“The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace”

Psalm 29:11 (NIV)

Do you get the sense the world is spinning out of control? I know it feels that way to me. Every day a new crisis or reason for worry seems to spring out of nowhere.

That’s why I’m so thankful we know God is in control. He isn’t taken by surprise or overwhelmed by circumstances. Even when we are surprised or overwhelmed, the Psalm above says that He gives us strength and peace. I don’t know about you, but I can always use more of both.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed today, especially as we look at the news coming out of Israel, I encourage you to ask the Lord for strength and peace. Pray strength and peace for yourself, your family, friends, neighbors, region, and an extra measure for Israel and the Jewish people. God will hear you.

If you want more encouragement in these chaotic times, please take a look at our daily devotional series Hope In The Midst.

Now, let’s take a look at where God’s strength and peace are needed right now in Israel.

COVID-19 CASES INCREASE ACROSS ISRAEL

On Sunday, Sigal Sadetzky, the head of health services at the Health Ministry, told Israel’s parliament that the country is seeing the start of a second wave of the pandemic. Over the last month the government took steps to reopen the economy and roll back restrictions.

“We had a long period of more than two weeks with a calm of less than 20 infections a day, and it started to climb and climb, and now we are seeing close to 200 new sick people a day,” Sadetzky said, according to The Times of Israel.

“What characterizes the wave we are seeing now is that it’s across the country. We don’t really know how to identify at-risk groups,” she said.

FULL LOCKDOWN COULD RETURN IN ISRAEL IF INFECTION RATE DOESN'T DROP

Late last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israelis that the government will have to reimpose the lockdown if social distancing and other preventive measures aren’t practiced to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

"I have good news and not-so-good news. The good news is that our economy is picking up pace," Netanyahu said, according to Israel Hayom, an Israeli national newspaper.

"The not-so-good news is our community spread levels," he continued, referring to the recent increase of COVID-19 infections within Israel. "We are seeing the start of a climb, and the reproduction number [the time it takes for cases to multiply] is 10 days. If this continues, we will have to reintroduce the lockdown measures."

“Likewise know that wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off”

Proverbs 24:14 (TLV)

I am focusing us on wisdom because with all that is going on in our world today, wisdom is something we can all use more of, don’t you agree?

Look at the verse above from Proverbs – wisdom is linked to having a future and hope that will last. Certainly something we all desire. And if we pray for wisdom earnestly, God will grant it.

When you read the news stories I’ve included here, I hope you will consider the importance of wisdom for all leaders and especially those in Israel and the Middle East. Pray with me that each one will seek wisdom in their lives and their decision making in the days ahead.

U.S. UNLIKELY TO BACK JULY 1 WEST BANK ANNEXATION

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that he wants to move forward with West Bank annexation plans as early as July 1. These plans would affirm Israel’s sovereignty over 30 percent of the West Bank, including all settlements and the Jordan Valley.

I say “affirm” because while the U.N. ignores it, historically and legally Israel already maintains sovereignty over all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. This was first recognized in the 1921 League of Nations’ Mandate for Palestine; adopted under Article 80 of the U.N. Charter; and no agreement since has altered it.

Still, it seems unlikely the U.S. administration will approve this move by the July 1 date, a source told The Times of Israel last week.

It could take weeks or even several months before the joint U.S.-Israel mapping committee concludes its work. The White House has declared this a precondition that must be met before any go-ahead would be given for annexation. Already, significant delays have happened because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

July 1 is the earliest date the coalition agreement signed by Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party allows the Prime Minister to bring the issue to a vote in either the cabinet or the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

According to the coalition deal, the West Bank annexation plan can only move forward in full coordination with the White House.

The statement below is from Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, an affiliate organization of Jewish Voice. Our organization agrees with the statement made below, and adopts it as our stance.

 On behalf of the UMJC, its member congregations and ministries,

We are grieved and outraged by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and the deaths of many other victims of racially motivated violence. We are moved to declare our solidarity with brothers and sisters in the black community. You are right to demand recognition as full, respected members of a free society. We hear your lament that injustices caused by systemic racism are no longer tolerable. We grieve with you as you recall the suffering of too many heartbroken families torn apart by repressive, unrelenting crimes of racial hate. We honor your continued calls for genuine justice, liberty and equality.

Yeshua our Messiah, quoting the Torah (Lev. 19:18), called us to love our neighbors as ourselves; but a man trying to justify himself asked him, “and who is my neighbor?” Yeshua proceeded to tell the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37), making clear that our obligation to love others extends far further than the boundaries of our own tribe or people.

We know this story and principle well, but how well do we implement it in our lives and in our congregations? Do we love in words only, or also in deeds?

We call on our fellow leaders in the Messianic Jewish community to reach out proactively to black church leaders, activists, organizers, and business leaders in our local communities. Now is the time to offer our listening ears, our feet, and our financial resources to support them in their time of grief and in their calls for justice, accountability, and reform. 

We are also moved to call for a time of introspection and repentance. We must all search our hearts in the sight of our almighty God and ask, “Have I stood idly by the blood of my neighbors? Do I bear in my heart any unconscious residue of racism? Have I ever responded in fear when love was called for instead?” 

As we listen and learn from our brothers and sisters in the black community, and from people of color within the Messianic Jewish community, we commit to honor one of the Torah’s weightiest commandments: “Justice, only justice, shall you pursue.” (Deuteronomy 16:20)

- UMJC Executive Committee

Long ago, if you asked a Jewish mystic about tikkun olam, he might tell you stories – beautiful stories of an inverted tree, suspended between heaven and earth, its roots drawing God’s goodness like sap that flows through the trunk and into the branches that stretch into our world. He might tell you a story of vessels so full of divine light that they burst and spread sparks across the earth. The mystic might say that it is up to each of us to repair the world (tikkun olam) by gathering these sparks.

In another time and place, you might speak with a Christian nun in her convent. She tells you of the struggle to find God’s justice in a changing world, not just criminal justice but justice for the poor – social justice. As you sit together, faces glowing with the colors of stained glass, she might tell you of her work among the poor. The nuns work to feed the hungry, but they also fight to improve lives of workers locked in dark factories with putrid air. They fight to change the oppressive structures that trap people in a cycle of poverty. The gospel is not just a comforting message but the power to change lives, she says.

In a place closer to home, these traditions converge. Black-skinned pastors march for the right to be treated as human beings in the country where their relatives were slaves. They are joined by rabbis carrying Torah scrolls who march because after thousands of years they still remember that they were slaves in Egypt. They march together because the soil of our nation cries out for justice, from the cotton fields worked by slaves with bloody hands to the trails marched by indigenous people driven from their homes. They march for people still trapped in a cycle of poverty and still denied justice.

“Legs are not lips and walking is not kneeling. And yet our legs uttered songs. Even without words, our march was worship. I felt my legs were praying.”¹

Of course, neither of these traditions are creating the concept of justice out of whole cloth. They call back to the origin story of Genesis, a story of glorious creatures crafted from dust, a story of sin and banishment. They amplify the cry of the prophets to turn back to God, not by grand shows of religiosity but by properly treating those made in the image of God. They echo the teaching of a rabbi from Galilee that the poor and disabled were not born into such circumstances as a punishment for sin but as an opportunity for redemption. He radically included women, foreigners, criminals and sinners. He continued the prophetic tradition of a Day of the Lord that is far off and a work for justice that is needed now.

If we dismiss discussions of social justice as simply the talking points of a certain section of our political spectrum, we miss an opportunity to work toward the malchut hashamayim (Kingdom of Heaven). As a community that draws wisdom from both Jewish and Christian traditions as we seek to follow Messiah, we must lead the way in answering the prophetic call for justice.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”

Acts 1:8 (NIV)

Last week was Shavuot/Pentecost – a time of celebration and a time to reflect on our faith. At the same time, we continue to deal with the pandemic and other tragic events that are headlining the news.

We need an outpouring of the Holy Spirit across Israel, the United States and our world. So many are hurting. There is anger. Fear. Despair.

It is more important than ever to be witnesses for Jesus our Messiah – as the verse says above – to the ends of the earth. And that starts in your home and your community. Love and encourage others. Offer hope. Share your faith. And be in prayer.

There are some interesting developments in the news this past week related to Israel. Please read about them below and continue to lift all of this up to our Lord.

SAUDI ARABIA VIEW OF ISRAEL SHIFTS DRAMATICALLY

For decades, the Arab world maintained an intense hostility toward Israel along with a widespread belief that “Palestine” must be liberated at all costs. But this belief is changing in Saudi Arabia.

“Today, the public is informed. There is a deluge of opinions against the Palestinian cause,” explained Saudi writer Abdulhameed Al-Ghobain in an interview this month with BBC Arabic, according to Israel Today.

And concerning how Saudi Arabia views its relationship with Israel, Al-Ghobain said, “It is no longer just public support for normalization and building ties with Israel. Our public has turned against the Palestinians in general.”

This is a dramatic change that seems to stem from strategic national interests becoming the top priority for Saudi Arabia.

“It is in our strategic interest, and in keeping with our future economic interests, to maintain real relations with Israel,” says Al-Ghobain. “Israel is an advanced country and we can benefit from it.”

It comes down to many in the Arab world realizing what many in Israel have said all along: a Palestinian state, especially one heavily influenced by Hamas, will only further destabilize the region.