Oneness in Sorrow and Joy: Israel's Rebirth

Dates are very important in Israel - and not just the juicy kind! Keeping up with God’s calendar is one of the things that makes life in Israel so exciting. Fancy being aligned with Heaven! As well as the biblical feasts, there are several other special holidays. The early springtime ‘birthday of the trees’, or ‘Tu Bishvat’, for example, is a day to plant trees and enjoy nature, especially the beautiful almond blossom. Even this is connected to Scripture in some way, as the God of Israel speaks to the prophet Jeremiah through His beautiful creation (Jer. 1:11-12).

The rebirth of Israel can also be found in the Bible, perhaps most dramatically in Isaiah 66: “Can a nation be born in a day…?” Israel celebrates her Independence Day (Yom Ha Atzma’ut) just one day after her Memorial Day (Yom Ha Zikaron) for fallen soldiers and victims of terror. Both dates in the Hebrew calendar, the whole country literally moves from sorrow into joy. The blanket of blue and white flags all over the country, and already fixed to people’s cars, even before Memorial Day, annually fills the weary ones with hope.

“Erev (the evening of) Yom Ha Atzma’ut is the closest thing Israel has to New Year’s Eve,” was one Anglo-Israeli friend’s take on Israel’s 75th Birthday. “And the day itself is the closest thing we have to Christmas Day,” he added. “An Australian Christmas Day!” piped up another friend, since we were all enjoying a BBQ to celebrate. Family hikes and BBQs are a characteristic of Independence Day in Israel. This year in particular, it was wonderful to see the country come together with so much joy, following all the protests.

“I feel like a tourist!” said another Israeli friend, who is not accustomed to braving the crowds in the centre of Jerusalem on the evening before Independence Day. She was amazed at the numbers of people, the loud music, the plastic hammers, the dancing and the foam spray that we both tried to avoid!

With Israel’s Yom Ha Shoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) coming just a few days prior to Memorial Day, it really is a whirlwind of emotions, both highs and lows. Through it all, though, the nation is together. “Achdut” (togetherness or unity) is an important concept in Judaism, and at times like this you really feel it. The word is the same root as ‘echad’, the plural oneness used of Elohim (God). And of course the greatest commandment to love Him and love one another is the outflow of this Hebraic concept.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Deuteronomy 6:4

Following the tragic murders of a mother and two daughters, Lucy Dee, 48, Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, during the Passover holiday, husband and father Rabbi Leo Dee has called for unity. It is notable that one of the lives saved in the wake of the terrorist attack, as her family bravely donated Lucy’s organs, was that of an Arab citizen of Israel. Her husband explained that this was very fitting, as Lucy’s desire was for peaceful co-existence.

The Jewish community worldwide has launched an initiative in the memory of Lucy, Maia and Rina, called, ‘3 phone call Friday’. The idea was born when Yoni Golker, a friend of the family, visited the Dee Shiva (7-day mourning period) in London. He writes on social media that he “sat with the bereaved father of Lucy, and grandfather of Maia and Rina, Richard Shaw”. He explained: “We spoke about the tragedy, and then he turned to me and said ‘Do you know what I am going to miss most? It is the weekly conversation I would have with my granddaughter- it wasn’t just tokenism – it was a proper conversation! She would care to ask me all the small details – that is what I will miss the most...’” The initiative encourages everyone to call three loved ones every Friday. On the flyer, the word ‘achdut’ has been included, in Hebrew, as it cannot be fully expressed in English. This Memorial Day, coming less than three weeks after the terrorist attack that claimed the three beautiful Dees, I couldn’t help thinking of how this family was having to add their nearest and dearest to the long line of Israel’s fallen heroes. May Ha Shem (Israel’s God) comfort Rabbi Dee, his son Yehuda, 14, and two remaining daughters, Keren, 19, and Tali, 17. Both on Yom Ha Shoah and Yom Ha Zikaron, there are sirens to mark two-minute silences, for which every person, every car, every bus, comes to a complete standstill. Together. Together with Elohim (God) - through it all. And because no other nation has literally been raised out of the ashes, there really is nothing like this anywhere else in the world.

---

Visit CFI's Bookstore

The Gathering of the Nations

The prophet Joel clearly prophesies to future generations that God would bring His Chosen People back to the Land of Israel, returning from the diaspora (nations of the world) where they had been scattered for two thousand years, that His Promises would begin to unfold rapidly. With the certainty of a Judge’s gavel, the Lord God of Israel states that He will bring His people home, and we are to recognize that He is doing it. The Promise that He made to Avraham, Isaac, and Jacob of giving the Land of Israel would be upheld. The surety that they would return and rebuild would come to pass. God is not a man that He can lie is again reiterated to us in Jeremiah 30:3. Jeremiah is standing on the promises of the words of Moses.

“God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19, NIV).

Those of us alive are to look for and scan the horizon to watch for the signs of the times of a great event that God is going to orchestrate. There will be an international gathering of the nations of the world from all continents and the Middle East surrounding His Nation: Israel. The above Scripture clearly states that God will rally the nations, collecting them all together in a specifically located place of His choice, the Valley of Jehoshaphat in Israel.

Researchers have told us that the word Jehoshaphat means “Yahweh has judged” in the Hebrew language. In the Torah/Tanach (that which Christians wrongly term the “Old” Testament) was the fourth king of Judah, who notedly had a peaceful and prosperous reign.

It is interesting to note that both the Lord in the book of Joel (1-3) and Jesus (Yeshua, His Hebrew name) speak about times of judgment. Judgment is at this time with the nations of the world. Their actions toward His People are the reason for the judgment. Verses 2 and 3 tell us that the reason for judgment is that the nations have “scattered” His People “among the nations” and “parted My Land.” These two monumental sins have worked against God’s People throughout history and are the opposite of what God has done for His People. He wishes to restore them to the Land from which the Greeks and the Romans banished them. He hopes to rebuild that which they lost. The time of their “warfare” is over (Isaiah 40:2), and God is “building up Jerusalem” for His Coming Kingdom in today’s world. Those nations who have stolen from His People, persecuted them, and hated them without a cause, will be judged.

Some nations took God’s silver and gold to Babylon and Rome (Joel 3:5), and other countries deported His People from their Land (Joel 3:6). God is raising them through a modern word termed “Aliyah” (making a holy journey back to the Land (Joel 3:7). It is a time when nations will be talking “war!” (Joel 3:9-11). Precisely what we hear on our airwaves today on every mode of modern technology: WAR IS COMING! Serious war. Nations will be racing to build the most modern weapons and warfare Joel 3:10) seen today. God will bring those who do not fear the One True God to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where He will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.

"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision." Joel 3:14 KJV

Wikipedia: In this historical map of biblical Jerusalem, the Cedron Valley (German Kidron Thal oder Josaphat Thal – Kidron Valley or Josaphat Valley) runs along the eastern wall of the city (Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1885).

At this time, many nations are making decisions on whether to stand with Israel or continue to bash her through international bodies such as the United Nations and anti-Israel propaganda like BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanctions) of Israel. If you feel you have not heard from God for a while, wait until this begins to take place here in this location – the beautifully groomed and agriculturalized ground of the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Many nations say, “We want our Embassy in Jerusalem, for we are choosing to stand with Israel.” Others say, “We want Jerusalem as OUR Capital City. We will fight for it!”

But what we should notice is that GOD does something during this time. He not only judges the nations who have cursed Israel, but He ROARS. He lets out a deep, full prolonged cry on behalf of His People, as the Lion of Judah (Joel 3:16) so loud and so mighty, like thunder from the sky, that the “heavens and the earth shall shake” (verse 16), and He becomes the STRONGHOLD, the HOPE of His People the STRENGTH of the children of Israel. There will be no messing around with God from then on and no touching His Chosen Ones in the wrong way, or you will pay. This way, Israel (and the nations) will all know that HE IS GOD and His Holy Mountain is reserved for HIS DWELLING PLACE.

He will sit to judge the nations further, and Jesus the Messiah, when He Comes, will separate the “Sheep and the Goats” (Matthew 25:30) based on what reason? How the nations and individuals treated God’s Chosen People. It is all there, right in God’s Word, the Bible. Jerusalem will be “holy unto the Lord, “ and Jerusalem will become the Lord’s Earthly Home.

Does your Nation support Israel?

No wonder such a spiritual “struggle” is going on above us, around us, and engulfing us everywhere. The “battle of the ages” is on. Does your nation support Israel? If not, why don’t you tell your congressman why he needs to get behind Israel?

May your nation be a “sheep” nation, not a “goat” nation standing with Israel. At the big gathering of the nations, then you can be proud to say, “I am a Canadian, I am an African, I am a Chinese, etc. because our nation stands with God and His People!” Work towards this through prayer and supplication, raising your voice to support Israel, and teaching the Counsel of God. God bless you as you bless Zion!

Sharon Sanders (2022)

Donate - Bless Israel

---

A Principle and a Promise, by Sharon Sander

CFI BOOKSTORE

Christ, our Passover Lamb

---

The Passover Lamb

Many Christians are unaware that the celebration we call Easter should coincide with the Passover celebration and is, in fact, the fulfillment of what the Passover in Egypt foreshadows. The Early Church celebrated it at the same time as Passover. Still, it became separated as a result of church politics and attempts to separate the Church from her Jewish origins.

We see from the description in Exodus chapter 12 that one lamb was chosen for a household and not one for each person. Then in Acts chapters 11 and 16, we see whole households coming to salvation in Christ, so there is meaning for family groups in Scripture, as well as individuals.

The chosen lamb was to be without blemish, and Pontius Pilate was quite clear that he could find no basis for a charge against Jesus (John 19:4). None of the lamb’s bones were to be broken, and John’s account indicates that unlike the two criminals either side of him, none of Christ’s bones were broken (John 19:33,36).

Passover is clearly fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, as confirmed by John the Baptist:

‘The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me’.” (John 1:29-30)

And also by the Apostle Peter:

‘For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.’ (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Removal of Leaven (sin)

The removal of anything associated with leaven (yeast) from houses before Passover is an important feature, with leaven often used in the Bible as a picture of sin and corruption – it spreads widely. Indeed, the seven-day Festival of Unleavened Bread includes Passover, when the Lord commands that ‘no leaven is to be found in your houses’ (Exodus 12:19).

Passover Seder meal of today

In the Jewish custom, a few days before Passover, the children and others are sent in search of any leavened bread, breadcrumbs, or other items of similar food, which are then swept up and removed or at least stored away during Passover. This is done well in advance of the actual Passover meal.

The lesson for Christians is obvious – sin, or anything connected with sin, is to be confessed and put away before coming to the Lord’s Supper. There is no place in a true biblical celebration of the Lord’s Supper for unconfessed sin and wrong relationships. That is why the apostle Paul wrote:

‘Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.’ (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)

“Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves” (1 Corinthians 11:28-29).

The Anglican service for Holy Communion is always rightly preceded by the confession. We would do well to include something like this whenever we meet to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, which is, of course, linked to the Passover meal Jesus celebrated with his disciples.

The Blood of the Lamb

The word ‘blood’ is said to occur 324 times in the Old Testament and is often used to mean ‘life,’ ‘ancestry,’ etc., as it is in the New Testament, where it occurs 100 times. Of those 100 appearances, 34 refer to the blood of Christ.

At the time of the original Passover, God told Moses that the Israelites should slaughter the lambs and put the blood on the sides and tops of their doorframes, explaining:

“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” (Exodus 12:12-13)

It was not what the Israelites felt or thought about the lamb, their fears, or certainties, but its blood on the doorway that saved them from God’s action against the Egyptians and their gods. The God of Israel did not say, “When you see the blood and value it as you ought,” but “when I see the blood.” The blood was outside – the Israelites were inside and could not see it. The blood was for God to see.

And now the blood of the Lamb of God is the ground of a sinner’s peace with God (Romans 5:1, 8-9). Our peace and acceptance with God do not rest on ourselves but on the blood of Christ.

Some Christians use phrases such as “I put myself under the blood” or “I put this person under the blood.” But is it Biblical to do so? All the references to the blood of Christ in the New Testament have to do with redemption from sin and reconciliation with God. The phrase ‘They triumphed over him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb’ (Revelation 12:11) probably refers to the fact that Satan has no legal hold over believers because they are justified before God by the blood of Jesus.

That blood removes believers from any claims the enemy might make on them and frees them from all guilt. It, therefore, robs the devil of any authority over them and enables them to use the authority of the name of Jesus against the devil and his servants.

In other words, Revelation 12:11 should be understood in the light of overcoming Satan as the ‘accuser of the brethren,’ which is confirmed by the teaching of Hebrews 9:18-28. We need to be clear about the real place of Christ’s blood in redemption and not drift into an almost ‘magical’ belief in speaking out phrases about the blood of Christ.

Written by Derek White.

Based upon a part of the booklet ‘From Passover to Easter’ written by Derek White.

Review books from the CFI-Jerusalem Bookstore Here

Visit Amazon.com to purchase your copy today.