This week the State of Israel marks 75 years since its independence. We praise the Lord for the fulfilment of God’s Word that prophesised that the nation of Israel would be born in a day. After 2,000 years of dispersion, exile, foreign oppression, and persecution, the Jewish people had a state to call their own. In honour of this miraculous event in world history, and the faithfulness of God towards the nation of Israel, we thank the Lord and bless Israel and the Jewish people in word and in deed.
This week also marked 75 years since Israel’s War of Independence. Notice that this was not a war ‘for’ independence. That was granted to the Jewish people by international law, but ultimately by the providence of Almighty God. Rather it was a fight for survival when the armies of five Arab nations invaded the newly formed state that was just one day old. Their intention was to annihilate Israel. The Arab leaders could not tolerate that the Jewish people had sovereignty in the Land of Israel. Even though they were also offered land for an Arab state alongside, they outright refused because this acceptance would have given recognition to the Jewish people’s right also. We praise the Lord that with very few weapons, limited resources and almost no support from the international community, Israel miraculously survived. In the decades since Israel was reborn as a modern nation, the Jewish state has faced numerous existential threats, from devastating wars to terror attacks. Nonetheless, Israel has faced every trial head-on, and has miraculously emerged victorious and more resilient than before. We thank the Lord that the promises of God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are being fulfilled before our very eyes as deserts bloom. Seventy-five years since her rebirth as a modern nation, Israel lives. The people of Israel live.
The United Nations this week marked ‘Nakba Day’, a campaign that falsely accuses Israel of forcing Arabs out of ‘Palestine’ at the creation of the State of Israel. They even hosted Mahmoud Abbas who attacked Israel from the platform and even compared Israel to the Nazis. Nakba means ‘catastrophe’ to describe the movement of Arab refugees, but what they really mean as catastrophic is the creation of a Jewish state and its victory against the five invading Arab armies. Whilst many Arabs remained in Israel, some were displaced because of the impact of war and many were told by Arab leaders to leave the newly formed state of Israel and return on a promise that Israel would be defeated. God had other plans. Today, some Arab nations have still not granted citizenship to these Arab refugees (now referred to as Palestinian refugees). Even to this day, 75 years later, the United Nations Relief & Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), which was formed in 1949, still calls the Palestinians and their children and grandchildren, “refugees”. Therefore the numbers are increasing, and the world blames Israel. This is a deception intended to demonise Israel. However we stand by the truth. We pray for the Palestinian people, but we pray that they will distance themselves from the manipulative agenda of the Palestinian leadership that is using their status as pawns in a motive to slander Israel. We thank the Lord that the United Kingdom boycotted the ‘Nakba Day’ even this week, along with 50 other countries. Many countries, however, still attended and heard Abbas’s antisemitic rhetoric. Pray that the UK and other countries will continue to make a stand against the UN’s weak and corrupt attitudes towards Israel. And as Christians standing in the gap for Israel in prayer, may we faithfully choose to stand on right side of history.
75 years on, we reject the opposition towards Israel. We will not align ourselves with those who curse Israel with their lips We will stand on the promises of God’s Word and bless Israel in accordance with Genesis 12:3:
“I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Thank you for praying with us today.
This year, we want to do more to bless Israel and the Jewish people.
We know that as we bless Israel this year, God will bless us, just as He promised in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Now is the time to bless Israel and the Jewish people.
