“On that day Israel shall be a third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,
when the Lord of hosts gives this blessing: “Blessed be my people Egypt, and the work of my hands Assyria, and my heritage, Israel.”
Isaiah 19:24-25 (NAB)
Israel is the holy land for three major religions, even though it is a very small country, about the size of New Jersey. God loves the people of every nation, as the scripture above refers to Egypt as ‘His’ people, and Assyria (modern day Iraq) as the work of ‘His’ hands.
Israel, though small, is often the focus of world news, as people live in constant conflict, but it is a land, rich in the history of miracles.
We’ve all heard the Bible stories of miracles that once took place there. The Sea of Galilee is where Jesus walked on water, a landscape that is still unchanged today. Jesus fed the 5,000 on the northwestern shore of that Sea.
David defeated the 9’9” giant, Goliath, in an area that is only 15 minutes from the Ben Gurion international airport of Israel. The Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem has one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the country and is also next to where Jesus preached the famous Sermon of the Mount. In Jerusalem, we can still walk through the Garden of Gethsemane, and see the same trees that existed 2,000 years ago, where Jesus once prayed. It’s amazing to think of all the miracles that took place in a land that we can still visit today.
I believe that Abraham, the patriarch of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, is still overseeing the holy land from heaven, and would like to see his descendants of Isaac (Jews), of Ishmael, (Arabs) and Christians everywhere to dwell in peace and unity. Two very interesting and mystical occurrences involving Abraham, once happened in the 20th century, as reported by eyewitnesses who were there.
Right after the United Nations voted to declare Israel an independent nation in 1948, a coalition of five Arab nations attacked the country. There was a troop of Israelis who were down to the end of their supplies, on top of Mount Zion. A troop of Arab fighters approached them, and the Israeli troop saw that they were cornered and out of bullets, so they decided to pray.
The Arab soldiers headed up the mountain, towards them, then looked up, seeing something that stopped them. Immediately the whole troop of Arabs retreated, but the Israeli soldiers never knew why, until nineteen years later. One of those Jewish soldiers met an Arab soldier and as they were talking, they realized they were both on Mount Zion that day. The Arab man told him that Abu Ibrahim (father Abraham) appeared to them on top of the mountain, waving his arms for them to stop fighting, so in a state of awe, they all retreated.
If this sounds too unbelievable, it happened again, 20 years later, during the Six day war in Israel. A troop of Israeli soldiers were outnumbered but about to fight a troop of soldiers from Jordan, when the Jordanians saw something in the sky and shouted in Arabic, “Abu Ibrahim !”and then retreated.
A Jordanian soldier later told an Israeli officer that they saw their Patriarch, father Abraham in the sky surrounded by a multitude of angels. Those Arab troops were blessed to witness such imagery, which God sent to them, knowing both Jews and Arabs revered Abraham. Many lives were saved because of those sitings of Abraham during the early conflicts.
So, whether we are a Jew or an Arab, Catholic or Protestant, or people of any race on earth, God wants all people to come to Him and be united in Him, as He sent an obvious message of unity and inclusion through today’s scripture.
Miracles don’t happen every day but when they do, it’s meant to inspire us to find a common unity of faith, to trust in a God who is real, who loves all people, and who still intervenes in our lives whenever we pray to Him.
Lord, we pray that you would make us instruments of your peace until the day that all people of any faith or race will see Jesus with open arms, and invite Him into their lives. Amen
