Today: September 9, 2010

The easy way or the hard way?

Posted: Sat 29th November 2008 8.02 PM | Author: David Soakell

But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD.... Be strong, all you people of the Land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty. 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.' "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. (Haggai 2:4-7)

The Jews had been in captivity in Babylon (modern day Iraq)for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11). They were first deported in 606 BC and the final destruction of the temple was in 586. In 539 Cyrus king of Persia issues a decree for the Jews to go home. The first party arrive under Zerubbabel and lay the foundations with the Samaritans causing opposition. The people decide to stay in the comfort zone and leave the temple alone. More than 15 years pass and Zechariah and Haggai encourage the Jews to start again. The Temple is completed in 4 years.Godused Haggai to get the leaders and the people to once again focus on the work of God. Through the leading of God, the ministry of the prophets, the decree,and the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest, the rebuilding of the temple was resumed and completed in 516 BC., exactly 70 years after its destruction.

Someone one posed the following question: "Does anyone know the significance of being in captivity for 70 years?" The answer came... "As part of the Torah, God told the people to let the land rest every seventh year. Did they do it? No. They were in the land 490 years and never observed the Sabbath year for the land. How many Sabbath years did they miss? Seventy. So God made up for it by taking all the Sabbath years at one time." It's an interesting theory...Either way Israel had70 years of captivity, but the LordGod is in control. The point is this: We can do it the easy way or the hard way, but either way, God will get His way. That's why it is important for us to have our priorities right and put obedience to God first. How do you know if you have your priorities straight? And if you don't, what do you do about it? I think Haggai can give us some help in determining the answers to these questions.

Just as Cyrus, the King of the ancient Persian Empire, was the Divinely appointed facilitator for the return of the Jewish people to Jerusalem after the first exile, the British Empire was entrusted by the God of History after the second exile to restore His ancient covenant people to the Land that He had promised to them as an everlasting inheritance (see Destiny of Britain article). Sadly, as mentioned in last weeks New Report, when in Israel, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband when questioned,still insisted that peace would only come from dividing the land of Israel yet further to create a "two state solution". It is quite clear that the British government is opposed to Israel having her 'full inheritance". Have we learned nothing? As soon as Britain turned their back on the Jewish nation in 1948, the British Empire crumbled!

Today, I believe Britain is walking on very thin ice.Here is something to ponder on... If the leadership of a people has strong views towards a certain subject, will not the people follow? The problem is, if our British government is against the Jewish people having complete control of their own nation, does this filter down into other areas of British life? During the Second World War, when Britain was under threat ofNazi-Germany invasion, we had a strong leader in Churchill, and the nation responded in a united effort to battle on to victory. This does not appear to be the case today.

In many ways, things are getting worse in Britain.Anti-Semitism for onehas begun to rear its ugly head in northwest London's Jewish neighbourhood of Golders Green. Jewish students are increasingly being targeted by rock-throwing hate-mongers, according to a report published in The Jewish News. Concerned parents have organised a private bus to transport their children in order to keep them safe from the daily attacks on their way to school. At the Hendon Park Cafe, vandals scrawled “dirty Jews” and a swastika on the walls of the cafe. A sketch of a gun and the word “kill” was scrawled alongside it as well.

Also in London, atwisted pro-Palestinian groupwill present a Jew-bashing Christmas concert this week. Traditional carols were rewritten to include lyrics about assassinations, war crimes and oppression.
The Daily Mail reported: "Organisers of a Christmas carol concert being held in a famous church have been condemned for rewriting traditional verses to attack Israel. Far from bringing tidings of comfort and joy, the participants will instead sing about ‘war crimes', ‘assassinations' and the ‘oppression' of Palestinians. The concert, which has been organised by anti-Israeli campaigners, is due to take place on Wednesday at St James's, Piccadilly, a Christopher Wren-designed church in Central London."

Its critics include the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, who said that the rewriting of much-loved traditional carols for such partisan political purposes was deeply offensive.The reworked carols include favourites such as O Come All Ye Faithful, O Little Town Of Bethlehem, The Holly And The Ivy and Hark The Herald Angels Sing. Even The Twelve Days Of Christmas gets the treatment. A revised opening verse of While Shepherds Watched goes: ‘While shepherds watched their flocks by night, All seated on the ground, Some occupying soldiers came and bulldozed all around.' And guess whoapproved of this anti-Semitic tosh? The rector of St James's himself... the Revd Charles Hedley, who said he thought that Christmas was a good time for Jews and Christians to co-operate in a bid to ‘address the need for peace and reconciliation'.Peace and reconciliation? How canpeace and reconciliation come from lyrics such as "While shepherds watched their flocks by night, all seated on the ground, some occupying soldiers came and bulldozed all around"? Never mind"peace and reconciliation", what about Biblical and historic accuracy! It was Jewishshepherds watching their flocks by night, to welcome in the Jewish Messiah, born in the Jewish town of Bethlehem in Judea! There were no "Palestinians" in Jesus' day occupying Israel! It makes the blood boil!

If you would like to complain to the Daily Mail about this, please do write to them at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/feedback.html As already mentioned, we can do it the easy way or the hard way, but either way, God will get His way.Sadly, Britain appears to be doing things the hardway... will we never learn?

For more updates from David Soakell please visit

https://www.cfi.org.uk/newsupdates.php

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