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July 10, 2006 14 Tammuz, 5766 Dear Praying Friends, “On Thursday, the IDF took over the remains of three settlements evacuated during last year's disengagement in the face of fierce resistance as dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers began carving out a temporary buffer zone in northern Gaza to stop Kassam rocket attacks. At least 30 Palestinians were killed during Thursday and Friday's fighting, according to the IDF and hospital officials in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Authority Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Radi said he did not know how many civilians were among the dead. Radi said 62 people had been wounded, including seven in serious condition and 20 children. Columns of IDF tanks and APCs carrying Golani and Givati infantry rolled into northern Gaza before dawn Thursday and retook the settlements of Nisanit, Dugit and Elei Sinai, as Israel dramatically expanded its incursion into Gaza. The troops began deploying in a temporary buffer zone designed to prevent Palestinians from firing Kassam rockets into southern Israel. It was Israel's largest operation in Gaza since disengagement took place almost a year ago.”
The above appeared in the Jerusalem Post last Friday (July 7). Our hearts are grieved over the casualties among the Palestinian civilians and children as well as our own losses. This has got to be the worst kind of war. And it is a war. The terrorists are hidden within the city. The rocket launchers are in the back yards of public facilities.
There are strong feelings and varied opinions about what was done, what should have been done, and what we should do. Recently a local Messianic leader published an article about the disengagement. He called for us to support our government, stating that they had been appointed by God to bring about the restoration of the nation at this difficult time. He presented the dilemma in the light of the following five choices: 1) Incorporate Arabs of Judea and Samaria into Israel as citizens -- which would threaten the Jewish majority; 2) Maintain all the settlements there with ongoing military control over the Palestinian; 3) Wage war to evict the Arabs; 4) Pull out most of the Jewish population and negotiate a peace treaty with all the Arab world based on the 1967 borders; or 5) Move the more scattered settlers unilaterally into the larger settlement blocs and build the security fence around them. His conclusion was that in the face of it all, our leaders, in choosing the fifth option, made the best decision humanly possible. Some days later another brother wrote an article that in a way was an answer to the former one. Essentially it pointed out what the Word of God says...that this is His land.
There is no painless human solution to the problem. Yes, we did the best man can do...and we did it with God out of the picture. Can we say it’s OK because they (the government) don’t know the Lord? We think not. It comes to mind how King David (in 2 Chronicles 21) was faced with a somewhat similar dilemma after taking a census. He was given four choices for how the judgment on his sin would be executed. He chose to put himself in the hands of God. The penalty was still great, but there was mercy in the end.
After reading the second article, I was amazed at how I (arni) was drawn in by the well-thought-out arguments of the first. How deep is our humanistic Greek orientation! This is not the first time Israel or any of us has been at the edge of the cliff with no way back. Remember the Red Sea! One difference is that today we have neither Moses nor a clear prophetic voice encouraging the people to believe God to defeat the giants. Logically, number-wise, it makes no sense to expend all the resources and energy to hold on to the particular land in question. But we have got to get above the situation and see it from a different perspective.
What exactly is this battle about? Are we seeking a solution from men when the issue resides in the spirit realm? Human conflict is resolved by power, while spiritual conflict is decided by authority. Is the real issue the size of the land or the demographics of the nation or the difficulty to maintain a given position? We don’t expect a government that does not recognize God or His Word to understand this dynamic. But we the Body, on the other hand, need to know where to stand, how to pray, and what to claim. We pray according to our understanding and we stand in the gap according to revelation on the heart purposes of God. But what happens when we don’t know what to do? King Jehoshaphat found himself in just such a situation. His response appears in 2 Chronicles 20:12,13:
”’O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.’ Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD.”
The outcome is in verses21 and 22:
“And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: ‘Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever.’ Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.”
Beloved, we don’t know what to do and the battle is too great for us. It’s time to worship and praise the Lord. There is nothing more contrary to man’s wisdom and more effective against the power of the enemy. The war on the ground is only a reflection of what is going on in the spirit. The restoration of the Nation will be brought about by those who walk after God and call upon His Name, and not by the political establishment or the army.
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Finally, some of you are aware that the international gay community has planned a gathering in Jerusalem from August 6-12. Protests have arisen from every quarter of society. Jews, Christians and Moslems have found a point of agreement...that this event would not take place. In some way they (the gays) understand that to release something in Jerusalem is to release it into the whole world. Our twisted idea of tolerance and right of expression has bound our court system to grant permission for the event to take place. However, the police have yet to issue a permit for it. If they feel that there is too great a possibility of violent protest, they can keep it from happening. It may be, and even probably is true that the immoral physical expression and open rebellion to the Word of God of the gay community is a reflection of the spiritual state of Israel, and that in a sense it would be the just judgment of God to allow such a thing to take place. Are we any more righteous today than in the days of Jeremiah? Well, for the sake of His Name and glory, the Jerusalem leaders have called a fast from Monday sundown to Thursday sundown, that the event would not take place.
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We are so grateful for your standing with us. May God bless you from Zion!
Your servants… For the Glory of His Name, Arni and Yonit |