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Why no peace in Israel?
He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit."
Ps 105:8-11
'In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.
Joel 3:1-2
The current (major) conflict in Israel cannot be understood by reading the secular news; and certainly cannot be understood by the biassed reporting emanating from most major news agencies.
Neither is there a secular/political answer to it all. What we are seeing in Israel is the forces of darkness seeking to stand against God's prophetic purposes for the world in which we live.
Jesus is not coming back to Rome, Paris, London or New York: he is coming back to Jerusalem. And the nearer we get in human history to that moment, the more violent will be the situation in that troubled region.
Israel is the centre and Jerusalem the epicentre for the outworking of biblical prophecy. We need to ensure that our prayers are neither formed nor driven by emotive headlines from purely secular sources. The most accurate and unbiased reporter who does not know Christ and the prophetic word and promises of God, can never hope to fully understand or analyse the situation - in the Middle East or anywhere else.
Very sadly there are theologians and groupings within the Christian community who write off God's word as allegorical. But in spite of this God is watching over His word to perform it.
 God has made eternal and unconditional promises which will be fulfilled. One of these was given to Noah and is witnessed by the rainbow we see in the sky: it was a promise to all mankind. Another eternal and unconditional covenant was given and affirmed to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We are seeing the result outworked in our day and age.
Footnote: The prayers that God will answer are those that are in line with His will and purposes. And if we want to find the will of God we can do much worse than looking for these portions of scripture were God says: "I will...."
In this context, it is worthwhile to (re)read Ezekiel Ch. 36 with a focus on the "I will(s)...."
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Christians Together, 05/01/2009
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