The God of Abraham said to Adam in the Garden of Eden, “… Cursed is the ground because of you. In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you…” (Genesis 3:17-18). Since that day, the destiny of mankind has involved dealing with […]
Category Archives: Israel
In 852 B.C. a battle royal took place on the Heights of Gilead, east of the Jordan River. King Ahab of Israel and his in-law King Jehoshaphat of Judah jointly attacked the Arameans of Damascus. But their attempt to reclaim the territory of Ramot Gilead failed miserably. Ahab was mortally wounded by a stray arrow. […]
Israel’s Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit has just announced his intention to indict Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu on three charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. His intention to indict kicks off a process which could last for years in the courts. Mandelblit’s announcement is not a declaration that Netanyahu is guilty, though Bibi’s […]
Yuletide is upon us. Dark evergreen trees are bejeweled with winking lights. Manger scenes and crèches (where still legal) remind us of Jesus, Joseph and Mary – as well as of the pot of overflowing presents at the end of the Christmas rainbow. As we deck the halls with boughs of holly and peppermint sticks, […]
The end of Sukkot (the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles) is upon us. In a few hours Israeli families will be taking down their family sukkah (or makeshift booth), pitching out the palm branches and storing away the linens for another year. Many thousands of Christian pilgrims who flew to Jerusalem from all the nations of […]
The Hebrew prophets speak much of an eschatological connection between two events – Israel’s restoration/revival (on the one hand) and a huge manifestation of praise and worship by all the nations (on the other). Let’s unpack this vision. Psalm 117:1-2 and God’s heart A thousand years before Yeshua was born, an anonymous hand penned a […]