Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Today is a day that Israel will remember for some time. A year ago today, a major assault took place against Israel. This assault was planned for a long time. It involved Iran and her proxies and carried out by Hamas from Gaza. According to sources, in the past year 26,240 rockets, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles were launched towards Israel’s airspace since October 7th, 2023.
That is quite a large number of projectiles used to try to destroy the nation that God says will never be destroyed. Since October 7, 2023, 720 Israeli soldiers have fallen, 346 of them since the beginning of the ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip. 4,576 soldiers have been injured, of which 696 were serious; 2,299 were wounded since the beginning of the ground maneuver into the Gaza Strip.
Last October 7th, Hamas fired at least 2700 rockets into Israel, in one day. This October 7th Hamas fired 14 rockets into Israel. The nation of Israel is on high alert today because there have been many threats made against her. We do not know how this will turn out. Sadly, Canada is condoning marches and protests in favour of the terrorists. Jews in Canada are not safe due to the antisemite policies of our current governments. It was interesting to see pictures of people lined up along one of the streets in Winnipeg with Israeli flags flying.
We cannot report on the casualties from the Arab side of this conflict because Islam does not know how to speak the truth, so we have no accurate numbers available. Their numbers suggest over 40,000 casualties and a massive humanitarian crisis due to Israel’s response to last year’s attack. The fact is that there has been a massive amount of humanitarian aid sent into Gaza but Hamas has commandeered much of that and is hoarding it and is trying to profit off of that aid toward its own people. Some Arabs have been shot in the back as they have tried to take some of that aid. They were shot by Hamas, not Israel. There have been some civilian casualties in Gaza and Lebanon. That is part of war. However, the Arabs have intentionally kept civilians in the war zone as human shields and for propaganda purposes. I realize that the world and the Arabs want us to call the people in Gaza “Palestinians”, but they are not Palestinians. There is no such place as Palestine. Israel was given that name by the Romans as part of their efforts to erase the memory of Israel. The Palestinians were Jews back at that time and for many years after. The Arabs in that area are displaced Jordanians and others who are not welcomed back into their own countries because Islam wants to use them as a tool to draw world sympathy for their wicked religion.
Sadly, in all the reporting I have seen at this time, there has been no acknowledgment of the paganism of Israel that opened them up to that horrific attack. It was a tragic day, but as in the past, it was a day that could have been prevented if Israel would walk in the fear of the Lord.
We, those who are saved, need to pray for the salvation of many Arabs, and Gentiles in general. We also need to pray for the salvation of many Jews. The Psalmist was directed by God to remind us of this fact. God chose Abram as the human father of the nation of Israel. Abram grew impatient with God regarding His promise of a son for Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah. Sarah foolishly counselled her husband to commit adultery with her handmaid to try to “assist” God in keeping His promise. God rejected that “help” but a son was born through that adulteress affair. That son was Ishmael. God stated:
Genesis 16:12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
Abraham caused an unnecessary long standing problem for his people due to his sin. At the right time, God gave Abraham and Sarah the promised son, Isaac. From there the nation grew and became a large nation. Throughout the centuries different nations have tried to annihilate Israel. Israel has chosen to defy God for centuries. When God sent His only begotten Son into this world as THE SAVIOUR, Israel rejected Him. To this day, the nation of Israel has rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Saviour. That is the reason they have suffered so greatly over the past year. That is why they have been dependent upon foreign nations for weapons. Currently, Israel has decided to build a munitions factory for an estimated cost of 1.5 billion shekels. They have decided to build this to become less dependent upon foreign nations for munitions.
They could turn to God and find His help all sufficient, but thus far they have rejected that. As we read in one of our opening verses, Jesus Christ would have loved to take the Jews under His wings and protect and provide for them.
Israel is an object lesson for the world. God promised to bless Israel and to make them a blessing to the world. Jesus Christ was born a Jew. He lived in Israel and He travelled through Israel, preaching and teaching the truth. He demonstrated the fact that He is the prophesied Messiah. Jesus Christ went to the cross and shed His blood on that cross. He died there and was taken down as a dead man. He was laid in a tomb for three days and three nights. He rose again proving once again that He is not just the Son of man, but also the Son of God. He is the everlasting Saviour of mankind. Since His resurrection and ascension many Jews and Gentiles have rejected Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. A few have been saved. We praise God for His wonderful gift of salvation.
Israel rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah while He was on this earth, and they are still rejecting Him today.
God is gracious and He has been faithful to them. There are saved Jews today. The day will come when Israel as a nation will turn to God in repentance.
As we consider this day in the history of the nation of Israel, we need to be in prayer for the nation of Israel and for Jews scattered across the world. We can be thankful for those who are truly born again. We also need to pray for many others; that they would see the need to repent and be saved. God is good and His desire is for all to be saved. We are constantly reminded of His mercy and grace as we observe His hand upon the nation of Israel. He is faithful and we can rejoice in that fact.
Pastor Bartel
