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U.S. Congress Pushes Back Against Biden’s Dangerous Iran Strategies

By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

He’s not usually known for truthfulness, but in June Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei tweeted an honest, straightforward statement about what he considers the golden key for his homicidal proxies in Israel. “The continually growing authority of resistance groups in the West Bank is the key to bringing the Zionist enemy to its knees, and this of course must be continued.” 

That’s a statement we should take seriously. Also in June, a more than two-billion-dollar work-around by President Biden came to light. It amounts to a windfall for Khamenei to bolster Iran-backed terror in Jenin, a lawless Palestinian city located in Israel’s biblical heartland. Reuters reported on June 10 that in secret, Biden worked to unfreeze an economic sanction and authorized the transfer of $2.7 billion to Iran via Iraq, which owes Iran for electricity and gas imports, in order to secure the freedom of American prisoners held by Iran.

Although the Islamic regime’s Khamenei possesses his terror key, our U.S. Congress uses its powerful key of legislation to unlock doors of opposition to the world’s biggest terror-sponsoring nation. For decades, both Democrats and Republicans have implemented successful legislation that has benefitted both the U.S. and Israel. Current and past members of Congress are sounding the alarm. Among them is former Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman, who is now the chairman of United Against Nuclear Iran. He remains a champion of Israel’s safety. 

Lieberman wrote a blistering article on July 10 that called Biden’s Iran policy “a dangerous folly.” He urged Congress to intervene, describing Biden’s reckless diplomacy as “trying to bargain with a poisonous snake” and stating it “will not end well.” Lieberman referenced a 2015 piece of legislation giving Congress the authority to stop senseless agreements with Iran. 

He highlighted passage of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA), which a big bipartisan majority in Congress voted in support of—400 in the House of Representatives and 98 senators. The simple explanation is that a president—within five days after reaching an agreement with Iran about its nuclear program—must submit a series of reports to Congress for review by leaders and lawmakers on the key committees. Congress then has power to prevent the president from suspending existing statutory sanctions against Iran. Clearly, Biden has already violated INARA by unfreezing a sanction, which then allowed the recent Iraqi payment to Iran. 

Lieberman explains that part of the Biden work-around is to call any Iran outreach an “understanding,” not an “agreement.” Apparently, Biden thinks this gives him an out. However, INARA is written to cover any language, whether an understanding or an agreement. Mr. Lieberman commends House Republican Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul for sending Biden and his Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, public letters warning them to comply with INARA and requiring Biden negotiators to answer questions in a congressional hearing.

However, Biden’s Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, is being investigated for mishandling classified information. Malley’s security clearance is presently suspended, and he is on unpaid leave. He was disastrously deceived—along with former Secretary of State John Kerry—into thinking that Iran is trustworthy amid the Obama/Biden negotiations for the 2015 Iran deal. Biden then chose to keep Malley on board to pursue yet another deal using the same failed viewpoints and strategies. 

In addition to Mike McCaul’s letter, 26 Senators—14 Republicans, 11 Democrats, and one Independent—sent a letter to Biden. The bipartisan group is urging the president to drop any useless agreements that reward Iran and focus instead on robust deterrence of the terror-promoting Islamic regime. 

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is busy working with the U.S. Congress in a Summer Policy Blitz. It includes legislation to pressure the Islamic regime with sanctions on Iran’s oil sales to China and its drone and missile shipments to Russia. The blitz also focuses on passing legislation that could directly threaten the U.S. Iran has the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East. The expiration date for the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 2231 missile restrictions) expires in October 2023. Eventually, ICBMs could reach the U.S. homeland. Christians who care about U.S. and Israel’s safety can make a difference by contacting AIPAC, which makes it quick and easy to email your members of Congress with an Action Alert for these two vital laws to protect United States and Israel, our spiritual homeland.

Since 2021, Biden’s zeal for another Iran deal has already wasted energies in various meetings held in Vienna, Oman, and other locations. The European Union brokered some talks on behalf of the U.S. since Iran refused to meet directly with Americans. The perceived weak leadership on the part of the U.S. only further emboldens the Islamic regime’s Ayatollahs. Iran donates $100 million yearly to Jenin’s terror enclaves in Gaza and the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). 

Israel’s military was forced to act after it was determined that Iran’s terrorists were murdering a rising number of Israeli civilians. Unless and until the Biden administration realizes that Iran routinely lies, its members may not listen to the U.S. Congress, which is ultimately in charge of approving or denying spending. The history of U.S. negotiations with the Islamic regime is proof enough that Iran’s governing body is unreliable. Isaiah 5:20-21 is a fitting description for those who do not recognize evil. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!”

In closing, I quote a perspective by former Senator Lieberman: “The brave [Iranian] protesters are not chanting for a nuclear deal with the United States. They are calling for the end of the Islamic Republic. The freedom fighters in Iran are America’s allies.” Amen, Mr. Lieberman!

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us for this week’s prayers for Israel and the U.S., applying this psalm to congressional leaders working together to advocate for Israel. Psalm 133:1 reminds us, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”

Prayer Points: 

  • Pray with thanks for the U.S. Congress’s laws that benefit the U.S.-Israel relationship. 
  • Pray that the Biden administration will heed congressional warnings about Iran.
  • Pray that the U.S. Congress remains a staunch ally of Israel, the land God calls His. 
  • Pray with thanks for leaders like Joe Lieberman who remain wise and committed. 

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

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Empowering Special Needs Individuals in Israel

For disabled adults in Israel, finding the right living situation can be challenging. The desire to live independently and safely can collide with needing unique accommodations. 

But friends like you are empowering them through CBN Israel, as we partner with the non-profit organization, Shalva National Center. As one of the largest and most advanced centers of its kind, Shalva is dedicated to providing quality care to special needs individuals and their families.

This partnership lets disabled Israelis balance independent living with guided supervision—and in a newly furnished apartment. During the day, residents work at Shalva, and then come home to their CBN Israel-sponsored apartment. They share housekeeping chores with the staff members overseeing them. It’s given them and their families a new future.

The residents enjoy the freedom of apartment living. Gila says, “It’s fun to live here. My heart is connected to the apartment.” Tahala adds, “In the flat, I live with friends—I feel happy!” Donors are offering Israelis with disabilities the opportunity to enjoy a safe, meaningful community.

This is just one of the ways your gift to CBN Israel can bring hope and encouragement to those needing assistance. You can also bring help to single mothers, victims of terrorism, new immigrant families, aging Holocaust survivors, and many more. What a blessing for those in crisis to know that someone cares!

Between global inflation and the influx or people coming to Israel to escape war and poverty, the needs are escalating. Your support can supply food, housing, financial aid, and essentials to those who are hurting. 

Please join us in reaching out to others!

GIVE TODAY

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Biblical Israel: Mount Tabor

By Marc Turnage

In the northeastern corner of the Jezreel Valley sits the dome shaped hill of Mount Tabor. The steep slopes on all sides of the solitary mountain lead to a plateau on top, 1000 meters by 400 meters in area. The tribal territories of Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali meet at Mount Tabor.

Mount Tabor played a prominent role in the story of Deborah and Barak. They gathered the Israelite forces at Mount Tabor prior to their battle with the Canaanite forces of Jabin, king of Hazor, that were led by his general Sisera (Judges 4). The Israelites used the steep slopes of Tabor to their strategic advantage against the Canaanite chariots. So too, their gathering at Tabor prior to the battle may have to do with the connection of the mountain to cultic worship (see Deuteronomy 33:18-19; Hosea 5:1).  

Mount Tabor served as the site for several battles during the Hellenistic and Roman eras. Josephus, who became a historian of ancient Judaism, fortified the mountain as part of his efforts in the Galilee during the First Jewish Revolt against Rome (A.D. 66-73). 

Christian tradition, from the time of the Church Fathers, identified Mount Tabor as a possible location for the site of the event of the Transfiguration. The Gospels do not specify the location of this event, simply calling it “a very high mountain” (Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2). The earliest tradition identifying Mount Tabor as the location of the Transfiguration comes from the Gospel according to the Hebrews. 

This work no longer exists, but Church Fathers quote passages of it in their works. Origen, citing the Gospel according to the Hebrews, identified the location of the Transfiguration as occurring on Mount Tabor. If this was written in the Gospel according to the Hebrews, then this tradition dates to the late first or early second century A.D. Cyril also knew the tradition that placed the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. 

Both Eusebius and the Bordeaux Pilgrim do not mention the mountain being a sacred mountain. Thus, while some early Christian traditions located the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, it was not treated as a sacred mountain or site within the early Byzantine period. Today, visitors to the mountain find a church on its summit.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

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Weekly Devotional: Complaining to God

“LORD, how long will You forget me? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me? Consider me and answer, LORD my God. Restore brightness to my eyes; otherwise, I will sleep in death. My enemy will say, ‘I have triumphed over him,’ and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. But I have trusted in Your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance. I will sing to the LORD because He has treated me generously” (Psalm 13:1-6 HCSB).

The Bible is beautiful because it’s real. It’s about real people. Real emotions. Real frustrations.

Too often, we hide behind a forced spirituality that has more to do with the power of positive thinking than the faith of the Bible. We bury our emotions and frustrations because true faith doesn’t have doubts or fears, and it certainly doesn’t get upset with God.

The Bible, however, invites us to be real with God. It encourages our frustrations and our emotions of abandonment, especially abandonment from God. The psalms contain a number of laments, which are both individual and communal.

The lament is simply a complaint to God. A holy complaint. It expresses raw feelings, emotions, and frustrations. Reading the laments in the Bible should teach us how to complain to God—and get real with our emotions before Him and before ourselves.

The lament follows a pattern: (1) address God, (2) describe the complaint, (3) request God’s help, and (4) express trust in God.

The author of Psalm 13 addresses himself to God and openly describes his complaint. He acknowledges feeling ignored by God, that God has hidden Himself from the psalmist. His cares and grief seem never-ending. Those he considers his enemies have come against him. He asks God to be moved to action and come to his aid, lest he be overwhelmed.

He concludes by affirming his trust—despite his feelings and frustrations—in God’s faithfulness. God has been good to him in the past; he expects Him to be the same in the future. Notice, however, the psalm does not end with the resolution of his problems. He simply articulates his trust in God.

Do we allow ourselves to complain before God? Do we give voice to our deep frustrations before Him? Even our disappointments with Him?

The biblical lament never allowed for the person to be overly consumed with his or her feelings. The lamenter always returns to an affirmation of hope and trust in God. We can complain to God, and we could grow in our faith if we genuinely allow it in ourselves and others.

Our communities could become true places of refuge and healing if we allowed such raw, unfiltered expressions of our frustrations and emotions framed within our trust of God, even when He seems hidden.

PRAYER

Father, at times we feel completely cut off from You, like You have forgotten us. Like You have hidden Yourself from us. But our cry stretches out to You, our Father. We trust in You. Amen.

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Weekly Q&A: Why has the land of Israel been fought over for centuries?

The land of Israel belongs to the Levant, also called Syro-Palestine. This region consists of the modern countries of Lebanon, Syria, the Kingdom of Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip. It forms the strategic land bridge connecting the continents of Asia and Africa. It sat at the crossroads of the ancient world, between the imperial powers of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the barren desert to the east, the Levant contained the major land routes connecting Egypt and Mesopotamia, with the most important road running from Egypt, via the coastal plain of Israel, turning northeast through the lowlands of the Carmel towards Damascus, and then on to Mesopotamia. Its location made it strategic for travel, commerce and trade, and communication.

Thus, whoever controlled the land of Israel, controlled travel, trade, and communication. The imperial superpowers of the day often fought between each other in the Levant. In periods of imperial decline, local kingdoms fought to control the strategic crossroads. Even marauders from the deserts to the east sought to attack and control the well-watered lands of the Levant. Climate and geography impacted the regional instability of the land of Israel.

Periods of peace were few, short, and far between. Personal and national existence could never be taken for granted, and here God called Abraham and his descendants to live in faithfulness to Him. This geopolitical insecurity of the region served as “God’s testing ground of faith” and the stage upon which the redemptive drama played out, where sinner and saint struggled against internal upheaval and external threat.

Because of its strategic location at the crossroads of the ancient world, the land of Israel never existed in isolation. The imperial powers which marched through the land brought their cultural, religious, political, and military systems with them. The children of Israel faced the challenge of obedience too God and His exclusive claim upon them in this setting. They were confronted with the question of God’s power versus the nations around them.

The incursion of these elements into the land led some to fight against them, others to isolate themselves seeking to remain pure, others to insulate themselves, and some even to assimilate. However, in the midst of this geographical, cultural, and religious crossroads, God revealed Himself to the children of Israel and the world.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com

Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

  

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Mainstream Media Misrepresents IDF Operation: Another Example of Anti-Israel Propaganda

By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

True to form, much of mainstream media downplayed the IDF’s outstanding accomplishment in its recent Operation Home and Garden in the terrorist stronghold of Jenin. During this 48-hour operation in Israel’s biblical heartland, no Palestinian Arab civilians were killed—only terrorists. In a crowded urban setting where terrorist cowards habitually hide behind civilians, IDF’s success is close to a miracle. 

However, it also reflects one of the guiding principles of Israel’s military: to avoid civilian casualties at all costs. 

If this is the first time you have heard that truth, you will doubtless agree that the mainstream media has once again reported its own version of Middle East warfare: anti-Israel propaganda. The intense level of decades-long media bias against the Jewish state has built skyscrapers of shop-worn lies repeatedly used instead of reliable research. In fact, to hear much of the mainstream media describe this operation, it was the Israeli Defense Forces who attacked innocent civilians.

Israel’s latest operation to root out terrorists was launched six months after 25 Israeli civilians were murdered there. The Palestinian city, Jenin, is now an Iran-bankrolled terror base. Among their discoveries, IDF soldiers found basement tunnels in mosques packed with sophisticated weapons. IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht expressed another of Israel’s exemplary principles, declaring, “Places of worship should never be used as a front for terrorist activity.”

One of the most glaring examples of slander occurred on July 4, when a BBC news anchor interviewed former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. She made this contemptible accusation: “Israeli forces are happy to kill children.” The BBC, considered the top tier of journalism for western media, was forced into a lackluster apology. Her seven words, like so many other lies, could have lingered in a stack of daily fictional accusations against the IDF and Israel. Thankfully, the BBC’s apology—which admitted “the language used in this line of questioning was not phrased well and was inappropriate”—was reported by other mainstream media outlets.

The good news is that not all media outlets are so quick to demonstrate bias against Israel. Instead, we are hearing voices of reason—admitting the Jenin raid was a counter-terrorism response on the part of beleaguered Israel, acknowledging how Palestinian terrorists routinely hide behind civilians and utilize tunnels to target Israeli civilians and soldiers, and that many Palestinians are now blaming the PA for its role.

Here are some excellent examples of what responsible journalism looks like:

A Newsweek contributor, writing about how close Jenin is to Jerusalem, said: “Israel’s surgical strike was totally justified. … Americans would never abide terrorist mega-centers in New Haven, Connecticut, 70 miles from New York, or in Richmond, Virginia, 90 miles from Washington, D.C.

From Reuters: “The Jenin camp has long been a hotbed of militants with an array of light weapons and a growing arsenal of explosive devices.”

An article in The Washington Post included this powerful promise by Netanyahu: “If Jenin will return to terrorism, then we will return to Jenin!”

Propaganda is one of many weapons Israel is fighting. Tragically, Israel-haters and most media outlets may not necessarily realize or even care that they are reenacting Hitler’s strategies. Revisiting Nazi era history is an informative and important backdrop when you are consuming most media. By definition, propaganda is “information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, or nation.” Before and since Israel’s modern establishment in 1948, Germany’s Joseph Goebbels was prominent in Hitler’s detailed propaganda plan. In the early 1930s, Goebbels made sure poisonous lies began crawling into German society little by little until the devastation of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, burst into global awareness.

Historian and Holocaust survivor Professor Zvi Bacharach describes Kristallnacht, which took place when he was 10 years old. He describes some of the final grim results of November 9–10, 1933. “Ninety-one Jews were murdered, more than 1,400 synagogues across Austria and Germany were torched, and Jewish-owned shops and businesses were plundered and destroyed.” Professor Bacharach also explained that Nazis arrested 30,000 Jews and then sent them to concentration camps. The one-night rampage, book burnings, yellow stars, arrests in the thousands, and prolific media propaganda surged into the public domain with a vengeance. 

During Hitler and Goebbels’ rollout, many German citizens were star-struck by glamorous parties, massive rallies, and cultural events under Hitler’s hypnotic hold. Some prominent churches welcomed Nazis and hung Nazi flags in their sanctuaries—naively misunderstanding, denying, or choosing cowardice amid the lurking evil. Apathy embedded itself in the church with too few brave “Righteous Gentiles,” while the Third Reich regime’s industrialized scale of murder took place in concentration camps.

Goebbels, “Reich Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany,” earned another title after coming under Hitler’s demonic spell. The 5-foot, 5-inch Nazi was nicknamed the “Poison Dwarf.” His evil brilliance to take over Germany’s newspapers, radio, magazines, and films also incorporated media control of conquered countries. Today, we live in a world regulated by a leftist media complicit in lies and slander that trap the United Nations, social media, International Criminal Court, governments and some mainline churches that blame Israel for “oppressing Palestinians.” Goebbels’ strategies alert us now to inform ourselves then act to spread truth and facts.

Goebbels mimicked Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, which propagated the “big lie.” He described his lies as “so colossal” that no one would even credit as true the “impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” For success,  propaganda must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Compare Hitler’s strategies to the outrageous dishonesty/distortion and repetition of anti-Israel propaganda today.

In 1942, the U.S. Office of Strategic Services commissioned psychoanalyst Walter C. Langer to develop a secret psychological analysis of Hitler. That information, now declassified, appears in Langer’s 1972 book, The Mind of Adolph Hitler. In it, he reveals: “His [Hitler’s] primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong.” 

Honest and accurate news must include context. In the 48-hour IDF operation, 12 Palestinian terrorists were killed. Even the Gaza terror group Hamas bragged that the 12 Palestinians were all terrorists. Yet, in the midst of unrelenting terror threats and attacks, thousands of Palestinians are able to go to work in Israel from Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. The truth is that Israelis want peace above all, whereas Palestinian leaders and Iran-backed terrorists thrive on hate, not peace. When terrorists use cars, sophisticated weapons, and knives in unabated violence against Jewish civilians, the IDF must defend their citizens and homeland.

How are we in the pro-Israel evangelical community to respond? Follow fact-based media such as CBN Israel, Honest Reporting, and Palestinian Media Watch. Join others who pass on important facts. Write congratulatory letters to the editor when they get coverage of Israel right, to encourage responsible journalism. 

Refusing to imitate the German church’s apathy, we must set aside the ineffective tools of anger and emotion. Instead, we must grasp the facts, then pass them on through social media, email, letters to Congress, and other means of spreading the truth. Our small actions, banded together, will honor God and His Son born into the Jewish lineage in the land God calls His own. 

Please join CBN Israel this week to pray for the IDF and Israel, pondering Psalm 59:1-2: “Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me. Deliver me from evildoers and save me from those who are after my blood.”

Prayer Points:

  • Pray for Christians to stay educated and join up as truth-tellers about Israel.
  • Pray for all branches of the IDF that must remain alert to terror 24/7. 
  • Pray with thanks for media broadcasting facts and good news about Israel.
  • Pray for PM Netanyahu and his coalition for wise decisions about security.

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

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Victim of Terrorism: Malka’s Story

Years ago, a Jewish couple narrowly escaped the Holocaust, and eventually moved to Israel. They thought the worst was behind them. Over 70 years after the war, Malka and Michael faced more danger, when their home in Israel was targeted in a rocket attack. 

Malka remembers, “When I heard the blast, I thought the world ended, and saw my husband covered in blood. Shrapnel pierced his ear. He has Parkinson’s disease, and I couldn’t move him to safety. It was so horrible.” As more than 4.000 rockets rained down from Gaza, medical personnel eventually reached and treated Michael. But their nightmare continued. 

Their apartment building had massive structural damage, so the government declared it unlivable. They evacuated and had to rent an apartment. After saving up for years to pay off their home, Malka says, “Now we are using what little money we have to pay for this rental apartment, while the government decides what to do with our old building. It’s heartbreaking.” 

In desperation, they turned to CBN Israel. Thankfully, friends like you brought them groceries, and have paid their rent as they wait to hear from the government. Michael says, “After all the hardships, it’s great to see that someone cares.” Malka added, “We knew you were Christians—I had never received help like this. Without it, we wouldn’t have made it. We are so thankful!” 

Your gifts to CBN Israel can bring aid and comfort to other terror victims—along with single mothers, lonely immigrants, frail Holocaust survivors, and more. 

In the face of rocket attacks, poverty, and those fleeing war, your support can supply food, shelter, financial help, and job training to those in need. 

Please help us share God’s love with those who are hurting!

GIVE TODAY

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Biblical Israel: Hebron

By Marc Turnage

The city of Hebron played an important role, particularly within the Old Testament narratives. The city features prominently in the stories of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as Joshua and Caleb, and, eventually, David, who reigned for his first seven years at Hebron. 

The prominence of Hebron within the Bible stems from its location along the major north-south road through the central hill country of Israel. Located 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem, Hebron sat at the juncture of two roadways that ascended from the basin of the biblical Negev. One came from Beersheva in the west, and the other came from Arad in the eastern Negev basin. These two roadways came together at Hebron, which sits at 3,050 feet above sea level, the highest point in the southern hill country, in the heart of the tribal territory of Judah. 

The hills and valleys around Hebron offer a fertile region with iron-rich soil that enables the growing of grape vineyards, olive trees, fruits, and terraced land for growing wheat and barley. Also, sheep and goats can be grazed in the surrounding region. 

The ancient site of Hebron (Tel Rumeideh) sits on roughly seven and a half acres. A spring on the lower east slope of the tel provided the water for the city. To the east of the biblical tel sits the ancient shrine of the Machpelah, or the Tomb of the Patriarchs. 

The building, whose basic structure dates to the first century B.C./A.D., is built over the cave that traditions ascribe that Abraham purchased to bury Sarah (Genesis 23). Tradition ascribes it as the burial location of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah. For this reason, the site has been revered since ancient times, and is a place of prayer for both Jews and Muslims. No significant excavations have taken place at the Machpelah. 

Hebron played an important role in the stories of Abraham, who lived at Hebron, pitching his tent at the “oaks of Mamre.” Sarah died at Hebron, and Abraham, who was a nomad, purchased land in order to bury her there. The Israelite spies spied out the land near Hebron (Numbers 13). 

The last reference to Hebron in the Bible is as the place of David’s initial reign as king of the tribe of Judah. When he was made king over all Israel, he moved from Hebron, where he had reigned for seven years, to Jerusalem where he ruled over the twelve tribes of Israel. David’s son Absalom instigated his rebellion against his father at Hebron (2 Samuel 15:7-10).

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

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Weekly Devotional: What Kind of Disciple Are You?

“Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name” (Psalm 86:11 NKJV).

Are you a lifelong learner? Do you desire daily to learn from the Lord? Walking with the Lord, walking in His truth, means that we seek to learn from Him, to be taught by Him.

The word for disciple in both Greek and Hebrew means “a student.” Being a disciple, then, requires us to daily seek to learn from God, knowing His way, and walking in His truth.

When Jesus commanded His disciples to go and raise up disciples, He expected that their efforts would produce a community of students eager to learn God’s way and walk in His truth. But in order for His disciples to create such a community, they first had to be that kind of disciple.

The actions of Ezra, the scribe, describe biblical discipleship: “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10 NASB)—to study, to do, and to teach others. This provides the process of biblical discipleship: Study leads to action, and both provide the foundation from which instruction to others can occur.

The second clause of the Psalm—“unite my heart to fear Your name”—indicates that one of a divided heart cannot truly fear (or revere) God’s name. In other words, a person cannot be truly devoted to God with a divided heart.

What is the connection between requesting to learn God’s way and receiving an undivided heart? Learning from God is not simply learning an algebraic equation or the history of the United States. Being taught by God requires a diligent obedience, which is what the Bible means by walking in His truth. One cannot obey God with a divided heart.

To learn from Him, we must passionately pursue Him with singularity. We must seek to study His word, then do it, and then we must instruct others in what we have learned.

This is what Jesus envisioned when He commanded His disciples to raise up disciples. As students, they would raise up other students—all to live out His word and message.

PRAYER

Father, teach us Your way so that we may walk in Your truth. Give us an undivided heart, so that we may fear and revere Your name. Amen.

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Weekly Q&A: What caused the anti-Judaism in the Greek and Roman worlds?

Jews stood out in the Greek and Roman worlds. In a world where uniqueness was appreciated only to a point, Jewish differences became a source of anti-Jewish rhetoric and violence. Jews stood out because of their faith. Their belief in one God, theirs, and their unique relationship to Him as His chosen people meant they lived differently. They did not accept many of the practices and beliefs which went along with Greek and Roman religion, which penetrated every aspect of the lives of Greeks and Romans. Had the Jews been willing to identify their God as Zeus, no one would have had a problem. But they couldn’t.

Prior to the second century B.C., however, Greek writers spoke about Jews and Judaism in positive terms. This shifted in the second century with the successful Jewish revolt against the Greek Seleucids. This led to the establishment of an independent Jewish State under a family of priest-kings known as the Hasmoneans. Judaism came to see part of God’s will for His people was their freedom in the land He promised to their fathers. This added a dimension of religious nationalism to Judaism. Jews began to define themselves against idolatrous non-Jews and sought to eradicate all non-Jewish idolatry from the land of Israel. From this point on, Greek and Roman authors began to criticize Jews and Judaism.

The anti-Judaism of Greek and Roman writers focused on four primary Jewish beliefs and behaviors:

  1. Jewish monotheism and the Jewish God – The Jewish declaration of only one God, Israel’s God, struck Greeks and Romans as offensive. As polytheists, they would worship gods of other peoples, as long as other gods were recognized. Judaism would not do this. Therefore, Greeks and Romans accused the Jews of atheism and impiety. Greeks and Romans found the invisibility of the Jewish God equally strange. Every Greco-Roman temple had a statue of the god or goddess within it. The Temple in Jerusalem had no statue of its God.
  2. Circumcision – God gave Abraham the covenant of male circumcision as a sign of His covenant with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17). Greeks and Romans believed a man’s created form was the ideal. To them, circumcision was mutilation.
  3. Sabbaths – Greeks and Romans saw the Jewish practice of taking a day off during the week as laziness and idleness; thus, they criticized the Jews for observing the Sabbath.
  4. Diet – The eating of pork was common throughout the Greco-Roman world. Most non-Jews did not distinguish among foods in their diet. The Jews did.

The Jewish revolts (A.D. 66-136) exacerbated anti-Judaism within the Roman world. The revolts brought about the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, as well as anti-Jewish legislation within the Roman world. These fermented anti-Jewish feelings among non-Jews, which also impacted the non-Jewish followers of Jesus.

When we look for the beginnings of Christian anti-Judaism, they lay in the Greco-Roman world. Christian anti-Judaism developed its own peculiarities. But the anti-Judaism of the Greco-Roman world certainly influenced its development.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
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