|
Where Are All of God's Wonders?
by Kathryn Frazier In ancient days, a small and fearful Jew named Gideon threshed wheat in secret, hiding from those who occupied his home in Israel. Someone appeared to him with words of encouragement. "The LORD is with you," the messenger said. Gideon replied as anyone living in oppression might: "If the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about?" It is a question that persists even to these modern days. The Angel of the LORD told Gideon to go in the strength that he had, and save Israel out of the hands of the Midianites. Again and again, God patiently encouraged the man with signs from heaven. At last, the weakest member of the weakest family in Manasseh lead a three front war with three hundred men against an army as numerous as locusts. With the blast of the shofar, it was God, not Gideon, who took credit. It is a story of great wonder, passed down to our generation through the Bible in Judges 6:11-8:27. In the summer of 1967, Israel again faced a three front war. Kuwait, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq contributed troops and armament to the forces of Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Superpower USSR provided war planes and other weapons. The goal: the eradication of Israel. Israel's arms suppliers, the United States and France, imposed an arms embargo, leaving the newly reborn country with only one ally: The LORD Himself. In less than two hours, 300 Egyptian warplanes were destroyed. By the end of the first day, the Egyptian and Jordanian air forces, and half of the Syrian air force, were neutralized. Israel's Prime Minister Levi Eshkol sent word to Jordan's King Hussein, saying Israel would not attack Jordan unless provoked. Hussein responded by ordering the shelling of West Jerusalem. In the blistering desert heat, Israeli ground forces moved forward, subduing Jordan in three days, and taking back the Old City of Jerusalem. In six days, Israel was saved out of the hands of her enemies. When the Jews reached the Western Wall, a shofar blast echoed across the reunited city of Jerusalem. It is God, not man, who gets the credit. Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day, commemorates the reunification of Jerusalem after the Six Day War. It is a story of great wonder. Yom Yerusalayim begins at sunset: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 Saturday May 19, 2012 Tuesday, May 7, 2013 Copyright 2011, Kathryn A. Frazier. Kathryn lives with her husband and children in Tampa, Florida. It's hot there. And swampy. With gators. She's really brave. [email protected] Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |