“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in an uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shield with fire. He says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Psalm 46
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Yeshua the Messiah,
I certainly did not expect to be writing to you again so soon, however events, as you see, change so rapidly in our part of the world. Hence, this brief update to share with you some initial impressions of the Israel-Iran war and to provide you with a number of salient points for prayer.
As I write, eight days have passed since Israel’s security forces launched a pre-emptive strike on Iran, attacking its nuclear facilities and scientists, its military infrastructure (including many of its top commanders) and also targeting government and broadcasting facilities. Outraged, Iran responded immediately by launching ballistic missile barrages against Israel, both day and night, sending us all running for bomb shelters.
Observations: Brief checks of social media sites indicate how controversial Israel’s decision to attack Iran is…no surprises there! Israel’s military policies and decisions, both now and over the past nearly two years, are based in a world-view that dates back to the Holocaust: “Never again!” This leads to an existential mindset that makes Israel a formidable foe to anyone that threatens her.
Iran’s aspirations to lead the Moslem world by building nuclear weapons and the ability to deliver them via long-range ballistic missiles was inevitably going to ‘paint Israel into a corner.’
Israel’s intelligence network concluded that Iran was extremely close to creating weapons-grade nuclear material, a threat that has become intolerable.
As outrageous as Israel’s attack on Iran is to a world that has been quick to condemn us for our actions in Gaza, political leaders in the US and Europe are quietly applauding us for doing what they themselves were afraid to do.
For us, our lives are very disrupted, echoing the worst days of the Corona pandemic. We remain very close to home and close to our shelters, making brief forays out to the supermarket for supplies. All places of entertainment of course are closed, as are all educational facilities. Gathering for worship in larger groups is prohibited. All summer travel plans abroad are closed as Ben Gurion airport is closed apart from receiving a growing number of rescue flights for the 150,000 Israelis ‘trapped abroad…’ Sound familiar?
We are grateful for the fifteen-minute warning (via our phones) from Home Front Command. Even if we are in deep sleep (e.g. 2:30am like Friday night) this is sufficient time to get up, dressed and into the bomb shelter, that is part of our building structure. In our case, we are four couples, a three and a half year old (Zoe) and a baby… And a fan to keep the air moving. There is just enough space for us to sit, crammed together like sardines! We listen for the booms of intercepts and impacts, trying to judge how close they are! We pray and encourage one another and are relieved when we get the ‘all-clear’ and can contact friends in other cities that have been hit. We have become adept at getting back to sleep or resting when we can during the day.
Spiritual parallels: I very much relate to what a dear friend and colleague, Eitan Shishkoff, writes on the matter. I quote: “The comparison with Israel’s ancient conflicts can’t be resisted. Most obvious is Esther and Mordechai’s Persian empire (aka modern Iran.) Wicked Haman (aka Ayatollah Khameini) is intent on destroying all the Jews. His over confidence and willful ignorance of the God of Israel’s authority in such matters leads to his own demise. Seems that we are watching a replay from 2485 years ago.”
Eitan goes on to say, “Beloved, I believe we are watching and walking through the prelude to the climax of history.”
I particularly love the parallel he draws between the ‘stretching’ that occurs in a woman’s body during the nine months of her pregnancy. “We are now being stretched. The people of Israel are being stretched. The Body of Messiah around the world is being stretched – in ways that we’ve never gone through.” Why?
For the same purpose as a pregnant woman. We are pregnant with the kingdom of God, with the revival that must be birthed before Yeshua returns (see Joel 2:28-32; Isaiah 60:1-3; Ezekiel 36-37; Hosea 3:4-5).
As we are being stretched, may we see God’s purposes born in our lives. May we see the same in the lives of the disciples we make as we reach out to others, according to the Lord’s words in Matthew 28: the Great Commission. May His commission continue to be fulfilled in the Messianic community we have established and indeed, in the new community outreach center we are building here in the heart of Netanya!
Current Points for Prayer:
- That the Iranian military and nuclear capacity be permanently eliminated.
- That Israel’s security personnel, including those serving on all other fronts, be fully protected and guided by angelic forces.
- That the people of Iran be freed and a new government be established that serves their citizens selflessly.
- That the Holy Spirit be poured out on Iran, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and the entire Middle East, revealing Yeshua as the world’s only hope for peace, leading millions to repentance and redemption.
- That God would fully open his storehouse, enabling us, the Beit Asaph community, to complete our obligations and calling to establish a permanent facility here in the heart of the Sharon Valley.
In His service together,
Evan Thomas (for Beit Asaph)