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By Julie Stahl

“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. On the first day of the appointed month in early autumn, you are to observe a day of complete rest. It will be an official day for holy assembly, a day commemorated with loud blasts of a trumpet. You must do no ordinary work on that day. Instead, you are to present special gifts to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:23-25 NLT). 

Rosh Hashanah literally means the “head of the year.” But biblically it is much more than that. In the book of Leviticus in Hebrew it is actually called Yom Hateruah—the day of the blowing of trumpets or ram’s horn (shofar). 

The piercing blast of the shofar is meant to remind the hearer to repent for his sins and make things right with his brothers and sisters. The rabbis say that reconciliation with God and man will confound the enemy. 

“It’s something that people connect to their soul to hear the sound of the shofar,” says Eli Ribak, third-generation shofar maker. 

The ram’s horn is used as the traditional shofar because when Abraham showed his willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac, God provided a ram in the thicket to be used in his place. 

The only animal horn that is forbidden to use as a shofar is the cow’s horn. That’s because the Jewish people don’t want to remind God of the time Israel worshipped the golden calf in the wilderness. 

In some traditions, the shofar is blown in synagogues and at the Western Wall each morning for a month before the holiday to give plenty of time for repentance. 

Traditionally, Rosh Hashanah is a celebration of creation, specifically the day God created Adam and Eve. As such, God the Creator is hailed and crowned as “our King” on that day. 

Christians often blow the shofar throughout the year, but in Judaism it’s only blown during the month of Elul, prior to Rosh Hashanah and at the holiday. It was also blown at the coronation of the kings of Israel, to announce the new king or the coming of the king. 

Boaz Michael, founder of First Fruits of Zion, says that’s a foreshadowing for those who believe in Jesus. 

“And they tell us something, they’re speaking to us, they’re reminding us of something, and one of the things they’re reminding us of is the creation of the world, the coming of the king, King Messiah one day at this time, the coronation of his Kingdom here on earth,” says Michael. “This is what the shofar is to remind us of, and it speaks to us every day when we hear that sound.” 

For Christians, there are a number of references in the New Testament referring to the sounding of trumpets. 

“And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31 NKJV). 

Paul writes, “It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed” (1 Corinthians 15:52 NLT). 

The seven trumpets in Revelation also make clear they play a part in the end time calling. 

Rosh Hashanah is the first of the autumn Jewish feasts and begins the “Ten Days of Awe” that lead up to Yom Kippur (“Day of Atonement”). 

A festive meal at the start of the holiday includes eating apples dipped in honey for a sweet new year; dates, that our enemies would be consumed; pomegranate seeds, that we would bear much fruit; eating round hallah, symbolizing the circle of life and the crown of God’s Kingship; and eating a fish or ram’s head, symbolic of being the head and not the tail in the year to come. 

Another custom is called Tashlich, which literally means “to cast away” or “to throw away.” This concept comes from Micah 7:19 (NKJV): “He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” 

This is a time of reflection to think about and repent for sins of the previous year and to determine how one could do better in the coming year. During this ceremony, Jewish people stand by a body of water and symbolically cast their sins into the water. 

Holiday Greeting: L’Shanah Tovah U’metuka (“May you have a good and sweet new year!”) and Chag Sameach (“Happy holiday!”).

Julie Stahl is a correspondent for CBN News in the Middle East. A Hebrew speaker, she has been covering news in Israel full-time for more than 20 years. Julie’s life as a journalist has been intertwined with CBN—first as a graduate student in Journalism at Regent University; then as a journalist with Middle East Television (METV) when it was owned by CBN from 1989-91; and now with the Middle East Bureau of CBN News in Jerusalem since 2009. She is also an integral part of CBN News’ award-winning show, Jerusalem Dateline, a weekly news program providing a biblical and prophetic perspective to what is happening in Israel and the Middle East. 

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

On Monday, September 19, an estimated 4 billion people gathered in homes and public places worldwide to say their goodbyes to the beloved monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Among 2,000 guests, some five 500 dignitaries—composed of prime ministers, presidents, and royalty—filled the pews at Westminster Abbey, likely history’s largest assembly of its kind. 

Israel’s President Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog represented Israel according to protocol. Hundreds of thousands of mourners lined the streets, some tearful, as loudspeakers broadcast the service, and where all stood for the requested two minutes of silence. A Westminster Abbey bell tolled 96 times from the 1,000-year-old edifice, honoring the 96-year life span of Queen Elizabeth and her 70-year reign. 

The Queen’s coffin, beautifully bedecked with flowers and the magnificently jeweled Imperial State Crown, was then processed down the Long Walk toward Windsor Castle, to the beloved monarch’s final resting place inside St. George’s Chapel. Services in both locations were replete with Scriptures and hymns to commemorate the Queen, who was a symbol of stability and service wrapped within her salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. In her 2014 annual Christmas message—one of her numerous speeches over the years—she proclaimed, “For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate today, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life.”

Earlier, across the Atlantic on September 9, the United Nations removed all countries’ flags and flew the UN flag at half-mast to honor Queen Elizabeth’s passing. Then on September 13, the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) got under way. After the Queen’s September 19th funeral, invited world leaders jetted out of London. With regal accolades bestowed on the demonstrably kind and honorable Queen, they exited those tributes to enter a worldwide assortment of 193 leaders.

The contrast between the singular, esteemed Queen Elizabeth II and the world’s repressive leaders is unmistakable. 

Queen Elizabeth spoke twice at the United Nations—first in 1957, not long after her 1953 coronation—and then again in 2010. In 1957, she declared, “The future of this organization will be determined, not only by the degree to which its members observe strictly the provisions of the charter and cooperate in its practical activities, but also by the strength of its people’s devotion to the pursuit of those great ideals to which I have referred.” In her later speech, in a diplomatic yet pointed comment, she mentioned the UN as a force for the “common good.” Then she added, “But we are not gathered here to reminisce. In tomorrow’s world, we must all work together as hard as ever if we are truly to be United Nations.”

The Queen’s exhortation about “being United Nations” has a long road ahead, mainly because that organization continues to single out Israel and perpetuate false accusations. The presence of members like Iran, the world’s leading terror agent; Communist China, which imprisons Christians and Muslims; and Russia, which is actively guilty of war crimes in Ukraine, discourage hopes for peace and harmony.

In an extraordinary wave of anti-Israel resolutions, the UN condemned Israel—the only parliamentary democracy in the Middle East—an astonishing 14 times in 2021 alone. For the other 192 nations, the General Assembly issued only four condemnations: one each against North Korea, Iran, Myanmar, and Russia’s invasion of Crimea. 

Hillel Neuer, executive director of the excellent UN Watch, recently addressed the UN’s anti-Semitism. “Across the board at the UN—the General Assembly, World Health Organization, the Human Rights Council—one country gets singled out and demonized. It’s the Jewish state.” Since 1993, UN Watch has measured and monitored the UN’s performance by its UN charter. This non-governmental organization in Geneva, Switzerland, looks closely at the UN Charter, which includes five mandates, one of them being “Protect Human Rights.”

In my viewpoint as a Christian, the UN reached its zenith early on to “protect human rights.” On November 29, 1947, the UN—then a young organization—ruled that the Jews could establish a state. The Jews accepted the smaller part of the land’s designation, while the Arabs rejected the decision altogether. Despite the Arabs’ decision, the Jews did receive their biblical “human right”—their ancestral homeland as codified by God thousands of years earlier. When considering Resolution 181, the British Mandate Partition Plan for Palestine—a plan that made way for both Arab and Jewish states—the members voted this way: 33 in favor, 13 against, with 10 abstaining.

The Partition Plan was not perfect and was fraught with conflicts in wars and personal relationships. However, it was a beginning of God’s justice for the Jewish people.  

Little did anyone know that another fulfillment of prophecy was unfolding in Jerusalem that same night—at the same time the vote was taking place. Israeli archaeologist and Hebrew University professor, Eleazer Sukenik, sat in his study that night in Jerusalem intently scrutinizing fragile pieces of parchment. They were part of the Dead Sea Scrolls that had recently come into his hands. As he pondered the precious scroll fragments, his son, Yigael Yadin, ran into the room shouting the news he just heard on the radio. 

However, we can expect more of the same slander if the United Nations clings to its history. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is attending the UN General Assembly. Raisi gave his speech yesterday calling Israel “a savage power” that “kills women and children,” while proclaiming that their nuclear program is peaceful. Raisi, called a “monster” by his own citizens, freely walks the halls of the United Nations in New York City with other tyrants like him who consistently violate one of the UN’s mandates, “Protect Human Rights.”     

September 26 ends the first debate of the 2022 UN General Assembly. We hope against hope that Queen Elizabeth’s desire for some “common good” will in fact emerge. Rays of light do shine occasionally. In April, for instance, UN Watch successfully lobbied the UN to kick Russia off the Human Rights Council. Earlier, in January, in a consensus vote, the UN passed a resolution for members to proactively oppose Holocaust denial. 

Billions have now turned the page on Queen Elizabeth’s life, a life well lived, a life of stability, integrity, and kindness for her subjects in the Commonwealth. As we watched—enthralled with the beauty, elegant ceremonies, history, and music in high cathedrals—we can see that the Queen was surely beloved and rightly so.

Nevertheless, let us also look through spiritual glasses since we have glimpsed a tiny foretaste of Heaven. Nothing or no one on earth we have seen, even the pageantry, flags, and ceremonies, will match the grandeur of heaven and the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings who lives forever with an unending love. Join us at CBN Israel this week, reflecting on majesty in Hebrews 1:3: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (HCSB). 

Please join with CBN Israel this week in prayer for both Great Britain and Israel:

• Pray with thanks for the role model that Queen Elizabeth has been. 
• Pray for those in Great Britain who are mourning with a sense of deep loss. 
• Pray for the newly crowned King Charles, that his decisions and conduct will reflect attributes of the Queen. 
• Pray for the UNGA for reduced accusations against Israel. 

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, a guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a volunteer on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene has attended Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit three times and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on Facebook.

Anton’s nerves were shattered. His town in Donetsk, Ukraine, has been under siege since 2014. As the brutal fighting took its toll on him, he finally moved to Israel, looking for peace. 

Anton arrived a year ago in a new country, suffering from post-traumatic stress. Registered as disabled at age 50, he works in a special program at a factory that pays little. 

Living alone in a tiny, old apartment in Nof HaGalil in Galilee, he has followed the conflict in Ukraine. When the Russian forces advanced, he watched in dismay, since his family and friends there can no longer contact him. He learned that the house he built was destroyed. 

Added to that, his cramped apartment had no air conditioning or heat, which made hot summers and cold winters unbearable. With no money for extras, Anton felt utterly alone. 

But thankfully, friends like you reached out to him through CBN Israel. Caring donors gave him a new heating and air conditioning unit—keeping him cool all summer and warm in winter. They also provided him with vouchers, to buy groceries and other essentials. Anton said gratefully, “Thank you… you have no idea how much your kindness has blessed and encouraged me.”

And your gift to CBN Israel can bring a lifeline of hope to many like Anton. You can be there for those in crisis situations with food, housing, job training, and financial aid—assuring them that they are not alone. As thousands across Israel struggle to make ends meet, your support can offer hope to Holocaust survivors, single mothers, refugees, and more. 

Please join us in helping to touch lives today!

GIVE TODAY

“Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the LORD, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10 HCSB).

In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for “disciple” means “student.” A disciple, then, is one who studies. We tend to use the term disciple to mean a follower, but that is not the biblical idea of discipleship. Ezra provides the model of a biblical disciple: one who studies, who does, and who teaches. In fact, this is the progression of biblical discipleship: Study leads to doing, and as one progresses with study and doing, he or she gains the ability to teach others.  

Our discipleship suffers because often we do not view study as a foundational ingredient of our becoming disciples. Instead of making disciples—who study the law of the Lord and observe it—we seek to make followers, which has a different connotation.

Some Christians segregate study from spirituality, fearing that study erodes one’s relationship with God and seeing a conflict between the head (study) and the heart (the seat of one’s true relationship with God). Just as an aside, while we identify the heart with emotions, passions, and deep feelings, in the Bible the heart was associated with the mind and learning (biblical people assumed the emotions lay in the kidneys). So, when the Bible calls on us to love God with our heart, it means to love God with our mind, our learning, and our study.

Biblical discipleship requires study. It’s at the very core of discipleship: “The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher” (Luke 6:40 NIV). Jesus indicated that the way one truly becomes like Him is by being “fully taught,” meaning that we study and practice His teaching. Jesus also said that the proof of our love for Him depends on our keeping of His commandments (John 14:15), not how we feel about Him. 

If we are going to be true disciples of the Lord, like Ezra we must set our hearts to study the law of the Lord, which leads us to do it, and as we become fully taught—studying and doing—we teach others. The commission that Jesus gave His disciples was to “make disciples”—not converts or followers, but disciples. 

How can we make disciples, students, if we aren’t studying and doing the words of the Lord? In order to disciple, we must first be disciples, and the way to do that was shown to us by Ezra the scribe: Study the law of the Lord, do it, and teach others. 

PRAYER

Father, may we grow in our learning and doing of Your word to become more like our teacher, Jesus, so that we can make disciples of others for Your glory. Amen. 

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

There is so much more to Israel and her extraordinary people than what is often portrayed by the global mainstream media. Today, we are bombarded with news stories and commentary obsessed with negatives about this nation. However, behind the scenes in hospitals, offices, factories, and farmlands, Jewish citizens are busy generating blessings for the entire world. 

Numerous innovations are emerging in a timely way. Supply chain gaps, reduced crop production, and inadequate water supplies are only a few of the growing challenges facing the nations—and increasing. With inflation still on the rise and economies in freefall, Israel is researching and pioneering solutions for the basic necessities of life—and then some. 

God’s promises to use Israel as a blessing to the nations are not just ancient words. It has been a modern reality ever since May 14, 1948, when David Ben-Gurion stood in a simple art gallery in Tel Aviv and read the rebirthed state’s Declaration of Independence. Settled in their homeland now for 74 years, with roots going deep into the Holy Land’s soil, Israelis demonstrate that their creativity flourishes across countless sectors. 

In Genesis 12:2 God promised, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing” (NKJV). God’s promises are scattered across the Old and New Testaments. The word “promise” itself is mentioned 120 times in the Bible, and when we include the number of promises made in Scripture, it goes up to nearly 9,000.

Israel’s previous creations and discoveries make lives better worldwide—often without beneficiaries realizing that Israelis were behind these innovations. Among them are ReWalk, a battery-packed “exoskeleton” that lets paraplegics walk; the world’s first USB drive; the Watergen generator that produces clean drinking water out of air; SodaStream; Michal Negrin (my favorite jewelry); Mobileye car technology to make driving safer; and Waze navigation. 

Join me now for a brief tour of Israel’s unchanging destiny guided by God’s promises to bless the world with new discoveries. One of the best sites to explore these near-miraculous ideas and inventions is www.Israel21c.org. Keeping up with the latest discoveries is a full-time job, but this site is a virtual treasure trove. 

Having experienced a pandemic that continues to manifest in various versions, many people around the world will welcome the fact that Israelis are closing in on promising results from medical research they initiated in 2020. Tel Aviv University’s Dr. Natalia Freund is the lead researcher. She and her team, after examining people who have recovered from the COVID-19 virus, have determined that antibodies from those patients have a role to play in neutralizing the various strains of the virus, strengthening the immune system, and reducing the need for boosters. Stay tuned for their final results—hopefully including products to ease the fears that COVID has generated.

Converting trash to fuel isn’t a new concept, but one firm has developed a remarkable innovation in this field. The Israel-based company Boson (the name of an energy-carrying subatomic particle) is harvesting hydrogen from non-recyclable mountains of local household, medical and agricultural waste. When run through an already engineered process, it creates hydrogen fuel. With the European Union, they plan on engaging municipalities worldwide to use energy-saving equipment to produce hydrogen gas. It is estimated that one ton of trash can replace five-and-a-half barrels of crude oil. Their goal is to “bring clean air and energy to future generations by solving the world’s waste problem.” 

Animal and meat lovers alike will be delighted to learn about Future Meat Technologies. The company engages prominent biologists and bioengineers to develop animal cell agriculture and technologies that provide lab-grown meats to replace traditional animal-based foods—and talented chefs to bring these creations to the table. According to a news release, this innovative food technology is expected to “generate 80% less greenhouse emissions and use 99% less land and 96% less freshwater than traditional meat production.” They have built their first factory in Rehovot, Israel, which currently produces cultured chicken, pork, and lamb—with beef on the way. Their plans include GMO-free, lower-cost meats to provide protein for future generations. They are opening facilities in the United States.

Our pet dogs are family members that bring smiles to our faces. Yet their value can far exceed their loyalty and our enjoyment. An Israeli startup company holds great hope for those who suffer cancer or have family and friends facing this dreaded disease. Former IDF Commander Colonel (Res.) Ariel Ben-Dayan, who led the canine unit of the Israeli Defense Forces, has added his skills to training Labradors Retrievers to detect cancer. The company, SpotitEarly, uses the Labradors’ incredible sense of smell along with artificial intelligence. 

It works this way. A client will buy a home kit, which includes a face mask. They breathe into the mask for five minutes. Next, they send it to the company’s headquarters, located on a kibbutz, where the dogs live and are trained. The mask is then inserted into an on-site sniffing station. The dog’s sniffing behavior is monitored by an AI algorithm. If a cancer is detected, then Spot It Early refers the person for testing at a medical facility. 

Currently, the Labradors can sniff out breast, lung, colon, or prostate cancer from a single sample. Clinical trials are taking place at two Israeli medical centers that will end after 10 months. The company has hopes that their canine training plus AI technology will detect many other kinds of cancers. Founder Ben-Dayan and his team of three PhDs—one in animal behavior, another a data science expert, and the third a clinical lab manager—estimate that one Labrador Retriever could perform a million tests annually. What a blessing that can grow to be, since it is estimated that 10 million people worldwide die each year due to cancer. 

Turning to agriculture, the Bible comes alive once again. Isaiah 27:6 declares a delicious promise: “Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” This is a promise we can all celebrate! Israel grows and then exports flowers globally. It is among the top 10 countries in this beautiful business, attaining one percent of the global market. That may seem small, but the flowers generate $200 million per year. Fruit crops cover around 33 percent of the land. As a fun fact, the prickly pear (sabra in Hebrew) is the national fruit. Sabras, those born in Israel, describe their temperament as similar to the prickly pear, which is hard and prickly on the outside and sweet inside. 

For readers who have traveled to Israel, you may be like me. I always find their vegetables more colorful and more delicious than anywhere else. Israel produced around 2.3 million tons of vegetables with a value of $1.6 billion in 2020. Keep in mind that Israel has reclaimed parts of its barren deserts for food production.

One fascinating effort began to unfold in 2005 in the Negev Desert at Moshav Talmei Yosef. Agronomist Uri Alon started a small farm that he now calls the Salad Trail, and where he has truly—as he says—made the desert bloom. Others became interested in his efforts and began farming in the Negev, which is surely a complex area to farm. But due to the farmers’ ingenuity and endurance, lush greenhouses now produce fruits and vegetables.

Tours are offered where guides lead groups through greenhouses with everything from tomatoes to strawberries, oranges, and the “hottest pepper in the world”! The Salad Trail is described as “an intoxication of colors and smells.” More than 40,000 visitors walk the trail annually.

May we praise God for the ongoing fulfillment of His promise to Israel and her people: “So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it” (Ezekiel 36:35-36).

Please join with CBN Israel this week in prayer for Israel and her people:

• Pray with thanks for God’s promises and for all blessings He provided through Israel. 
• Pray for an increase in Israeli agricultural research and inventions to help poorer nations with farming methods that yield greater/superior crops. 
• Pray for Israeli farmers who are growing crops in every sector of the Holy Land.  
• Pray for our world as concern grows about food and water shortages. May Israel’s discoveries ease these fears.
• Pray for Israel and her people to continue fulfilling prophecy as a light to the nations and a blessing to the entire world. 

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, a guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a volunteer on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene has attended Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit three times and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on Facebook.

Maria’s family fled to Uzbekistan when the Nazis invaded Belarus during World War II. Struggling to live, she worked in a factory seven days a week. After the war, her family returned to Belarus, only to find their home was destroyed. So Maria lived with her aunt in St. Petersburg. 

Twenty years ago, after the Soviet Union fell, Maria immigrated to Israel. Today, she is a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor. There are about 165,000 Holocaust survivors in Israel, most over the age of 80—and 31,000 over 90. Many live in substandard housing on meager incomes. 

Maria lives alone, with no close relatives in Israel, and she only has weekly video calls with her grandson in Canada. Mostly housebound, she has limited mobility. Her caretaker helps her with chores, personal needs, and errands. Maria’s small apartment has water leaks, and she can’t afford to make repairs on her small pension. But who could help her? 

Thankfully, friends like you were there, through CBN Israel. Donors provided a contractor who repaired the damage, and renovated the apartment to current standards. Maria was thrilled to have a safe, clean, attractive home. They also gave her vouchers for nutritious food, medications, and other basic needs. Maria exclaimed gratefully, “Your kindness means more than you know!” 

Your gift to CBN Israel can let this last generation of Holocaust survivors know they are not forgotten—along with single mothers, refugees, and others. The needs across the Holy Land continue to increase. Your support can reach out to the vulnerable with groceries, housing, financial aid, and more. And you can bring Israel’s news and stories to the world through CBN News. 

Please join us in blessing this special nation and its people! 

GIVE TODAY

“Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to Him” (Psalm 128:1). The Bible often speaks about the “fear of the Lord.” That seems odd to us because we often present God as love and loving, someone we want to draw near to, not a being to be feared. 

The Bible presents God as awesome, One Who truly inspires awe. As such, the reverence that arises can manifest itself as fear presented with such grandeur. But the psalmist described those who fear the Lord, not as those who feel the emotion of fear, rather they demonstrate their reverence for God by walking in His ways, i.e., obeying Him. 

The structure of the verse identifies those who fear God as those walking in His ways. In other words, our obedience to God (i.e., walking in His ways) fulfills the biblical injunction to fear God. It also describes those who fear the Lord, those who walk in His ways as blessed.

The book of Deuteronomy commanded the Israelites, “Fear the Lord your God, serve Him only and take your oaths in His name” (6:13). The structure of this verse, like the above quoted psalm, indicates that we fear God by serving Him. Obedience is how we demonstrate that we fear Him.

Within the language of the Old Testament, “fear of God” was synonymous with “love of God.” The two are often parallel to each other, so if our obedience demonstrates our fear of God, within the context of the Old Testament, our obedience also shows our love of God.

Deuteronomy commanded the children of Israel: “Love the Lord your God and keep His requirements, His decrees, His laws and His commands always” (11:1). We demonstrate our love for God by keeping His commands. We show that we fear God by walking in His ways. The one who does that, the psalmist said is blessed.

PRAYER

Father, today may I walk in Your ways, may I keep Your commandments in everything I do and say. Amen.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Over the last seven years, the ineffectiveness of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal—engineered by former President Obama and then-Vice President Biden—has been on full display. Today, the on-again, off-again negotiations have created an uproar from clear-thinking leaders in the U.S. Congress, Israel, Gulf Arab countries, and the American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI).

Hoping to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Biden administration is unwisely using the same failed strategies—returning to negotiations again and again for the past 18 months. The proponents seem to want any kind of deal they can get, no matter what they must give up in order to achieve success.

Each time, however, Iran demands even more—or changes the terms of negotiation altogether. Since Iran refuses to negotiate directly with the United States, Russia is leading the negotiations. Yes, Russia—which stands to benefit significantly if all goes well with a renewed JCPOA by opening a back door to buy Iranian oil due to sanctions imposed on them following their invasion of Ukraine and considerable war crimes. 

Former President Obama and current President Biden began initial negotiations in secret meetings that offered significant rewards without first requiring any proof of the regime’s sincerity. In simple terms, Iran was offering something for nothing, while the U.S. extended trust to imams who glorify lies to achieve their own ends. 

Biden’s negotiating team, which is following the same 2015 strategy, seems to be in denial—as if they do not recognize that they are dealing with the most prolific terror-producing leaders in the world. Iran restricts freedom not only among their own population but many others in the region, as well. 

Iran’s overt operations through their Middle Eastern proxies are obvious, with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and their elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria. However, Iran’s tyrannical fingerprints can also be found all over a more covert operation in Venezuela and multiple locations elsewhere in South America. Not surprisingly, their greatest allies are Russia and North Korea. These hard-core dictatorships hold to the same ideologies of control, oppression, and punishment of their own citizens, forcing them into submission in order to gain and maintain power. 

In a March 22, 2022, New York Times opinion piece, journalist Bret Stephens offered this title: “A New Iran Deal Leaves Us Meeker and Weaker.” He went on to comment, “Combined with February’s ‘no limits’ friendship pact between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, an Iran deal represents another step toward a new antidemocratic Tripartite Pact.” In other words, this would mean dangerous alliances and a weakened United States. With Iran using increased numbers of sophisticated centrifuges spinning at supersonic speeds, imagine Russia, China, and Iran savoring the thought of increased nuclear-grade uranium. 

Iran’s leadership, along with its proxies and alliances, does not recognize that authentic sovereignty belongs only in one place: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17 NKJV).

Thankfully, the U.S. Congress has been active. Earlier this year, referring to the 2015 Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, 165 House Republicans sent a letter to President Biden vowing that a new deal would “meet the same fate as the JCPOA” if he didn’t “secure congressional support pursuant to the 2015 law which states that the president must submit any deal to the House and Senate for approval.” All but one Republican senator signed on. 

Then on August 19, The Washington Post reported that over 100 Republicans advised the administration that they were set to denounce any sanctions relief for Iran. 

Finally, just one week ago, a bipartisan group of 34 Democrats and 16 Republicans sent a follow-up letter to President Biden with their concerns, not only requesting to see the current deal’s document—which they have not yet seen—but expressing alarm about Russia having such a large role in the nuclear deal decisions and oversight later. Their letter included this warning: “Strengthened with an estimated one trillion dollars in sanctions relief over a decade, Iran and the IRGC would be an enormous danger to Americans at home and abroad, and to our allies.”  

That Biden is putting the United States under Russia as our negotiator for a new Iran deal is a national insult. Nothing but increased danger will emerge if a 2022 deal is codified. Clear-thinking American conservatives know it. Arabs in the Middle East know it. Israel knows it. Many members of Congress in both parties know it. Christians know that a beneficial deal for the Iranians will increase the peril that is unfolding across the world by allowing a nuclear weapon in the hands of the largest terror-producing country on the planet. 

It is stunning that the leader of the free world is all for such a lopsided agreement, since Iran is an obvious threat to the U.S. and to our greatest ally in the region, Israel. And given our current crisis at our southern border, we can be fairly certain that Iranian terrorists with chaos on their agenda are finding ways to gain entry into the U.S., which they call the “Great Satan.” Let us clearly understand that diplomacy only works when both sides will do all it takes to make peace and mean it. 

It is no surprise that for weeks, Israeli leaders have been flying back and forth between Jerusalem and Washington, D.C. Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with Jake Sullivan, the U.S. Security Adviser in Washington, and with U.S. Central Command Chief of Staff General Michael Kurilla at CENTCOM’s headquarters in Florida. Israeli national security adviser Eyal Hulata also held meetings in D.C. Interim Prime Minister Lapid talked at length via phone with President Biden. Mossad chief David Barnea weighed in, calling the possible deal “a strategic disaster.” He flew to Washington on Labor Day to meet at the White House, State Department, Pentagon, CIA, and U.S. Congress. When Mossad gives briefings, it is a smart idea to listen.

Meanwhile, Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, wrote an eye-opening article in Gatestone Institute about the political analysts and commentators in key Arab media. Its title is sobering: “Arabs to Biden: Do Not Sign the Iran Deal, It Will Start a War.” Articles coming out of Bahrain, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Egypt are full of fears—especially about the billions Iran could receive that will generate more terror in the region.

Sayed Zahra, deputy editor of Bahrain’s daily publication Akhbar Al-Khaleej, comments that Biden has unfortunately decided to “bow to Iran.” She adds that Biden is following Obama, who “admired Iran and hated Arabs.” Syrian author Ibrahim Allush knows firsthand about what happens to a nation overrun by Iran and Russia. “The Iranian regime, with its practices, does not differ from the Taliban regime or from Islamic State (ISIS). Terrorism, destabilization, and domination of people are almost the only goals of such regimes.”

Joining the peaceful yet intense opposition from Arabs, Israel—and many members of the U.S. Congress—the American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI) has initiated a letter and petition to President Biden and the U.S. Congress urging, “No nuclear deal for Iran.” 

ACLI is a network of Christian leaders representing over 60 million Americans who are united in their support for the nation of Israel. Their letter requests that the Biden administration does not strike a deal that places Israel in more danger, or any funding that enables more terror, emphasizing that millions of American Christians are opposed to an ineffective deal. 

CBN Israel holds the same opinion that ACLI expresses: “If the U.S. government loosens sanctions on Iran, we will be handing them the resources and nuclear capabilities to accomplish what they have publicly vowed to do: destroy Israel.”

Please join us in praying for Israel, the Middle East, and world leaders to reconsider reviving a nuclear deal with Iran:

• Pray daily for the peace of Jerusalem and the entire region (Psalm 122:6).
• Pray for the Biden administration to gain tremendous wisdom in negotiations.  
• Pray for Israel’s leaders for preparations they must undertake to defend themselves.
• Pray for Iran’s citizens who are suffering under the ruling imams.
• Pray for Arab countries that have miraculously aligned with Israel during the Trump administration and face increased dangers. 

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, a guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a volunteer on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene has attended Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit three times and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on Facebook.

Michael grew up in hardship during World War II in Uzbekistan, when it was part of the Soviet Union. At age nine, he labored long hours on a collective farm to support his mother and siblings. His father was drafted to fight the Nazis but was sent home seriously wounded. By the time he was 16, both his parents had died—leaving him to provide for his brothers and sisters. 

Eventually, Michael married, and in 1994, the couple moved to Israel. They joined his wife’s brother in Sderot, hoping for a good life—but the city endured many rocket attacks from Hamas-ruled Gaza. Then, sadly, his wife developed a serious liver disease, and died just a year ago. 

Michael had taken good care of her, despite his own health challenges. And now, he is elderly, frail with bad hearing, lives alone, and needs constant care. Surviving on Social Security and a basic widower’s pension, his income barely covers rent, utilities, groceries, and medicine. And his low-income housing has ceiling cracks that have let in water leaks and toxic mold. 

Thankfully, friends like you were there through CBN Israel. Caring donors covered the cost of removing the mold, repairing the cracks, and painting. And they provided vouchers, so he could purchase nutritious food, medicine, and essentials. Michael loves his home now, and says gratefully, “Thank you for reaching out to me and showing me this wonderful kindness!” 

Your gift to CBN Israel can bless so many who are trying to survive in the Holy Land, including Holocaust survivors, refugees, and single mothers. As more people in Israel cry out for help, your support can offer them groceries, financial aid, housing, job training, and more. 

Please join us in offering hope and humanitarian aid to those in need!

GIVE TODAY

“This is the LORD’s declaration. For My people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jeremiah 2:12-13 HCSB). God spoke to the people of Judah through the prophet Jeremiah using an image that they would understand. 

Within the land of Israel, water was a necessity of life. Rains provided water, but only roughly from November to April. The rest of the year people relied upon springs, rivers, wells, and cisterns. Springs, rivers, and wells provided water coming from the earth, running water, purer water—living water. Cisterns offered merely a pit cut into the rock into which water was diverted. Cisterns simply held water. 

The inside of a cistern had to be plastered in order to retain the water, so it didn’t seep out. Water that ran into a cistern usually had sediment in it, so as the water collected in the cistern the sediment settled to the bottom of the cistern. Water in cisterns could go bad or be poisoned. The plaster in the cisterns could crack and the cistern was not good anymore. Spring water, or living water, continued to give life wherever it flowed. 

Traveling through the land of Israel, even in its deserts, one can see the effect of water. Wherever living water flows, there is life and vegetation. Where there is not water, the dryness of the desert encroaches. This was the reality of the person living in the time of Jeremiah. 

Jeremiah knew a thing or two about cisterns because his hometown, Anatoth, did not have a natural source of water. Water had to be brought to the village and gathered in cisterns. His village sat on the edge of the dry wilderness to the northeast of Jerusalem, so the prophet understood the metaphor he used.

He compared Judah’s disobedience by pursuing other gods, rejecting the God of Israel to those preferring cistern water, broken cisterns at that, to living, life-giving water. By choosing other gods, Judah forsook God, the source of living water. 

Do we see God as the source of life and life-giving water in our lives? Are we like the people of Judah rejecting spring water, for a poor substitute, which, in fact, is no substitute at all? In our attempts to “go our own way,” do we fail to connect with the source of life in our lives? 

The thing about substitutes is that they fail us in the end. The people of Judah poignantly understood Jeremiah’s metaphor; they caught his meaning—you have rejected life-giving water, for something that cannot hold water. Do we do the same?

PRAYER

Father, today, I choose to follow, obey, and pursue You, the source of life and life-giving water in my life. Bring life into the dry places of my life, for Your glory. Amen.