Praying for Peace

The current conflict in Israel is not current. It has been going on for decades and this history is complex. In Genesis, God made a covenant with Abraham to give them the land. While slight boundary changes appear in the OT books, the people of God believed this part of the world was given to them by God and they are willing to fight for it.

This morning I read this from one of the OT prophets…

So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord God. (Ezekiel 47:21–23)

A bit of a search told me that Ezekiel was saying God was not pleased with the way His people were oppressing those who attached themselves to also live in this area by denying them justice. A vision of the future goes beyond the law of Moses by giving property rights to these people, not those who might want to just live there, but those who attached themselves to the Israelite community. In addition, he uses the old formula of Levitical law that says “the foreigner joined to the Lord” have the same right as any exiled Israelite in the matter of inquiring of the Lord through the prophet (14:7).

Another source says that Ezekiel does not grant equal rights with native-born Israelites to “strangers” indiscriminately, or only to those of them who have families, but to those who  permanently settle in the midst of Israel and show this by having children and building houses for themselves. Even though this could suggest careful interpretation (an influx of Gentiles could make life difficult for the Jews in this small space) these verses could be symbolic.

When I read them, I wondered if God’s heart is telling His people to treat those who live in the West Bank and in Gaza with hospitality rather than bombs, so did a brief search that told me the difference between those two settlements is their belief systems. Gaza’s mix of people includes a large group that is determined to destroy Israel. Many on the West Bank are less violent but have the same resistance to the existence of Israel. These people are enemies.

While the situation is far more complex than what I am gleaning, I know that there is a symbolism in Ezekiel 47. It affirms that the only way Gentiles can share in the promised inheritance of the new temple and land is to become part of Israel. Gentile aliens or sojourners are to be considered the same as native born sons of Israel and allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. This hinges on these sojourners having a life in common with the Jews, not a determination to destroy them.

However, the NT clarifies that Gentiles cannot partake of Israel’s OT promises by becoming a part of Israel’s theocratic society. But they can have access to the promises. Here’s how…

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. . . .  That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”. . . . (Romans 4:13-17)

The Gospel means that all nations are invited to share in true Israel’s redemptive blessing by trusting in Jesus, the true seed of Abraham and the only authentic Israelite, who died and rose again for both Jew and Gentile. Everyone represented by Jesus, the ideal king and Israelite, is considered part of true Israel and therefore shares in the blessings that God gives. 

Does this include a plot of ground in Israel? Some Christians do live there, even in Gaza and the West Bank. Does the passage in Ezekiel call for discernment and greater justice for them? AI says they have religious freedoms, yet persecution happens. 

PRAY: You tell me to pray for peace in Jerusalem: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you!” (Psalm 122:6) so I know Your heart on this ongoing, centuries-old conflict. Thankfully, You also reveal that one day Jesus will return and bring peace. While we wait, grant that peace of heart that surpasses understanding as I pray for this and so many other issues and conflicts that tug at my heart. 


 

Blessings Remembered

 

 

READ Psalm 86–90

This week I went through a ‘memory box’ from our storage room. It had cards, old photos, and an assortment of things saved as mementos from various events. Some of them drew a blank; I didn’t remember the occasion, like hockey game tickets and a few postcards. Others filled my mind with precious memories that sometimes brought tears, like funeral pamphlets and my children’s drawings.

Today’s reading did a similar thing. Some of the verses in these psalms brought past incidents of God’s faithfulness to mind, blessings I’d forgotten. As I read them, my heart welled with thankfulness and a sense of His care. One of the songs I sang before reading them was “His Eye is on the Sparrow” and these verses were like an exclamation point to the goodness of God who watches over me too. Others reminded me of times I cried out to God and He heard and answered my prayers, like this one:

Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me. (Psalm 86:4–7)

Others reminded me of cries for help, either grace for my own life or affirmation that those who hurt or opposed me would be dealt with:

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. (Psalm 86:11)

Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. (Psalm 86:17)

O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you. Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! (Psalm 88:1–2)

One verse stands out as the desire of my heart, my ambition for the remainder of my life: “I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 89:1)

Another passage is a reminder of the goodness of God for my family. Their spiritual lives are important to me and I want to see them walking close to the Lord. To that He also speaks, reminding me of the kind of God He is regarding the children of His people:

I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens. If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules, if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes, but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. (Psalm 89:29–36)

I’m also reminded that God is always God, that He never changes: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:1–2)

Yesterday in conversation with the adult children of my relative who died last week, we talked of his great age of 104 and agreed that we would like to make it to 100. We know that we cannot control such things, but this verse is my prayer for the days I have left: “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) I’m certain that my cousins would agree. We want to live wisely, just as we hope to live for a long time!

And the last passage that blesses me in the reading and is also my prayer — for today and always, for my family and always, and for all of God’s people: “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” (Psalm 90:14–17)

How wonderful to know this amazing God who cares about us, who hears our prayers, and who is powerfully and lovingly able to answer them!

 

Out of Death and Into Life!

2 Chronicles 17; Zechariah 2; John 5; Revelation 6

Concentration is difficult. The world is in a mess, or at least the news says it is. A well-known pastor says it is ripe for the antichrist. While many have great hope in new leadership, history shows that human leaders are flawed and very soon the people who elect them are again dissatisfied. Personally, I’m grieving the losses. We are in lockdown here. Everything but essential services are closed. Our church went back to online only. Our family cannot join us for Christmas dinner. Even worse, we wait for confirmation but it seems our great-nephew has died. My heart struggles to see what I know is there; that God loves us and He never makes mistakes.

Jesus illustrates the fact of “the big picture” in the plan of God by telling the religious people of His day that this plan started a long time ago. They missed it because from the beginning, they refused to rely on the Lord and instead trusted their “own way” no matter how many times their efforts got them in trouble.

Like that description of insanity, sin also is about doing the same thing over and over thinking the results will be different. In the case of the religious Jews, Jesus said to them:

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:39–47)

There are days when the reality of unbelief and the consequences of sin get me depressed. I can repent for myself but cannot change the hearts of those bent on doing their own thing to their destruction. This is not to say that the people of God will not die a physical death. However, biblical ‘destruction’ is about separation from God for eternity. Some will die forever because of their determination to reject God’s salvation. Yet others will die physically because they determined to follow Jesus Christ!

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Revelation 6:7–11)

If this life only is the most important thing, then we are all coming to the same end, but as Jesus said, there is more to life than this life:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. (John 5:24–25)

APPLY: Today, this promise from Jesus is my comfort. The young man that we have been fervently praying for has passed, not from life to death, but from death to life. He stands before the throne of God complete and more alive than when he was here. And we will see him again, not just for a short visit but forever and ever.