Israel's 70th birthday

The greatest miracle of the modern era was the rebirth of Israel in 1948 (independence). This year marks the 70th birthday of the modern Jewish state, an event worth celebrating! I A and with amazing heritage in our faith.

Today there are thousands of Jewish people living in towns and villages that the world refuses to recognize as part of Israel. Their “settlements” are in the so-called “West Bank,” which is nothing less than the ancient Bible lands of Judea and Samaria. This land is Israel's, and God has called you and me to take a stand against the plans which would require Israel to give up this land as part of a peace plan.

It is outrageous! And it must stop. Land for peace is a lie. If Israel follows this path, it will only lead to death and destruction. Peace CANNOT come by ripping the Bible lands of Judea and Samaria away from the Jewish people. That would fly in the face of God's prophetic promise concerning the land and bring His judgment on all who support it. We must Save the Bible Lands.

source: Mike Evans @ JerusalemPrayerTeam.org

Come and see

How can we know with certainty that Jesus is truly who he claims to be - the Son of God and Savior of the world? Philip was eager to tell his friend Nathaniel (who is also known as Bartholomew in Matthew 10:3 and Luke 6:14) about his decision to be a disciple of Jesus. Philip tried to convince his friend that Jesus was the Messiah, whom Moses and the prophets had foretold would come. Nathanial was very skeptical because he didn't think it was possible for the Messiah to come from Nazareth, a town in Galilee. Nathaniel not only disliked the town of Nazareth, he despised its residents as unworthy Jews. "How could anything good come from such a place?"

Nazareth was at the crossroads of the ancient world where people from different cultures and religions would pass through. Perhaps Nathaniel thought its religious teachers were not orthodox enough in their understanding and interpretation of the law of Moses. Besides, how could the Messiah come from Galilee when the prophets said he would come from Bethlehem of Judaea? Aren't we all a bit like Nathaniel? We are skeptical when someone tries to convince us of the truth until we can comprehend it for ourselves.

A skeptical but earnest search for God's truth

So what kind of proof did Philip offer to Nathanael? Rather than argue with his friend, Philip took the wiser strategy of inviting Nathanael to "come and see" for himself who this Jesus claimed to be. Clever arguments rarely win people to the Gospel - but an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ can change one's life forever. When people are receptive to the word of Christ and when they see his love in action, the Lord Jesus himself, through the power of the Holy Spirit, touches their hearts and opens their minds to recognize that he truly is the Son of God who reveals the Father's love and truth to us.

When Philip brought Nathanael to Jesus, Jesus did something which only God could do! He opened Nathanael's heart and his innermost thoughts and desires to God's revelation. Jesus called Nathanael a true "Israelite in whom there is no guile." God had chosen Jacob, who was given the name Israel, over his twin brother Essau, because Jacob was a man of faith, without guile or cunning like Essau (Genesis 25:27). Nathanael, like Jacob, hungered for God and believed in God's promises. Nathanael knew the Scriptures. He had read the law and the prophets. And like Jacob he was waiting for the fulfillment of God's promises to his people Israel. Nathanael was an earnest seeker of God. He not only sought to grow in understanding of God's word, but he sought an intimate personal relationship with God as well. That is why he was willing to meet Jesus, to see if perhaps this miracle worker from Galilee might be the long-awaited Messiah and Savior.

God's word brings blessing and refreshment for those who receive it 

What is the significance of Jesus' revelation of seeing Nathanael "under the fig tree"? For the people of Israel, the fig tree was a symbol of God's peace and blessing (1 Kings 4:24b-25, Micah 4:4). It provided shade from the midday sun and a cool refreshing place to retreat, pray, and reflect on God's word. Rabbis often gathered their disciples under the shade of the fig tree to teach them the wisdom and revelation of God's word in the Scriptures. The rabbis had an expression for comparing the fig tree to being nourished with God's word in Scripture, "He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit."

Jesus offers the greatest gift possible - peace and friendship with God

It is very likely that Nathanael had been thinking about God's word while sitting "under his fig tree" and reflecting on God's promise to send a Messiah King who would free his people from sin and oppression and usher in God's kingdom of righteousness and peace for the whole world. Perhaps Nathanael dozed off for a midday nap and dreamt of God's kingdom like Jacob had dreamt when God gave him a vision of a great ladder which united earth with heaven (see Genesis 28:12-17). Through the gift of revelation Nathanael recognized that Jesus was truly the Messiah, the everlasting "Son of God and King of Israel" (John 1:49). The Lord Jesus offered Nathanael the greatest gift of all - the gift of friendship with God and the offer of free access to God's throne in heaven.

Jesus promises that we will dwell with the living God

What does Jesus mean when he says "you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man"? One of the most remarkable revelations recorded in the Bible is the dream of Jacob (Genesis 28:12-17). God had opened a door for Jacob that brought him and his people into a new relationship with the living God. In Jacob's dream God revealed his angelic host and showed him the very throne of heaven and promised Jacob that he and his descendants would dwell with the living God.

Jesus, the Son of God, unites earth and heaven in himself 

Jesus' response to Nathanael's new faith in accepting Jesus as the Messiah is the promise that Jesus himself will open the way for free access to the very throne of God in heaven. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to Jacob and his descendants - he is the way to the Father in heaven and the true "ladder (or stairway) which unites earth with heaven." In Jesus' incarnation, the divine Son of God taking on human flesh for our sake, we see the union of heaven and earth - God making his dwelling with us and bringing us into the heavenly reality of his kingdom through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus gives us free access to God's presence

Jesus' death on the cross, where he defeated sin and won new life for us through his resurrection, opens the way for each of us to come into a new relationship with God as his adopted sons and daughters. The Lord Jesus opens the way for each one of us to "ascend to heaven" and to bring "heaven to earth" in the daily circumstances of our lives. God's kingdom is present in those who seek him and who strive to do his will. Through the gift of faith God opens a door for each one of us to the heavenly reality of his kingdom. Do you see with the "eyes of faith" what the Lord Jesus has done for us?

Heavenly Father, through your Son Jesus Christ, you have opened the way to heaven for each one of us. As you personally revealed yourself to your beloved patriarchs and apostles, so reveal yourself to me that I may recognize your presence with me and know the power of your kingdom at work in my life. May I always find joy and peace in your presence and never lose sight of your everlasting kingdom.

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

The 12 Tribes of Israel

The grandson of Abraham, and the son of Isaac, Jacob fathered 12 sons. Jacob had 2 wives, Rachel and Leah (who were sisters, and first-cousins of Jacob), and 2 concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah (his servants). Ancient Israel was divided into 11 sections corresponding with 11 of the 12 tribes, which are based on the 12 sons and grandsons of Jacob, whom is later renamed as "Israel". Jacob's only daughter, Dinah was raped by a man of Shechem. Her brothers Simeon and Levi had exacted what they considered the appropriate revenge. Reuben was criticized for sleeping with one of his father's concubines. As punishment, Levi was not assigned a territory, but each of the other brothers was.  Therefore there should be 11 tribes, but Joseph received two portions (which should have been the right of the eldest legitimate son), one in the name of each of his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

The sons of Leah, wife of Jacob
1. Reuben (1st son)
2. Simeon/Shimon (2nd son)
3. Levi (3rd son)
4. Judah (4th son)
5. Zabulun/Zabulon (9th son)
6. Issachar (10th son)
- Dinah, daughter of Jacob, Israel's only daughter

The sons of Rachel, favorite wife of Jacob
7. Joseph (11th son)
- Menasseh  (1) and Ephraim (2), Joseph's 2 sons
8. Benjamin (12th son)

The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maid and servant, concubine of Jacob. It was Rachel's will that Jacob have children with her.
“Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.” (Genesis 30:3)

9. Dan (5th son)
10. Naphtali/Naftali (6th Son)

The sons of Zilpah, Leah's maid and servant, concubine of Jacob. It was Leah's will that Jacob have children with her.
"When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife." (Genesis 30:9)

11. Gad (7th son)
12. Asher (8th son)

The Lord scattered and afflicted the twelve tribes of Israel because of their unrighteousness and rebellion.

Deuteronomy 28:64
Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.

Jeremiah 29:18-19
¹⁸ I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse and an object of horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. ¹⁹ For they have not listened to my words,” declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the Lord.

The house of Israel shall be gathered together in the last days before the coming of Christ. The Lord gathers his people Israel when they accept him and keep his commandments.

Jeremiah 30:3
The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”

Ezekiel 28:25
This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.

Isaiah 54:7
“For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.

In the last days, the 10 lost tribes will return.

Jeremiah 16:14-16
¹⁴ “However, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ ¹⁵ but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors.

¹⁶ “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.

Isaiah 43:6
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth.

 

 

Genesis 49
Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

49 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Come here, and let me tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.

² “Gather around and listen, sons of Jacob.
Listen to your father Israel.

³ “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my strength, the very first son I had,
first in majesty and first in power.
⁴ You will no longer be first
because you were out of control like a flood
and you climbed into your father’s bed.
Then you dishonored it.
He climbed up on my couch.

⁵ “Simeon and Levi are brothers.
Their swords are weapons of violence.
⁶ Do not let me attend their secret meetings.
Do not let me join their assembly.
In their anger they murdered men.
At their whim they crippled cattle.
⁷ May their anger be cursed because it’s so fierce.
May their fury be cursed because it’s so cruel.
I will divide them among the sons of Jacob
and scatter them among the tribes of Israel.

⁸ “Judah, your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.
Your father’s sons will bow down to you.
⁹ Judah, you are a lion cub.
You have come back from the kill, my son.
He lies down and rests like a lion.
He is like a lioness. Who dares to disturb him?
¹⁰ A scepter will never depart from Judah
nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet
until Shiloh comes
and the people obey him.
¹¹ He will tie his donkey to a grapevine,
his colt to the best vine.
He will wash his clothes in wine,
his garments in the blood of grapes.
¹² His eyes are darker than wine.
His teeth are whiter than milk.

¹³ “Zebulun will live by the coast.
He will have ships by the coast.
His border will go as far as Sidon.

¹⁴ “Issachar is a strong donkey,
lying down between the saddlebags.
¹⁵ When he sees that his resting place is good
and that the land is pleasant,
he will bend his back to the burden
and will become a slave laborer.

¹⁶ “Dan will hand down decisions for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
¹⁷ Dan will be a snake on a road,
a viper on a path,
that bites a horse’s heels
so that its rider falls off backwards.

¹⁸ “I wait with hope for you to rescue me, O Lord.

¹⁹ “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders,
but he will strike back at their heels.

²⁰ “Asher’s food will be rich.
He will provide delicacies fit for a king.

²¹ “Naphtali is a doe set free
that has beautiful fawns.

²² “Joseph is a fruitful tree,
a fruitful tree by a spring,
with branches climbing over a wall.
²³ Archers provoked him,
shot at him,
and attacked him.
²⁴ But his bow stayed steady, and his arms remained limber
because of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
²⁵ because of the God of your father who helps you,
because of the Almighty who gives you
blessings from the heavens above,
blessings from the deep springs below the ground,
blessings from breasts and womb.
²⁶ The blessings of your father are greater than
the blessings of the oldest mountains
and the riches of the ancient hills.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,
on the crown of the prince among his brothers.

²⁷ “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf.
In the morning he devours his prey.
In the evening he divides the plunder.”

²⁸ These are the 12 tribes of Israel and what their father said to them when he gave each of them his special blessing.

²⁹ Then he gave them these instructions, “I am about to join my ancestors in death. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. ³⁰ Abraham bought the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre in Canaan, from Ephron the Hittite to use as a tomb. ³¹ Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there. Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there. I also buried Leah there. ³² The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”

³³ When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet into his bed. He took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death.


Genesis 35

Jacob Returns to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”

² So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. ³ Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. ⁵ Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.

⁶ Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. ⁷ There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

⁸ Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel. So it was named Allon Bakuth.

⁹ After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. ¹⁰ God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.

¹¹ And God said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. ¹² The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” ¹³ Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.

¹⁴ Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. ¹⁵ Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.

The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

¹⁶ Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. ¹⁷ And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.” ¹⁸ As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.

¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.

²¹ Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. ²² While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

²³ The sons of Leah:

Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,

Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.

²⁴ The sons of Rachel:

Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁵ The sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah:

Dan and Naphtali.

²⁶ The sons of Leah’s servant Zilpah:

Gad and Asher.

These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

²⁷ Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. ²⁸ Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. ²⁹ Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.