Tag: israelites

Who Said Israel Should Be Wiped Off the Earth?

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missile“Israel should be wiped off the Earth.” These were the stark words etched on two ballistic missiles launched by the country of Iran on March 9, 2016. In fact, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division, declared, “Israel is surrounded by Islamic countries and it will not last long in a war. It will collapse even before being hit by these missiles.” (1)

The hatred of Israel by many people and nations is evident. And though it is distressing to Christians, the very existence of such extreme animosity only serves to lend credence to the truth of God’s Word. In fact, when I read the headlines marked so boldly with this anti-Semitic message, my heart leaps to think of how the enemies behind this provocation are only proving the Bible’s veracity. Let me explain.

God gave the land of Israel (which is bigger than its current political borders) to His chosen people, the Israelites. The promise began with Abraham (then “Abram”), the father of our faith. Genesis 12:7 (ESV) declares, “Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.'” God reiterated this promise over and over. We find it emphasized again when the Israelites were in the worst of circumstances – as slaves to the Egyptians. In the midst of seeming hopelessness, God firmly reminded them, “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD” (Exodus 6:7-8, ESV).

God’s chosen people have struggled throughout history with the promise of their inheritance. They battled with the Canaanites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Romans during Bible times. They have been assaulted throughout modern history in obvious ways, including that of the Nazis. The hellish attacks notwithstanding, God’s promise remains. The fiendish attacks serve only to demonstrate that there exists something most peculiar and supernatural about this people and this land. Such pointed hatred can only come from an established reality, for no such loathing is the result of fairy tales or light-hearted belief. Our archenemy, Satan, stands behind every plot to abolish God’s people and God’s Promised Land.

The Scripture that jumped out to me when I first heard of the missiles marked with the threat, “Israel should be wiped off the Earth,” is Zechariah 14:2-3 (ESV): “For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.” Unbelievably, the Lord predicted 2,500 years ago that “all the nations” will eventually go to war against Jerusalem. The attack will culminate just before the visible second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus will return to the very same mountain from which He left (as recorded in Acts 1:9-12), the Mount of Olives. His toes will hit the mountain, and the mountain will split, and the Lord will conquer His enemies! Hear Zechariah 14:4-5b (ESV): “On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that on half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward … Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.”

The culmination of Christ’s victory over the enemies of Israel is explained in Zechariah 14:11b (ESV), “Jerusalem shall dwell in security.” No more will she be subject to war and degradation. Apparently, Amir Ali Hajizadeh is right in predicting a violent war with Israel, but he is certainly wrong about the ultimate result! God wins, and God keeps His vows.

After all end times events have taken place and the devil and all His worshippers have been deposited in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-15), we hear the amazing words of the Apostle John in Revelation 21:1-2a (ESV), “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, …” Not only a portion of land in the Middle East, but all lands and all the universe will be inhabited by God and His people, with the New Jerusalem as our capital. Amen!

As we are barraged with world news, we are encouraged to see than in trying to destroy God’s plan, His enemies are actually proving the Bible. Iran’s declaration to attempt to wipe Israel off the Earth only demonstrates that everything God has said is unequivocally accurate. Is not God incredible, that He uses even His adversaries to fulfill His plan and show His Word to be firm and timeless?

It reminds me of wicked King Herod the Great of the first century. In order to try to destroy Jesus, He used the words of the Old Testament prophet Micah to determine the location of Jesus’ birth (see Micah 5:2 and Matthew 2:1-6). Herod must have actually believed that the Old Testament prophecy had something to it. And when He killed all the male children in the Bethlehem region who were two years old and younger, He fulfilled yet another prophecy of God! (See Jeremiah 31:15 and Matthew 2:18)

Even unbelievers and enemies bring glory to God’s Word by demonstrating in real time and space its accuracy. So, go ahead leaders of Iran. Go ahead all enemies of God. You seek to annihilate His sovereignty, but only end up proving it!

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2, ESV)

(1) Gambrell, Jon. Iran Fires Two Missiles Marked with “Israel Must Be Wiped Out.” abcnews.go.com. 9 March 2016.

– Shelli S. Prindle

Truly, Where Is Your Trust?

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Just some weeks into the Israelites’ adventure in the wilderness following their miraculous exodus from Egypt, God’s people began grumbling against Moses and Aaron because they were hungry. Recall that these people had watched God send massive plagues (including the plague of death) to ensure their freedom from Pharaoh, they had seen the application of blood over their doorposts stop the death angel cold in his tracks, and they had watched with mouths agape as God divided the sea in half for their safe pilgrimage. And still, the Israelites make the wrong assumption that God has brought them all this way to kill them (Exodus 16:3).

As they continue complaining about their hunger, I can only imagine God’s thoughts. If I were God (and – wow – are we thankful I am not), I would have looked at the lot of them and said, “You ungrateful brats! Don’t you see what I have done? Do you really believe I have rescued you to kill you?” Thankfully, this is not what God says. I, myself, am particularly grateful for this fact; for I am one of the ungrateful, unbelieving brats.

God answers their complaining doubt by saying, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you” (Exodus 16:4). God is truly “something else,” isn’t He? It truly is all about Him. Even after I have trusted Him for salvation, I still fail. But God is faithful!

The detail we should highlight here is God’s prescription for the manna. He told the Israelites to collect enough for each day one day at a time. (Exodus 16:4) Throughout the week, they were to collect only enough for the day at hand and not stockpile it for the next day. Moses reiterated, “Let no man leave any of it until morning” (Exodus 16:19).

As we can imagine (because we know ourselves well), some of the people left manna from one day until the following morning. The results were very repulsive. The manna left over for the next day “bred worms and became foul” (Exodus 16:20). Smelly manna teeming with maggots is not what the Israelites had in mind! Yet, this was the result for those who tried to carry one day’s portion into the next day.

The question becomes, “Why?” Why did God do this? The answer is clear and confirmed in many other portions of the Bible. God wants us to trust Him and not ourselves and all our efforts.

People who hoarded the bread for the next day either did not believe God would rain down manna in the morning as He promised, or they did not believe God would give them strength the next day to go collect it. Either way, they did not trust the Living Lord. My friends, He wants us to know that He will be there tomorrow morning with all the provision of food, strength, and sanity that we need. We are not to work by our own efforts to devise a way to survive; relationship with and trust in God are our only ways to survive.

Jesus confirms this emphasis in the Gospel of John, Chapter 6. When large crowds cross a body of water to be with Him, He does not employ “seeker-friendly” techniques. He chastises the crowd by informing them that they have followed Him for the wrong reasons; they have only come because their hungry stomachs had been filled when He had performed the miracle with the fish and bread. Jesus proceeds to tell the crowd, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven” (John 6:51a).

The crowd was into following Jesus because of His miracles that satisfied their fleshly desires. The people even brought up the miracle of manna in the wilderness of which we have been speaking (John 6:31). But Jesus was sure to emphasize that though the recipients of this manna had eaten it, they still died an earthly death. The physical manna was not the key. The key is trust in the God who gives the manna.

Jesus told the crowd He is the Living Bread. He is letting us know that we should trust the one who never sleeps, never gets ill, never gives up, and never dies. God is alive. God will be there in the morning when we awake to give to us everything we need to live the next day. Do not mistrust Him by trying on your own to make things work and trying to ensure your own destiny. Jesus is alive. If we trust Him, He will provide – one moment at a time.

Be sure of this, any plans or efforts employed outside of pure trust in Him will produce repulsive results, similar to the manna teeming with maggots. However, the person who trusts in the Living God – and follows His instructions by faith – will see provision at all times.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day. . .'” – Exodus 16:4 (NASB)

Sweet Waters, Sweet Life

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Following the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, God’s people travelled into the wilderness. After three long days, they had still found no water. The only refreshment discovered had been the waters of Marah, which were bitter – too bitter to drink. As thirsty people would, the Israelites complained and asked their leader, Moses, how their thirst might now possibly be quenched. Moses knew exactly what to do; he cried out to God. After all, the Savior who divided the sea that his people might cross on dry ground could surely now lead them to water.

And God did provide. However, the Lord did not take them to a new place for sustenance. Rather, he transformed the old place. God showed Moses a tree. Moses threw that tree into the bitter waters of Marah. Suddenly, the formerly unpalatable water became sweet. Thirst was quenched, and life could be lived.

The peculiar fashion in which our timeless God worked for His thirsty people thousands of years ago indicates the way in which He now works for us. When we find life bitter and intolerable, God points to a tree to make life sweet and livable.

Who of us can swallow the distress of a guilty conscience? Who of us can live vigorously while dying of thirst for peace with a holy God? Who of us can tolerate the difficulty and disaster of life without assurance that we will someday know joy unhindered? Who of us can find the sweetness of life while the bitterness of guilt gnaws at our core? None can. Not one.

God points to the tree, the tree of Calvary. He bids us throw that tree into the mess and anguish of our sin. When that tree touches my soul, the dilemma is solved because the anguish of my sin is placed square on Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 9:14 (NASB) proclaims, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” The blood of Jesus shed on the tree of Calvary is placed into my life to make all things well. With a clean conscience is the only way to live a sweet life.

Our lives can be transformed so that we may live in peace, just as the water of Marah could be made right to drink. God transformed the water by throwing a tree into the mix. He transforms our lives by presenting the tree of Calvary to the horror of our sin, thereby neutralizing sin’s effect with the sacrifice of His Son. What formerly seemed intolerable – our guilt-ridden life – is now a true delight.

“When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” Then he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.” – Exodus 15:23-25a

Why the Wilderness When I Want Happiness?

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Avoidance of pain is currently upheld as one of the greatest of aspirations. “What can God do for me that will make my life better, easier, and more palatable?” we ask. Isn’t a happy life a natural outcome of salvation?

Perhaps we need to go back to square one and be reminded of salvation’s essence. In Biblical terms, to be saved means to be delivered from sin’s power and consequence. First and foremost, we are sinful people who need drastic deliverance from our bent toward evil. The problem is not our material discomfort or our lack of satisfaction; the problem is that our very nature – and our actions – offends a holy God. God’s sacrifice of His own Son for the sinfulness of us brings our deliverance. A person who trusts in the atonement of Jesus is covered with His righteousness. That is deliverance. It is a pronouncement of being right – despite who we are – because we trust in Jesus.

Now, let us go back to the original question, “Isn’t a happy life a natural outcome of salvation?” Maybe we should be asking a different question, “Isn’t our salvation – our deliverance – the most important thing?” What could be more important than my hell-bent soul finding deliverance from sin? What is more vital than the eyes of my heart being fixed intensely on the God who saves me? What is more critical than my direct journey to the home of ultimate righteousness God is preparing for me?

In God’s estimation, there is nothing – simply nothing – more important than our deliverance. In fact, when God miraculously delivered the Israelites from slavery to Egypt, He chose to send them the long way to the Promised Land – through the wilderness. Why such a difficult path to traverse? Exodus 13:17b-18a makes clear, “God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, ‘The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.’ Hence God lead the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea.”

The wilderness would be difficult, with challenges galore. However, the short route through Philistia meant a direct turning back. God knew His people would be too quickly tempted to go back to bondage in Egypt, and they would then never reach the Promised Land.

So it is. The wilderness of our lives can be sadly difficult. Truly, only God Himself knows why we must travel the path we do. But, one thing we know for a fact: the avoidance of pain is simply not more important than our full deliverance. I will travel this wilderness path, since I know it means I will not turn back. I will see God one day in the place He resides.

Take the Long View

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The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He. – Deuteronomy 32:4 (NASB)

What bold words Moses speaks forth in his declaration of the supreme goodness of God. The leader of renown assesses God after many years of living and serving, and Moses concludes that God’s work is perfect. As we ponder the leader’s reflection, let me remind you of a few elements of Moses’ life: He was hidden in a basket on the Nile River because of Pharoah’s edict that he and other Hebrew boys be murdered, he was raised in a foreign home, he bore the realization that he was separated from his people, he risked his life and comfort to identify with the people of God, he grappled with his murder of an Egyptian, he lived in obscurity for forty years in Midian, he was asked to help deliver the Israelites despite personal weaknesses, he endured the increased misery of the Israelites when he first approached Pharoah with God’s commands, he believed God through the plagues and death of the firstborn, he faced the dilemma of standing between the Red Sea and the approaching Egyptians, he led a complaining people through the wilderness forty years, and – most of all – he sustained personal devastation when denied entry to the Promised Land because of his own disobedience when he struck a rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded.

The bottom line is that Moses withstood grave disappointment at many instances of his life, and he suffered under baffling circumstances at many points. Were the “snapshot” view of things the final answer, Moses may not have declared his unwavering confidence in God’s inability to ever do wrong.

Despite the seemingly intolerable hardship at many turns along the road of life, Moses proclaimed, “His work is perfect.” Perfect here in the Hebrew means “complete, whole, healthful, having integrity.” Moses learned a vital key with God: take the long view. We may not apprehend the purpose of any particular difficulty or heartbreak, but we realize that God completes the picture of every righteous person’s life. He commands that all of life – even the grueling parts – function to fulfill a work in us that results in what is best, what is sound, what is fit.

Speaking of a long view, I stand amazed that Moses declares the complete justice of God even though he knew that he had been denied entrance to the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 3:23-27 makes clear that Moses sought God’s restoration and begged for entrance to Canaan. God denied him. And yet – with valor that inspires – Moses pronounces the faithfulness of God and the perfection of His work.

How does Moses’ broken heart exude such a hope? He has worked for God all his days and now is stopped at the threshold of a life dream. Or was he? All of Moses’ contemporaries who crossed over into the Promised Land died. Despite their entrance to Canaan; they faced enemies, difficulties, illnesses, and every other plight of humanity. The earthly Promised Land is not the Promised Land; it is not the ultimate dream.

Hebrews 11:13-16 says that great men and women of God have died in faith, without receiving the promises. They welcomed the promises from a distance. They believed and confessed that their true home is a heavenly home. Moses is in this category of unbelievable believers who stood on a hill overlooking the earthly Promised Land and knew for a fact that he would enter the Promised Land – the heavenly one!

Some will accuse people like me of using Heaven as a crutch. They might say that Heaven is not an answer to the turmoil we face in this world. I believe God has an infinite future to correct all wrongs and fill all dreams to an infinite depth. In Hebrews 11:16, we are informed that God is not ashamed to be called our God when and if we desire a heavenly city. For God, the heavenly Promised Land is not “pie in the sky” stuff. To the Maker of all reality, Heaven is the most real and the most desired. He prides Himself in those of us who, like Moses, truly believe that our deepest answers await us.

Let us announce, as Moses did, that God’s work is perfect. Despite anything we face, He does no wrong. Moreover, He has prepared a city for us!