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By Marc Turnage

Ashkelon sits on the southern Mediterranean coast in the modern State of Israel. The Bible identifies it as one of the five Philistine cities along with Gaza, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. Ashkelon sits on the Mediterranean coast between Gaza and Ashdod. The ancient site sat on a ridge of cemented sandstone called kurkar. Its elevated vantage point allowed for the observation of the sea routes from Egypt to Lebanon. 

Ashkelon receives, on average, almost fourteen inches of rainfall a year, which, while not a lot, is sufficient for viticulture and the cultivation of gardens. The high-water table meant that the city had an abundant supply of freshwater throughout its ancient history. Over a hundred ancient wells have been uncovered in excavations. 

The land around Ashkelon consists of sand ridges that run parallel to the coast. The local kurkar served as a basic stone for building at the site. Its location on the sea and just west of major land trade routes made Ashkelon a maritime trading center. Ancient seafaring vessels traveled using the trade winds and currents, tacking their way following the coast. Thus, Ashkelon served as an important location along the sea route between Egypt and Lebanon. 

Its close proximity to the most important overland route in the Ancient Near East, a route that connected Egypt with Damascus and Mesopotamia, meant that Ashkelon could capitalize upon its location for both land and sea trade. Throughout its history it maintained this dynamic; in the Byzantine period (4^th-6^th centuries A.D.), wine from Ashkelon was found in England. 

Ashkelon functioned as an important site in the Middle (1950-1550 B.C.) and Late (1550-1200 B.C.) Bronze Ages. Its fortifications from the Middle Bronze period are quite impressive including an arched gate, which is one of the oldest arches in the world. In Iron Age I (1200-1000 B.C.), Ashkelon underwent a change within its material culture. 

Excavations have revealed that during this period a distinct Philistine material culture emerged. With the Philistine appearance, both pig and dog entered the diet of the people; food avoided by both the Canaanites and Israelites. Excavators have uncovered tools and elements necessary for the manufacturing of textiles. 

Two Phoenician shipwrecks discovered off the coast of Ashkelon illustrate the importance of Ashkelon for maritime trade. These vessels contained over four hundred wine amphorae. Ashkelon, like Gaza, Ashdod, and Ekron, was destroyed around 600 B.C. by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. The strategic importance of the city meant that it was rebuilt in the Persian period, and it continued to serve as in important trade center through the Byzantine period. It was eventually destroyed in A.D. 1270. 

The Bible says little about Ashkelon. That was likely due to the biblical writers being unfamiliar with the cosmopolitan center of Ashkelon. The prophets Amos, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Zechariah denounced the city, but it did not serve as an important focus of the Bible. That, however, does not reflect the significance of this ancient site.  

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

“Remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not” (Deuteronomy 8:2 NKJV).

Remember! One of the most frequent commands throughout the Bible is “Remember!” Remember the road you’ve traveled, the struggles and trials you’ve faced. And remember Who brought you along your path.

Remember Who provided for you, cared for you, and calls you to remember and obey His commandments. Remember.

We often turn to God in our times of need. When relationships, circumstances, finances, diagnoses, and life are too overwhelming, then we turn to God. We cleave to Him through those wilderness times of our life, relying upon His presence and provision.

But, once He brings us through those times and we find ourselves upon a firm footing, standing in the Promised Land, how quickly do we forget, rely upon ourselves, and ultimately turn from His ways? Remember.

The festivals that God gave Israel within the Old Testament served two purposes: 1) They were connected with the agricultural cycle, particularly the harvest times, and 2) they called the people to remember what God did for them in the wilderness, how He led them and provided for them.

The agricultural nature of the festivals called upon the Israelites to remember Who sent the rain in its season so the crops could grow, and ultimately Who was responsible for their sustenance and provision. The connection with the wilderness wanderings called upon the people to remember a time when their need for God and His provision was more acute, to remember where they came from.

During the fall harvest festival, Sukkot, God instructed the children of Israel to construct temporary shelters, or booths, that they lived in for the duration of the festival:

“Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt” (Leviticus 23:42-43 NIV).

Dwelling in booths was to remind future generations—those that did not experience the hardships and uncertainty of the wilderness—how God provided for His people.

When later generations found themselves living prosperously in the land, the booths reminded them of a time in their history when their forefathers lacked such prosperity, and in that moment, they should remember God, Who brought Israel out of Egypt.

What is the ultimate goal of this remembrance? We find it in the passage from Deuteronomy quoted initially: “Remember … whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

We confront our limitations and smallness in times of need. We realize how finite we are. It becomes easy to turn to God in those moments. And, as a loving Father, He comes to us. But when we find ourselves in times of prosperity, it’s too easy to think we stand alone on our own two feet, and turning from God and His commandments becomes easy.

Remember where you have come from. Remember where He has taken you. Remember His commandments and purposes for your life. Remember that He is your Savior and King.

PRAYER

Father, thank You for taking us through the wildernesses of our lives and providing for us. May we always—in good times and in bad—remember You and all that You have done for us. Amen.

By Julie Stahl

“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. … Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 23:34-35, 42-43 NIV).

Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, is one of the three major festivals in Judaism. It is both an agricultural festival of thanksgiving and a commemoration of the forty-year period during which the children of Israel wandered in the desert after leaving slavery in Egypt, living in temporary shelters as they traveled.

Some call this holiday a Jewish camping trip with the conveniences of home. It’s an ancient biblical command that’s still being kept today and it begins just four days after Yom Kippur. For thousands of years, Jewish people around the world have followed the biblical injunction to live in temporary dwellings during the week-long Feast of Tabernacles.

“It helps us remember,” says Israeli Seth Ben-Haim. “First of all, we’re commanded to remember the Exodus from Egypt and how we needed to wander through the desert for forty years without permanent dwellings, but it also reminds us that even though we’ve been brought into the land of Israel, we haven’t reached our final destination,” he says.

Sukkot is one of the three pilgrimage festivals, when Jewish people were commanded to go up to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem to worship.

For seven days, families eat, sleep, study, and pray in the sukkah or “booth.” Rabbis say it must have at least three sides and the roof must be made in such a way that the stars are visible through it at night and it’s open to the elements. Most people use either palm fronds or a straw mat for the roof. And many are decorated at least in part by the children.

“Otherwise, we’d be in the protection of our homes and the purpose of living temporarily in this flimsy tabernacle is so that we can remember that ultimately we’re under HaShem’s [God’s] protection,” says Ben-Haim.

Another part of the Sukkot celebration is recorded in Leviticus 23:40 (NLT), where the Bible commands the Israelites to take four species of fruit from beautiful trees—a citron or Etrog, a palm branch, a bough of leafy trees (myrtle), and a willow branch and “celebrate with joy before the LORD your God for seven days.”

Great care is taken to choose an Etrog without a blemish but with many bumps. During morning prayers each day, Jewish men wave the Lulav (the three branches) and Etrog before the Lord.

“We wave them in many different directions, and we really look above and that’s what this type of roof helps us to remember. We’re looking above because that’s where our help is going to come from,” says Ben-Haim.

The New Testament records that Jesus went up to Jerusalem for Sukkot: “The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, so His brothers said to Him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea so Your disciples can see Your works that You are doing.’ … When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple complex and began to teach” ( John 7:2-3, 14 HCSB).

For Christians (actually the whole world), the Feast of Tabernacles has prophetic significance. In the book of Zechariah, the prophet says that one day all nations will come up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast.

Since 1980, thousands of Christians from around the world have come up to Jerusalem every year to see prophecy fulfilled and to celebrate at the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s Feast of Tabernacles event. Other Christian ministries also hold Feast celebrations now.

“They’re following the invitation of Zechariah 14, where it says that one day all the nations will come up to celebrate this biblical feast here in Jerusalem, to worship the Lord and keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Our showing up here now for this feast is a statement of faith that there’s coming a day when the Messiah will rule here,” says David Parsons, ICEJ spokesman.

Zechariah 14:16-18 says, In the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, and to celebrate the [Feast of Tabernacles]. Any nation in the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, will have no rain. If the people of Egypt refuse to attend the festival, the LORD will punish them with the same plague that he sends on the other nations who refuse to go (NLT).

Holiday Greeting: Hag Sameach (“Happy Holiday!”) and during the intermediate days, Moadim L’Simcha (“a joyful 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

Being an advocate for Israel begins in the heart. When commanded by Jesus to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” it is important to see that a part of our love for Him is loving His chosen people, the Jews. Knowing that He sees us loving Him through caring for His people, I have been a privileged supporter of Israel and educated in that love by some of the best. I want to share ideas in the hope that you who already care about the world’s only Jewish nation and the Jewish people will also know how to be a capable defender of Israel in everyday life. 

I have lost count of how many times I have traveled to Israel. Standing on Israel’s border is a spiritual, geographical, and policy lesson. In my numerous visits to Israel’s borders, I have gained another layer of understanding. One year, during Syria’s horrific civil war, a Golan Heights ATV team led one of my groups of Christian leaders atop Israel’s Golan for a look into Syria. As we listened to a defense expert, mortars in the distance punctuated his briefing as a grim backdrop to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship of massive cruelty. 

On another trip, our group met at an unnamed location overlooking Syria at a military outpost with Israeli tanks hidden in gullies. By this time, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was embedded in its occupation of Syria in various locations to oversee Iran’s substantial weapons depots. Iran’s threats to destroy Israel are unmistakable and up close. From there, Damascus was approximately 40 miles north. Defending their country, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) frequently ventures into Syria by air to destroy weapons depots that Iran continues to transfer into Syria. Part of the IDF’s core policy is its intent to destroy weapons, not civilians.  

In every defense briefing I have heard in more than 20 years of advocacy for Israel, I have never met any IDF personnel who wanted anything but peace. Peace has always been, and will always remain, their goal. Thankfully, the years have produced a number of peace treaties—first with Jordan and Egypt, then the Abraham Accords under former President Trump’s leadership, and now Bahrain and United Arab Emirates. 

As a member of professional staff for organizations that view support for Israel as an imperative, I have accumulated advocacy resources through my firsthand experiences and the outstanding organizations where I have enjoyed the privilege of working. In a recent online webinar briefing by Israel’s Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, he masterfully communicated an insider’s look at international media and offered useful strategies for those who stand with Israel, whether individually or in media. Conricus served in the IDF for 24 years, completing his last four years as the IDF International Spokesman. He is now International Spokesman for the Israel Defense and Security Forum. 

My goal for readers of this week’s column is to pass along how to successfully relay truths about Israel, and how two minutes of your time as a citizen makes a difference! Our faith is foundational, yet we must remember James 2:26: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

I have often advised those whom I mentor with a principle for Israel advocacy: govern your passions with wisdom, whether in calls, emails, social media, or in person. Although the Bible is our ultimate authority—viewing God’s unbreakable covenants with the Jews as eternal—it is easy to become angry about the incessant slander against Israel and the Jewish community. However, lean on God’s truths, which are more valuable than hysteria and emotions. Lt. Col. Conricus advises turning outrage into action in a reasoned way and to provide more facts than opinions. As he points out: “Frustration and emotions are not a work plan.” 

Understanding some of the media infrastructure is important. The world’s top three media giants are The Associated Press (AP), Reuters, and Agence France-Presse (AFP), each founded in the mid-1800s. Their media ecosystem is vast. Other media, even though large, rely on these top three, which have thousands of staff spread out in almost every country. AP alone has more than a 3-billion-person reach. Generally trusted, this news agency trio has high stature and incredible power to report breaking news. However, news agencies can distort the news with their own headlines and reporting, which fuels the flame of lies and anti-Semitism. With 480 registered journalists in Israel, that number increases by nearly 2,000 when media reporters rush to Israel to cover a major conflict.

Lt. Col. Conricus cited two main media problems: that cause and effect are too often missing from news reports, as is the correct chronology of events. Here is an example: Hamas fires rockets from Gaza toward Israel. The media is silent. As soon as Israel reacts, media reports it immediately—without looking at cause and effect. One headline read, “Israel troops kill Palestinian in Tel Aviv.” However, this action took place after a Palestinian had killed an Israeli. 

Sometimes headlines are the only thing the public reads or hears, which shapes the narrative against Israel. There’s simply no context provided that would enhance readers’ understanding of the events. Conricus says we must “demand cause and effect and chronology on headlines.” We must learn to ask, “Is this the right headline? Who started the attack? Was Israel the aggressor—or was Israel defending itself?” Why do media give the same respect to terrorists as they do to Israeli officials? Conricus adds, “We know that Israel is not perfect and that is not what we are looking for. We want fairness in media.”

One of his most revealing comments concerns Palestinians who work for media. Conricus notes that some of these workers are excellent, but that an anti-Israel bias predominates among many Palestinian reporters, stringers, and photographers. Terrorist organization Hamas in the August 2022 Breaking Dawn conflict was disturbed about accurate reports from stringers—that some Hamas-launched rockets fell in their own territory and killed Palestinians. Hamas’s response, “If you report what we don’t like, we will come after you and your family.” Palestinians are bullied and afraid for their families. Israel does not use those tactics. Confronting lies yet not shutting them down are marks of freedom. 

Known for its freedom of the press, Israel maintains a direct line for the international media to the IDF, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel police, and Prime Minister. Although the high level of access is available, does that make a difference when international media views the IDF and terrorists on equal footing? 

Israel and the United States are facing unprecedented challenges in a world turned upside down with evil. It is time for believers and all people of good will to repurpose propaganda into a pure form. Joseph Goebbels, minister of propaganda for Germany’s Third Reich, perfected evil propaganda. Now we must respond to the call of this time in our world to rise up united. 

We must be truth tellers, repeating truths in a wise and reasonable way—in conversations, media outlets, events, your social media, churches, and synagogues. We must be the mainstream media. I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone. Let us make Lt. Colonel Jonathan Conricus and the Israel Defense and Security Forum proud that we are on their advocacy team. Yet, far beyond, let us actively honor God by standing up for His chosen people, the Jews, whom He appointed to transmit His words in the Bible and sent His only begotten Son to redeem the entire world.

Trusted sources are available for you to educate, then activate, yourself about Israel in particular. Your action is valuable even for two minutes! If you sign up (free) for CAMERA.org, HonestReporting.org, CUFI.org, and AIPAC.org, they will send you action alerts with letters already written based on urgent issues. In addition, other news outlets are trusted and helpful, including CBN News, Times of Israel, All Israel News, and The Jerusalem Post.

Join CBN Israel this week to pray that God would protect Israel and continue to raise up advocates to support the Jewish nation and people:

• Pray for Christians to link faith and action on behalf of Israel.
• Pray for the people and nation of Israel as they face the continual threat of war and terrorism on their treacherous borders.  
• Pray for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and their safety as they seek to protect their small land from enemies on all sides. 
• Pray that CBN Israel will continue to combat the lies and falsehoods by spreading the light of truth about Israel through unbiased news and films. 

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.

For Maxim and his family, being Jewish in a predominantly Muslim area of Russia came with its share of persecution. So in May 2021, he and his wife finally immigrated to Israel with their six children. They stayed with kind friends as they explored the country and decided that Haifa was the best choice to settle—largely due to its affordability for their large family. 

They found an apartment in that area near friends. The apartment was new—but totally empty. Immigrating to a new country meant leaving behind furniture, beds, appliances, and other items we take for granted. Living on a meager income with so many kids, where could they turn? 

Because friends like you cared, they had help through CBN Israel. Donors gave them financial assistance to purchase furniture and other essentials. Plus, they provided grocery vouchers, so Maxim could put healthy meals on the table. It was a true blessing during this major transition. 

The family is still adapting to life in Israel, making new friends and learning Hebrew. Maxim is grateful for all the financial and emotional support in this time of change, saying, “While it has not been easy, we are so glad we decided to leave Russia and come to Israel… We are touched beyond words.”

And your gift to CBN Israel can bless even more people in need with nowhere to turn. You can be there for desperate single mothers, aged Holocaust survivors, frightened terror victims, and more. You can give those in crisis the help and hope they need. As more people in Israel cry out for assistance, you can bring groceries, housing, and financial aid to those who are hurting. 

Please join us in reaching out those in need!

GIVE TODAY

By Julie Stahl

“Be careful to celebrate the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of that same month—nine days after the Festival of Trumpets. You must observe it as an official day for holy assembly, a day to deny yourselves and present special gifts to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:27 NLT).

Yom Kippur is the Holiest Day in the Jewish year, the “Day of Atonement.”

The 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are known as the “Ten Days of Awe.” This is your chance, so to speak, to get your heart and relationships right before Yom Kippur. According to Jewish tradition, this is the time that one’s name is either inscribed or not in the Book of Life for another year.

“These are heavy, heavy days of repentance, reflection, and seeking God’s face as we prepare to go stand before Him in a state of fasting, a state of humility on the day of Yom Kippur,” says Boaz Michael, founder of First Fruits of Zion.

In some traditions, worshippers pray Selichot or slichot prayers (“forgiveness”) as much as a month before Rosh Hashanah to make sure they are prepared for that day.

“The Bible speaks about Yom Kippur in terms of being a great day of judgment, of us standing before God. It’s traditionally, according to a Jewish perspective, a time in which we will literally be standing before the Father on that Day of Judgment,” says Michael.

It’s customary to wear white on this day. In some traditions, men wear a white robe or, in Yiddish, kittel. That tradition comes from Isaiah 1:18 (NLT), where God says, “Come now, let’s settle this. … Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.”

Yom Kippur has five prayer services throughout the day, which is more than any other Jewish holiday.

“The Viddui is the central prayer of confession and forgiveness of the Jewish people on Yom Kippur. And it’s a prayer that they pray not only on behalf of themselves but on behalf of all the Jewish people around the world,” says Reverend David Pileggi of Christ Church in Jerusalem’s Old City.

He says that the Viddui prayer recognizes the words of Jeremiah: “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”
(Jeremiah 17:9 NLT).

“One thing we learn from the Jewish people about Yom Kippur is that it’s not enough to say you’re sorry. You have to confess, say you’re sorry, and then at the same time take practical steps to change your behavior,” says Pileggi.

He says there’s a parallel between Yom Kippur and the teachings of Jesus.

“We have a saying of Jesus, don’t we? It says, if you bring your gift to the altar and your brother has something against you, leave your gift at the altar and go and be reconciled with your brother. Jewish tradition says, to go get your relationship right with your neighbor, with your brother, with your family member, forgive and be reconciled and then on the Day of Atonement, when you begin to fast and pray and to confess, God will hear your prayer and forgive you as you have forgiven others,” says Pileggi.

“It’s the teaching of Jesus and it’s also something that’s part and parcel of Jewish tradition and here the two line up very nicely,” Pileggi adds.

In the synagogue, the Book of Jonah is read.

“Jonah is a symbol of repentance. He’s commanded by God to call the people of Nineveh to repent, but he himself was struggling through his own reflections about who receives God’s judgment and who receives God’s mercy,” says Michael.

“So, Jonah can so often symbolize our own actions—doubting God, disobeying God, and determining who’s worthy of His redemption. But, like Jonah, we’re invited to repent of our disobedience and prejudices so that we can rejoin God in building His kingdom,” Michael adds.

He affirms that Yom Kippur holds a deep meaning even for those who believe in Jesus.

“It’s through the work of Messiah that our sins are taken away. He is our great atonement. I think this is a beautiful biblical understanding for us to affirm and hold onto in the context of our daily lives, but at the same time, we also need to be reminded to live a life of repentance,” Michael concludes.

Holiday Greeting: G’mar Chatimah Tovah (“May you be sealed for good in the Book of Life”) and Tzom Kal (used to wish others an “easy fast”).

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.

“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24 NKJV).

The Bible describes three types of sins: 1) intentional sins that I commit against God, 2) unintentional sins that I commit against God, and 3) sins that I commit against my neighbor.

For sins I intentionally commit against God, the only course of forgiveness is repentance: “You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; You are not pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart” (Psalm 51:16-17 HCSB).

Jesus’ injunction to His followers (Matthew 5:23-24) comes from this biblical realization regarding the different ways in which we must deal with the broken relationships in our lives.

For Jesus’ first-century Galilean listeners, the only place they could make an offering was in the Jerusalem Temple—a journey that took at least four days from the Galilee.

It’s striking to hear Jesus’ words as His initial audience did: If you are at the altar in Jerusalem and remember that someone has something against you, leave your offering, go back at least four days’ journey, and be reconciled. Then return to Jerusalem and present your offering to God.

Reconciliation with one’s neighbor provided the foundation for that offering to be accepted.

Jesus’ commandment to His followers, even the spirit of it, grew from the world of ancient Judaism. This command is still practiced today within the Jewish community in the days surrounding Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the most holy day within Judaism.

In the days leading up to Yom Kippur—a day when people fast, repent, and call upon God to forgive the sins they committed against Him—Jewish people first seek to be reconciled with their neighbors.

They ask forgiveness and seek to make restitution. Why? Because of the belief that we cannot ask forgiveness from God on Yom Kippur if we have unrepaired relationships with our neighbors. Those must be repaired first, even if we must make restitution.

This same spirit stands behind the teachings of Jesus. My relationships with others provide the foundation for my relationship with God.

Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:8-9 NKJV).

When we think about the Day of Atonement, we often focus upon our relationship with God and His forgiveness of our sins.

The Scriptures teach us that our repairing, making restitution, and reconciling ourselves with our neighbor is an indicator of our relationship with God:

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (1 John 4:20 NKJV).

PRAYER

Father, forgive us as we have forgiven. Amen.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

Israelis celebrated a new Jewish year 5783 with their traditional Days of Awe, which began with the Feast of Trumpets—also called Rosh Hashanah (“head of the year”)—on September 25-27. On Thursday prior to Rosh Hashanah, around 35,000 people crowded the Western Wall plaza for pre-Rosh Hashanah prayers.

The sound of hundreds of ram’s horns (shofars) saturated the air as the holiday commenced two days later. Families and friends feasted on sumptuous meals that included dipping apples in honey accompanied by heartwarming greetings: “May we enjoy a sweet new year” and “May you be inscribed in the Book of Life.” 

The Days of Awe are overflowing with celebrations, introspection, and repentance. These 10 days end with the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the holiest day of the year. In the 25-hour period from sunset October 4 until sunset October 5, it is a national holiday. The country all but shuts down; many people fast and attend synagogue—with a day off work for adults—and children happily ride their bikes on the no-traffic streets.

However, after United Nations General Assembly speeches last week by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, it is not surprising that wishes for a “sweet near year” for Israel were not spoken. After all, both leaders would prefer that the world’s only Jewish nation be eradicated. 

Abbas and Raisi have each perfected the art of turning truth upside down, displaying a level of unmatched hypocrisy. They have fine-tuned their speeches by holding up photographs of terrorists and praising them as heroic martyrs on holy missions.

Mr. Abbas spent 47 minutes at the UN glorifying his own leadership and claiming that Palestinians were Israel’s victims. He defined Israel as an apartheid nation that he accused of massacring thousands of children and carrying out assaults on Islamic and Christian holy sites. He also claimed Israel was not a peace partner. Yet this dictator, who lives in a multimillion-dollar home in Ramallah and has stayed in power many years longer than the four he was elected to, has defiantly refused direct negotiations with Israel’s leaders since 2009.

He punctuated his speech by holding up numerous photos, including those of Nasser Abu Hamid, who murdered seven Israelis and attempted the murders of 12 more. Due to multiple life sentences, Hamid has been in prison since 2002. He was diagnosed with cancer, sent to several Israeli hospitals, and transferred for treatment to remove lung tumors. He remains terminal. Abbas calls Hamid and the terrorist prisoners “heroic martyrs” and “the living conscience of our people.” 

According to Israeli and Palestinian media, on Monday Abbas then called Defense Minister Benny Gantz and President Isaac Herzog with a Rosh Hashanah greeting. However, will 5783 produce a call to his Palestinian terrorists to stop assaulting and murdering Israelis?   

Abbas and Raisi share the same playbook of lies and hypocrisy. Taking no responsibility for the detrimental impact their policies have on their own people, both are disenchanted with the United States. Yet their name-calling is even more intense against Israel. In fact, Raisi strode to the United Nations podium and unleashed a torrent of lies calling Israel a “savage power.”

Like Abbas, he accused Israel of killing women and children in a “dark report card of the Zionist regime.” He went on to name Gaza the biggest prison in the world. There was no mention, of course, about Israel’s unilateral decision to withdraw from Gaza in 2005 when—under former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon—8,000 Israelis were forced to vacate their homes, businesses, schools, and synagogues. 

Typically, there was no mention either about Hamas, Raisi’s hateful surrogate that purposely places civilian women and children in harm’s way. This, from an Islamic theocrat that formerly served as a prosecuting judge who ordered thousands of Iranians killed. Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard commented that Raisi is “a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran.” 

During Raisi’s speech at the United Nations, Iranians were protesting throughout Iran about the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died while detained by the “morality police.” Her crime? Not wearing an acceptable headdress as required by the Islamic Republic’s strict laws about women’s clothing. 

Indeed, the protests center on far more than clothing. It is about citizens living under an oppressive regime since 1979—a regime more interested in developing a nuclear weapon of mass destruction than relieving the woes of their own people. In 2019, demonstrations broke out over fuel prices. Reuters reported 1,500 people were killed in the subsequent clampdown. 

We can pray that current protests will not result in the same or higher statistics. Yet news is not emerging consistently, as the Iranian regime is using rolling blackouts on the internet. Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Telegram were shut down earlier. The Media Line reports 50 deaths thus far in two weeks of protests, but the total will likely be higher. Hundreds have been arrested, including journalists.

With his history of ruthlessness as an indicator, Raisi is carrying out his vow to “deal decisively” with citizens he views as a threat to what he calls Iran’s security and tranquility. 

Like Abbas, Raisi held up a picture before exiting the podium. It showed a smiling Qasem Soleimani, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Raisi praised him as a freedom-seeking martyr. Soleimani’s smile cannot erase the fact that this brutal warlord oversaw thousands of deaths and crippling injuries of American military personnel who served during the Iraq War. For 20 years, Soleimani commanded the IRGC’s terrorist actions against Israel in Syria and other locations around the world. The United States assassinated Soleimani in 2020 via drone at the Baghdad International Airport.

Abbas and Raisi each made contemptible claims at the United Nations. In his long list of lies, Abbas insists he is willing to negotiate but that Israel refuses. Raisi insists that their nuclear quest is peaceful. The evidence against both claims is overwhelming. 

The world’s citizens must not be trapped in the widespread propaganda, especially with the long arm of Iranian terror reaching into many parts of the world, including the United States. 

Nevertheless, too many are deceived. It remains the responsibility of Christians, Jews, and all who accept the truth about Palestinian and Iranian leaders’ deceptions to stand up as truth-bearers in relationships, social media, and beneficial reforms while we pray that God’s “will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” No matter the state of the world, we can completely count on our Lord Jesus and the truths God has provided in the Bible. 

We welcome you to join CBN Israel in prayer reflecting on Proverbs 12:22: “The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.”

• Pray for Iran’s citizens bravely standing up against their oppressive regime.
• Pray with thankfulness for Jesus’ one and only atonement for believers.
• Pray for Israel during the Days of Awe while under high terror alerts.
• Pray for safety and vigilance for Israel’s security personnel in all sectors.
• Pray for the Lord’s direction on how He wants you to advocate for truth.  

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.

By Marc Turnage

The ancient site Gamla sits in the central Golan Heights about six miles east of the northern end of the Sea of Galilee and the Bethsaida Valley. The ancient village sat on the spur of a hill created by two streams, Nahal Gamla and Nahal Daliyyot. The spur that the village of Gamla sat on can be seen easily from Bethsaida and the Bethsaida Valley; thus, while we never find mention of Jesus in Gamla, he would have known the site. The first century Jewish historian, Josephus, describes the village and the battle that took place there during the First Jewish Revolt (A.D. 66-73). 

Gamla offers an important window into Jewish village life in the Galilee and Golan during the first century. Once the Roman army of Vespasian destroyed the site (A.D. 67), it was never reinhabited, and therefore, functions as a time capsule into a first century Jewish village. The primary settlement of the site began in the Hellenistic period. It started as a Seleucid fort. The fort eventually became a village inhabited by Jews in the first centuries B.C. and A.D. 

Excavations at Gamla uncovered only a small percentage of the village, but they provide significant information about the Jewish life in the village. Towards the upper part of the hill, excavations uncovered a large olive oil press with a Jewish ritual immersion bath (mikveh) attached to it. This indicates that the inhabitants sought to prepare olive oil with concern for ritual purity. Excavators also uncovered a second large, industrial olive oil press indicating that Gamla served as a center for olive oil production exporting it to other Jewish communities. The community also seems to have grown grain and even practiced viticulture. 

Excavators uncovered the largest known urban synagogue discovered in Israel from the Roman period. At the entrance of the building, they found a ritual immersion pool. The synagogue itself consists of the main hall, with benches around the walls of the hall. The focal point being the center of the hall where the reading of the Scriptures and explication would have occurred. To the right of then entrance, in the north wall, was an inset into the wall, which most likely housed a cabinet where scrolls were kept. A small study room is also next to the main hall. 

Excavations also yielded evidence of an affluent class within the village. Painted fragments of plaster indicate the presence of wealthy homes. Finger rings and earrings, as well as gemstones and other jewelry attest to an affluence among some of the citizens. The presence of Jewish ritual immersion pools, as well as stone vessels indicate that the population of the village adhered to Jewish ritual purity. 

Excavations also attest to Josephus’ story of the fall of Gamla. Evidence of battle, destruction (including the breach in the city’s defensive wall), arrow heads and ballista balls were discovered throughout the excavations. Its destruction preserved this first century Jewish village, which offers one of the best examples of the villages known to Jesus.

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

“In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:24-25 NKJV).

Rosh Hashanah (“Head of the Year”) is the first of the High Holy Days, which happens this time every year. It is observed as the start of the civil year on the Jewish calendar (in comparison to the religious year, which starts with Pesach or Passover).

Rosh Hashanah is the first of the fall feasts. It begins the “Ten Days of Awe” that lead up to Yom Kippur (“Day of Atonement”). According to Leviticus 23:24-25, this celebration was signified as a time of rest, an offering that was made by fire, and the blowing of trumpets.

The modern holiday is traced back to the biblical “Feast of Trumpets,” which is the blowing of the shofar (“ram’s horn”) on the first day of the seventh month (Tishri) of the religious calendar year (Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 29:1). 

The Feast of Trumpets occurs on the first day of the Hebrew month, Tishri. It would occur at the new moon. Only the slightest crescent would be visible. However, clouds could sometimes obscure the moon, and witnesses would be required.

Watchfulness was a critical ingredient of this feast. The rabbis later would include a second day to this feast to ensure that they did not miss it. 

This need for watchfulness and preparedness in connection with the Feast of Trumpets is spoken of throughout the New Testament in relation to the Lord’s coming:

“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42 NKJV). 

“Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6 NKJV). 

“Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13 NKJV).

“So, Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Hebrews 9:28 NKJV).

You may ask, what does Rosh Hashanah have to do with me? 

The High Holy Days remind us not only to continue to repent and return to God but to also remain watchful, always looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

PRAYER

Father, we eagerly look to You as the sole source of our redemption, and we remain watchful looking for Your magnificent return. Amen.