a beautiful, simple, innocent culture, concerned with their own everyday matters, blissfully unaware of the dark evil bearing down on them from every direction. I am truly heartbroken that that innocence has now been forever lost.
Sign on Airport Terminal, Wellington NZ
MISSILES OVER TEL AVIV
The reason I had turned on the TV that morning, was that the night before two Iranian supplied Fajr-type middle-range missiles had been fired from the Gaza Strip towards Tel Aviv. I knew that, during the night, Israel’s Defense Forces would be retaliating and was concerned that this incident would signal the beginning of a new Gaza war. Both the missiles fired appeared to explode before hitting the ground (see the video below) although the IDF say no anti-missile rockets were fired. There were no injuries nor damage in the Tel Aviv region, although some large pieces of metal from the rockets fell in built-up areas. Overnight the IDF bombed some 100 Hamas military targets in the Strip and on Friday morning another 9 rockets were fired at Israeli settlements near the border. Six of these were shot down by the Iron Dome antimissiles. Some of the shrapnel landed in a school yard but fortunately no students had yet arrived at the school.
Two rockets over Tel Aviv
In the following hours Hamas claimed that the missiles fired at Tel Avi were a ‘mistake’. They say some low-level group fired them off without proper authorization. This sounds unlikely to me and all the more so since in October last year Hamas claimed that similar missiles fired ‘accidentally’ at Beer Sheva had been set off by lightning. Hamas seems rather ‘accident prone’ and it does not explain why the missiles were all set up, and aimed at Tel Aviv in the first place. I also do not believe a ‘low-level’ Hamas group would be given access to such a missile. Firing a sophisticated missile of this kind requires rather more than a match and a fuse. I don’t think anyone really believes this version of events, but it is a convenient face-saving story, both for Israel and for Hamas. Hamas does not want a war right now and was in fact in the midst of cease-fire negotiations with Israel, brokered by an Egyptian delegation that was actually in the Strip at the time. Israel also wants to avoid an escalation so the story permits us to carry out only a limited attack in response.
Hamas is in a weak position right now, starved of funding by the Palestinian Authority and facing riots at home. Over the past few days, the citizens of Gaza have been rioting in the streets demanding economic relief, something that Hamas is not in a position to give. If indeed a ‘low-level’ unit of Hamas fighters did set off the missiles without authorization from the top, it indicates a fragmentation of Hamas forces and disintegrating control. Indeed Iran has been encouraging the more extreme Hamas fighters to attack Israel, even contrary to orders from Hamas leadership, in order to influence the upcoming Israeli elections.
Although the situation on the border is quiet at the moment it is very tense and any further accident or ‘mistake’ might cause a violent escalation which cannot be stopped. In view of this, Hamas called for a pause in the weekly border riots, which apparently was heeded, but as we come up to the first anniversary of the beginning of the so-called “March of Return” at the end of the month, and the Israeli elections on the 9th April, it is probable that the riots will continue to escalate. With the winter rains due to stop soon and the winter wheat ripening in the fields around the Strip, the risk of fires is again increasing. There have already been a number of incendiary balloons sent across the border into Israel in recent days.
THE GOLDEN GATE
The Golden Gate with the Dome of the Rock behind and the Muslim cemetery in front. https://www.tutorialathome.in/postimg/2018/05/jerusalem-golden-gate-01.jpg
In Jerusalem too there has been an increase in tensions recently, especially in the area of the Golden Gate. The Golden Gate has great significance for all three monotheistic religions. It is the eastern gate which faces the Mount of Olives and gives direct access to the Temple Mount, or would do so were it open. The existing gate was built in around 520 CE (AD) on the ruins of an earlier gate. In 810CE it was closed off by Muslims, and then reopened briefly by the Crusaders in 1102 only to be closed off again by Saladin after his conquest of Jerusalem in 1187. The Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, rebuilt it and walled it up in 1541 and it has remained closed ever since. The Ottomans also placed a Muslim cemetery in front of the gate to prevent the entry of any false Messiahs.
In Hebrew the Golden Gate is called Sha’ar HaRahamim, the Gate of Mercy, through which the shekinah glory, or the divine presence, would enter to rest on the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies of the Temple, and it is expected that the shekinah would appear again at the coming of the Prince, the Messiah, who would reopen the Gate.
Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, and it was shut. The Lord said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it. The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the Lord. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.
Ezekiel 44: 1-3
The Muslims call the Gate, Bab el-Zahabi, or Bab el-Dhahabi, meaning the Golden Gate or the Gate of Eternal Life. In addition they name the southern door of the Gate, the Gate of Mercy and the northern door the Gate of Repentance. They believe that the Gate will be the site of Allah’s final judgement and the future resurrection.
For Christians, the Gate also has deep significance. It was through this Gate that Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey prior to his crucifixion (John 12: 12-15), thus fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9.
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!”Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
John 12: 12 -15
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9
Christians also believe that it is through this Gate that Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) will return as is prophesied in the Ezekiel passage quoted above.
In recent days a battle for the Gate has been raging. For decades the hall of the Gate compound, accessible only from the Temple Mount, was used by Muslims as offices and a community center hall hosting religious and other activities. In 2003 Israel closed off the area claiming it was being used by Hamas for political purposes and it has remained closed until the 25th of February this year when the Waqf, the Muslim authority in charge of the Temple Mount, illegally broke down the Israeli-built barrier, saying they were intending to carry out repairs needed because of rain damage. They stayed to pray in the hall, ostensibly making it a de facto Mosque, calling for the faithful to pray there. An announcement by the new head of the Islamic Waqf Council of the intention to rebuild the Gate of Mercy compound and repurpose it into a prayer site is a clear provocation and it is deemed by Israel to be a violation of the ‘status quo’. Palestinian propaganda claims that Israel is planning to turn the area into a synagogue. With both sides accusing the other of violations of the ‘status quo’ this site has become yet another flashpoint in the city, and since last Monday there have been violent confrontations between Muslim worshippers and Israeli police. On Thursday an Israeli policewoman was seriously injured by a Molotov cocktail during the riots.
The Golden Gate complex from inside the Temple Mount compound
It is not surprising then that such a significant site would be a focus of the spiritual warfare in which we are all engaged. Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem and also for the people of the God of Israel, wherever we may live, that we will stand strong and unified in these evil times. Jesus warned us of a falling away from the faith in the end times and that many false prophets and teachers would arise. Please pray that we will not allow our love to grow cold because of the increase in wickedness in the world.
At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Ephesians 6: 10-18
Ever since I came to live in Jerusalem so many people have told me how spiritually dark it is here and how strong the opposition of the Enemy (Satan) is against God’s people. They often say this with fear in their countenance and trembling in their voices. I lived for a while in one particularly dark part of the city, on the aptly-named Hill of Evil Counsel, and many terrorist attacks and murders took place in that neighborhood during the time I lived there. More than one well-meaning person told me that I should leave. While it is true that believers in Yeshua (Jesus) face fierce spiritual attacks in this city, where Satan’s energies are so strongly focussed, there is no need for us to walk in fear. Our God is greater than Satan and all his minions (I John 4:4), and the Word of God says that if we resist the Devil, he will flee from us (James 4:7).
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
I John 4: 4
So why is it that so many believers in this land experience such devastating attacks especially in the realm of health and finance? Of course we are in the very front line of the spiritual battle here and this is especially true at this time as world events are drawing us closer to the end times during which Evil grows and the spiritual battle comes to a climax. All the more reason that we who live here must know how to stand against the Enemy and know how to protect ourselves against the inevitable attacks that come our way. The Enemy is prowling around like a hungry lion seeking any prey he can catch (I Peter 5:8). We need to be watchful and we especially need to protect the young and the weak of the flock.
Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
I Peter 5:8
When the people of Israel entered the Promised Land, God gave them victory over the occupants of the land, the various tribes of the Canaanites, as long as they were obedient to Him. When they turned away from God however, they were unable to overcome the Canaanites and they permitted them to live in their midst. Consequently, the Israelites were corrupted and began to worship the Baals and the Asherahs, the gods of the Canaanites (Judges 1 and 2). In Judges 3 we can read that God allowed the Canaanites to remain in their midst to teach the Israelites the arts of warfare, and as a test of their obedience to God.
These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.
Judges 3: 1-4
I see a parallel in this account to the situation of the Body of Yeshua in the Land today, and indeed of the church in the world as a whole. We have been promised an inheritance through Yeshua’s death and resurrection, but we are still living in the fallen world, inhabited by unbelievers and pagans. In our midst are those who can lead us astray. God has allowed this in order to teach us spiritual warfare and also as a test of our faith. Troubles come our way to teach us, test us and to strengthen us.
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
I Peter 1: 3-7
However some of the trials we go through are not sanctioned by God. I believe we sometimes bring trials upon ourselves because we do not take up our spiritual armor and we allow the Enemy access into our lives. How can we protect ourselves from the attacks of the Enemy? The passage in Ephesians quoted above describes the armor and the weapons the LORD has given us.
The breastplate of righteousness
Although our sins are all forgiven in Yeshua (Jesus), we all from time to time fall into sin. Yeshua told his disciples that ” He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean” (John 13: 10). In Yeshua we have been bathed and made clean before God, but in this life we walk in a fallen world and from time to time we all fall into sin and ‘our feet get dirty’. If we ignore the sin, or allow it to continue, we give Satan license to attack. Fortunately, God has given us a way of ‘washing our feet’ and receiving forgiveness and purification. We can confess our sins before God and man, and receive forgiveness and purification.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
I John 1: 8-9
The belt of truth
Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44), and the source of all spiritual deception. He is prowling around looking for the weak and unprotected. We need to put on the ‘helmet of salvation’, and protect our minds from Satan’s deceptions. In our midst are ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’ (Matthew 7:15), those who appear to be believers but teach error and dangerous philosophies that can draw us away from God.
Jesus warned us about the tares.
Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
Matthew 13:24-30
Tares are a weed that commonly grows in wheat fields. Tares look just like wheat but are actually poisonous. It takes an expert to discern the tares from the wheat.
The parable of Yeshua tells us that the Lord sowed good seed but the Enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. In the church God has sowed good seed, true believers, but the Enemy has sneaked in and sown in our midst those who are poisonous tares. It takes spiritual discernment to know the wheat from the tares. Furthermore it is hard to pull up the tares without damaging also the wheat. For this reason, God allows them to grow together until the harvest. Only then will they be separated, the tares to be burned and the wheat to ‘be gathered into the barn’.
We need to pray for discernment in this matter. The tares may be individuals but they may also be destructive philosophies and teachings.
One such area of deception I want to focus on is the matter of alternative medicines and other new-age philosophies and practices. Many believers seek help from alternative medicines, such as acupuncture, shiatsu, homeopathy, yoga, meditation techniques, and so on. Very often this quest is fueled by frustration and a loss of faith in traditional Western medicine, and the attractiveness of what is presented as non-invasive treatments with no harmful side effects. Most of these alternative or complementary medicines however are based on occult or pagan beliefs in ‘life forces’ or ‘energies’, and do have serious ‘side effects’. Satan is quite capable of transforming himself into an ‘angel of light’ (2 Corinthians 11:14), appearing attractive and even beautiful. These alternative treatments and practices often appear attractive and even ‘work’ bringing relief of symptoms and sometimes healing . Some of this can be accounted for by the placebo effect, the healing effect of belief in itself, but I believe that Satan can also work miracles of healing. When Moses was confronting the Pharoah in Egypt the sorcerors of the Eygpt, by their occult powers, were able to copy many of God’s miracles (Exodus 7 ff). However Satan’s healing comes with a price. It is a lie that there are no side-effects. By opening ourselves to Satan in this way we also can give him license to come into our lives, bringing further attacks on our health, both physical, mental and spiritual. In the most extreme case they can also lead us to turn away from God altogether.
There is also a more subtle risk involved. Turning to these palliative medicines and practices can sometimes relieve the symptoms or disease for a time but they do not deal with the root causes. Only God can bring true healing and true inner peace.
They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace.
Jeremiah 6:14
The Bible offers us a much safer and surer path to health, physical, mental and spiritual, and that is by means of prayer and the confession of sins.
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 1Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
James 5: 13-16.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not against medicine and doctors. I believe that if we are ill we should go to our doctors for help. Western medicine is based on God-given intelligence and God-given herbs and drugs. What I am saying is we should be wary and avoid opening ourselves to practices based on pagan or occult ‘energies’ or ‘life-forces.
However our FIRST and most important and effective action in the face of illness or injury, whether physical, mental or spiritual, should be prayer, both personal and by the annointing of the elders, as God has ordained. It is enough. We do not need to turn to Satanic means to find healing.
I recently sought counselling at a well-known Christian counselling center here in Jerusalem to deal with a grief issue stemming from my childhood family relationships. I was most distressed to find my well-meaning counsellor advocating the use of a visualization technique. Visualization is an occult practice which opens the practitioner to Satanic influence. There is no place for this in the Body of Yeshua. Nor is there any need. I refused to use the technique and just went to the LORD in prayer and received immediate and clear healing in this matter. Tragically my counsellor soon afterwards fell into depression and commited suicide.
The shield of faith
Of course, healing is not always complete nor immediate. Sometimes God chooses not heal us and sometimes believers die. That is His prerogative. He is God after all. This calls for great faith. At such a time, Satan will try to bring us down into doubt and despair. He will tell us that God is a liar, that he is unable to heal or that he just does not love us. This is when we must consciously exercise faith. God has told us that “ all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8: 28). Do we really believe this? It’s hard to do so when we are in the midst of suffering and pain, but that is the test. Do we really believe God? Do we really trust him?
God has a purpose in all he does in our lives. He is working to bring us into to perfection, making us better people. We do not always understand what He is doing but we do need to trust him, especially when we encounter trials.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
James 1: 3-5
A friend of mine was the victim of a terror attack in which she sustained 13 stab wounds and her companion was killed. Miraculously she survived though she still suffers from physical problems and the effects of the trauma. It’s hard to understand why believers need to suffer such trials but my friend told me recently that she was glad she had been through this experience, because she said it had set her free from so many things and made her stronger as a person.
I personally have not had to go through such a terrible trial, yet anyway, but I have suffered from various illnesses and injuries at times, and I know that they have made me a better person, softer-hearted, more empathetic and less judgmental.
The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God
When Satan comes at us with his lies, sowing doubt and despair and tries to turn us from God, we are not defenseless. We have a sure weapon, the weapon which is the Word of God. When Satan tempted Yeshua in the desert, Yeshua deflected Satan’s temptations by means of quoting Scripture (Matthew 4). Satan knows the law of God. He knows he cannot withstand God nor his Law. We, like Yeshua, need to know Scripture well, study it and know how to use it to protect ourselves and fight against Satan.
Prayer
The passage quoted above from Ephesians closes with this advice:
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Prayer is powerful and we need to pray on all occasions, bringing all our concerns and troubles before God, but note that it says, to ‘pray in the Spirit’. Not all prayer is ‘in the Spirit’. Often we pray in the mind and the flesh and our prayers are not effective. They merely bounce off the ceiling, having no power or result, except perhaps by deceiving us that we are performing some religious act which brings us merit. What does it mean to ‘pray in the Spirit’? This is hard to explain, but I know when I am praying in the Spirit. I sense the sweet and powerful presence of God, and I have a deep assurance that He is hearing me and will answer my prayer. This requires a quiet spirit, waiting upon Him, and listening for that sweet inner voice of God. It is often hard to achieve that in our busy and noisy world, but God has given us some tools to help. One of those tools is the practice of thanksgiving and worship, which will bring us into His presence, and another is the gift of tongues. Speaking in tongues, by by-passing my busy and distracted mind, can bring me quickly into the Presence and lead me into more effective prayer.
Finally we need to constantly pray for one another. I have found that when I am going through a difficult trial it is very hard to find the peace and concentration I need for effective prayer in the Spirit. It is at such times I need to humble myself to ask for the help of my brothers and sisters in the Lord. This too is ordained by God. This is what fellowship and the love of the brethren is all about. This is why He has put us in families and congregations.
So may we all remember to:
Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
This is the first time I am writing my blog on this new website “Talia’s Joy”. It will still be available on the Google Blog site as before, at least for a while. You are invited to look at the other posts on this website too.
I haven’t written for a while because I have just started a new job and have been rather busy. It seems I failed ‘retirement’ and it is good to back in the working world. I am only working part time and, so far, I am enjoying it a lot.
It is deep winter here in Israel and it has been a cool and wet one so far – the wettest I can remember for quite a while. We haven’t had a lot of rain here in the Jerusalem area, but there have been plentiful rains and snowfall in the north where it is most needed to fill the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and the aquifers. The Kinneret has risen 1.4 m since the start of the winter and is expected to pass the lower red line by the end of the rainy season in about a month (1). When it passes the lower red line pumping from the lake can resume. This is gratifying and a reason for rejoicing, but the lake is still far from ‘full’ and as its level falls on average half to one centimeter a day because of evaporation in summer, we could still use more rain. Please keep praying.
Even though we are still in the coldest and wettest month, there are already signs of spring. The almond trees are gracing the hillsides around Jerusalem with their lovely white and pink blossom. The brilliant red anenomes are in full bloom and the annual “Red South Festival”, celebrating the blooming of the desert land in the Negev is in full swing, with many thousands of Israelis visiting the wildflowers every weekend.
The spring flowers are already turning our landscapes into beautiful gardens.
Anenomes and other wildflowers in meadow at Beit Guvrin, 20 February 2016 Photo: Talia Good
ISRAEL ON THE MOON
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
Psalm 19: 1-4
An artists rendition of Bereshit on the Moon https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5467064,00.html
Early this morning (22/02) Israel’s first moon mission was successfully launched from Florida, USA. If all goes well, this unmanned spacecraft will touch down on the moon on 11 April. This will make Israel the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on the moon, an amazing accomplishment for a beleaguered nation of only 8 million people. This tiny craft, weighing only 585 kg and about the size of a dishwasher is named “Bereshit”, Hebrew for the first words of the Bible, “In the Beginning” ( also the Hebrew name for the first book, Genesis). This spacecraft was designed and built by a private nonprofit organization, called SpaceIL, which originally intended to compete in a Google-sponsored competition to put a spacecraft on the moon. The competition was eventually abandoned as none of the participants were able to meet the deadline, but the Israeli team decided to continue. Funded mainly by private donors, the mission will cost about $100 million, a small fraction of the cost of similar landings carried out by the USA in the sixties. It is hoped the spacecraft will land on the Mare Serenitatis (the Sea of Tranquility), a dark, lava-covered area in the northern hemisphere of the Moon. You can see this Mare from Earth – it is the left eye of the ‘man in the moon’. All going well it will send back photos and magnetic data. As it has no cooling system the spacecraft is expected to cease functioning in the intense sunlight on the moon after just 3 days. You can read more about this exciting project on https://nordic.businessinsider.com/spacex-israel-moon-mission-launch-spaceil-lunar-lander-2019-2/ or go to the website of SpaceIL, http://www.spaceil.com/
SPIRITUAL WARFARE
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6 : 12
It is not surprising that as we draw ever nearer to the times of the end, the intensity of the spiritual warfare being waged against the Kingdom of God is strengthening. In the center of the vortex, here in Israel, we are certainly aware of this and it seems the Enemy is ramping up the opposition. More and more believers here are coming under very serious attacks of the Enemy, mainly in the realm of health and finances.
Good friends of mine recently returned to Israel after a few years in Canada taking care of family matters. Getting settled back into the Land is no easy matter, even without the interference of the Enemy. Less than a month after their return they came home from their congregational meeting last Shabbat to find that their new home had been broken into and all their valuables stolen. Gone are all their computers and camera equipment, which they need to carry out their ministry and earn a living here. The youngest son also lost his computer which he needs for his online home schooling courses. They also lost the money they had raised for their resettlement. It is a dire blow for a family (God knows their name) that is also facing serious health issues and the death of a son just a few months ago. Please lift up this family in prayer, including their wider extended family which is also facing intense attack.
Theft is a serious problem in Israel. I have had my home broken into on three separate occasions and my bicycle stolen. My landlords and friends upstairs have had their car stolen from just outside on the street four times, twice this last year. It’s getting hard for them to get insurance on their vehicles. One of our neighbors also had his house broken into and car stolen recently. It’s hard not to feel anxious about this threat. The first thing I do each morning is to check that my car is still there and my house secure. It’s hard to always find that ‘peace that passes understanding’. Our possessions are not important in the big scheme of things, but we do need them to function in our daily lives, and when they are stolen it is stressful to say the least. Most of us who live in Israel live from day to day financially, and have no reserves to fall back on when disaster strikes. The Enemy knows where we are most vulnerable.
Pray that all the believers here in the land will be careful to put on the armor of God daily, and not give the Enemy the slightest opening for attack. It is hard to be that vigilant and to walk in total sanctification and faith all of the time. Please cover us with your prayers.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints
Ephesians 6: 13-18
ELECTION FEVER
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
Romans 13: 1
Israel is in the grip of election fever. National Elections will be held on the 9th April. I have never become involved in Israeli politics to any great extent but I do believe that it is important to pray for our leaders, and that includes prayer to determine who those leaders will be.
Israel has a complex, democratic system of government. Israelis vote for party lists for the 120 seat Knesset (Parliament). Since the founding of the State in 1948 no one party has ever had an outright majority, meaning that we have always been ruled by coalition governments. Such a system gives inordinate power to the smaller, extreme right- or left-wing parties. Binyamin Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud party have been in power for the last decade.
Today (22/02) is the last day for parties to submit their lists. A few days ago Netanyahu announced that his Likud Party had formed a coalition together with the extreme far-right religious parties in anticipation of a coalition of left and centrist parties joining forces. This may lose his party votes as he has now joined forces with the extreme right, including the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) Party, successor to the Kach Party, once led by the late-Rabbi Yehuda Kahane, and which was banned some years ago for its extreme racist stance (3). This morning the two largest centrist parties, Yesh Atid , led by Yair Lapid, and Israel Resilience , led by Benny Gantz, will run together in the elections (4). If successful Gantz and Lapid would rotate for the Prime Minister’s position. The left wing parties are in disarray and can only agree on one thing, that they want to depose Netanyahu. They are unlikely to be a threat to either the Right or the Center in this election. The latest polls are giving a lead to the Centrist Gantz/Lapid coalition, but it will be a close-run election.
In the Israeli political scene there is really only one deciding issue and that is national security. Netanyahu has remained in power because most Israelis have seen him as the best leader in International Affairs and military matters. Netanyahu is now 69 years old and faces corruption charges which may lead to an indictment before the election date. On the other hand, the Centrist coalition leaders, Gantz (59) and Lapid (55), are both former IDF c
Chiefs of Staff, and their coalition lists include other high-ranking military men, including Gabi Ashkenazi, also a former IDF Chief of Staff, and a former Defense Minister, Moshe Ya’alon.
Left to right: Gabi Ashkenazi, Moshe Ya’alon, Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz
You might be wondering what the terms ‘right’ and ‘left’ mean in Israeli politics. It is not primarily an economic delineation but rather a religious one. The right is mainly religious, morally conservative and ‘hawkish’ in military position. The left is more secular, morally more liberal and ‘doveish’. This is of course an oversimplification of a very complex picture.
The focus on national security as the overriding concern means that internal issues often get pushed aside. Israel faces many internal challenges such as the inequity of wealth, the rising number of poor, crises in the education and health sectors, just to name a few. I am praying that, whatever government gets into power, at least some of these issues can receive the attention they deserve. It is important of course that we face the external threats to our existence but that is meaningless if we self-destruct from inside.
TENSION IN THE SOUTH
It is almost a year now since the “March of Return” protests began at the Gaza border and in the last week or so there has been an increase in the number and violence of the confrontations. Until recently the main confrontations were on Fridays, after Muslim prayers, but this week there have been violent protests on the border on a daily basis and we have also seen the resurgence of balloon-borne incendiary devices. It is difficult to get much news as the elections are dominating the media and, quite frankly, I think we are all getting a bit bored with it all. It is sad when such things become routine and ‘normal’.
This week top military analysts have warned that we can expect an increase in tension and confrontation as the elections approach and a full-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip is looking more and more inevitable. Today the IDF began a 3-day military-wide exercise simulating an all out war with Gaza. The drill will include the ground forces, armor, artillery and aircraft and will involve the use of live-fire exercises, troop deployments to various areas, aerial maneuvres, and include a test of the emergency call-up procedures. Though the IDF claims that this ‘surprise’ exercise was part of its routine training programme, it comes in wake of an assertion by the former military ombudsman, Maj. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Brick, that the army was not prepared for large scale war (5). I suspect is also designed to send a message to Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip not to continue pushing the escalation any further. Please pray that they get this message. A full-scale war would result in the great loss of life on both sides, but would be a terrible humanitarian disaster in Gaza, which is already teetering on complete collapse.
JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE MOUNT
In recent weeks there has also been a rise in terrorism in Jerusalem and the West Bank. On Thursday night last week (21/02) 10 Molotov coctails were thrown at a bus carrying Jewish tourists in Siloam (an Arab village in Jerusalem), about 400 m from the Western Wall. The bus was destroyed by fire but miraculously all the passengers escaped (6).
On Friday (22/02) thousands of Muslim worshippers entered the Bab-al-Rahama (the Mercy Gate) compound. This Gate is known to Christians as the Golden Gate through which Yeshua (Jesus) will return. Israel closed this compound in 2003 because excavations were being carried out there which posed a threat to Jewish antiquities on the site. On Friday the Waqf, the Islamic Endowment, which controls activities on the Temple Mount illegally opened the gate and permitted the entry of Muslim worshippers. Today Israel detained the Waqf Council chairman, Sheikh Abd al-Athim Salhab, and the Deputy Director of Awqaf in Jerusalem, Sheikh Najeh Bkerat (7). No doubt this incident will raise the temperature on the Temple Mount and could lead to increased rioting and terror attacks. Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you …”
Beit Guvrin April 2015 Photo copyright: Talia Good
When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled one hundred eighty thousand chosen troops of the house of Judah and Benjamin to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God: Say to King Rehoboam of Judah, son of Solomon, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, “Thus says the Lord: You shall not go up or fight against your kindred. Let everyone return home, for this thing is from me.” So they heeded the word of the Lord and turned back from the expedition against Jeroboam.
Rehoboam resided in Jerusalem, and he built cities for defense in Judah. He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, fortified cities that are in Judah and in Benjamin. He made the fortresses strong, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine. He also put large shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.
I Chronicles 11: 1-12
The Beit Guvrin – Maresha National Park is one of my favorite spots and it lies in the Judean lowlands 14 km east of Kiryat Gat on Route 35, and only a 40 minute drive through gorgeous forested hills from Jerusalem (see map below – use the + and – buttons to zoom in and out)
This Park covers an area of around 741 acres ( 300 hectares) and preserves the archaeological site of the Biblical City of Maresha, which lay on the crossroads of the Mesopotamian-Egyptian trade routes, and the later city of Beit Guvrin. Adjacent to the Park are the remains of the Roman city. Situated on a chalk ridge, the soft, easily excavated rock lent itself to underground living and some 500 caves with 3500 rooms have been found. The caves were occupied at least from the time of King Rehoboam of Judah, who reigned from 931 – 913 BC, until around the 8th Century AD – a period spanning approximately 2000 years and representing the cultures of the Judean Kingdom, the Persian/Idumean period, the Greek and Roman periods, the Byzantine Era and the early Muslim Era. The various caves were used for a wide range of purposes, including dwelling places, bathhouses, food stores, winepresses, columbaria (dovecots), olive presses, hiding places, stables, quarries and burial caves. Many of these caves have been opened to the public and provide a fascinating glimpse of life in the caves through the different eras. The Park was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2014.
Tel Maresha, February 2019 Photo: Talia Good
Remains of fortifications from Jewish to Hellenistic Period 9th – 1st Century BCE Tel Maresha Photo: Talia GoodUnderground Oil Press, Beit Guvrin. February 2016 Photo copyright: Talia GoodFrescos in the Sidonian burial cave, Beit Guvrin, 2015 Photo copyright: Talia Good
In addition to the archaelogicalsites the Park offers panoramic views of the surrounding Judean lowlands and preserves the beautiful flora and fauna of the area.
Flora and Fauna
The Bet Guvrin-Maresha National Park, in addition to its archaelogical and historical significance, also protects a good example of the ecosystems of the Judean lowlands. These low hills are covered with Mediterranean Batha scrubland interspersed with lush meadows, which provide sustenance for grazing sheep and cattle, even today. In spring the meadows are a colorful riot of wildflowers.
Spring wildflowers at Maresha, February 2019 Photo: Talia GoodView of Judean lowlands from Beit Guvrin. February 2016 The Land of Milk and Honey. Photo: Talia Good
Anenomes and other spring flowers at Beit Guvrin, February 2016 Photo: Talia GoodJerusalem Sage, Beit Guvrin, April 2015Almond trees in blossom and a field of winter wheat at Beit Guvrin, February 2016 Photo copyright: Talia GoodJudean Bugloss and Crown Daisy , Beit Guvrin January 2019 Photo copyright: Talia GoodRedstart eating black widow spider, Beit Guvrin, January 2019 Photo copyright: Talia Good
History
The first recorded mention of the city of Maresha is in the passage of II Chronicles quoted above. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, and the fourth King of Israel reigned from 931-913 BCE. Solomon had disobeyed the Torah by marrying many foreign wives, among them the Ammonite mother of Rehoboam. These wives had led Solomon astray into the worship of the terrible pagan gods, Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites. For this God told Solomon he would wrest the kingdom from his hand, but for his father David’s sake, not during Solomon’s lifetime. After Solomon’s death his son, Rehoboam became the fourth king of Israel, but Jereboam, who had been in charge of the labor force of Joseph during Solomon’s reign, rebelled against Rehoboam and established the northern Kingdom of Israel, leaving only the Tribes of Benjamin and Judah, and the city of Jerusalem, under Rehoboam’s control.
Rehoboam gathered an army from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah with the intention of winning back the northern tribes but God spoke through Shemaiah, the prophet, warning him not to attack for this division of the nation was God’s will. Instead Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem and directed his energies into fortifying 15 of the cities of Benjamin and Judah, among them Maresha, as recorded in II Chronicles 11:1-12. From this we can infer that Maresha was already settled by members of the Tribe of Judah at this time. Situated at the crossroads of the major trade routes, overlooking the coastal plain to the south and west and with a vast collection of underground caves, it would have been an ideal place for a fortified garrison of troops.
In the 5th year of Rehoboam’s reign, c926 BCE, the Egyptian Pharoah Shishak swept through the Kingdom of Judah capturing all the fortified cities (including Maresha) and Jerusalem, carrying off all the treasures of Solomon’s Temple and the King’s house (II Chronicles 12:9, 1 Kings 14: 25-26). Shishak did not destroy Jerusalem and Rehoboam continued to reign over the Kingdom of Judah as a vassal king under Shishak ( II Chronicles 12).
Rehoboam was succeeded by Abijah who in turn was succeeded by Asa, the 3rd king of Judah. During his reign, Asa restored and restocked the fortified cities, including Marasha. Some years later, in the early 9th Century BCE, Pharoah Shishak’s son sent a massive army, under the leadership of Zerah the Ethiopian, to raid Judah but this army was defeated by Asa at Maresha.
Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army.
2 Chronicles 14: 9-13
After the Persian conquest in 586, and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the region of Judah was settled by the Idumeans, an Arab people from the east. In the 4th Century BCE, Sidonians and Greeks joined them bringing Hellenistic culture to the region. During this time Maresha was an important cosmopolitan trading center. It was also home to some Egyptians and a population of Jews, some a remnant from the pre-Persian population and some migrants from the coastal plain cities.
In 113/112 BCE the Hasmonean (Maccabean) John Hyrcanus conquered Idumea, including the town of Marisa (the Greek name for the city of Maresha) (Josephus “Antiquities of the Jews’ 13:257). Hyrcanus laid waste to the city.
The city of Maresha was resettled by Jews but it remained a small settlement until it was destroyed in 40 BCE by the Parthians. After its destruction by the Parthians Maresha was abandoned and the town of Bet Guvrin, to the north of Maresha, became more important. Josephus reported that the Romans, led by Vespasian, conquered Bet Guvrin in 68 CE. In 200 CE the Roman Emperor, Septimus Severus, granted Bet Guvrin the status of a city and changed its name to Eleuthropolis (the City of the Freedmen). Beit Guvrin, in the Roman period, again became an important junction where 5 roads met. The Roman city was clearly a large and important one as it boasted an amphitheatre that could seat 3,500 and a 4000 square meter bathhouse among other things.
In the following centuries the city’s Jewish population increased and in the 3rd and 4th Centuries CE it is mentioned in the Talmud and the Midrash. Important Jewish sages, including Rabbi Yonatan and Rabbi Yehuda Ben Yaakov, lived there. A synagogue inscription and a large Jewish cemetary have been found on the site of Beit Guvrin.
During the Byzantine Period Beit Guvrin became an important Christian center and a number of churches were built there, including the Church of St. Anne. In 796CE an anti-Christian bedouin group destroyed the town, heralding the beginning of the later Muslim period.
Remains of Byzantine Era St Anne’s Church, Beit Guvrin, March 2014 Photo copyright: Talia Good
The Bell Caves were at their height of production during the end of the Byzantine Period and the early Arab (Muslim) period ( 8-10th Centuries CE). About 800 of these bell-shaped caves, which were limestone quarries, have been located and many of them are linked by underground tunnels. Some of these caves, near the Park entrance, are open to the public today.
The Bell Caves 2015 Photo copyright: Talia Good
In the Bell Caves, January 2019 Photo copyright: Talia Good
In the Bell Caves, January 2019 Photo copyright: Talia Good
In the Muslim period the town was called Bet Jibrin and it was prosperous, no doubt largely due to the limestone produced in the Bell Caves, but also due to the good pastureland around it and its strategic location. We have this description of Bet Jibrin from the Muslim geographer, al-Muqaddasi: “[Beit Jibrin] is a city partly in the hill country, partly in the plain. …[T]here are here marble [sic] quarries. The district sends its produce to the capital [Ramla]. It is an emporium for the neighbouring country, and a land of riches and plenty, possessing fine domains. The population, however, is now on the decrease and impotence possesses the men.”
The city was conquered by the Crusaders in 1099 CE and in the years following they fortified the city, which they thought was Beersheba, and dug a moat around it. They also restored the Church of St Anne. In 1157CE the Crusader fortress of Ashkelon fell to the Muslims and Bet Jibrin’s importance declined but it continued to be an important crossroads where taxes were imposed upon passing caravans.
The Arab village of Beit Jibrin stood on the remains of Bet Guvrin until 1948. In June of 1948 the Eygptian army took over the British Police Station built there at the beginning of the Second World War, and Arab refugees from Jaffa took up residence in the Bell Caves. They fled to Hebron, together with the approximately 2000 inhabitants of Bet Jibrin, when the area was captured by the Israeli Defense Forces on October 27, 1948. Kibbutz Bet Guvrin was founded next to the ruins of the Roman town, in May of 1949.
Archaeological excavations began in the area in 1900 and so far some 500 caves with about 3500 rooms have been located, along with the Roman amphitheatre and bathhouse, but most of the area has not yet been excavated.
The Temple Mount (upper left) and Silwan, Jerusalem, 10 January 2013 Photo: Talia Good
God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength.
Job 37:5-6
Snow begins falling in Jerusalem, 10 January 2013 Photo: Talia Good
Yesterday we all got excited here in Jerusalem. Schools closed early and the Municipality stationed its ‘snowplows’ at strategic places around the city. Everyone stocked up on groceries and candles, and hunkered down at home. Snow was forecast. The storm arrived in the north in the morning, with heavy snow falling on Mt Hermon, in the Golan and on the higher hills of the Galilee. It was expected to spread to the central hills, including Jerusalem around nightfall. All day here we experienced gale force winds and a choking sandstorm as the SW winds whipped up loess dust from the Sahara and dumped it on us. My poor garden looks like someone took a flame thrower to it. The rain began late afternoon with lightning and heavy hail, and this continued all night, but no snow fell here in Mevaseret, much to our disappointment. Some light snow did fall in central Jerusalem and the hills to the south, but it got washed away quickly by the heavy rain and hail. This morning it is cold and windy but the rain has stopped and the storm is passing on. I guess all the ‘snowplows’ are getting back to their normal jobs. Perhaps I should explain that we don’t have real snowplows here, just a fleet of around 150 tractors with scoops, which normally are employed for digging ditches etc.
Havoc on a main arterial road in Jerusalem , 10 January, 2013
Snow is not the first thing that springs to most people’s minds when they think of Israel’s climate. Israel lies at a latitude of around 30 degrees North in the subtropical region, on the edge of the great deserts of Arabia and the Sahara. Its climate can be characterized as hot and arid. And so it is most of the year. For around 8 months a year not a drop of rain falls and the days are boringly (is that a word?) hot and sunny. However our brief winter can be surprisingly cold and wet, and snow falls most years on the higher regions of the Galilee, the Golan and especially on Mt Hermon, which at a height of 2,814 m (9,232 ft) gets snow every year. The central mountains of Judea and Samaria, and the high Negev region- get snow about every 5 years on average. Jerusalem lies at an altitude of around 800m ( 2620 ft) and therefore it is cold enough to get snow at those times. Down on the coastal plain and in the Judean foothills it almost never snows, so many children who live there have never seen snow. I believe the last time it snowed in Tel Aviv was in 1931! In recent years some snowless municipalities have begun to truck in piles of snow, dump them in parking lots and let the kiddies play. If that doesn’t happen, then some enterprising daddies find a friend with a truck!!! (see below)
If the snow won’t come to you, take some home for your children!! Haas Promenade, Jerusalem. February 20, 2015 Photo copyright: Talia Good
Of course snow is not just fun for children (and, let’s admit it, for grown-ups too), it fulfills an especially important role in our lives here. The slow snow melt filters down through the porous rocks and fills the underground aquifers upon which we all depend. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God warned the Israelites to turn from their sin and so avoid the coming Exile to Babylon, saying:
“Ask now among the Gentiles, Who has heard such things? The virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing. Will a man leave the snow water of Lebanon, Which comes from the rock of the field? Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters?”
Jeremiah 18: 13-14
The snow water of Mt Hermon, which lies mainly in Lebanon, filters down under the ground and emerges lower down in springs coming forth from the rocks of the field. This is good, clean, life-giving water. This water is one of the primary sources of the water that replenishes the Sea of Galilee, from which we draw water for household use, agriculture and industry even today. Why would we forsake such a goodly water source and go into Exile? God is saying, I have given you all you need here, great and generous gifts, such as living water, so why would you allow sin to destroy all that. Isn’t this true of our lives too? If we live in relationship with God, accept his good gifts in Yeshua, his Messiah and his Word, why should we risk losing all that wonderful bounty by falling into sin?
Snow is also a symbol of God’s life-giving word. As the rain and snow come down from heaven and water the Earth bringing life, so is God’s word that comes down from heaven. If we receive it, it will bring us life also, a rich and abundant, and everlasting life.
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me [cvoid,
Isaiah 55 : 8-11
Snow, for its whiteness, is also a symbol of purity. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah to the people of Judah, warning them of the coming disaster of the Babylonian exile, the LORD says:
Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Isaiah 1: 18-20
Both the prophet Daniel and the writer of the Book of Revelation, believed to be John the Apostle, had a vision of One, Ancient of Days, in heaven, and both described His hair and clothing as being as white as snow.
As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne, his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire.
Daniel 7:9
Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow;
Revelation 1:12 -14
Clearly snow was a phenomenon well known by the people of Israel even though it was probably rare and confined to the mountain chain as it is today. In ancient times the coastal plain was riddled with malarial swamps and thick forests, and the climate unbearably hot and humid in the summer months. It was therefore along the mountains of Judah and Samaria that most of the people would have lived, and in winter they would have experienced snow at times.
Snow in Armon Hanatziv, Jerusalem February 20, 2015 Photo Copyright: Talia GoodCrow in Armon Hanatziv, Jerusalem February 20, 2015 Photo copyright: Talia GoodThe Haas Promenade, Jerusalem January 10, 2013 Photo copyright: Talia GoodSnow on red berries, Haas Promenade, Jerusalem. January 10, 2013 Photo copyright: Talia GoodSnow fight on Haas Promenade, Jerusalem. March 2, 2012 Photo copyright: Talia GoodTulips in the snow, Armon Hanatziv, Jerusalem. March 3, 2012 Photo copyright: Talia Good
I started writing this on Christmas Eve just before I set off into the Old City for the carol singing at Christ Church. Christ Church was the first Evangelical church to be built in the Middle East and it has played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Jewish State since the early 1800s. Situated just inside Jaffa Gate in the Old City, it is still a hub for evangelical Christians, Jews, Arabs and others in the city. The Christmas Eve carol singing and service is very popular and draws many Jewish Israelis who are curious about Christmas and who enjoy the songs, the hot mulled wine, soup and homemade Christmas cookies that are served. This year there were record crowds.
I just love the relaxed atmosphere, catching up with friends and singing all the good ol’ Christmas carols. One of my favorite carols is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and one of the best renderings is by Anna Hawkins, who sings it in both Hebrew and English. You can see and listen to it on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD-jBLZSZNU . I wonder how many times I have sung this beautiful song and not really paid attention to the lyrics. It is a prayer and expresses great longing for the coming of Emmanuel (God with us), the Rod of Jesse, the Key of David, Yeshua, to set free his people, Israel. Below are the lyrics. Take a minute or two read the lyrics and to pray this prayer along with us here in Israel.
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o’er the grave
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, o Israel
O come, Thou Day-Spring
Come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, o Israel
O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heavenly home
Make safe the way that leads on high
And close the path to misery
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, o Israel
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height
In ancient times did’st give the Law
In cloud, and majesty and awe
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, o Israel
The Christ, Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), did come once to Israel but, although many of the ordinary people did receive him with joy, the leaders and the religious establishment did not.They looked for a conquering king to set them free from the oppression of the Romans, but Yeshua came instead as a tiny baby, born to an ordinary young woman, Miriam, in a stable in Bethlehem. Yeshua came to set Israel and all the world free. He did not come at that time to set us free from cruel oppressors, but to set us free instead from the far worse oppression of Satan, sin and death. To those who can receive this and accept forgiveness in Yeshua there is much reason to rejoice, but let’s also remember at this time those who are still in bondage and subject to sin and death. We look forward to the second coming when Yeshua will come as the long-awaited conquering King, who will bring peace to the suffering world. May this Day come soon, but not until the full number of those whose names are written in the Book of Life come in.
Christmas Day is a normal workday here in Israel and, of course, as a Jewish nation we do not celebrate Christmas. When I first came here we Messianic believers did not celebrate Christmas. Most of us were glad to escape all the intense commercialism and hype of Christmas in our lands of origin, and many rejected the pagan roots of many of the Christmas traditions. As time has gone on some of us began to miss Christmas and it has always seemed to me sad that we did not celebrate the coming of God in bodily form as the baby Yeshua. Bit by bit some of us began to quietly celebrate Christmas in our own homes and in recent years more and more of my friends have been too. Without all the commercial hype and pressure, it is just a lovely time to be with good friends, eat good food and remember the birth of Yeshua, when God came down to mankind to set us free.
Of course, Yeshua was not born on 25th December or the 6 January, or probably any time in winter, as the Bible tells us the shepherds were out in the fields of Bethlehem that night. It is way too cold to be out in the fields at this time of year here and the flocks would have been safely tucked up in their sheepfolds if it were winter. The actual date of Yeshua’s birth is unknown and it’s not important, but what is important is the fact of Immanu El – God with us, Yeshua who came into the world to save us.
Christmas too is the time when our thoughts turn to peace. Indeed Yeshua did bring peace, the peace that passes understanding, into the hearts of those who follow Him, but we do not yet see peace reigning in the world. In fact, the world seems to be gripped in great darkness, full of the suffering of wars, refugees and migrants, sickness, poverty and natural disasters. How we all long for the time of Yeshua’s rule and cry out “How Long?”
Peace seems far away here in Jerusalem this year. Tensions continue to mount as threats grow in every direction. Every day I turn on the news with trepidation. What new atrocity, disaster or calamity will have happened?
It is now the 27th and Christmas is behind us. I am dog-sitting for a friend and it is pouring rain, so I will try and get this finished by giving a quick rundown of the news.
Operation Northern Shield
The IDF is continuing to uncover and destroy tunnels dug under the border from Lebanon into Israel by Hezbollah. So far they have found five and have destroyed them, using explosives and pumping concrete into them (2). They have been careful not to cross into Lebanese territory in the process and consequently have not invoked the criticism of the world powers. Hezbollah has not reacted and a tense calm is being maintained. Pray for all those working up there. It is cold and wet and very, very muddy. It must be miserable. Added to that they are easy targets for a sniper should any decide to attack. Hezbollah had built these tunnels in preparation to send an incursion force into Israel or possibly take an Israeli town hostage. The destruction of the tunnels is a big set back for them.
The American pullout from Syria
This past week came the surprise announcement of the pullout of American troops from Syria. Trump appears to have made this decision on a whim, without discussing it even with his own advisors and certainly without consideration of the effects of his decision on his allies, or more importantly the people in the region who look to the USA for their protection. What will happen to the Kurds at the hands of the Turkish army? Will Iran or Russia fill the vacuum? There are only around 2,000 US troops in Syria but they are stationed near the Iraqi border fighting ISIS, thus strategically blocking the land corridor from Iran to the Mediterranean. Their absence will make it much easier for Iran to ship weapons into Syria bound for the Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Attack in Syria
In response to the imminent American pullout from Syria Israel has made it very clear that they will not stop their attacks on arms shipments from Iran intended for Hezbollah. An unnamed Israeli official has confirmed that Israel carried out such an attack on the night of the 25th, destroying Iranian storage and logistics installations being used for transferring arms to Hezbollah. Recently there have been reports of civilian airliners being used by Iran to transport weapons systems. A US Defense Department official claimed that several high ranking Iranian officials were targeted as they boarded a civilian cargo plane bound for Iran (3). Advanced GPS components for advanced strategic munitions were also targeted. A Syrian surface-to-air missile was fired towards Israeli territory triggering our missile defense system.The missile was shot down and no damage was done to Israeli planes or on land. Israeli aircraft attacked and destroyed the Syrian missile emplacement. Israel warned Russia in advance of their attack on the Iranian plane so that no other civilian aircraft were endangered, contrary to reports going out from Syrian and other Middle Eastern media.
Gaza Protests
The weekly “March of Return” protests at the Gaza border are continuing in spite of Hamas’ promise to phase them out according to the terms of the latest ceasefire. Each week around 10,000 Palestinians are coming to the border and throwing Molotov cocktails, grenades and rocks at IDF soldiers. Some also attempt to cross the fence and infiltrate Israel. The IDF is being forced to use live fire to stop them, mainly shooting at their legs, and as a result, there are some deaths and many injuries each week. Gazan hospitals are complaining they are unable to cope with the quantity of those needing treatment. My answer to that, is “if you don’t want to get hurt, don’t protest at the fence!!!”
A Fresh Wave of Terror?
In the last few weeks we have had a wave of terror attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank. On the 9th of December seven people were shot from a passing vehicle at a bus stop at a junction near the West Bank settlement of Ofra on the notorious route 60 highway. One pregnant woman was seriously injured, her husband and another man moderately injured and four teens lightly injured. Three of the wounded were IDF soldiers. The woman, 21-years-old, is now out of danger but her baby died three days after being delivered prematurely by emergency Cesearian section. The perpetrators were shot at by nearby IDF troops but they managed to flee the scene and disappear into the Palestinian city of Ramallah. The IDF is still searching for them. Hamas has claimed responsibility and it is believed that the shooters belonged to a Hamas terror cell.
This attack follows an attack, on the 7th October, in the Barkan Industrial Park in the West Bank in which 4 were wounded, two fatally. The hunt for the terrorist, an employee at the Park, ended last Thursday when he was captured, more than two months after the attack. His home was subsequently demolished by the IDF. The Barkan Industrial Park employes some 7000 workers, about half of whom are Palestinians, and it has been hailed as an example of successful coexistence. The terrorist has been identified as Salah Omar Barghouti, 29, the son of a senior Hamas member currently in prison (4).
A month after the Barkan attack an IDF reservist was stabbed and moderately wounded outside the Samaria Territorial Brigade base near Nablus in the West Bank. and when IDF soldiers fired at the fleeing terrorist, a woman standing nearby was lightly injured by shrapnel. The terrorist fled into a nearby village and has not yet been apprehended as far as I know.
Two days later a terrorist attempted to stab an IDF soldier at a bus stop at the Gitai junction on Highway 5. Other soldiers nearby shot and killed the terrorist (5).
Several more terror attacks have occurred this past week. Last Tuesday there were two separate attempted car ramming attacks. In one the terrorist was killed and in the other, the terrorist was arrested. On Thursday, the 13th, two border police personnel were wounded in a stabbing attack in the Old City of Jerusalem. One of those injured, a woman police officer, sustained moderate injuries and the other light. The terrorist was shot and killed (5).
This upsurge in attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem is creating much concern especially amongst West Bank settlers who have been demonstrating against the government with the claim that not enough is being done to protect them. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are intent upon stirring up trouble, calling for more attacks and activating its sleeper cells, in order to destabilize the Palestinian Authority
Hamas responded to the killing of two of their terrorists by saying,
“The fire of resistance in the West Bank will not die until the occupation is lifted. The death of the two soldiers proves that the option of the Palestinian people is defiance. The West Bank will continue to support the forces of resistance and the blood of Na’alwa and Barghouti has not been spilled in vain. Hamas and the other resistance factions will continue to support activity to avenge their death.”
Early Elections
It is now official, the Knesset has been dissolved and there will be early elections scheduled for 9th April.
Tourism
In spite of all the tension in the region, Israel has seen a record year in tourism, with arrivals in 2018 expecting to top the 4 million mark any day now, representing a record-breaking growth of some 38% over last year, and making Israel one of the most popular and the fastest growing tourist destination in the world (6). In recent years much effort has been made to improve the infrastructure and services provided for tourists in Jerusalem and to increase the range of options for accommodations, from the super luxurious hotels to the backpacker hostels. Tourism brings in much-needed revenue to this city, which is the poorest in Israel.
Poverty in Israel
A recent announcement that the price of many basic food items were about to rise caused great consternation among the population here. We already have the highest cost of living, and the widest gap between income and the cost of living, amongst the developed nations, and some 1.8 million Israelis live in poverty. Jerusalem is the nation’s poorest city and some 55% of our children live in poverty. The poverty line is set at a monthly income of 3000 shekels, and this means that these figures are a drastic understatement of the true level of suffering. Given that even the cheapest apartment in Jerusalem costs around 5000 shekels a month to rent, not including utilities and other costs, there are many more than 1.8 million experiencing poverty. In response to the announcement of further food price increases organizers threatened to begin ‘yellow vest’ demonstrations such as are occurring in France. Fearing a general uprising the government has put a hold on at least some of these price rises. The problem lies in that the food industry is in the hand of a few massive companies which act as monopolies and can pretty much do as they please. One can only ask why they want to raise the prices even more, given that they already make billions of shekels in profits and their top officials receive more in salary in a month than most of us make in a year.
You might be wondering why Jerusalem is so poor. Twenty percent of our population is ultra-orthodox and 30% Arab. Amongst the ultra-orthodox only 20% of the men and 50% of the women work (7). The men study Torah all day and the women work to support the family. However they also have large families so often cannot work full time and, in addition, few have a secular education which can enable them to work in well-paying jobs.
Amongst the Arabs about 60% of the men work and only around 23% of the women (7). Most of these workers are in low paying jobs because they lack the educational level to get into the higher paying positions.
Winter rains
As I write this the rain is just bucketing down outside. Praise God that so far this winter the rains have been abundant. Two weeks ago we had a 3-day long storm that brought around 1/3 to 1/2 the average annual rainfall to most parts of the country. There was much flooding and damage to homes and cars, and 4 people died as a result of the heavy rain. Some snow also fell on Mt Hermon. Today the rain is also heavy causing floods, hailstorms hit several places in the Sharon region, and snow is falling on Mt Hermon. I feel for all the people whose homes and cars get flooded when we have rain like this, but apart from that it is a joy to see so much rain. Keep praying for it to continue and for our lakes, reservoirs and aquifers to fill up.
It is God’s Battle
Today I was reading in I Chronicles an account of a battle between the northern tribe of Reuben against the Hagrites and their allies. Because the Reubenites called out to God and trusted Him, God gave them a great victory over their enemies – “because the battle was God’s”. As I write about all the threats to our existence here in Israel it is good to remember that the battle is the LORD’s and he has armies innumerable and he fights on the side of those who trust in Him. Pray that we as a nation will take that attitude, calling upon the LORD and not just relying on our own strength.
They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him.21 They seized the livestock of the Hagrites—fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive, 22 and many others fell slain, because the battle was God’s.I Chronicles 5:20-22
ANNOUNCEMENT: I AM PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO ANNOUNCE THE OPENING OF MY NEW WEBSITE. IT CAN BE ACCESSED ON https://taliasjoy.com . IT IS STILL IN ITS EARLY STAGES OF CONSTRUCTION BUT YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT AND SEE MY PROGRESS. HAPPY READING! (For now I will continue to use this google blogsite for my blogs as I am still learning how to use the WordPress program).
The Mountain Gazelle (Gazella gazella) Photo: Talia Good 2016
Israel is known as the Land of the Gazelle in the Bible. The Hebrew word for gazelle is צבי (tzvi) which can also mean beautiful or glorious or honor. In Daniel 11:16 it says:
which the New King James version translates as, But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his power.
The Hebrew words here translated as ‘Glorious Land’ are ארץ-הצבי (eretzhatzvi), literally the land of the gazelle. Other translations say “the Beautiful Land”. This word צבי is used to refer to the Land of Israel also in Daniel 8:9 and in Ezekiel 20:6. In Daniel 11:45 it is used in relation to the Holy Mountain, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him
The words here translated as ‘glorious holy mountain’ could also be translated literally as the holy mountain of the gazelle.
Elsewhere in Scripture we see gazelles mentioned in the lists of the permitted foods ( Deuteronomy 12:22; 14:5; and 15:22). In 1 Kings 4:23 gazelles are listed amongst those animals making up King Solomon’s daily provisions. Gazelles symbolize swiftness in I Chronicles 12:8 and Proverbs 6:5. In the Song of Solomon the Shulamite’s lover is called a gazelle ( Song of Songs 2:9;2:17;8:14) and the lover describes her breasts as being like the twins of a gazelle (4:5 and 7:3). In Isaiah 13 it says that in the face of the terrors of the coming Day of the LORD that every man will flee like a hunted gazelle (Isaiah 13: 14).
Clearly the gazelle was a well-known and common animal in Biblical Times, so common in fact that Israel became known as the Land of the Gazelle. There are two species of gazelle in Israel, the Mountain Gazelle (Gazella gazella) which lives in the northern parts and the Dorcas Gazelle (Gazella dorcas) which is found in the southern deserts. The Mountain Gazelle can be identified by the darkish stripe between its white underbelly and its fawn back, which is lacking in the generally paler colored Dorcas gazelle.
Dorcas gazelle, Hai Bar opyright: Talia Good 2018
THE MOUNTAIN GAZELLE
Once widely distributed across the Arabian Peninsula, and in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria the mountain gazelle is locally extinct in many of these areas due to overhunting and habitat loss. It is estimated that in 1948, when the modern State of Israel was established legally, only around 500 mountain gazelles survived within her borders. During the preceding years they had been hunted mercilessly because of the availability of guns and poorly enforced hunting laws. After the establishment of the State of Israel the hunting laws were better enforced and the population of mountain gazelles grew to around 10,000. In 1993 an outbreak of foot and mouth disease decimated the population which dropped to its present size of around 3000. They are now a protected species in Israel but poaching continues to be a problem and the encroachment of urbanization continues to destroy habitat. In addition the population is predated upon by feral dogs and a growing population of wolves, jackals and hyenas, all of which thrive in areas around cities where they can scavenge garbage. Mountain gazelles are now considered an Endangered Species in the IUCN Red List.
In Jerusalem there is a very special herd of mountain gazelle. This herd was cut off by urban development which surrounded the valley in which they lived. The herd originally numbered around 30 individuals but through the years poaching and road kill on the adjacent motorway caused the population to drop to just 4 gazelles. Developers wanted to build on this prime location near the center of the city, but the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) and local people fought a hard battle to have it turned into a reserve and save the gazelles. The local people won the battle and a few years ago an upgraded 250 dunam (62 acre) reserve with good fences and a 24-hr guard, four ponds linked by a spring-fed stream, walkways, and bird hides, was opened free for the public. It is one of my favorite places to just walk, look at the wildlife and find a little quiet in the midst of the bustling city. The gazelle herd was augmented with some individuals from populations in the north of the country and now numbers around 20. New fawns are being born each year. When travelling around the Land one often spots gazelles off in the distance or skipping across the road but in this reserve it is easy to observe them at close quarters.
The gazelles in Gazelle Valley, Jerusalem Photo: Talia Good 2016Mountain gazelle dining on almonds, Gazelle Valley, Jerusalem Copyright: Talia Good 2018
The Gazelle Park also preserves habitat for a wide range of other species which live or visit the park.
Crown anenome ( Anenomecoronaria) Copyright: Talia Good Rose chafer beetle (Potosia cuprea) on Copyright: Talia Good 2015Hadera frog (Rana levantina Copyright: Talia Good 2016White-throated kingfisher ( Halcyon smyrnensis) Copyright: Talia Good 2018
Closely related to the mountain gazelle, the Dorcas gazelle is smaller in stature, lighter in color and has larger ears and more strongly curved horns. The Dorcas gazelle is superbly adapted for life in the hot southern deserts of the Negev. It can go all its life without drinking water as it can get all its needs from its food or from licking dew drops from leaves. It eats a wide range of vegetation but is largely dependent upon the leaves, fruit and flowers of the acacia tree. The Dorcas gazelle is distributed widely across the north African deserts, in Jordan and Israel, but it is considered a Vulnerable species according to the IUCN Red List.
