The Lord has made known His salvation. He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. (Verses 2-3)
The Lord has bared His holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Depart, depart, go out from there. Touch no unclean thing. Go out from the midst of her. Purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. For you shall not go in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Isaiah 52
The slogan was, "The last one out, turn out the lights!" when, in May of 1967 Egyptian and Syrian troops amassed on Israel's borders, closing the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. Nasser, the Egyptian president, called for the troops to drive the nineteen-year-old nation of Israel into the sea. The small nation's defeat was imminent. Worldwide, nations mourned the death of the Jewish nation prematurely. Forgetting, perhaps, the Jews are God's chosen people.
On June 5, at 7:46 A.M., the Israeli Air Force destroyed the entire Egyptian Air Force before they ever could take off. Israel's planes flew in below the radar tracking of the Egyptians, making the destruction possible. However, the back story is filled with miracles of bumbling and forgetfulness. God going before the planes to scramble the lives of Egyptians and Syrians whose haughty proclamations clearly angered Him. The commander of ground forces, for example, changed all his brigade leaders the night before. None of them knew the terrain. No one knows why he made such a choice. An urgent message that Israel planned to strike within a few minutes made it only to a command bunker, but never to the high commander. It would have saved the Egyptian Air Force. Officers in northern Jordan picked up the scrambling of the Israeli jets and sent a message to command, but the sergeant at the desk used the wrong code in trying to decipher it. The Commander in Chief was hung over from a night of drinking and watching a popular belly dancer when the jets hit. He also had his command to meet with him in the Sinai that morning, so when the strike came, no top officials were on hand to make decisions.
The scenario played out like an Old Testament story of God's intervention where hail storms, dreams and angelic confusion won territory for His people. The Six Day War was no exception to this, either, as Israel expanded its territory into the Golan Heights, the Sinai, the West Bank and, most importantly, the Old City and the Temple Mount. God bared His arm, helping His people in the moment then coming up behind them to confuse and defeat the enemy. In the sight of all the nations. Though none bowed down to Him as some did in the Bible, everyone knew the outcome of the war was a miracle. Israel has been an ominous threat ever since because of it.
We are His people, too. The new Israel, under a new covenant. Redeemed from the grasp of Satan when God not only bore His arm, but His entire person on behalf of His children. That is why we still see Him going before us into the battles we face on a daily basis. As our Father's precious children, we've been made clean in the wake of the battle fought on our behalf. No longer must we fear the enemy as he taunts us that we're unfit for the fight. We've been removed from the midst of his lies and attachments. No longer do we turn tail and run away scared from the devil's accusations. No. For our God has gone before us to make a way, given us the eminence of His family name and walks in front of us down our road. And here's the amazing thing. He also has our backs. Takes up the rear guard, confusing the enemy who would decode His Word to us, pulls down one leader to raise another on our behalf, and distracts the demons with their own folly so we move safely through to victory. Make no mistake, either. Each time we move in the power of His plans, we gain more territory. Get stronger, more confident, wiser and more faithful. And the world has seen us. Scratched their heads that such weaklings could survive and thrive. And the very ones who say today that Israel will be driven into the sea, will one day bow to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, declaring His preeminence over everything everywhere. Even from hell. Our God is just that big.
The Lord has bared His holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Depart, depart, go out from there. Touch no unclean thing. Go out from the midst of her. Purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. For you shall not go in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Isaiah 52
The slogan was, "The last one out, turn out the lights!" when, in May of 1967 Egyptian and Syrian troops amassed on Israel's borders, closing the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. Nasser, the Egyptian president, called for the troops to drive the nineteen-year-old nation of Israel into the sea. The small nation's defeat was imminent. Worldwide, nations mourned the death of the Jewish nation prematurely. Forgetting, perhaps, the Jews are God's chosen people.
On June 5, at 7:46 A.M., the Israeli Air Force destroyed the entire Egyptian Air Force before they ever could take off. Israel's planes flew in below the radar tracking of the Egyptians, making the destruction possible. However, the back story is filled with miracles of bumbling and forgetfulness. God going before the planes to scramble the lives of Egyptians and Syrians whose haughty proclamations clearly angered Him. The commander of ground forces, for example, changed all his brigade leaders the night before. None of them knew the terrain. No one knows why he made such a choice. An urgent message that Israel planned to strike within a few minutes made it only to a command bunker, but never to the high commander. It would have saved the Egyptian Air Force. Officers in northern Jordan picked up the scrambling of the Israeli jets and sent a message to command, but the sergeant at the desk used the wrong code in trying to decipher it. The Commander in Chief was hung over from a night of drinking and watching a popular belly dancer when the jets hit. He also had his command to meet with him in the Sinai that morning, so when the strike came, no top officials were on hand to make decisions.
The scenario played out like an Old Testament story of God's intervention where hail storms, dreams and angelic confusion won territory for His people. The Six Day War was no exception to this, either, as Israel expanded its territory into the Golan Heights, the Sinai, the West Bank and, most importantly, the Old City and the Temple Mount. God bared His arm, helping His people in the moment then coming up behind them to confuse and defeat the enemy. In the sight of all the nations. Though none bowed down to Him as some did in the Bible, everyone knew the outcome of the war was a miracle. Israel has been an ominous threat ever since because of it.
We are His people, too. The new Israel, under a new covenant. Redeemed from the grasp of Satan when God not only bore His arm, but His entire person on behalf of His children. That is why we still see Him going before us into the battles we face on a daily basis. As our Father's precious children, we've been made clean in the wake of the battle fought on our behalf. No longer must we fear the enemy as he taunts us that we're unfit for the fight. We've been removed from the midst of his lies and attachments. No longer do we turn tail and run away scared from the devil's accusations. No. For our God has gone before us to make a way, given us the eminence of His family name and walks in front of us down our road. And here's the amazing thing. He also has our backs. Takes up the rear guard, confusing the enemy who would decode His Word to us, pulls down one leader to raise another on our behalf, and distracts the demons with their own folly so we move safely through to victory. Make no mistake, either. Each time we move in the power of His plans, we gain more territory. Get stronger, more confident, wiser and more faithful. And the world has seen us. Scratched their heads that such weaklings could survive and thrive. And the very ones who say today that Israel will be driven into the sea, will one day bow to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, declaring His preeminence over everything everywhere. Even from hell. Our God is just that big.
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