Fields of Wheat April 5 2024

 

Golan Heights Memorial Site

by Eitan Shishkoff

Exploring a back road in the Golan Heights I stumbled into a hidden corner laden with meaning. It turned out to be a memorial site outside of Moshav Kidmat Tzvi, dedicated to the memory of Captain Otniel Shamir, a fighter pilot who was shot down by the Syrians on August 6, 1967, on the fourth day of the Six Day War. Set in a grove of noble cypress trees, the unusual is a tangled mass of broken machinery—parts of Otniel’s crashed fighter jet. Next to that is a mound, a kind of ancient marker, with the hero’s name on a bronze plaque. Emerging from this mound is a portion of the bomber wing, marked by the star of David, our national insignia.

     Moved by the enduring honor marking this sacrificed life, I was then gripped by the fact that in war after war including the current multi-front conflict, thousands of other “Otniel’s” have given away their future, their plans, their dreams, their young wives and children, to preserve this resurrected nation.

     The history of modern Israel is stained with the blood of wars designed to obliterate us. Wikipedia lists fourteen wars from the War for Independence, 1948-49 until today’s forced responses to Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and Iran. To these we must add, with tears, the non-stop knifings, car rammings, and drive by shootings that are literally a weekly occurrence.  This morning’s news feed: Terrorist Enters Mall, Stabs 3 . . . . This was the second day in a row that included a terror incident in Israel’s civilian sector. How can we possibly understand the extent of hatred that propels such suicidal violence against the people of Israel, who are simply trying to live our lives? We are currently fighting on active fronts, in addition to the war against Hamas in Gaza. Rockets are falling on our northern cities from Hezbollah. The so-called “West Bank” Palestinian Territories of Judea and Samaria are a hotbed of terror as well. And, even the far-away Houtis from Yemen are getting into the act!

     Why the Jews? What do the forces of evil have against us? The prophets of Israel detailed the rise and fall of our fortunes. Weakened by our sin, empires came against us. Moved by His compassion and covenant commitment, God rescued us time and again. Even millennia of exile did not dull His passionate determination to see the Jewish people finally return to the land He granted us in the time of Abraham:  Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all who prey on you I will make a prey. For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the LORD, because they have called you an outcast: It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’ “Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob and have compassion on his dwellings…The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intentions of his mind. In the latter days you will understand this.  Jeremiah 30:16-18,24

     What catches my attention here is that Jeremiah says these things will come clear “in the latter days.” We should not be surprised by the demonic hatred being vented on the children of Jacob. It is hell’s outrage that God has brought us back to dwell in this land, which He has restored to its former fruitfulness, after nearly 2000 years of exile. The enemy hated Yeshua’s resurrection—thinking he had crushed God’s plan for human redemption. And he hates the resurrection of the Jewish people—thinking he had gotten us out of the way by destroying 6 million in the Holocaust.

     The conflict is much deeper than Israel versus Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, etc. The conflict is between two titanic spiritual forces. The evil force is “the god of this world,” the lover of death, who has inflamed the Jihadist Muslims, convincing them that killing every last one of us brings pleasure to Allah. The spiritual force for true peace, justice, love, and life is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Father of our Messiah Yeshua:  “Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations” That is why we find ourselves in the cross hairs of Satan’s minions. We — all of us who love and serve the God of Israel—are now in what I believe is the beginning of end time wars over the future of planet earth. No, I’m not exaggerating. This is what we read throughout the Bible.

     You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. Ezekiel 38:15,16

     Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the Remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. Zechariah 14:1-3

     These are only two passages, apparently referring to separate stages of end-time conflict. What’s startling is that in both God says that HE is provoking Israel’s enemies to attack us, thinking they can destroy us. Yet it is part of His plan, that the Lord may ultimately triumph over all of them.

     Wow. Looks like we’re in for continued intensity. This calls for our utmost dedication, focused faith, and unity as disciples. We will be required to give sacrificially, to pray without ceasing, and to extend compassion to those who will surely suffer. It’s enough to drive us to our knees—and that is exactly where I believe our Shepherd King wants us.

     We are unspeakably grateful to know that we are worshiping and serving the Living God together in this time! Yours for Yeshua’s harvest, Eitan. Fields of Wheat Founder