Day 12 of God Keeps Covenant: ALIYAH  by Wendy Beckett

“Aliyah” is a Hebrew word that literally means “to go up” or “ascend.” In the passage above, King Cyrus was giving his blessing to Jewish people who wished to return or “go up” to rebuild Jerusalem and other areas of Israel after their 70 years of captivity in Babylon.

There are approximately 70 passages in the Bible that refer to the return of the Jewish people to their land. Some verses specify that it will be “in the latter days.” Other Scriptures speak of this migration coming from every corner of the earth. In many places the Lord declares explicitly and emphatically, “I will bring you back.”

When Israel became a nation in 1948 and the restrictions on immigration were finally lifted, Jews who had survived the ravages of the Holocaust poured into their “Promised Land” from countries across Europe.

In addition, they fled from all the surrounding Arab countries, including 47,000 Jews from Yemen. From Morocco 170,000 returned, and 14,000 came from Algeria. There were 104,000 Jews who literally had to be smuggled “home” out of Iraq. Between 1948 and 1955, the Jewish population in Israel doubled.

Almost 30,000 have been rescued from tyrannical regimes in Ethiopia. In one weekend in the early 1990s, 14,400 were taken home on Israeli El-Al commercial airliners just 36 hours before the Ethiopian airport was attacked and closed by advancing Marxist rebels. At one point there were 24 jumbo jets without seats (to carry maximum capacity) ferrying back and forth from Ethiopia to Israel to complete the rescue.

Surely this was one of the fulfillments of Isaiah 60:8. “Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?” What an accurate description of a return home by airplane – 2,600 years before the advent of air travel!

Israel has welcomed her people home from every corner of the earth since 1948. Their assimilation into Israeli society has been remarkable considering all the cultural and language differences that challenge the new arrivals.

The Lord is working out His promises to Jewish people before our very eyes. And we have yet to see the greatest and most glorious aspects of what He will do. Jeremiah describes an Aliyah yet to come that will overshadow the great Exodus out of Egypt.

“However, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when men will no longer say ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites out of Egypt,’ but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave their forefathers.” (Jer. 16:14 & 15)

This year, Jewish people in Israel and throughout the diaspora will commemorate and celebrate Purim—God’s miraculous deliverance of Persian Jews from annihilation at the hand of Haman. Yet, Purim is more than an ancient story – it is a timeless testament to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—a God of providence, faithfulness, and protection. He keeps His covenantal promises, guaranteeing Israel’s preservation and defending His people from destruction. The Scripture below illustrates God’s provision and foreshadows God’s ultimate redemption through Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah, the sacrificial Lamb provided for the salvation of ISRAEL and the nations:

Avraham raised his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. Avraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. Avraham called the place Adonai Yir’eh [Adonai will see (to it), Adonai provides] — as it is said to this day, “On the mountain Adonai is seen.” Genesis 22:13-14 CJB

The book of Esther recounts the miraculous rescue of the Jewish people from Haman’s wicked plot to exterminate them. This book is unique among the Scriptures—God’s Name is never explicitly mentioned, yet His Sovereign Hand is  unmistakable in every turn of events. Even when God seems hidden, He is actively working.

This truth resonates deeply today. As Israel faces a horrific war fueled by ancient hatred and daily acts of violence, many wonder—Where is God? But just as He orchestrated Esther’s rise to the palace “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14), He is working in our time—raising up modern-day Esthers willing to pray, fast, and stand in the gap for Israel and the Jewish people. Haman’s spirit of hatred has not vanished with history. It thrives in modern movements seeking to delegitimize and destroy Israel, demonize Jewish identity, and propagate lies that fuel violence and anti-Semitism. The same demonic forces that once sought to annihilate the Jews of Persia are at work today.

The alarming rise of anti-Semitism in our midst is a wake-up call. Therefore, we cannot remain silent. We cannot passively watch as Jewish students face harassment and fear for their lives on campuses; Synagogues are defaced and attacked, and Israel’s very legitimacy is questioned. Like Esther, we must be willing to take a stand, even at great personal cost.

God is looking for modern-day Esthers and Mordecais—people who refuse to bow to fear, who are willing to wait on the LORD, and who choose to take courage in the face of overwhelming adversity. We must remember, those whom the Father calls, He equips and prepares for the work at hand—For His Holy Name’s Sake, and for His glory!

Let us encourage ourselves with these Scriptures:

Put your hope in Adonai, be strong, and let your heart take courage! Yes, put your hope in Adonai! Psalm 27:14 CJB

The God of shalom brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Yeshua, by the blood of an eternal covenant. May that God equip you with every good thing you need to do his will; and may he do in us whatever pleases him, through Yeshua the Messiah. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21 CJB

Let us join with our Jewish friends as they celebrate Purim by vowing to recommit our focus on fervent intercession on behalf of Israel and our Jewish friends:

1. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem – Pray for the protection and well-being over all Israeli’s living in the Land. Psalm 122-6-9
2. Pray for God’s Protection – Around Jewish communities in the U.S and around the world. Pray for strength, wisdom, and courage for leaders, Jewish students, and families facing hostility. Psalm 91:11-12; Proverbs 3:13
3. Pray God’s Word – Declare God’s Word in the face of lies. Counter anti-Semitic rhetoric with God’s Word—educate those around us. Hebrews 4:12
4. Pray Open Doors over the Aliyah Highway – Pray for the LORD to speak to His chosen people’s heart that now is the time to make Aliyah—NO MORE DELAYS!  Ezekiel 36:24; Psalm 147:2
5. Pray for the remnant Church – To rise up in the Resurrection power of Yeshua-Christ Jesus, by taking its rightful place in the LORD’s holy Aliyah Highway—to intercede and carry God’s sons and daughters’ home. Isaiah 49:22-23
6. Pray for Open Doors – Ask the LORD for His favor over the Outreach work in Jewish communities in strategic regions of our nation. Matthew 7:7-8; Revelations 3:8
7. Pray for Supernatural Provision – Thank the LORD that all needed resources for the greater Aliyah are already supplied:  increase in intercessory and volunteer partners; finances; partnerships with like-minded servants of God who are called by God; Olim needs will be met in times of distress; flights will be made available to bring God’s people home. Malachi 3:10, Philippians 4:19

Purim reminds our Jewish friends and us that no matter how dark and dangerous the world may seem, God is always at work behind the scenes, positioning His chosen people and His Land for victory. The LORD will never abandon His chosen people that He created for Himself, as we read in 1 Samuel:

Sh’mu’el answered the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil; yet now, just don’t turn away from following Adonai; but  serve Adonai with all your heart. Don’t turn to the side; because then you would go after useless things that can neither help nor rescue, they are so futile. For the sake of his great reputation, Adonai will not abandon his people; because it has pleased Adonai to make you a people for himself. 1 Samuel 12:20-22 CJB

Esther was called “for such a time as this” to risk everything to save her people—her obedience and courage changed history. Today, we are being called to the same level of commitment to our God! Together, let us pray that our faith will grow stronger, and the light of Yeshua will shine brighter through us, dispelling the darkness in this world. May our fervent intercession before God be in agreement with His perfect will and timing for the Aliyah of American Jewish people, and all Jews in the diaspora.

Chag Purim Sameach!

Adrianne Prosser
Outreach Development Director, OEUSA

Why Israel? Chapter 9 – PREPARATION FOR HIS RETURN by author Derek Prince.

In this chapter, we want to find out why Israel is so pivotal. For example, are you aware that approximately half the resolutions of the United Nations have been made about Israel? Can you imagine anything less appropriate or more ridiculous? There must be a reason.

Why is it that every time we open a newspaper or turn on the television, there is something about this little strip of territory called Israel? We are talking about an area that is just a drop in the bucket of the world. What is the reason for the pressure, for the opposition, for the conflict? In this chapter, we will explore the answer to those questions.

They Will Know

As mentioned earlier, Zechariah chapters 12, 13, and 14 all deal with the land of Israel at the close of this age. If you read Zechariah 12, you find the final filling in of this picture. In Zechariah 12:10, it is God speaking, and He says:

“And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; [Notice you cannot supplicate unless God gives you the Spirit of grace. When He gives you the Spirit of grace you can respond with supplication.] then they will look on Me whom they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”

God says concerning His people, “They will look on Me whom they [the Jewish people] have pierced.” It is astonishing that Jewish people read this verse without knowing what it means. It is the clearest statement anywhere in Scripture that they will crucify the Lord: “They will look on Me whom they have pierced.”

Next it says, “They will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” A revelation of Jesus is coming to His own people, the Jewish people, by the Holy Spirit. They will finally know who He really is. Then there will be mourning as has never been experienced in the history of Israel. For the first time, they will realize, “We crucified our Messiah. We rejected our God.” Then it goes on:

“In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David…”

If we put these truths from Matthew and Zechariah together, they make it clear that before the Lord returns, certain requirements have to be established. The Jewish people have to be re- established in Jerusalem and in the land, because the Lord Jesus is not coming back until they are. Then, there will have to be a supernatural revelation of Jesus which will turn their hearts to Him.

Satan’s Greatest Fear

If you were asked to guess what would be the greatest fear of Satan, the god of this age, what would you say? What do you think he fears the most? My answer to that question would be simple and direct: the return of Jesus. Why would that be so fearsome to the devil? Because until Jesus comes back, he may lose a lot of battles—but he will never lose the war. He may lose a lot of souls, but he will still be the god of this age. That status will not change until Jesus returns in person. Thus, the event the devil fears the most is the return of Jesus. If he fears that event the most, wouldn’t it make sense that he would also oppose that event the most? Satan looses vehement opposition  against any activity which prepares the way for Jesus to return.

As we have seen from the Scriptures, the Jewish people will have to be in Jerusalem as their city and they must be occupying the land before Jesus will come back. It is so important that we acknowledge this fact, because it is the promise behind all the uproar and all the fuss we see concerning Israel. Satan is doing everything he can to prevent this pivotal step in the scenario which will prepare the way for the return of the Lord.

Thus far, we have examined Biblical facts about the people and the land of Israel. We have also seen that the necessity for Israel being in their land before the return of Jesus gives rise to Satan’s greatest fear. As a result, it is the source of much turmoil among the nations.

With that teaching as a foundation, we are now in a position to look at the right approach we can take to praying for Israel. From there, we will eventually move on to the specific areas for prayer from God’s perspective concerning the people and the land of Israel.

Day 11 of God Keeps Covenant: THE LORD’S PURPOSES ON THE EARTH

After studying the history of the Jewish people and before we move on to more recent events, let us step back to look at the big picture of the Lord’s priorities. How is He fulfilling His Word “on the earth with certainty and without delay”?

First, the Gospel is spreading across the face of the earth at a staggering pace. Bible translators are now using advanced computer technology to speed their vital work. The Internet is making the Gospel available to millions previously without access to its message. Thousands are daily risking their lives to obey the Lord’s command to “go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)

Also in His discourse with His disciples concerning the time of His return, the Lord Jesus  gave these same marching orders: “And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end shall come.”  (Matthew 24:14) 

 We read John’s vision in Revelation 7:9 of the “great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.” And we are stirred to pray harder, give more and go where the Lord sends us that the maximum number of people may come into His Kingdom.

Another of the Lord’s priorities is His Church, whom He loves so passionately that He calls her His Bride. Much of the emphasis in the letters of Paul, Peter and John is on teaching the followers of Jesus how to grow up in Him, turn from worldly ways, walk with Him and love others as He did. We are to be “without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:27) 

The Lord Jesus is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us that we, His Bride, will make ourselves ready for His coming. (Revelation 19:7) He will help us but we must prepare. We must continually walk more closely with Him, our beloved Bridegroom.

Almost obscured from the Church’s view is a third priority – a distinct stream flowing through the Scriptures – the return of the Jews to their land and their restoration to their Lord. This stream is an integral part of the river of God’s great purposes on the earth. For most of the past 2,000 years this priority has been flowing underground. But this stream is bursting forth as a powerful reality in our day to take its rightful place in the Church.

My desire in this devotional is to set before you just a portion of the tremendous weight of evidence in the Scriptures that the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel is absolutely essential in the Lord’s big picture. His Word cannot be fulfilled on the earth without the promises in the Old Testament Prophets concerning Israel coming to pass.

Why Israel? Chapter 8 – ISRAEL AND THE RETURN OF CHRIST by author Derek Prince.

Another very important observation about the centrality of Israel to God’s plan is that the return of Christ focuses specifically on the land of Israel.

Climax in Jerusalem

The last three chapters of Zechariah, 12-14, all relate to the period of the return of the Lord. Let’s look at the beginning of those chapters, Zechariah 12:1-3:

“The burden of the Word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.”

This passage makes it clear that the climax of the age is not going to take place in New York, London, or Tokyo. It is going to take place in Jerusalem. That is the setting for the last act of the world’s drama.

The Lord’s Return

In the New Testament, when Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives, the angels said to the disciples who stood there looking up into heaven.

“This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11

Jesus went from the Mount of Olives and He will return to the Mount of Olives. He went in a cloud and He will return in a cloud. That Scripture will be fulfilled exactly.

This is the scenario for the end of the age. Here is what I want to point out to you: Everything predicted in the Bible at the last period before Jesus comes focuses on Israel, Jerusalem, the Land, and the People. In other words, if they were not in place, the return of Jesus could not take place.

Day 10 of God Keeps Covenant: THEY WILL REBUILD

The transformation of the land of Israel from mosquito-infested swamps and barren desert to productive farms, vineyards and orchards is amazing. The Lord has blessed Israelis’ hard work. One indication is the jet stream, which actually shifted so that some of the former desert land has regular rain again.

Millions of trees have been planted on the barren slopes – many by Christians.  Each visit my husband and I make to Israel, we see Isaiah 51:3 becoming more of a reality.  The Lord “will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord.” 

For many years now, Israeli jets have departed nightly full of fruit and flowers for the tables of Europe – a direct fulfillment of Isaiah 27:6, “In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.”  Even in the grocery stores of America we can now purchase Israeli fresh produce.

In the Negev desert, exceptional olive orchards and vineyards are developing using brackish water pumped from thousands of feet below ground. 

“They…will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” (Isaiah 61:4) The rebuilding has been intense throughout the years of Israel’s existence. Their ability to absorb and house new immigrants is astounding. Their rebuilt cities are clean and orderly.

Never before in history has a dead language been revived. Yet in Israel today, Hebrew is spoken everywhere, and immigrants are required to attend Hebrew classes upon arrival.

Never before has a nation, which was dispersed into many countries, remained intact as a distinct people. Ethnic groups have always been absorbed after a few generations. Yet the Lord has kept Israel as a nation even in her long exile.

The Lord has remembered His covenant and His everlasting love for His nation. The time to favor Zion has come.

Day 9 of God Keeps Covenant: CAN A NATION BE BORN IN A DAY?

Let’s return briefly to the Bible College in Wales. In 1947, a number of the young students there sensed the Lord asking them to temporarily lay down their missionary calls and stay to intercede for the birth of the State of Israel. “We pleaded,” wrote Rees Howells in his diary, “that because of His covenant with Abraham 4,000 years ago, God would take His people back to their land, and Palestine (3) should again become a Jewish State.”(4)

On the day of the mandatory United Nations’ vote to allow Israel’s status as a sovereign nation, there was much prayer. The first vote did not pass. The college intercessors went back into more intense prayer and believed they saw “God’s angels influencing those men in the United Nations Conference to work on behalf of God’s people.” The next day the news came of the needed two-thirds majority. The college proclaimed November 28, 1947, “one of the greatest days for the Holy Spirit in the history of these 2,000 years.” (5)

Fighting continued for the next five months between the Arab nations and the Jewish people. However in May 1948, the Jewish council in Jerusalem signed Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Modern Israel was “born in a day.”

In less than 24 hours, seven Arab countries declared war against this new state. Miraculously this fledgling, ill-equipped nation was victorious. Even after she was attacked again in1967, her forces prevailed and broke through to the Western Wall – all that was left of the Old Temple. At that moment all of Jerusalem came back into Jewish hands for the first time since they were exiled to Babylon 600 years before Christ. (6)

Day 8 of God Keeps Covenant: THE TIME TO FAVOR ZION

I will never forget the gathering in the large cafeteria of a major industrial company in Cleveland, Ohio.  Derek Prince was addressing two thousand eager listeners. The year was 1971 – twenty-three years after the formation of the state of Israel. The air was electric as we heard this renowned Bible teacher expound on how this verse related to   Israel’s birth as a nation.

Profound questions were being addressed: Had 1948 been a turning point in history? One of the Lord’s “suddenlies”? An appointed time that had escaped the world’s attention, but to the Lord was of great importance?  Was He showing favor to His people, Israel, today in the midst of our modern world?

We knew the new nation had been created, but here was Scriptural insight into what the Lord thought of the event. I was in awe as my mind flashed back to mother’s words: “Maybe that’s what the prophets meant!”

The following two Scriptures give us further insights into this “appointed time.” Jesus, in His prophetic description of the history we have just studied, tells us: “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24) Paul echoes this: “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” (Romans 11:25)

With Israel’s birth, a seismic shift occurred in the heavenly realm and in the world. And many – even much of the Church with its rich depository of Scriptural truth – missed it.

How comparable to the way the world missed our Savior’s birth, which was ushered in by the great angelic pronouncement. The sky was ablaze with heavenly light for the Bethlehem shepherds. And the sleeping world yawned.

So it was also with Israel’s inception as a nation. Few understood or were even aware of God’s dramatic invasion into history. But the process had begun. For indeed, the “Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people. …for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah.” (Psalm 69:33 & 35) And that is exactly what has been happening since 1948.