Subject: Islam, Judaism and Christianity Part 7 – God is the Protector of Israel

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

On March 2nd, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained to the American people that any nuclear weapons deal with Iran would be disastrous, and Israel will continue to defend herself against Islamic attacks. He pointed to the image of Moses in the Congressional chambers and quoted our verse for this week: “Facing me right up there in the gallery, overlooking all of us in this chamber is the image of Moses. Moses led our people from slavery to the gates of the Promised Land. And before the people of Israel entered the land of Israel, Moses gave us a message that has steeled our resolve for thousands of years. I leave you with his message today, “Be strong and resolute, neither fear nor dread them.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 was God’s message delivered through Moses, and Prime Minister Netanyahu is appealing to the God of both Jews and Christians to protect Israel as He has done in miraculous ways throughout history. A recent example of God’s defense of His nation is the incredible events of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, known by Arabs today as the ‘Nakba’, which means ‘the catastrophe’.

When the British left Israel in May of 1948, five Islamic nations (Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon) simultaneously invaded Israel with their intentions declared by Azzam Pasha, Secretary-General of the Arab League: “It will be a war of annihilation. It will be a momentous massacre in history that will be talked about like the massacres of the Mongols or the Crusades.”

In his book ‘Now We Got the Bible’, Dr. Paul Ferguson, Professor of Old Testament at Christian Life College in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, explains God’s miraculous intervention: “These armies were equipped with modern weapons: artillery, machine guns, airplanes, tanks, etc. To meet this force the Israelis possessed a few thousand rifles, a few hundred homemade machine guns, four antique cannons and a few other weapons including nine piper cub type airplanes. Miraculously within a few short months these invaders were beaten, and Israel now possessed more territory than they would have had there been no invasion.”

Professor Ferguson points to the prophetic words of Micah 4:11-12 as God’s answer to the boasting of the invading Islamic armies intent on their destruction: “Now also many nations have gathered against you, who say, ‘Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.’ But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, nor do they understand His counsel; for He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.”

Professor Ferguson also elaborates on how Micah’s prophecy was fulfilled during the invasion: “The Grand Mufti in Jerusalem was boasting that they would now finish the extermination of Jews Hitler started. Around 700BC Micah prophesied that nations would be bragging they would soon gloat over Israel’s destruction. Micah predicted that the seemingly helpless Jewish lambs would suddenly sprout iron horns and bronze hooves and would then quickly trample the braggarts to pieces. What Micah 4:11 predicted is exactly what happened in the War of Independence!”

One of the many miraculous events in this war was at the Battle of Yad Mordecai, a kibbutz located 36 miles outside Tel Aviv, on the coastal road from Egypt. It was here that a 5,000-soldier Egyptian army, with tanks and the latest in military weaponry, was confronted by 130 local Israelis, only 20 of whom were actual military fighters. They had 37 rifles, one anti-tank gun, two light mortars, and two machine guns. Incredibly, 130 untrained Israelis held 5,000 Egyptian soldiers at bay for 5 days! Over 300 Egyptian soldiers died in the battle. While the kibbutz held off the Egyptian army, 4 Messerschmitt airplanes arrived from Czechoslovakia and were deployed on May 29th against the Egyptian army before it could reach Tel Aviv. How could this happen?

God has always promised that when Israel goes to war, He will be with them as He was with Moses when He brought them out of Egypt: “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 20:1).

Our government must decide: do we agree with the images of Moses on the walls of Congress that Prime Minster Netanyahu pointed to and side with Israel? If we do, we will be siding with the same God of our Christian heritage, who sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world as Savior for both Jew and Gentile.