“As a ring of gold in a pig’s snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion” (Proverbs 11:22). Solomon’s words have special application in an American election year, when the marketing of image is a major preoccupation.
Solomon’s firstborn son Rehoboam “abandoned the Teaching [Torah] of YHVH” at the age of 42, just after he was crowned Davidic king. “But he did evil because he did not set his heart to seek YHVH” (see 2 Chronicles 12:1-14). Immediately before his turning away from the God of David his grandfather, he had gone up to Shechem (modern Nablus) for his national coronation (see 1 Kings 12:1-20). It was ‘an election year,’ so to speak, and Rehoboam consulted to different groups of ‘election advisors:’
- Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, “Your father made our yoke hard; but now, lighten the hard labor imposed by your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” Then he said to them, “Depart for three days, then return to me.” So the people departed. And King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” Then they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and grant them their request, and speak pleasant words to them, then they will be your servants always.” But he ignored the advice of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and served him. He said to them, “What advice do you give, so that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” And the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “This is what you should say to this people who spoke to you, saying: ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us!’ You should speak this way to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! Now then, my father loaded you with a heavy yoke; yet I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions!’”
- And the king answered the people harshly, for he ignored the advice of the elders which they had given him, and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men . . . So the king did not listen to the people; because it was a turn of events from YHVH, in order to establish His word which YHVH spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people replied to the king, saying, “What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, Israel! Now look after your own House, David!” So Israel went away to their tents . . . So Israel has broken with the House of David to this day. And it came about, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent word and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel. None except the tribe of Judah alone followed the House of David.
It is usual to make grandiose promises preceding an election – vows which are later not usually carried out. In the words of a famous French luxury perfume commercial of bygone days, “Promise her anything, but give her Arpège!” At this significant crossroads in Jewish history, Rehoboam ignored that public relations principle to his own detriment. The fallout was civil war among the people of Israel, and a rejection of the Davidic dynasty’ rule by the overwhelming majority of the sons of Jacob – a rebellion which has lasted up to our day.
Ballot days are here again
On November 5, 2024 the United States of America will hold their once-every-four-years national election. Candidates are again making promises, and it seems that the country feels more divided than at any period since the 1861 American Civil War. Bob Dylan’s 1983 description of the penultimate politician in his sizzling ‘Man of Peace’ seems even more relevant than ever:
- He got a sweet gift of gab, he got a harmonious tongue
He knows every song of love that ever has been sung
Good intentions can be evil, both hands can be full of grease
- Well, he catch you when you’re hoping for a glimpse of the sun
Catch you when your troubles feel like they weigh a ton
- He’s a great humanitarian, he’s great philanthropist
He knows just where to touch you honey, and how you like to be kissed
- Well, the howling wolf will howl tonight, the king snake will crawl
Trees that’ve stood for a thousand years suddenly will fall
Copyright © 1983 by Special Rider Music
Dining at the diplomatic delicatessen
YHVH declared that King Solomon was the wisest ruler ever to walk this planet:
- And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself a long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you” (1 Kings 3:11-12)
Solomon cautions followers of the God of Jacob to exercise extreme discernment when engaging in diplomatic discussions with world rulers: “When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are a person of great appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for it is deceptive food” (Proverbs 23:1-3). He adds a graphic note of caution, using earthy language: “Do not eat the bread of a selfish person or desire his delicacies. For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, ‘Eat and drink!’ but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten and waste your compliments” (Proverbs 23:6-8).
At this moment, much diplomatic pressure – political thumbscrews applied against Israel’s leaders – continues to come from the POTUS and from U.S. State Department diplomats who have clear goals in mind. In light of the razor-thin margins among the American electorate between Democrats and Republicans, there is a concerted effort to garner votes by appealing to ‘woke’ and leftist voters – making promises and hinting at policy changes which would be more user-friendly to Israel’s enemies than to Israel herself. This has manifested itself in the many orders of “Don’t!” given by the POTUS to the Jewish state – rebukes and threats aimed at forcing Israel to pull back from decisively defeating jihadi terror (whether it be Sunni Hamas in Gaza and PLO in the West Bank, or Shi’ite Hezbollah in Lebanon and Revolutionary Guards Corps [IRGC] in Iran). The list of ‘don’t’s’ has included warnings to the IDF not to enter Gaza; not to enter Khan Yunis; not to enter Shifa Hospital in Gaza; not to enter Rafah; not to enter Jabaliya; not to enter Lebanon; not to bomb Hezbollah HQ in Dahieh, Beirut; not to respond to Iranian missile, rocket and drone attacks on Israeli civilians, etc. Yet is each case, Israel’s insistence on pursuing their own military goals has let to significant IDF victories on the battlefield as well as the decisive elimination of top jihadi commanders.
In the words of journalist and analyst Eitan Fischberger on April 15, 2024: “Turns out that simply saying ‘don’t’ is not an effective deterrent against genocidal regimes hellbent on the destruction of Israel.” And as Matthew Continetti of the Washington Free Beacon added on April 19, 2024: “Israel Is Right to Reject Biden’s Bad Advice.”
Who is picking up the tab?
In recent days, on April 13, 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran fired 221 drones, over 30 cruise missiles, and over 110 ballistic missiles at Israel. Over nine million Israelis huddled in bomb shelters during this largest drone strike in history. On October 1, 2024, the IRGC fired approximately 200 ballistic missiles at the the Jewish state – the largest ballistic missile attack in world history. On October 19, 2024, three Hezbollah drones headed out to attack Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Caesarea home. Two were shot down before reaching their target, and one hit the home. The PM and his wife were absent from home at that time.
POTUS Biden’s heavy-handed instructions to Israel’s Prime Minister after the first April 13, 2024 Iranian attack were clear: “You got a win. Take the win,” Biden told Bibi on April 14, adding that the US would not participate in any offensive operations against Iran. Biden’s definition of ‘a win’ was that no Israeli citizens were injured or killed in that first Iranian missile attack.
- These three events were serious acts of war. Israel’s response on the first attack was to take out one Russian-built S-300 Iranian anti-aircraft battery. Israel’s response to the second attack was to target 20 Iranian military installations. Though Israel’s second response was more significant in nature, the tab is still very much open as far as Israel is concerned – though the U.S. immediately pressured Israel after the first Iranian attack to cease and desist regarding further response against Iran.
The POTUS’ initial ‘orders’ to Israel show that the U.S. Administration has a hierarchy of ‘more important’ strategic concerns here; they center on both the upcoming American elections and U.S. Middle East ‘imperial realpolitik.’ Whereas the prophet Elisha on his deathbed encouraged King Joash to strike the ground forcefully in a prophetic action as a sign of his resolve to wipe out Israel’s Syrian/Aramean enemies, the king of Israel half-heartedly hit Elisha’s arrows against the floor only three times – with the prophetic result being that Israel would not decisively vanquish her enemies (see 2 Kings 13:14-19). These examples of fighting spirit and battlefield resolve are important lessons to be learned from this prophetic history.
GI Joe meets Jihad Jane
The basic blockage here – U.S. inability to size up the enemy in this battle – is a result of America’s secular and non-Biblical worldview, one that fails to grasp the viral danger of international jihad. This Islamist terror war of conquest, murder and enslavement of non-Muslims – is a decisive spiritual and dynamic factor in the clash of civilizations. And the West is still hesitant to call a spade a spade, to recognize the spiritual aspect of this struggle.
Genesis 12:3 is another decisive matter here: “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse.” The theological cursing of Israel and the Jewish state which is part of classic Islamist texts has brought an elephant into the room that few Westerners have the courage or backbone to name and confront.
Messiah Yeshua’s teaching on spiritual dynamics regarding the demonic world certainly applies to formerly Christian nations who have lost their vision and resolve regarding spiritual threats to the gospel. A clean but spiritually empty room is ‘an accident waiting to happen:’
- “Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there. And the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation” (Matthew 12:43-45).
The pressures that America and the West are applying to Israel are actually bringing curses down on those countries. They are pushing the Jewish state into a corner and forcing it to fight the forces of jihad with one arm tied behind its back. It is time for believers to get back up on the walls and intercede for Israel’s protection, salvation and victory in the present and coming battles.
American political forces on both sides of the aisle seem to have many illusions regarding how to ‘solve’ the problems in the Middle East. Threatening Israel and setting a cut-off date for the conclusion of present conflicts is one such example. But jihadi strategies are not susceptible to American date-setting. Only iron-clad resolve and steely commitments to opposing Islamist encroachment are the language that jihadi armies understand.
The famous King Théoden, seventeenth King of Rohan in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ narrative, declared as he rallied his troops before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields: “Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! Spear shall be shaken, shield shall be splintered, a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises! Ride now! Ride now to Gondor!” His rousing challenge stands us in good stead in our day
If at first you don’t succeed
In a scene reminiscent of Psalm 2:1-3, a power-delegation from the U.S. has arrived in Israel today, attempting to sew up a ‘peace treaty’ – or more likely a threadbare ceasefire – between Lebanon and Israel, just in time to squeeze under the finish-line rope of the November 5 U.S. elections. There are trying to breath new life into the diplomatic corpse of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 (August 6, 2006). This Resolution was supposed achieve the following:
- the withdrawal of Hezbollah and other forces from Lebanon south of the Litani River
- the disarmament of Hezbollah and all other armed groups, leaving only UNIFIL and the Lebanese military south of the Litani River
- the need for full Lebanese (non-Hezbollah) government control of Lebanese territory
- the unconditional release of abducted Israeli soldiers, whose corpses were being held as collateral by Hezbollah
It needs to be noted that Lebanon in this Resolution is not considered the main protagonist facing Israel. In this Resolution Lebanon is understood to be a mostly powerless puppet of Hezbollah, which in turn is recognized as a proxy jihadi army of Iran. To solve Lebanon’s problem, Iran’s gnarled talons and Hezbollah’s terror junta still need to be removed from Lebanese soil. Resolution 1701 does not achieve those goals. Another U.N. Resolution (1559) was ratified on September 2, 2004, requiring Hezbollah to totally disarm and for Lebanon to exercise complete sovereignty over its own territory. Neither of these two Resolutions has ever been carried out. Instead, the result has been:
- Hezbollah and other armed groups in southern Lebanon have not withdrawn at all
- Hezbollah has significantly increased its weapons capabilities, amassing up to 200,000 ballistic missiles, rockets and drones
- Hezbollah has increased the deployment of its armed forces south of the Litani River, developing networks of tunnels, weapon stashes, airstrips and military installations, most of these hidden underground beneath civilian housing
Neither the U.N., France, UNIFIL or the U.S. has stepped in to guarantee these resolutions over the past 20 years. Why, it should be asked, would these nations stand up and be counted now? Only Israel’s recent intensive bombings and ground invasion have moved events in the direction that these failed U.N. Resolutions called for. Western Powers are primarily interested in removing Israel from Lebanon and from blocking its rather successful ground and air operations aimed at neutralizing and eradicating Hezbollah. The West does not want to put boots on the ground to guarantee Israel’s survival and security. They would rather fob off that responsibility at the U.N. and the Lebanese Army, both of which have proven themselves to be utterly incapable of carrying out such a task. Those who are wise will pray accordingly for this complex situation.
The pressure of world media
A few days ago, Israeli Main Stream Media (MSM) leaked a news item: an anonymous military source in Israel’s Northern Command declared that the IDF’s military goals have now been achieved in southern Lebanon and that the IDF can now retreat to Israel’s recognized international border with Lebanon. At the same time, CNN has broadly hinted that PM Netanyahu is ignoring these ‘new realities’ and that CNN truly knows that the IDF Chief has a better grasp of these realities than does the Israeli government. Would the Head of U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff ever make such public declarations against a standing POTUS? Such declarations would be considered treasonous. Yet in Israel, business goes on, with loud American support being echoed for the Israeli COS’s declarations. Warm op-ed pieces are suddenly appearing in Israeli media, insisting (with no sense of irony) – that Israel’s government “must learn how to take the win.” – a phrase POTUS Biden used on April 14, 2024 in his vain attempt to prevent Israel from striking down its jihadi enemies.
What defies the imagination here is that, at the same time as these leaks are circulating on MSM, Hezbollah is murdering Israeli farmers and civilians, and destroying buildings in Arab and Jewish communities across the Galilee. The vast majority of Israelis are astounded by the criminally irresponsible hubris in this ‘fake news.’ A survey which appeared October 29, 2024 in the newspaper Israel HaYom asked its readers the question: “Does Israel need to push for a Lebanese ceasefire?” The answers were as follows: Yes 348; No 2,100.
Hubris (or chutzpah in Hebrew and Yiddish) has certainly been demonstrated in times past by former Israeli Chiefs of Staff, Generals and Prime Ministers, concerning retreats from Gaza and Lebanon. Two such examples are:
Ehud Barak and his disastrous retreat from Lebanon in May 2000:
- https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4776966,00.html
- https://besacenter.org/israels-south-lebanon-withdrawal/
- https://hezbollah.org/resources/baraks-error
- https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/the-success-of-the-lebanon-withdrawal/
- https://www.meforum.org/middle-east-quarterly/did-israel-betray-its-lebanese-allies
Ariel Sharon and his disastrous retreat/disengagement from Gaza in August 2005:
- https://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2007/01/admitting-israels-unilateral-withdrawals-a
- https://www.jpost.com/opinion/columnists/column-one-the-trap-that-arik-built
In light of the intelligence and IDF disaster that swirled around the recent Hamas pogroms of October 7, 2023, many Israelis are hesitant to believe bold declarations by Israeli generals that all is well, and that everything has been taken care of. Trust is in very short supply at this moment.
The nightly news in Israel offers amply proof that military goals in Lebanon and in Gaza have not yet been achieved in fullness. The daily announcements of IDF casualties and funerals are sober reminders that MSM is not accurately reflecting Israeli realties on the ground. Over the past week, 56 Israeli children lost their fathers in clashes with jihadi terrorists.
Israeli media spin owes much of its impetus to some ambitious Israeli politicians who ‘just want to be king,’ as well as to some in the current U.S. Administration who are bean-counters for the coming American elections.
How should we then pray?
- Pray for the God of Jacob to grant revelatory diplomatic and war strategies to Israel’s leadership, as did Elisha in his day (2 Kings 6:8-13)
- Pray for the annulling of enemy war strategies and counter-attacks, and for the blocking and frustration of jihadi plans against Israel, the apple of God’s eye (Zechariah 2:8)
- Pray for the physical rescue of the approximately 44 to 50 living Israeli hostages (including babies) kidnapped by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and PFLP/PLO. At this moment some of these hostages are being tortured, raped and starved (this based on testimonies of recently released hostages). Sadly, over 100 of all Israeli hostages are dead; Hamas is holding on to their corpses as cold storage bargaining chips
- Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s prophetic Jewish army throughout the earth
Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do.
In Messiah Yeshua,
Avner Boskey
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