Through the events that then transpired with the Passover and the following flight out of Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea and the complete and final destruction of the Egyptian power at that time, a nation was called out and separated, God’s nation, his firstborn national son. (Exodus 4:22 - “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn”  Hosea 11:1 - “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.”)  As Moses stood at the shore of the Red Sea with the Egyptian army coming behind he said the following words taken from Exodus 14:13,14:

“13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

14 The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”

This is important to notice, it was God who would fight for his people.  It was God who the Egyptians stood up against, and from here on God would be known to his people as “the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt.”  This is God’s character, he is a savior to his people.  Ultimately he would give his natural firstborn son for his people, therefore his name was Jesus, or Yehoshua, meaning “Yah shall save” (Matthew 1:21).

The events of the Exodus sent shock waves through the world at that time, but the Israelites were not yet ready to enter and possess the promised land.  God had taken the children of Israel out of Egypt but in many the ways of Egypt were still in them.  There were many trials and difficulties, and much to be learnt before God would bring his people into the Promised Land under the hand of Joshua.

So too in modern times God is preparing his people so that they may be ready to truly enter the promised land.  The character of a person is shaped by what they go through in their life, and it is the same with nations, and most certainly with the nation of Israel.  Already what the children of Israel have gone through in even the last 150 years is so incredible it blows ones mind.  It is well worth taking the time to read the stories of the clandestine immigration of the Jewish people as they epically struggled to get back to the promised land.  If you’re not much of a reader then start with the movie “The Long Way Home.”  I firmly believe that the story of the Jews coming out of the ashes of the Holocaust and their journey back home is one of the greatest testaments to the unseen hand of Almighty God at work in the world today, as he remembers the promises he made to Abraham, Issac, Jacob, David and the prophets and is slowly bringing them to pass.  The following words from Jeremiah will have a great fulfillment in the future but don't miss what has already been done.

Jer 16:14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

15 But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

Trials come in many different ways in our own lives, and today for Israel it seems like it is the trials of terrorism.  This past Monday in Jerusalem a man climbed onto bus number 12 that was traveling through the Talpiot industrial area, went to the back and exploded a bomb near the bus’s fuel tanks.  With such an inferno all that was left of bus number 12 was a skeleton, and with such heat another bus and nearby car in turn met the same fate.  Incredibly the only person to die was the suicide bomber himself, however a further 20 were injured including children.

I have said this before on this program but when we sit in places like Canada where I am now it can be very hard to relate to events like this happening to people thousands of miles away.  I do believe that we need to try.  This week I received a letter from the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund and I am going to read some of it to you:

Dear Friends,

When terror strikes daily, everyone is traumatized, especially the children.

Across the valley from my home is Shiloh, is a hilltop community known as Hayovel, where the mountain air is fresh and children generally are outside playing, but usually not at 5:30 AM.

That is the time at which two Muslim terrorists armed with knives and clubs infiltrated the community last week, shortly thereafter attacking a young father named Roi at the entrance to his home.

They stabbed Roi and pounded his body as they sought to enter his home to assault his wife and five children, but he bravely fought them off and slammed the door shut, while his wife called security forces, who soon rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area.

This happened two weeks ago as the children were awakening to what should have been a routine day in an admittedly not so routine place.  Children here often have their innocence and playful nature rudely disturbed by terrorist attacks that remind home that we have ruthless terrorists planning attacks walking distance from out homes.

After the morning attack, our emergency trauma team immediately went into full operational mode to prepare for the eventual arrival of the Hayovel children to their schools on our educational/ therapeutic campus in central Shiloh.  By the time the morning was finished, close to 2,000 children had been treated and counseled, because when terror strikes, everyone is traumatized.

Post Trauma Stress Disorder is a serious challenge here in Israel and we are constntly working to improve and expand our comprehensive Shiloh Israel’s Children’s Fund (SICF) network of therapeutic programs.  Aside from the emergency team of psychologists, social workers, and educational staff, we are proud of our programs that use music, art, animals, and multi-sensory safe room therapies to heal trauma.

I am also proud to announce the establishment of the first high school in Shiloh since biblical times.  Until our new campus is built, the school will be set up in temporary quarters in the upper neighborhood of Shiloh, starting with a founding class of ninth grade students.  The project is the first major step in the fulfillment of a vision to have a local school for the older children of the Shiloh region.  This will reduce the need to travel on dangerous roads and will also strengthen the parents-children and parents- teacher relationships.”

Through all of the terror that happens the Jewish population of Judea and Samaria continues to grow and as we read, we now have the first high school being built in Shiloh.   Through the inspiration of God the Apostle Paul tells us that the children of Israel are “beloved for the fathers sakes” and supporting God’s people through the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund couldn't be more timely.  The fund helps heal the trauma of terrorism in the lives of innocent children in the heart of the land of Israel who have lost loved ones or witnessed the horror of terrorism first-hand.  

David Rubin, the author of that letter writes of the new high school in Shiloh, but the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund’s projects include much more than just that.  The following gives you a good scope of what they do:

• Children’s Playgrounds

• Biblical Parks and Gardens

• Post-Trauma Treatment Programs

• Aid to Educational Heritage Projects for Children

• Toys for Kindergartens and Nurseries

• Summer Camps for Children of Traumatized Communities

• Assistance For Hands-On and Therapeutic Learning Programs

• Scholarship Funds for Terror Victims

Direct Aid to Orphans and Widows 

You can find complete information and donate at www.shilohisraelchildren.org  I actually think it is exciting to be able to assist in furthering the development of the Jewish people on the mountains of Israel, even if only with money at this point!

Well we started off talking about the passover and children of Israel coming out of Egypt with the great deliverance at the Red Sea.  As the new nation stood the next morning looking at the bodies of the Egyptians washing up on the shore they had time to take in the greatness of their God.  It is recorded in Exodus chapter 15 that Moses and the children of Israel sang a song to God.  The words of the song take on an even greater meaning when we come to the book of Revelation (15:3) and we see them being sung once more by those that are victorious over the symbolic beast (the kingdom of men as seen in great confederacy of nations in Ezekiel 38 that we often refer to on this program (More on the fourth beast of Daniel and the beasts of Revelation in the Bible Magazine Vol 20 # 4)) that will stand against Christ, the saints and their people.  The following are the words of that song from Exodus 15:

“1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

2 The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

3 The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.

4 Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.

5 The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.  (Compare Rev 18:21)

6 Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

11 Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

14 The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.

15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.

16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.

17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.

18 The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.”

There are certainly some difficult times ahead for Israel but as with the coming out of Egypt God is shaping his people.  And as with the Egyptians it is the way his people are treated that will bring on his judgments.  Look at the words of Joel 3:1, 2, 16:

“1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

…

16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”

In these last days as we see the severe rise in anti- Semitism and anti-Zionism we should support God’s work in the heartland of Israel.  Not only can we support organizations like the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund but we should speak up, as the words of Isaiah 62:1 (RSV) say “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent.”  When the Lord roars out of Zion for his heritage Israel without a doubt we will want to be on the Lord’s side.  The time of passover is a good time to remember that!

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