Favor of Zion

No time to get war weary!

Friends, this is no time for selfishness, laziness, or weariness.  The next few months are seriously critical for the advancement of the Kingdom.

This past weekend, our congregation celebrated Shavuot.  Not so ironically, the same day (Sunday, June 5) also was marked by more riots on the northern border of Israel.  In a repeat of "Nakba Day" 3 weeks ago, hundreds (perhaps thousands) of Syrians tried to illegally cross Israel's border to demand the return of the Golan Heights back to Syria on this, the anniversary of the Six Day War in which the Golan was taken over by Israel (in response to a war started by, among other nations, Syria!). 

In the coming weeks the international campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel and her right to her Biblical inheritance is poised to intensify.  There is another "Free Gaza" flotilla that is being prepared to set sail from Turkey once again.  And the Palestinian "leadership" is prepared to make a unilateral declaration of statehood when the U.N. General Assembly convenes on September 22 (a week before Rosh Hashanah, no less). 

History has shown that the advancement of the plan to restore Israel to her land has always brought forth advancement in the spread of the Gospel.  Therefore we cannot take these threats lightly.  We must counter them with much effective prayer!  And we cannot afford to get war weary!

Shavuot and the fire of love

Feeling lonely?  Sad and rejected?  Well be of good cheer, for Pentecost is almost here!

What the church knows of as "Pentecost" is actually the Biblical holiday of Shavuot (the "Feast of Weeks").  It is sort of the "forgotten holiday" on the Biblical calendar, yet a careful look at it reveals some incredible depth! 

Agriculturally, Shavuot marked the beginning of the wheat harvest (Exodus 34:22).  Historically, Shavuot marked new beginnings in the relationship between Elohim and His people.  This is significant because any God-ordained relationship will produce fruit.  And so as it is in the natural, so it is in the spiritual.  Ostensibly this holiday was about celebrating the firstfruits of a harvest--but the way it has played out in history points to much more than just agriculture.  It points to romance.  It points to passion.  And it points to the fire of love between a husband and wife.

On Shavuot some 3500 or so years ago, the Israelites recieved their Law. Then on the same date some 1500 or so years later, the Israelites recieved the infilling of the Holy Spirit (as we read about in Acts 2).  Both occasions were marked by fire (Exodus 19:18; Acts 2:3). 

Listen to these words out of Song of Solomon 8:6 concerning fire and love:  "Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame."

Our God is a lover.  But this holiday is not only about God's love for us--it is also about our response of love to Him.  It is significant that on this holiday the book of Ruth is read in synagogues around the world.  The book of Ruth is the story of a Gentile Moabitess who willingly and self-sacrificially embraced the God of Israel.  The result of her decision was the birth of King David (Ruth 4:17).  The result of our decision to embrace not only the God of Israel--but also the people of Israel--will be the return of the Son of David to the earth (Psalm 133:3; John 17:23).