Yom Ha’atzma’ut: Israeli Independence Day
I was born in 1945, so I was only three when it happened. Yet
I still remember my parents’ excitement and the clamor in the
Jewish community in which I was raised. It was May 14, 1948. Israel
was reborn as a nation. A year earlier, the United Nations, in
response to the Nazi Holocaust, had voted to end British control
of Palestine and partition it into a Jewish and an Arab state.
However, on May 15, 1948, only one day after her birthday,
tiny Israel was attacked by her Arab neighbors—Egypt, Lebanon,
Syria, Jordan and Iraq. Outnumbered 100 to 1, Israel not only
defended herself and protected her share of the land, but after
about six months of fighting, ended up controlling half the land
the U.N. had designated to the Arabs.
The prophetic time clock was ticking again. It has been God’s
plan to bring his people to the holy (set apart) land ever since
the Jews were exiled for the final time around 135 C.E. Ezekiel
records the words of the Lord:
"Now I will restore the fortunes of Ya‘akov
[Jacob] and have compassion on the entire house of Isra’el.... it
was I who caused them to go into exile among the nations, and
it was I who regathered them to their own land. I will leave none
of them [behind.]"
(Ezekiel 39:25, 28)
When Israel was born again, there were fewer than a million
people living there. Now there are more than five million. God
is fulfilling his word, but it has not come without cost.
Arab-Israeli wars erupted in 1956, 1967, and 1973, not to mention
the continuing struggles with the Intifada, P.L.O., Hamas and
God knows what other anti-Israel Arab groups. In fact, the charter
of the P.L.O. still states,
"Palestine, with the boundaries it had during
the British Mandate, is an indivisible territorial unit,"
and
"Armed struggle is the only way to liberate
Palestine. Thus it is the overall strategy, not merely a tactical phase."
However, in spite of all the surrounding hostility, God has
kept his people virtually safe as they live in the land. This
was and still is his promise. Because God is the watchman on the
walls, the Jewish population of Israel has grown and grown. And
Christians have been able to visit the land of the Savior.
Another great thing about the rebirth of Israel is that concurrent
with it has been the spiritual rebirth of many Jews. The current
revival among Jewish people parallels what has happened in Israel’s
recent history.
As Theodor Herzl and others began working for a Jewish homeland
in the late 1800’s, so too did the modern Jewish mission movement
begin. It was in the late 1800’s that Christians in England and
Scotland sent out missionaries to the Jews. These missionaries
were instrumental in starting many of the Jewish missions that
exist today.
The Bible teaches a concept called "the time of the gentiles."
This is a period in which God promised he would get his message
to the goyim, the nations. But there would be an end to this era,
and the spirit of God would once more work on the hearts and minds
of Jewish people.
After the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, with all of Jerusalem back
in Jewish hands, a revival began among Jewish people throughout
the world. At first it was small, but it has grown so that now
there over 200 Messianic congregations in the U.S. alone and over
30 in Israel. And it’s clear that most Jewish believers still
worship in traditional churches. Estimates of a million Jewish
believers in the U.S. are not uncommon.
Bible prophecy is being fulfilled. Ezekiel continues:
"I will no longer hide my face from them,
for I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Isra’el,’ says
Adonai Elohim."
(Ezekiel 39:29)
Yes, the birthday of Israel we remember this May is much like
the U.S. Fourth of July. It is Yom Ha’atzma’ut, Israel’s Independence
Day. But it’s not just like the birthday of the U.S. or the birthday
of France or the birthday of Canada. Israel’s birthday began the
clock of Bible prophecy ticking again. This is important, not
only for Jews, but for Christians as well. For it tells us that
Messiah’s return is drawing nigh.
Shalom and Blessings,
Rabbi Baruch (Barry) Rubin
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