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Real discussions are going on among Jews in the diaspora about which of their non-Jewish friends would hide them, when it comes to it. Corrie Ten Boom and Dietrich Bonhoeffer are now household names, along with other “righteous Gentiles” who helped Jews during the Holocaust. There’s even a hashtag on Twitter ( #Iwould ) as the question goes out “Would you hide me?” But it’s a shocking thing, quite honestly, that Jewish people can’t tell which of their Christian friends would, or wouldn’t, help them in their time of need.

Are we being melodramatic? Regretfully, no. Antisemitic attacks have soared since Hamas committed the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. There was sympathy for Israel for maybe one day, but even before Israel retaliated, there was jubilation about the genocidal attack, and cries of “gas the Jews” in the streets of Europe and America.

Before Israel did anything.

Antisemitic incidents have escalated by 500% in the US, according to WZO and the Jewish Agency. Far worse, police in the UK have reported a staggering rise of 1350%. Over a thousand percent increase. Way over. People are furiously pulling down posters of the 240 kidnap victims wherever they are put up. It would be considered mean-hearted to pull down a picture of a missing dog, never mind a missing child. In Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim region of Russia, a violent armed mob rushed into the airport ready to lynch any Jewish passengers arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv. Meanwhile in the UK crowds gathered outside the Prime Minister’s residence on October 31, and chanted in Arabic, “Oh beloved Abu Obaida, hit and bomb Tel Aviv.” Abu Obaida is the spokesman of the military wing of Hamas.

The Star of David has been spray painted marking Jewish homes in France. Signs are refusing to serve Jews in Turkey. Horrible events unfold in an environment that is familiar to the Ten Boom family. People are protesting everywhere, all over the world, in support of Gaza, many cheering on the terrorists and justifying their despicable acts. Since the massacre, 87% of the Jewish people surveyed said they had “feelings of diminished safety, accompanied by prevailing emotions of anger, anxiety and shock.” We haven’t been given a moment to breathe.

The day after October 7th was a horrifying wake up call to the levels of hatred… and indifference… towards the Jewish people.

Click here to read more:  https://www.oneforisrael.org/news/israel-at-war/would-you-hide-me-where-are-the-ten-booms-and-bonhoeffers/ 

“But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU'" (Luke  7:26 -27). 

John who had obviously grown discouraged in prison, sent messengers to ask if Yeshua was truly the "Expected One" (Luke  7:19 ). But because he started doubting Yeshua's identity, he was also implicitly doubting himself. Was his decision to follow Yeshua worth all the struggles, isolation, and sacrifice?

It's in this context of John's self-doubt we must consider Yeshua's affirming words about the Baptizer. Yeshua quotes the first half of Malachi 3:1 about the coming of a special messenger and identifies this messenger as John: "Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me" (Mal 3:1a; Mal 4:5-6 [ 3:23 -24]). It is absolutely essential for us to grasp the implications of Yeshua's interpretation of this prophecy in Malachi. By testifying that John is this messenger from Malachi 3 who is greater than a prophet, he is also making a jaw-dropping claim about himself! For if John is that messenger, then Yeshua is the "Lord" whose coming the messenger announces in the second half of the same verse: "'And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,' says the LORD of hosts" (Mal 3:1b). 

Because Yeshua is the Lord who came from heaven to save us, then all the struggles, sacrifices, and isolation we regularly deal with as Yeshua's disciples are worth it, for who else has the words of eternal life (John 6:68-69)? When we doubt the Savior, we naturally will begin to doubt ourselves. But when we consider Yeshua's biblical identity, we at once realize the incredible privilege it is to be his disciples, and we are reenergized to count the cost and pay any price. 

"The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Rom  8:16 -18). 

He is not here
For He has risen!
Mathew 28:6 

It was that God swept in, destroyed Egypt’s precious idols one by one, and proved Himself to be Lord of All — the Supreme Champion. Israel’s beloved rescuer. He is King of kings and Lord of Lords, and no other god exists but Him. A multitude of Egyptians were convinced and came out with Israel. God’s purpose was love: love for Israel, His firstborn son; love for the Egyptians who were lost in their idolatry; and love for all the nations who would be saved by the Messiah coming through the family line.

God led His people into the desert and took the nation into a new covenant with Himself, like a marriage. The ten plagues were left behind at Mount Sinai, and now the Ten Commandments were implemented. How did God’s instructions for life begin?

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

“You shall have no other gods before me.

Ten represents God’s laws and judgements, His order and plan. God wants to love and bless us, but our sins will inevitably come back on us if we fall into idolatry. We must worship Him alone.

The Egyptians later abandoned their system of gods and pharaonic worship in favor of the moon god of Saudi Arabia. Even without an image or statue, idolatry still grips the nation, but God has not finished with them yet. There is more to come for both Egypt and Israel, and indeed for all the nations of the world.

Although we might not have statues like the ancient Egyptians, we can still slip into idolatry, even as God’s people did in the Bible. Much as the Israelites moaned through the desert, a suitable warning signal is complaining. Complaining reveals a heart focused on something other than God. Let God highlight any area where we have let something else take His place. Try the action of physically bowing before God as you worship Him today. He deserves all our worship and honor. When we finally see Him face to face, I’m sure we’ll all hit the floor just as they did in the Bible. He is the only true God, almighty yet loving. He sacrificed His own Son to rescue us from the slavery of sin. He is worthy of all we have. 

Shabbat shalom! 

Moses was essentially commanding Pharaoh to SEND the people of Israel into their destiny.

This throws interesting light on what was happening in the Exodus. God was killing multiple birds with one stone. He had waited for the sin of the Amorites to reach its full measure before executing justice on them and giving the land to the tribes of Israel. He rescued His covenant people from their living hell, and threw the Egyptians into the sea just as they had thrown countless Hebrew babies into the Nile. He fulfilled His promises to the patriarchs to bring their descendants back to the Land of Promise and established a faith community that would carry His word and light to the whole world.

They were not just being taken out of Egypt but sent out to be a light to the Gentiles.

God often does both-and rather than either-or. He operates on multiple levels all the time. We usually have no idea how many facets there are to God’s actions and decisions, and can foolishly interpret them to be all about us… our own life, family, community, or nation. But God has a very wide-angle lens. His ways are perfect and nothing is ever wasted in His economy. God brought deliverance and blessing to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in fulfilling His promises to them. They would receive their inheritance from His hand and blessings of spiritual nourishment, revelation, and life, which they were to pass on to all the world's nations.

The command to “Let my people go” forced Pharaoh to send Israel out of slavery and into their global calling, into their destiny. Similarly, we have been delivered from slavery and death by the blood of the sacrificial lamb, and brought through the waters of baptism. But God’s rescue mission wasn’t so we could sit around and eat cake—we are also sent into the world with a calling and a destiny! Whenever we thank God for His amazing salvation, His perfect plans, and the future He has prepared for us, let’s ask Him again: What is my part in Your plans and purposes? What are You sending me to do?

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8) 

“Surely he has borne our griefs
  and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
 smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
 he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
 and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
 we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
  the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6) 

The phrase “Let my people go” has a wonderful Hebrew meaning. The clue is in the rest of the sentence, which most people never finish.

God sent Moses on one heck of a mission. His job—at least the first part of it—was to demand the immediate release of about a million Israelites from cruel bondage. To insist that Pharaoh should allow the Hebrew slaves, his free workforce, to leave. What a ridiculous request. But it wasn’t a request. With God behind him, Moses was laying down the law, with all the authority of the King of the Universe. It seems like Moses didn’t feel like he had that authority though (read Exodus 5:1).

But that wasn’t quite the message God had told him to deliver, was it? Moses and Aaron appear to have asked for a temporary excursion for the Hebrew slaves—a short trip, a picnic in the Egyptian outback. God was demanding total release.

“Come,” said God to Moses. “I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
(Exodus  3:10 -12)

God planned to bring them entirely out of Egypt in a very real and permanent manner—there would be no going back. And they would meet Him at Mount Sinai in Midian, where He’d appeared in the burning bush. There He would establish His covenant with the whole house of Israel and make them a holy people with a holy calling. Then He would lead them on to the Promised Land. But Moses tries to soften the blow and paints it as a one-off religious event in the desert. It was no such thing. It was a categorical extraction—an exodus.

Fortunately, God was prepared for this. Knowing that no matter how nicely they asked, Pharaoh would never agree, he had a few tricks up his sleeve. God's demand intensified with each plague or blow, as in Hebrew: “Let my people go!” 

It is a Passover tradition for the prophet Elijah to have an extra place at the seder table. It’s a fun part of the celebration to expect Elijah at this time: we leave the door open, call his name, and prepare a place for him in expectation. 
Elijah came from Egypt about 500 years after the Exodus. The first Passover is thought to have happened over three thousand years ago, and Elijah was taken from the earth in 849 BC. How did he get mixed up in all of this? What has Elijah got to do with Passover?

Understanding Elijah’s part at Passover is impossible if we do not understand the Jewish concept of ‘geula’ or redemption (גאולה). The theme of redemption is central to the Feast of Passover, as Israel was set free from slavery. However, both Jews and Christians can all agree that the feast prophetically points to another level of redemption to come. It lays down a pattern for the Ultimate Redemption.

Christians generally interpret this as the pivotal weekend when the Messiah redeemed us from sin by surrendering His life to be our Passover Lamb. Jewish people, on the other hand, look to the “Great and Terrible Day of the Lord,” when the Messiah will come to rule and reign.

But could it be that both are right?

Christians often think Jewish people are missing a trick or two in their expectation that the Messiah would come to crush their enemies, but that’s because Christians forget that that’s precisely what the Bible describes over and over again. The second coming of Jesus is woven all through the Old Testament—not just the book of Revelation. Jewish people expect a mighty warrior because that is what has been promised.

The Messiah is coming with a winnowing fork to sort the wheat from the chaff, and the future for the chaff is not looking good. All of us who love righteousness long for Him to come and put things right—to establish His kingdom rule and do away with wickedness. The only reason for delay is to extend the chance for the wicked to repent and be saved. 

Click here to read more:  https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-teachings/passover-and-elijah/ 

Isaiah 11 paints a beautiful picture of the coming redemption… but also lays out some of the hard twists and turns it will take to get there.

The world is speeding up somehow. With the Middle East taking dramatic twists and turns, powers rising and falling, and alliances flipping and forming — everything can change from one day to another. This is a rollercoaster time to be alive. To avoid getting seasick, we need to hold on tight to the Word of God, keeping our eyes firmly fixed on the horizon: Yeshua, our anchor and our hope.

Prophecies in the Bible, such as the book of Isaiah, have much to say about what is to come. In fact, a third of the entire Bible is prophecy. Sometimes, we get so used to having the Scriptures on hand that we get nonchalant, treating the warnings and instructions like the laminated card in the back of the airplane seat. Sure, we might give a cursory glance at it, but once the airplane starts to make unexpected noises, people will grab that guide and start reading it for all its worth.

Somewhat ominously, this Purim in Israel had a big blood moon hanging in the sky. A lunar eclipse in ancient Mesopotamia was considered “a direct assault on the king,” a portent signifying their imminent downfall. At a time when tyrants had no hope of electing a new king democratically, blood moons were taken as a sign that the leader’s time was up. Rabbi David Kimchi (the RaDaK, 1160–1235) also expressed his belief that a blood moon is an omen of the downfall of the wicked in his Medieval writings on the prophets.

The Purim story took place in Iran seven centuries ago. Today, we are looking to God for another redemption story, another remarkable turnaround in Iran.

Click here to read more:  https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-teachings/a-blood-moon-a-red-river-in-iran-and-the-isaiah-11-redemption/