Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his party have
won a stunning election. Pre-election polls predicted a loss or, at best, a
narrow win. Many are still scratching their heads at how the polls could have
been so wrong. Netanyahu will serve a record-setting fourth consecutive term as
Prime Minister.
Netanyahu’s recent speech before a joint session of the United States Congress reflected his deep appreciation for America, excelled only by his devotion to Israel and the Jewish people. He was educated in the United States, which accounts for his flawless English. He spent his high school years here when his father was a history teacher in the States. Later, he studied at MIT and Harvard.
He understands the sacrifices made for freedom and how fragile freedom can be in today’s world. Most Americans don't know that July 4th also holds special meaning for Netanyahu. On July 4, 1976, the day America celebrated its Bicentennial, he lost his brother in the famed emergency rescue of hijacked airline passengers in Entebbe, Uganda.
Idi Amin held wretched dictatorial sway in Uganda and sought to further terrorize the world by taking Jewish and other passengers off an Air France flight at the airport in Entebbe. In a courageous and dangerous move, Israeli commandos swooped in by air, rescued almost all the captives and flew them to safety, deeply embarrassing Amin and his military. There was a single Israeli casualty: Jonathan “Yoni” Netanyahu.
In a long ago freedom celebration, Israel left Egypt after sprinkling the shed blood of the lamb on the door posts and lintels and eating the slain lamb whose body was roasted over a fire on a spit. According to some scholars, the spit was a stick lengthwise and crosswise through the shoulders—a lamb on a cross. Paul said, “Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us,” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Israel’s liberation and American freedom must always have a stated kinship. Netanyahu surely understands the sacrifice of his own brother to rescue the innocent passengers in Entebbe, and he must certainly know of Numbers 12 and the slain lamb of his Old Testament.
America’s stability and blessing is inevitably linked to recognition and support of God’s ethnic Israeli remnant as Genesis 12:3 declares. The term “Judeo-Christian ethic” is more than a well-worn phrase. It is an expression of a vital link between Israel and America and between freedom there and freedom here. America has likely been blessed because of our country’s position as Israel’s ally. God told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you….” Pray for wisdom for our government’s leaders that they not abandon that view and our blessing be lost.
Netanyahu and the new Israeli coalition government face incredible pressure from all political sides regarding issues including a Palestinian State and Iran’s nuclear program. Our biblical responsibility is to pray for peace. Psalm 122:6-8 enjoins, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces. For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, Peace be within you. Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.”
Admittedly, many are frustrated trying to reconcile the exhortation to pray for Jerusalem’s peace with the obvious absence of peace in the Middle East. Real peace in Israel will come only through her Messiah—our Savior, Jesus Christ. Rejecting the Messiah meant a missed peace for the people of Israel.
Until our prayer for the peace of Jerusalem is fully answered in the Millennial rule of Christ, personal peace is available to any individual by receiving Him as Savior. Trusting Christ gives us “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). When people respond to Christ inwardly, they can promote peace outwardly. “For He Himself is our peace, who…has broken down the middle wall of separation…that He might reconcile…both to God in one body through the cross….” (Ephesians 2:14, 16)
This post includes excerpts from a previous post by Dave Virkler and his commentary “Israel: What You Need to Know”.
Netanyahu’s recent speech before a joint session of the United States Congress reflected his deep appreciation for America, excelled only by his devotion to Israel and the Jewish people. He was educated in the United States, which accounts for his flawless English. He spent his high school years here when his father was a history teacher in the States. Later, he studied at MIT and Harvard.
He understands the sacrifices made for freedom and how fragile freedom can be in today’s world. Most Americans don't know that July 4th also holds special meaning for Netanyahu. On July 4, 1976, the day America celebrated its Bicentennial, he lost his brother in the famed emergency rescue of hijacked airline passengers in Entebbe, Uganda.
Idi Amin held wretched dictatorial sway in Uganda and sought to further terrorize the world by taking Jewish and other passengers off an Air France flight at the airport in Entebbe. In a courageous and dangerous move, Israeli commandos swooped in by air, rescued almost all the captives and flew them to safety, deeply embarrassing Amin and his military. There was a single Israeli casualty: Jonathan “Yoni” Netanyahu.
In a long ago freedom celebration, Israel left Egypt after sprinkling the shed blood of the lamb on the door posts and lintels and eating the slain lamb whose body was roasted over a fire on a spit. According to some scholars, the spit was a stick lengthwise and crosswise through the shoulders—a lamb on a cross. Paul said, “Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us,” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Israel’s liberation and American freedom must always have a stated kinship. Netanyahu surely understands the sacrifice of his own brother to rescue the innocent passengers in Entebbe, and he must certainly know of Numbers 12 and the slain lamb of his Old Testament.
America’s stability and blessing is inevitably linked to recognition and support of God’s ethnic Israeli remnant as Genesis 12:3 declares. The term “Judeo-Christian ethic” is more than a well-worn phrase. It is an expression of a vital link between Israel and America and between freedom there and freedom here. America has likely been blessed because of our country’s position as Israel’s ally. God told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you….” Pray for wisdom for our government’s leaders that they not abandon that view and our blessing be lost.
Netanyahu and the new Israeli coalition government face incredible pressure from all political sides regarding issues including a Palestinian State and Iran’s nuclear program. Our biblical responsibility is to pray for peace. Psalm 122:6-8 enjoins, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces. For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, Peace be within you. Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.”
Admittedly, many are frustrated trying to reconcile the exhortation to pray for Jerusalem’s peace with the obvious absence of peace in the Middle East. Real peace in Israel will come only through her Messiah—our Savior, Jesus Christ. Rejecting the Messiah meant a missed peace for the people of Israel.
Until our prayer for the peace of Jerusalem is fully answered in the Millennial rule of Christ, personal peace is available to any individual by receiving Him as Savior. Trusting Christ gives us “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). When people respond to Christ inwardly, they can promote peace outwardly. “For He Himself is our peace, who…has broken down the middle wall of separation…that He might reconcile…both to God in one body through the cross….” (Ephesians 2:14, 16)
This post includes excerpts from a previous post by Dave Virkler and his commentary “Israel: What You Need to Know”.
No comments:
Post a Comment