should i?

[plum]

should i support Israel's bombing attacks on Lebanon?

[Sephania]

Support how?

[Kej]

I'm by far no expert on Israeli history or even their present situation, but they were attacked first. They can't exactly sit there and let Hezbola run them through. That alone gets my support. I'm glad to read that Bush feels the same way.

[stone]

vs. allowing the muslims to continuously attack them?

I picture this as say, someone walking behind you all the time and slapping you on the back of the head. You try and be polite and say please stop it, but they continue. You ask over and over for them to stop, they increase and start punching you on the back of the head.

I'm sure many have prayed for the attacks to stop over the last several years, but they only increase.

What do you do?

[cavell]

Sound of the Shofar
Prayer Alert
#73

O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
Jeremiah 4:19


Israel is now fighting on two fronts: north and south. The possibility exists for this to expand to the east (Judea and Samaria) and the northeast-Syria. Will this be all-out war? Even the major war we have been expecting? I don't know. I do know that it is real and has enormous strategic consequences for Israel.


Six years after running away from southern Lebanon and 11 months after abandoning the Jewish communities of Gaza, we are now back in both places. Rockets are falling all across the north of Israel and throughout the southwest as well.

How have we gotten into this disastrous situation? When we unilaterally abandoned southern Lebanon, we gave an unearned victory to Hizbullah. This, in turn, encouraged Hamas and the other Palestinian terror groups to believe that they too could drive Israel from Gaza and all of the Land of Israel. When we ran away from Gaza last August, we proved this to be true in part.

When we left Lebanon, we threatened that any attack by Hizbullah would be met by the full might of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). But these words became hollow threats. We saw our soldiers ambushed, killed, and taken captive, and Katyusha rockets falling on northern Israel. Our response was minimal-until today.

In the south, we threatened the same with Hamas; however, until Kassam rockets hit Ashkelon, our response was similar to that in Lebanon. This current two-pronged attack is proof positive that Israel's deterrent threat has been severely weakened.

Indeed, Israel today is in the most difficult position since the Yom Kippur War of 1973. At the same time, we have the most inept, arrogant, and inexperienced government we have ever had. This could be a recipe for disaster. We are in desperate need of God's sovereign intervention and counsel in both the Israeli government and the IDF.

Conventional wisdom would say that the government cannot be changed in the midst of a war. Certainly, in Israel's present position, any change would entail (legally) a minimum 60-day campaign before an election. I don't think, however, that we have a 60-day grace period. There has been talk of a national unity government during this crisis, and maybe the present government will get desperate enough to go this route.

With the weak and inexperienced government we have today, there are two distinct possibilities of how we will react to the present attacks:
Talk much and do too little. This seems to be the route we are following at the moment. Hizbullah has some 12,000 rockets facing our northern border. They can hit anywhere in northern Israel up to and including Haifa. They are there threatening us because we allowed them to be placed in southern Lebanon when we left in 2000. In Gaza, many of the weapons that we are facing there have entered the territory in the last 11 months, when we turned over the border between Gaza and Israel to Egyptian border police and international observers. (We can thank United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for pressuring and pushing us into this stupid and dangerous arrangement.)
Do too much. This will cause many casualties on all sides and may bring international sanctions and even foreign troops. Even now, with a less than adequate response to the attacks on Israel, hypocritical nations such as France and Russia are condemning us for defending ourselves.
How do we pray in this difficult situation?

We need God's help. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep (Psalm 121:4).

We need men leading Israel and the IDF who are like the sons of Issachar described in 1 Chronicles 12:32: who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command.

In a national unity government, Binyamin Netanyahu would be an excellent foreign minister and Moshe Yaalon, former IDF chief of staff, would be an excellent defense minister. (Yaalon was Israel's best tactician in the terror war of 2000-2005. He was retired early because he was not in favor of the retreat from Gaza. In his speeches since his forced retirement, Yaalon has exhibited a clear strategic understanding of the threats facing Israel.)

Pray that this situation will bury Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's arrogant and disastrous plan to destroy many of the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley.

Pray that the reality of the war (hot or cold) that we are in with the Muslim world will sink into the Israeli consciousness and reignite a belief in the justice of our cause (Israel itself) and a willingness to fight to protect it.

Pray for the men and women serving on the front lines in this war, all the soldiers of the IDF, and the undercover security services. On the IFI team, Chuck, Ofer and I all have sons serving at this time. Chuck's son Jed is on the Lebanese border. Ofer's son, Nathaniel, is in a tank commanders' course in the south but could be called up to Lebanon at any time. My son Elisha has been in Gaza; however, his unit is normally a "northern unit," so they may be sent into Lebanon if this situation continues.


I pray for Elisha and the other believing soldiers: "May they really know You, Lord, and know Your Voice. When you speak to them, may they recognize it is You and obey. Be their protection in body, mind, soul, and spirit. May You be with them and extend Your protection to the men in the units in which they are serving. If they have to shoot, may their shooting be fast, accurate, and effective."

And for all the IDF, I pray that the Lord will protect them from friendly-as well as enemy-fire.
I also want to exhort all of you to remember that the battle is not only raging in prayer and on the actual battlefield, but also in the minds of men. Please do your part, as the Lord leads, to speak up for God's Word and for the truth-the reality of the situation that Israel is in today.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace(Numbers 6:24-26).

Eliyahu Ben-Haim
Jerusalem
July 13, 2006

To visit the Sound of the Shofar Web site, go to www.shofar1.org (http://www.ifijemailserver.org/12all/lt/t_go.php?i=80&e=OTEw&l=http://www.shofar1.org/)
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[Wags]

should i support Israel's bombing attacks on Lebanon?

Support in what way?

Does not "supporting" them equal supporting their enemy's?

I would rather not see war happen, but since it was brought to them I am praying that they conquer their foes, in whatever manner Adonai sees fit.

[insaneinthebrain]

Support in what way?

Does not "supporting" them equal supporting their enemy's?

I would rather not see war happen, but since it was brought to them I am praying that they conquer their foes, in whatever manner Adonai sees fit.
I agree. "Peace" isn't necessarily the absence of violence.

[plum]

i'm saying support as in affirm the righteousness of their actions and agree with their motivations and manner of action.

[P_G]

Yes

For in the order of things this too must come to pass.

Birth pangs are hard.

May HaShem have mercy on his children.


PG

[BarbB]

Amen, P-G!

An email from Walid Shoebat today recommended praying Psalm 83 - it's really appropriate!


Psalm 83
A song. A psalm of Asaph.
PS 83:1 O God, do not keep silent;
be not quiet, O God, be not still.
PS 83:2 See how your enemies are astir,
how your foes rear their heads.
PS 83:3 With cunning they conspire against your people;
they plot against those you cherish.
PS 83:4 "Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation,
that the name of Israel be remembered no more."
PS 83:5 With one mind they plot together;
they form an alliance against you--
PS 83:6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,
PS 83:7 Gebal, Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia, with the people of Tyre.
PS 83:8 Even Assyria has joined them
to lend strength to the descendants of Lot.
Selah
PS 83:9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
PS 83:10 who perished at Endor
and became like refuse on the ground.
PS 83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
PS 83:12 who said, "Let us take possession
of the pasturelands of God."
PS 83:13 Make them like tumbleweed, O my God,
like chaff before the wind.
PS 83:14 As fire consumes the forest
or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
PS 83:15 so pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your storm.
PS 83:16 Cover their faces with shame
so that men will seek your name, O LORD.
PS 83:17 May they ever be ashamed and dismayed;
may they perish in disgrace.
PS 83:18 Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD--
that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

[P_G]

The horror is tha all of the end times prophecies will happen in the Middle East. So regardless if we support Eretz Y'srael or not it's not going to matter.

Now you girls who have had a baby know that once labor starts you aint gonna stop it. Like it or not that baby is going to come. And its going to hurt. And its going to be bloody.

But the end result is new life and joy!

Is there any question as to why Y'shua said it was birth pangs?

I am a man of peace
But this war is going to happen no matter what I say or do. I cannot pray against it because in my heart I know that it would be against the will of G-d. His word tells me so

PG

[plum]

unavoidable..hmm... but right?


is everything the nation of israel does to defend itself right in the eyes of G-d?

I was thinking about this yesterday.

[plum]

What is happening is right.
Keep in mind Hizbollah has fired over 70 rockets into Jewish communities.
Should Israel sit back and watch Militant Islamic Terror Groups kill innocent men, women and children?
No.
i am not nearly as informed as i would like to be.
you see, i am lebanese. but i am also grafted in to the root of israel as a wild branch. so this is especially meaningful to me in those ways.
so that is why i asked. and it is interesting to hear the points of view expressed here :) thanks erin

[Torah]

I'm by far no expert on Israeli history or even their present situation, but they were attacked first. They can't exactly sit there and let Hezbola run them through. That alone gets my support. I'm glad to read that Bush feels the same way.
Kej, 2min history lesson on Israeli history.

http://www.conceptwizard.com/conen/conflict_2.html

[Sephania]

Exactly!:thumbsup:


But this war is going to happen no matter what I say or do. I cannot pray against it because in my heart I know that it would be against the will of G-d. His word tells me so

[Sephania]

Just a little word picture:

Lebanese ARMY
Israel Defence Force


Israel is not about war, but just defending her right, as has always been since the diaspora, to live, and now it is to live on the land that HaShem gave her.

If we do not support this we do not support the Word of G-d and therefore become His enemies as well.

We need not to look to 'who' we support in the flesh, but Who we support in the Spirit.

He said he will bring them back to their own land, there is only two options here,

1. You believe G-d is good to His word
2. You don't believe that is the Jewish people he is talking about ( replacement theology from Chrisitians being Israel to Arabs claiming to have the last word from G-d ( Koran). )
:)

[Sephania]

Eirene, I just wanted you to know not to take personally what I said, I would say this of any nation or individual that does not recognize G-d true plan , and whoever doesn't is an enemy of G-d.

I pray for devine protection for all the true believers in Yeshua that live in Lebanon, and you know that is also part of the promised land for G-ds own. :)

[plum]

oh i pray for all men to turn in repentance through Yeshua...

Abba, come to save us.

[plum]

what bothers me is that Israel isn't bombing terrorist centers (it seems to me) but rather they're bombing public areas filled with innocents. What good will that do to stop Hizbollah?

thoughts on that?

[Sephania]

If they are anything like the Viet Kong, that is exactly where they hid, the cowards, amoung the innocents. :(

[P_G]

Jules

The Hezbolah do in fact hole up in very heavily residential areas. Now while they launch rather indiscriminant rockets into Vacation towns like Haifa the Israeli forces use very high tech ordiance to strike with precision targets of value (military)

Civillians do get killed in war and thats why it is so very bad. Radical Islam wants all Jews dead they want all Chrisitans dead - one can only wonder how much they would hate a Messianic Jew.

WE continue to pray for peace in Jerusalem


ERIN YOU KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!

My best to Pastor David and all at Mt Carmel

PG