We discuss the recent midterm elections when a blue Democrat wave swept over America. Shockingly many of the feelings of the voters it seems turned away from Israel. This on top of Trump ending US aid to Israel is shocking for many in Israel. What does it mean for the Jewish State?
Texas has voted Democrat, Kansas has elected a Democratic Senator for the first time in nearly a century (94 years), and Michigan has voted for an Islamic Senator who called Israel as evil as Hamas. It was expected that the Republican Party would not fair well in the midterm elections, but few expected such a beating. It is safe to say the Republicans are upset. For Israel, many see it as catastrophic.
America has not been a perfect friend, but the only friend left with the power to hold off the wolves, veto UN Security Council resolutions, and supply the armaments Israel has felt it needed to survive in the Middle East. In fact, having only one friend and the rest of the whole world against them was manageable, so long as that friend was America.
Before the election even took place, Donald Trump announced that Israel would be cut off from the over 4 billion in defence funding that Israel received. He claimed this was discussed with Netanyahu months ago, however the timing of the announcement made it feel like Trump was reading the weather reports and knew the people were turning. Regardless, it was a stunning reveal that made many in Israel very worried.
To follow this up with the results of the Midterms now puts the completion of the Iran was in jeopardy and leaves Israel feeling vulnerable.
Historical Protection
In the prophecies it is clear that God knew that the Jewish colony would be fragile and in danger. In His mercy therefore God provided protection. As we read in Isaiah 18:1,2,
“Woe (Ah - Revised Version) to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, (John Thomas translates this "to a nation carried away and oppressed; to a people terrible from this and onward; a nation prostrate and trodden down”) whose land the rivers have spoiled!”
To fully appreciate the concept of these shadowing wings consider the following passages using the same Hebrew word and concept:
Ruth 2:12 - The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
Psalm 36:7 - How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
These are wings that offer protection like a chicken gathering her chicks under her wings.
In 1806, George Stanley Faber wrote of this power,
“The Jews will begin to be restored by the great maritime power of the age... The Isles of the sea, and the ships of Tarshish, must begin the great work of the restoration of the Jews.”
John Thomas went further and identified the maritime power with Britain, writing in The Herald of the Kingdom Age, 1853, pg. 200:
“She has a mission to fulfil, and she must feel straitened till it is accomplished - a mission of the strongest necessity, and she cannot evade it - a mission of the noblest nature, and she will not shun it. To her - to the whole Anglo-Saxon race, of which she is the head and representative - is the task assigned of carrying forward the religious, moral, and social preadventual progress of the world, and in this she may be well assisted by her children in the west and south. America may be united with her in the work, and Australia must grow in strength for the same purpose; and thus supported on each side by a strong stalwart son, the brave old empire will be energized to the task.”
As we look back now over history we can see that Britain offered the early protection for the returning scattered Jewish people, and when Britain turned her back on the Jewish people in 1939 with publication of the White Paper that limited immigration into Palestine thereby dooming many to the Nazi ovens, America soon took the place of protecting the infant Jewish state.
When David Ben Gurion announced to the world that the State of Israel was born, many wondered if the new state would be recognized. It took President Harry Truman only eleven minutes to have the US response accepting the Jewish state.
Many times since America has been there to assist the Jews in some of their most desperate moments. Is this assistance about to change?
While we cannot know the immediate next steps America and the State of Israel will take, the fact that Israel is able to say to America that they no longer need the over 4 billion in aid money is remarkable.
Can Israel Stand Alone?
Near the end of October, the Bank of Israel forecasted that Israel’s gross domestic product will grow by 5.6% in 2026 and 7.5% in 2027. 2027’s number equates to a growth in GDP of over $50 billion USD.
It is therefore likely true that Israel is no longer in need of financial assistance. However, it is the political and strategic umbrella that Israel is most concerned about. And yet, today Israel is the Superpower of the Middle East. Is it possible that Israel is ready to be fully independent?
Israeli politician and journalist Yishai Fleisher sees a positive aspect to this development, he said,
“Why am I so happy that President Trump has announced the end of this foreign aid? Well, because Israel needs to be independent. And just like the Marshall Plan came to an end when those countries became self-sufficient, that's the goal. The goal has been to make sure that Israel is self-sufficient. And so, indeed, it has come of age…it’s time for Israel to be independent. This is a great moment for Israel. We should all be celebrating this moment and to say, "Wow, you've really helped us get to this place." And that's why before I even go any further with this analysis, I just want to say very clearly, thank you to the United States. Thank you very much for all the years of support and help, and pushing back on your enemies and our enemies, and helping Israel get up on its feet…” Fleisher went on explain that there were problems with American aid as well, “We have to be honest as to to say that the there was a lot of strings attached to American foreign aid and often times we were told that we couldn't build in Judea and Samaria, or that we had to have a two-state solution, or a disengagement. That's also now coming off the the table… I really want us to not be afraid. This is a moment where Israel's really gaining independence.”
With the storm clouds brewing on the horizon and from what we know is yet to come against Israel in Ezekiel 38 it is clear that it is not going to be smooth sailing from here on. However, as we find in Ezekiel 38 the southern Alliance of nations speak up about the northern power coming against Israel, but they are either unwilling or unable to save Israel in that moment, rather it is the God of Israel who stands up.
In Deuteronomy God tells the people to lean on him,
“When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”
Of course it is God that has ultimately protected the nation up until this point. In 1948 when five Arab armies attacked Israel from all sides the day after the state was proclaimed, the infant state not only came out victorious in that battle but gained territory. The same in 1967 when it was Israel vs almost all the muslim armed forces in the region massed against Israel, and they were all defeated in six days, and on the seventh day they rested! And what about in the last few years as Israel has been able to fly unimpeded even to the eastern side of Iran. This is all beyond human power and is a sign of the mighty hand of God.
So in the short term Israel may find itself independent, or in the words of the prophecy of Baalam in Numbers 23, “dwelling alone”. In the long term it may make the enemies of Israel feel emboldened, but as we read in Joel 3:16 when the Lord stands up Israel will see clearly that they are not without help:
“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.”
Until then, while it is terrible to see the wicked clouds of antisemitism on the horizon, those clouds are propelling Israel forward to her coming of age. What an incredible sign of the times! If America continues down this road they will find it is not an easy one, just as Britain lost her empire.
How long until the nations rage truly comes against Israel? It feels closer and closer.
Come back next week for another Bible in the News. This has been John Billington with you.
