Most of you recognize that the title inverts the hopeful future when God will turn Israel’s and the Jewish people’s mourning into joy. (Is 61:1-3)  But for today, that day has not yet come.

We were awakened this morning at 6:40 by the surprising sound of a siren, signaling a rocket attack.  The immediate question that came to my mind, apart from the prayer for the Lord’s protection over everyone, was would we be able to have our service today at Nachalat Yeshua?  My expectation was, yes, that the military would quickly act to counter the attacks, and there would be no real threat for the rest of the day.  But today is different.  We do not remember in all our years here so many attacks reaching Beer Sheva and her surroundings in one day, and the need to seek shelter so often. 

This Shabbat is also the last great day of Succot/Feast of Booths, and is called Simchat Torah/the Joy of the Law [of Moses].  (For us as believers in Yeshua, of whom Moses wrote, we do have the joy of Messiah’s Law/Teachings!)  And Hamas — the terrorist government of Gaza — opened up a very orchestrated surprise attack from land, air, and sea over a wide area of the South, center including Tel Aviv, and even Jerusalem and her surroundings. And worse than the usual rocket attacks that we have become accustomed to, this time hundreds of terrorists also managed to breach the border with Gaza and terrorize cities around the border, and siege kibbutzim, shooting in the streets and killing and wounding more Israeli citizens than have occurred in many of the previous military operations combined the last number of years.  Whole families are barricaded in their homes and shelters while terrorists are outside their doors. This has never happened before on Israeli territory.   It is also being reported that Hamas has also succeeded to capture and take hostages of some Israeli soldiers.  Until the military can clear the Israeli towns and kibbutzes of the terrorists, it can not really take offensive action in Gaza.

What also distinguishes this wide-ranging attack today is that Israel is officially calling it a war.  The last time, I believe, that a military operation was called a war was the 2nd Lebanon War in 2006, but that was not of this scale.  Israel has not actually outright won a war since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.  (I don’t think that the US has outright won a war since WWII!) 

For whatever reason, there was a complete breakdown of Israeli intelligence and preparedness for this war.  And something definitely went wrong that hundreds of terrorists could cross the border and act freely to terrorize, kill, and kidnap Israelis.  Israel is always boasting of its ability to know everything and to be prepared for any event by its enemies — and they really do an amazing job at so much of this! — but pride comes before a fall.  Why we continue to trust Islamist governments to be at peace with the sovereign Jewish state shows the weakness of humanism and the lack of “acquired wisdom from experience”.  This also applies to the Abraham Accords and current efforts for ‘peace’ with Saudi Arabia.  Israel so much wants peace and quiet that they will make a pact with the devil, hoping that this time he is not deceiving and lying to us, while he plans his solution to the “Jewish problem”. 

For us as Bible-believing followers of Jesus/Yeshua, we need to believe the words of YHVH/Yeshua through the prophets and the apostles about what is going on, and where it is leading to.  Otherwise, we are really no wiser than good-willed unbelievers who hope for the best against all the reality.  We are in a spiritual war, and it does not a negotiable outcome, as far as both the one true living God and the actual devil/Satan are concerned.  We certainly thank God for every ‘peace and quiet’ periods that we have, but it is also preparation for the worst surprise outbreak that has ever been seen. 

Praise our Redeemer God!:  He will use all of this evil to turn many hearts and minds to seek the only One who can make true and permanent peace in the righteousness of God.