The Oracle, Part 1
Summary
Could an ancient prophecy and a mysterious ordinance given in a Middle Eastern desert more than 3,000 years ago be determining the events of our day?
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“But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations””
Psalm 33:11 NIV
I’m thankful that despite all that is going on around us and even with news and events changing daily, we can put our trust in God – who does not change. We can take confidence in His words to us. As it says in Psalm 33, “The plans of the Lord stand firm forever.”
In Israel, coronavirus cases are on the rise again. With that reality, I’m sharing a variety of news stories – including hospitals filling up, Israel working on new fast-track virus testing to open up their airport, and an agreement with a U.S. biotech company to secure vaccines as soon as they are available.
Meanwhile, the government promised no closures in the coming days for gyms and tourist attractions, and summer camps and summer school will continue through the last scheduled day of August 6.
And if the pandemic wasn’t enough to contend with, on Monday, Israel Defense Forces had to thwart a Hezbollah terror attack near the border with Lebanon.
As always, there is much to be in prayer for concerning Israel and her people.
According to Israel’s Health Ministry, the coronavirus wards at four of the country’s largest hospitals are full, and a fifth is nearing capacity. Serious coronavirus cases are continuing to rise, putting a strain on the healthcare system.
The ministry said Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem was operating at 120% capacity, with its virus treatment department at 152% capacity. Also in Jerusalem, Shaare Zedek Medical Center wards were at 104% capacity and the virus department at 106%, the ministry said.
In Tel Aviv, the Ichilov Medical Center was at 104% capacity, with 110% for its virus department, and the country’s largest hospital, Sheba Medical Center, was at 99.56% capacity, with 90% of its virus department filled, according to The Times of Israel.
Representatives of the Airports Authority, the National Security Council, and the Health and Transportation ministries met late last week to begin work on seeking a private company to hire to establish fast-track coronavirus testing labs at Ben-Gurion Airport, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The president of one of the companies interested in bidding to establish the labs explained how the process would work:
Israeli travelers would be screened at a drive-thru testing station 72 hours before their flight and receive the results on their mobile phone. If the test result is negative, the traveler would go to the airport and be given a second test. The results would be received upon arrival at their destination. Then they would be able to present two negative tests.
Foreigners desiring to enter Israel would be immediately screened when they arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport. Then they would enter isolation for approximately 24 hours to wait for their results. If the results are negative, they can continue their stay. If the test is positive, the visitor would remain in quarantine for 10-14 days.
Other countries that have opened their skies have similar systems in their airports. The goal is to begin the process to find the company to establish the testing labs in the next one to three weeks.
After Jerusalem signed an agreement for purchase of a drug being developed as a COVID-19 vaccine, the CEO of the U.S. firm developing the drug says Israel could be used as a location for human trials.
“My understanding is that Israel is under some significant challenges with respect to the prevalence of COVID, and it would present an opportunity to perhaps do the registration study in Israel, combining that data with other countries as well,” Arcturus Therapeutics CEO Joseph Payne told Israel’s Channel 12 news, referring to the Phase 3 human trials.
“It’s key that you have the study in a place where there’s a substantial amount of COVID present so that you can more quickly prove your vaccine works,” Payne said.
Arcturus Therapeutics and Duke-NUS medical school, a collaboration between Duke University and the National University of Singapore, announced last week that clinical trials were approved in Singapore for their LUNAR-COV19 vaccine candidate, according to The Times of Israel.
“Preclinical studies on LUNAR-COV19 have shown very promising findings, including the possibility that a single dose of this vaccine may be sufficient to trigger robust and durable immune responses,” said Professor Ooi Eng Eong, Deputy Director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Program at Duke-NUS.
Join me in thanking God that His plans stand firm forever. We can trust our Lord completely as we bring our requests to Him. Please pray with me for:
Thank you for praying with us for Israel and the Jewish people. You can also show your support with a financial gift.
Your generous gift will meet urgent needs for the most vulnerable Jewish populations in Israel – who are suffering even more because of the pandemic. You’ll help come alongside Holocaust survivors, recent immigrants, widows, orphans and others who struggling with even basic necessities.
Your support today will also be used to reach the “Lost Tribes of Israel,” who are scattered around the world, with humanitarian aid, clean water and medical, dental and eye care.
Meeting physical needs opens the door to share the love and hope of Yeshua (Jesus) with Jewish people, bringing spiritual healing to hurting hearts.
Your gift will also help engage the Church concerning Israel and the Jewish people through our publications and social media presence, leadership training and more.
Thank you for being a faithful supporter of Jewish Voice and for your love for the Jewish people in Israel and around the world. I’m grateful for your partnership.
Let us continue to trust our Lord – His plans stand firm forever, through all generations. I hope that both encourages and comforts you today.
The Jewish people have endured intense tragedies over their history as a collective, though now scattered, people. Defeats, captivities, and persecutions are all across their timeline as God’s Chosen People. While various calamities have fallen on different Gregorian calendar dates, it’s astonishing that, when translated to the Jewish calendar, many catastrophic events in Israel’s history occurred on the same Jewish date – the ninth day of the Hebrew month Av. Tisha B’Av means the ninth of Av, and it is a day of mourning for Israel and Jewish people everywhere.
Tisha B’Av begins at sunset on July 29, 2020. Mourning includes fasting from food, water and activities representing ease and luxury. Expressions of grief include abstaining from bathing/washing, using perfumes or colognes, intimacy, wearing leather shoes and sitting comfortably for part of the day.
Mourners also avoid engaging in business, greeting others, giving gifts, idle talking and leisure activities. Synagogue services include the reading of kinot, traditional poems inspired by Jeremiah’s book of Lamentations.
According to Jewish tradition, one biblical event starts off the list of tragedies occurring on Tisha B’Av. It is believed that the 12 spies sent from the wilderness to scope out the Promised Land returned on Tisha B’Av. Ten spies gave a frightful report and persuaded the Israelites to disbelieve God and not trust Him that they could take the Land He’d said He would give them. As a result, the original generation who left Egypt would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land. The Israelites remained in the wilderness 40 years until everyone over 20 years old at the time of the spies’ report passed away.
Other tragic events that have occurred on Tisha B’Av include:
On Tisha B’Av, we weep for God’s Chosen People over the calamities and tragedies in Israel’s history. And we pray that the sadness of this day will turn hearts to God and open eyes to see His promised Messiah, Yeshua, within the Hebrew Scriptures.
My soul longs for You at night, yes, my spirit within me seeks You. For when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.– Isaiah 26:9
“Do nothing out of selfishness or conceit, but with humility consider others as more important than yourselves, looking out not only for your own interests but also for the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:3-4 TLV
These verses seem especially fitting in our current circumstances. The pandemic continues to fill headlines around the world and impact each of our lives. A vital part of battling this virus is caring for others and finding ways to serve and help those in need.
Thankfully, Israel is seeing some good news in the midst of this second wave of coronavirus. The number of new cases appears to be going down. That trend will have an impact on the government’s decision-making concerning restrictions and whether to return to a more strict lockdown.
Also, scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered that a drug, already approved by the FDA, shows promise as a way to stop the spread of the virus within patients – effectively rendering the virus inert or similar to a common cold. This could buy time for a vaccine and other treatments to be developed.
An FDA-approved treatment for cholesterol could be effective in dramatically easing the symptoms of coronavirus, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem reports.
Prof. Yaakov Nahmias, founding director of the Alexander Grass Center for Bioengineering, in collaboration with Dr. Benjamin tenOever of New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center, found that the drug Fenofibrate (called Ticor commercially) could inhibit COVID-19's ability to reproduce in lung cells.
The drug was effective in treating infected human tissue in the researchers' study in the Hebrew University's MicroTissue Lab. It will now have to be proven effective in human clinical trials.
The researchers found that the drug blocked the ability of the coronavirus to “hijack” the metabolism of the lung cells. That means it could inhibit the virus’ ability to reproduce and develop.
"Our discovery comes at just the right time because there are new indications that antibodies to the virus can only protect patients for a few months, whereas if our results are confirmed in clinical trials, then within a few months treatment with our drug could be turning Covid-19 into a type of common cold," Prof. Nahmias said, according to Globes, an Israeli business news publication.
This potential treatment is exciting news! Please be praying with me for more discoveries like this to help combat the ongoing pandemic.
According to Hebrew University, the doubling rate of coronavirus has dropped to every 24 days. At the peak of this second wave, the doubling rate was every seven days. And during the first wave, the number of infected patients doubled as quickly as every three days.
It appears that restrictions implemented over the past two weeks have already started to reduce the infection rate. Fortunately, these aren’t as severe yet as they were during the first wave.
On Monday, the government’s coronavirus committee voted to keep beaches and pools open.
“The decision to not close public pools and beaches is the right one … Mental and physical health are extremely important to all of us,” said committee chair Yifat Shasah-Biton, according to The Times of Israel.
Discussions regarding schools, restaurants and gyms are ongoing with decisions expected by the end of the week, if not before.
It looks like a new government policy could be forming that allows for activities in open spaces and closes events that take place inside, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Consider a generous gift
Thank you for praying with us for Israel and the Jewish people. You can also show your support with a financial gift.
Your generous gift will meet urgent needs for the most vulnerable Jewish populations in Israel – who are suffering even more because of the pandemic. You’ll help come alongside Holocaust survivors, recent immigrants, widows, orphans and others who are struggling with even basic necessities.
Your support today will also be used to reach the “Lost Tribes of Israel,” who are scattered around the world, with humanitarian aid, clean water and medical, dental and eye care.
Meeting physical needs opens the door to share the love and hope of Yeshua (Jesus) with Jewish people, bringing spiritual healing to hurting hearts.
Your gift will also help engage the Church concerning Israel and the Jewish people through our publications and social media presence, our new podcast, A Jew and A Gentile Discuss, leadership training and more.
Thank you for your support
May we all look out not only for our own interests but also for the interests of others as we work together to battle the coronavirus. And let’s continue to pray for the Lord’s guidance and protection during these challenging times.
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At Jewish Voice Ministries International, we are in very purposeful pursuit of wisdom, understanding and discernment. For several years now, we have been pressing into the Lord for new strategic insight considering shifting situations in the nations we serve. When we began our quest, we had no idea that COVID-19 would become one more factor in the mix for us as an international ministry. We desire to hear the Lord speak clearly and need Him now more than ever. As a staff, we just spent a week of special prayer times focused on asking Him for wisdom, understanding and discernment. We need these to know what to do, what not to do, where, how and when for the years to come. Would you please intensify your prayers for us in that regard at this time? We are looking forward to 2021 and beyond, and we desire to hear from God plainly. Please join us in these Scripture-based prayers for wisdom:
LET’S PRAY: NOTE: |
I went on my first Outreach with Jewish Voice Ministries International (JVMI) in 2013, and my life hasn’t been the same since. It was a weeklong Medical Clinic in northern Ethiopia in the city of Gondar. Because I’m not a medical professional, I wasn’t sure what role I could play in blessing the Jewish community there, but I went anyway.
I spent the week outside of the Clinic working in Line Management. A team of local workers and I were tasked with keeping hundreds of patients in orderly lines while they waited to see the doctors. In this role, I interacted with thousands of Ethiopians, praying for them and learning about them. When I left at the end of the week, I felt sure I had just tasted a bit of what the Lord had in store for me – more of the same kind of work! There was just one problem…how? How could I afford to be part of this kingdom work going forward?
Working full time and with a family, disposable funds weren’t available to pay for another trip like the one I’d just finished. On the plane, flying home, I strategized ways to save enough money to return to Ethiopia as soon as possible. One idea that seemed to make sense was to give up purchasing special coffees, and put that money toward my next trip. Every bit helps. But when I arrived at the Washington, D.C., airport and immediately went to Dunkin’ Donuts for an iced coffee, I quickly realized that I needed another plan.
I prayed right there in Terminal 2 of Washington Dulles International Airport and said “yes” to the Lord. Yes, to reaching His precious Jewish communities in Ethiopia with the Good News of Yeshua. Now, I just needed Him to direct me on how to do it.
God quickly pointed me to the book of Philippians, where I read Paul’s thank-you for the support he received from that group of Believers.
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.– Philippians 4:10
Fundraising has always been a challenge for me. Whether it was because of pride or fear, it never crossed my mind to ask people who love me to help me return to a place I love. But the truth is, most people in our lives want to be involved. People love the idea of reaching out to the world, yet so many of them lack the opportunity. They may not want to travel themselves on an Outreach but are interested and willing to support someone who does.
When we don’t involve those around us, we block them from a blessing. Paul’s words in Philippians reflect this fact.
Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.– Philippians 4:17 NKJV
So, I listed the first 20 people who came to my mind that I thought would like helping reach Ethiopians with the Gospel. I didn’t list those I thought would give but those who had the heart to reach the lost.
Through letters, phone calls, emails, and social media IM’s, after I got home, I began to reach these people with JVMI’s vision and what I experienced on that Gondar Outreach. The results were amazing! My next three Outreaches with JVMI were fully funded by the people I listed that day. I know that it wasn’t my words that persuaded them. It was the Lord’s provision for my response to His calling and my willingness to step out of my comfort zone. Simply, I said, Yes!
Do you feel called to join JVMI on an upcoming Outreach and be a part of proclaiming the Gospel to the Jewish people and their neighbors in Ethiopia or Zimbabwe?
Is funding the trip your major obstacle? Here are a few helpful tips:
Be Encouraged – First, know that in wanting to serve in this way, you are aligning yourself with the heart of God; His blessings are sure to follow. Pray and ask Him for direction, discernment, and wisdom.
List – Make a list of all the people in your life who either have the heart to proclaim the Gospel or are invested in you. Then:
Pray – Pray for the people on your list. Pray over each one and all who join you through prayer or finances. Use Paul’s heart for the Philippians as a guide (Philippians 4:18b–20):
…having received…what you sent––a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. My God will fulfill every need of yours according to the riches of His glory in Messiah Yeshua. To our God and Father be the glory forever and ever! Amen.
And get ready for an outreach experience that will change your life right along with the lives you help change!
