BEWARE OF PASSOVER

I felt a great urgency Thursday to warn those planning to march into Israel to beware! Almost 3000 years ago, the situation was amazingly similar to the one today.  The threat to Israel and the astonishing results were so impacting, G-d records it 3 times in the scriptures!  Let’s take a look at a historical event that is repeating itself at this very moment!

                                   

We are in the Passover season – Jews everywhere have begun preparation for a week from today when G-d’s rescue and liberation of an entire nation is proclaimed throughout the world.

                                   
One of the most memorable Passovers ever celebrated was when King Hezekiah sent word out to all Israel and Judah inviting everyone to come celebrate the Lord’s Passover. The king’s message told the people to, “RETURN TO THE LORD, THE G-D OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND ISRAEL.” A very large crowd responded and gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate.  They removed all the altars to false gods that were in jerusalem and burned them in the Kidron Valley.  Although the time was off (it was the second month) and many people had not prepared scripturally for the Feast, Hezekiah prayed for them, and asked G-d to pardon all those who have set their hearts to seek the Lord.

                                    

The people celebrated for 7 days in Jerusalem with great rejoicing, singing and instruments of praise. They didn’t want to stop and continued for another 7 days. There was great JOY in Jerusalem! When it was over, the people were so blessed, they went home to their towns and smashed the false idols and destroyed their high places where they had worshipped false gods.

There was a revival in the land! King Hezekiah was a faithful leader, and G-d was blessing His people. At this time, another King decided it was “His Time” to take the land for his own kingdom. He was the king of Assyria (today Syria, Iraq).

                                       

Let’s take a minute to reflect on this scene. The land of Judah/Israel is full of joy and prospering under G-d’s blessing remembering the great deliverance their people had from the hand of Pharaoh and slavery. Today, Israelis have begun the same celebration Hezekiah enjoyed almost 3000 years ago, although today, people don’t just gather from within the nation. They travel over oceans and continents to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem!  

                                                     
It is a joyful prosperous time. However, this year, there are leaders rising up to threaten the nation and march into it to take it for their own. Their threats are similar to the king of Assyria’s:

               ON WHAT ARE YOU BOASTING YOUR CONFIDENCE?

               YOU SPEAK EMPTY WORDS ABOUT “STRATEGY”, “MILITARY
               STRENGTH”

             EGYPT CAN’T HELP YOU!

             ARE YOU DEPENDING ON YAWEH?

             LET’S MAKE A DEAL.

             AND ONE MORE THING – THE LORD (today- allah), HIMSELF,
             TOLD US TO MARCH AGAINST THIS COUNTRY AND DESTROY
              IT!

                                           

Amazing isn’t it? This could be today - arrogant boasts about destruction and G-d being against Israel. And these comments were made directly to those in leadership! After that, the Assyrian commander turned to the population (today it would be the media) and said:

            DO NOT LET HEZEKIAH DECEIVE YOU. HE CANNOT DELIVER YOU.

            DO NOT LET HIM PERSUADE YOU TO TRUST IN THE LORD.

            WHO HAS EVER BEEN DELIVERED FROM THE KING OF ASSYRIA?

            MAKE PEACE WITH US AND WE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU.

These are very similar to the threats coming from the nations that surround Israel today…..even Egpyt! The treaty that both Israel and Egypt had honored for 30 years is no longer effective in securing borders and peace! Israel has nowhere to turn, but to their G-d!

                               

Now G-d spoke to King Hezekiah while all these threats were being made and let Hezekiah know that He considered this a personal attack on HIS NAME!  G-d promised Hezekiah, He would take care of it. Even then, the King of Assyria sent one more message to Hezekiah declaring:

             DO NOT LET THE GOD YOU DEPEND ON DECEIVE YOU WHEN
             HE SAYS, “JERUSALEM WILL NOT BE HANDED OVER TO THE KING OF
             ASSYRIA.”  SURELY, YOU’VE HEARD WHAT THE KING OF ASSYRIA
             HAS DONE TO ALL THE OTHER COUNTRIES, DESTROYING THEM
             COMPLETELY.  AND WILL YOU BE DELIVERED?

                                                        

 Is this not the voice of Ahmadinejad?  

                                                  

Ismail Haniyeh  of Hamas?
                                              
Hasan Nasrallah of Hezbollah?

                                    
The threats have not changed!  So what happened to Israel when they were threatened so long ago?

At first, Hezekiah did things in the natural to combat the threat to his people. They blocked the flow of water so the Assyrians could not get it. They repaired broken areas of the wall and built towers.  Hezekiah had another wall built outside the existing wall and reinforced the supporting terraces. He also made more large weapons and shields. Today, that would be equivalent to supplying IDF with weapons and reinforcements, enforcing check points and protective walls throughout Israel.

                                           

Most importantly, Hezekiah encouraged his people in the Lord, emphasizing that the Assyrians were depending on the arm of flesh, but Judah had the arm of their G-d. Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah cried out to the Lord about the situation…..

                                          WHAT HAPPENED?

The Lord sent an angel who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp! The commander withdrew, went home, and was cut down by his sons in the temple of his god.

We can definitely draw a few conclusions from all this.

1.    JERUSALEM IS VERY SPECIAL TO G-D, SO IS HIS PASSOVER

2.    THE G-D OF ISRAEL IS WORTHY OF OUR BOAST

3.    IT IS WISDOM TO DEPEND ON HIM AND NOT PUT OUR CONFIDENCE IN MEN.

4.    THE G-D OF ISRAEL WILL PERSONALLY DEFEND HIS WORD, HIS NAME, HIS CITY, HIS PEOPLE AND HIS LAND.