PRAYER UPDATE FROM
ISRAEL
(November 25, 2008)
1. NEW MAYOR IN JERUSALEM
"For thus says the LORD to the men of
Judah and Jerusalem: 'Break up your fallow ground and do not sow
among thorns.'" (Jeremiah 4:3).
"Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in
mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD,
till He comes and rains righteousness on you." (Hosea
10:12).
The recent civil elections saw the election
of Nir Barkat as the Mayor of Jerusalem. He has been
successful as a businessman, a leader (Major) in the Israeli army,
and in recent years has evidenced a desire to bring economic renewal
to the City as well as a keen protective concern for her welfare. As
opposition leader in the last administration, it was he who came out
strongly questioning the government's decision to cede a plot of
land in the heart of the city to Russia. Mr Barkat (a self-made
millionaire in the field of hi-tech) has previously announced that
he will take no salary as Mayor, donating it instead to a Jerusalem
charity. We believe him to have been by far the best candidate for
the job. One of his opponents was a billionaire with very
questionable dealings both within and outside of Israel (even being
wanted for questioning regarding corruption charges in France)-the
other was an Ultra-Orthodox figure who a few weeks before the
election gave a speech boasting that within a few short years all of
the major cities in Israel would be led by Orthodox mayors. In the
end, despite the billionaire's huge advertising campaign (triple
portraits down the sides of tall buildings at the city's entrance,
and on the sides of busses, etc), he received a relatively tiny
number of votes. The Orthodox candidate was doing much better-and
looked indeed to be a strong contender, when, at the eleventh hour,
a huge sector of Orthodox (the "Gur Chassidim") unexpectedly broke
away with their support, swinging over to Barkat. It was a truly
astonishing move which took everyone by surprise.
Jerusalem is in great need of a leader of
wisdom, fairness and integrity. At present, because of the economic
troubles, large numbers of secular Jews have moved to the cheaper
suburbs, while many neighborhoods are being virtually taken over by
Orthodox who seek to impose their rules and legalisms on everyone
around them. The religious spirit which governs many of these people
also spells major problems for Messianic Jews who would live and
work in the neighborhoods connected to them. Meanwhile, with the
upheaval of many city streets due to the far-behind-schedule light
rail transit system, many businesses are failing and there has been
a mass exodus of lucrative businesses from the city.
In ancient Hebrew, Mr Barkat's name Nir
coincides with a word which means "tillable, untilled or
fallow ground."
PLEASE PRAY:
*Blessing on the Mayor elect, Nir Barkat-that
he and his family would be protected and that he would have a smooth
transition into his new position as "Rosh ha'Ir" (Head of the
city).
*That Mr Barkat will have the Fear of the
LORD on him in this position, a revelation that it is indeed the
City of the Great King-and that he will be moved by the Holy Spirit
to call on the Lord for assistance. That God would send wise
counselors to assist him.
*That his soul will indeed be found
'tillable'-that he will 'break up his fallow ground, for it is
time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness upon
him!"
2. EARLY ELECTIONS ARE IN
FEBRUARY
Since the party of the resigned Ehud Olmert
was not able to successfully form a government within the required
length of time, Israel is going to early elections in February to
choose a new Prime Minister. At present, the leading contenders
appear to the Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu (who held the position at
the end of the last decade), Kadima's present head and Foreign
Minister Tzippi Livni, and Labour's Ehud Barak, who has also held
the post.
In the meanwhile, "caretaker" Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert met one last time with American President George W Bush
last night. In a bizarre working out of the present day state of the
Israeli political system, Mr. Olmert, although having resigned in
disgrace, still holds all his power and continues to have his hands
in behind-the-scenes negotiations and decisions (such as talks with
Syria regarding the Golan Heights) which could have far-reaching
affects on Israel herself, not to mention the situation his
successor will inherit.
PLEASE PRAY:
*That God in His mercy will give to Israel in
February a man or woman of integrity and the fear of the Lord for a
leader.
*That believers will have discernment in
their prayers-that God would grant us revelation regarding who will
be 'tillable' (see previous section) by the Holy Spirit. We believe
this to be the real issue-not just, who speaks forth the right
phrases or appears to adhere to our view on one particular issue.
Rather, "Who has a heart which can be warmed, influenced,
changed by the LORD-to attend to the counsels of those whom He (as
in days of Old) may send with the 'thoughts of His heart?"
(Psalm 33:10-11).
*"The LORD foils the plans of the nations; He
thwarts the purposes of the peoples" (Psalm 33:10). In the recent
words of Eliyahu Ben-Haim, a Messianic intercession leader in
Jerusalem, "The government has lost the confidence of the nation,
and the Prime Minister has no moral standing with the people. He is
not qualified to make the fateful decisions that are facing us.Pray
that the Lord will hedge Olmert in and not allow him to jeopardize
further Israel with his decisions and negotiations." We are not
speaking a curse on Mr. Olmert-rather praying that during the three
months remaining before he is replaced, he will be allowed to use
the power of his office only to affect those laws which are
righteous and good and which line up with God's desires and purposes
for Israel at this time.
3. A WAY OF VICTORY - A WAY OF
DEFEAT
"Stand at the crossroads and look; ask
for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls" (Jeremiah 6:16
NIV).
"Behold, I set before you the way of
life and the way of death" (Jeremiah 21:8
NKJV).
"Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
for You are my Savior-God, and in You I hope all day long"
(Psalm 25:5).
In the past year there has been a growing
number of archeological discoveries of importance throughout Israel,
especially in the Jerusalem area. In late October it was announced
that what is thought to be an ancient water tunnel, dating perhaps
from the time of David's conquest of Jerusalem, has been uncovered
(See "First-Temple era water tunnel found in J'lem", Jerusalem
Post Online Edition, Oct. 29, 2008). In fact, archeologists go
so far as to speculate that this tunnel might actually be 1)
the tunnel which David used to gain entrance to the
city during his conquest (II Samuel 5:6-8; I Chronicles 11:4-6), and
in fact 2) related to a tunnel (by then converted into
an escape passage mentioned as 'a gate between two walls') used by
King Zedekiah hundreds of years later to escape from the city during
the siege by Babylonia (II Kings 25:4).
In the first instance the LORD God of Armies
[YHVH Tzeva'ot] was with David (II Sam 5:10) and
revealed to him this secret passage as a way into victory and
destiny. Yet, in the second instance, King Zedekiah was not
interested in the guidance of the LORD and sought to use the same
passage which had been the way into blessing as the way our of
danger. But this was a different time and set of circumstances-The
king had been warned by the prophet Jeremiah that now the way of
resistance or flight would not be the way of life; God's 'way of
escape' would be to go out humbly to the officers of the enemy
(Jeremiah 38:17-20), and surrender. Not only would his life be
saved, but the city itself would not be burned. But Zedekiah
rejected the Word, waited and then tried to escape tunnel. He was
captured shortly thereafter, judged, and forced to watch his
children slaughtered; he was then blinded and taken in chains to
Babylon. The LORD later mercifully met him in that darkness-but it
was not the 'way' which he could and should have chosen.
PLEASE PRAY:
*For Believers in Israel-to not look
automatically to paths and ways and methods which have 'worked
before.' That at the many crossroads, we will look, and ask for the
ancient paths-ask where the good way is. That our enquiries would be
from a context of intimacy with our God (Psalm 27:4)-that is the
'better way!'
*For Israel as a people-that we be moved by
the Holy Spirit (in the midst of a whirl of other spirits) to
discover ancient truths-but even then, to enquire of God for His
guidance in choosing when and how to walk in them.
AS THOSE OF OUR FRIENDS LIVING IN THE
UNITED STATES CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAY 'THANKSGIVING' THIS
THURSDAY, WE JOIN WITH YOU IN OFFERING UP A SACRIFICE OF THANKS TO
OUR GOD WHO SEES AND PROVIDES GOOD THINGS FOR HIS CHILDREN. AMONG
OUR OFFERINGS IS GRATEFULNESS FOR THE GREAT ARMY OF YOU WHO STAND
WITH US IN BLESSING HIS LAND AND PEOPLE ISRAEL. "HODU LA'YHVH KI
TOV, KI LE-OLAM HASDO! Give thanks to the LORD, He is Good-His
loving-kindness endures FOREVER!"
Martin & Norma
Sarvis
JERUSALEM
