| Carol singing at Christ Church on Christmas Eve |
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).
References:
1. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5422732,00.html
2. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5434028,00.html
3. https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-official-says-top-hezbollah-officials-hit-in-alleged-israeli-strikes-in-syria/
4. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5425139,00.html
5. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5371369,00.html
6. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Jerusalem-worlds-fastest-growing-tourism-destination-573653
7. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/ANALYSIS-Why-is-Jerusalem-the-poorest-city-in-Israel-457522