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By Marc Turnage

The first century Jewish historian Josephus described the Jerusalem Temple in great detail. He noted that the large outer court was separated from the holy precincts by a balustrade that had inscriptions in Greek and Latin forbidding non-Jews from passing this wall. Non-Jews were permitted to be in the outer court, which lay outside the sacred area of the Temple. 

A thick marble slab with seven lines inscribed in Greek warning “foreigners” (non-Jews) from passing the balustrade of the Temple and entering its sacred precincts was discovered in 1871, north of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The inscription reads: “No foreigner is to enter within the balustrade and forecourt around the sacred precinct. Whoever is caught will himself be responsible for (his) consequent death.” It currently resides in the archaeological museum in Istanbul, Turkey. A broken marble slab with six lines inscribed in Greek was discovered in the area of Lion’s Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. It resides in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. 

Both inscriptions verify Josephus’ description of the warnings on the balustrade of the outer court of the Temple. Paul was accused of violating this prohibition by bringing non-Jews past the partition (Acts 21:26-30). Paul also used this physical partition, which separated non-Jews from the sacred areas of the Temple when he wrote to the Ephesians: 

“So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called ‘the uncircumcised’ by those called ‘the circumcised,’ which is done in the flesh by human hands. At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, He made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. He did this so that He might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross and put the hostility to death by it” (Ephesians 2:11-16; emphasis added). 

According to Paul, that which served as a sign in the Jerusalem Temple for the separation between Jews and non-Jews had been abolished in God’s redemptive community, in which Jews and non-Jews were now reconciled.

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

“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God” (Matthew 5:23-24 NLT).

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’ command (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. According to Jesus, reconciliation with one’s neighbor provided the foundation for that offering to be accepted. 

Jesus’ instruction to His followers grew from the world of ancient Judaism. This commandment 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 each other. 

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

This same spirit stands behind the teachings of Jesus emphasizing that our relationships with others provide the foundation for our relationship with God. Zacchaeus told Jesus, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today” (Luke 19:8-9 NLT). 

When we think about Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, we often focus exclusively upon our relationship with God and His forgiveness of our sins. However, the Bible teaches that our repairing, making restitution, and reconciling ourselves with our neighbor is an indicator of the quality of our relationship with God: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother he has seen cannot love God he has not seen” (1 John 4:20 HCSB).

PRAYER

Father, may our diligent pursuit of reconciliation and making restitution with others be a strong indication of our relationship with You. Amen. 

By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

Saturday, September 11, 2021, marks the 20th anniversary of the terrorist flights of radical Islamic death and destruction that took place on a sky-blue Tuesday morning. The hijacked planes—United Airlines 175, American Airlines 11, American Airlines 77, and United Airlines 93—became weapons of hatred crashing into the iconic Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a field outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania. That day was seared into our memories: the day of the biggest terrorist attack in American history. 

It was all over in 102 minutes, from the time of the first crash and the disintegration of both towers, killing 2,997 people. Less than two hours changed our way of life, adding 9/11, al Qaeda, and the Twin Towers to our national vocabulary. 

At the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, a quote from the Roman poet Virgil is emblazoned on one of the walls: “No day shall erase you from the memory of time.” Surely this is a truth. 

It seems fitting to mention here that, in another demonstration of the strong friendship between our two countries, Israel is the only other nation that built a 9/11 memorial. Located 20 miles from Jerusalem, the memorial is a 30-foot-high bronze American flag that forms the shape of a flame to commemorate the flames of the Twin Towers. Metal scraps from the towers form the base of the monument. Completed in 2009, it includes the names of all who died.  

Like the question asked for years after November 22, 1963, “Where were you when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated?” so September 11, 2001, took its place as a traumatic landmark in our national psyche. On 9/11, I was a part-time teacher’s aide in a Christian high school. The principal turned on his office TV when he heard the first reports. I ran there in time to see the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. Somehow, I knew right away it was terrorism. I returned to my students and announced as calmly as I could: “Class, our nation has just been attacked by terrorists. You will remember this day for the rest of your lives.” Our hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan will become another of those days seared into our memories. 

After 9/11, ordering our military into Iraq and Afghanistan grew into 20 years of sacrifice from our patriotic troops and their families. Now, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has left many Americans—and the world—thunderstruck. With the ensuing sorrow, anger, and desperation, quick responses of mercy and rescue have emerged. Like the deeds of unity and courage on and after September 11, 2001, and 20 years of service from U.S. armed forces, we are now witnessing more valor: the unity of private NGOs rescuing Afghans and Americans who were left behind. It’s a testament to what is best in us being motivated by a spirit stronger than evil. 

Numerous NGOs and 501(c)(3) ministries have interlocked their efforts to help rescue abandoned Christians, Americans, Afghan friends, and minority religious groups. After several weeks of rescue operations, where Glenn Beck’s audiences raised upwards of $30 million for the Mercury One missions, I interviewed Charmaine Hedding, founder and president of the Shai Fund, one of the rescue organizations. Since 2014, the Shai Fund has directly assisted over 100,000 vulnerable or persecuted people in nations worldwide, including Myanmar, Syria, Mozambique, Iraq, and Lebanon. When we spoke, I heard exhaustion and frustration in Hedding’s voice; nevertheless, her determination to keep moving forward was clear. 

Hedding said of the decision to help: “When we realized what was happening, we felt compelled to join the effort. If it’s within your hands to do something you should do it.” She immediately connected with others in Mercury One and put together safe houses in Kabul, since the Taliban had already sent threatening letters to the Afghan Christian community. She noted, “We wanted to make sure the Christian community was not forgotten.”

She observed that it’s difficult to know how many Christians have been killed since August 15. “Many people started moving toward the airport and a lot of people ran into northern Afghanistan and over the border into Pakistan.” She went on to say, “Our priority of getting the Christians out was because we knew the Taliban was targeting and hunting them down.” She herself amassed the details for flight manifests for the U.S. State Department, which approved them, but she reveals one of the reports that said, “When it came to actually opening the airport gates, they would not let us through. That happened time and time again. One time when a group got through and waited for a flight, a marine colonel threw them right back out again.” 

Hedding emphasized, “We are not going to stop. We still want to save as many souls as possible.”

Twenty years of mistakes, blunders, successes, deaths, and injuries will undoubtedly be discussed repeatedly in the coming years. However, the rescuers in the Mercury One coalition of private NGOs and military veterans understand reality: Lies are the Taliban’s native language and evil is their idol. Our military on the ground and in the air at Kabul’s international airport knew this too. Unfortunately, the United States commander-in-chief did not grasp the lies and evil that motivate terrorists. His decision limited our military’s capabilities, resulting in chaos and deaths, which began when he did not notify NATO allies prior to the United States abandoning Bagram Air Force Base.

Controversies are emerging about six planes awaiting clearance to take off from another airbase, Mazar-i-Sharif, to bring 1,000 Americans and Afghanis to safety. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX) on the House Foreign Affairs Committee told Fox News, “The Taliban will not let them leave.” While the U.S. State Department has cleared flights, a spokesperson said, “We do not have personnel on the ground, we do not have air assets in the country, we do not control the airspace—whether over Afghanistan or elsewhere in the region.” What will transpire at the airbase is still unknown.

Remembering the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Saturday and now reeling from this calamity, not on our soil this time, but in our hearts and emotions, many are asking themselves, “What now?” For us as believers, our prayers must continue for service members past and present, Gold Star families, and NGOs still working to rescue those trapped in Afghanistan. Donations to a rescuing ministry are still needed. Many of them already work on behalf of persecuted Christians worldwide. Those left behind are suffering in Afghanistan and in many other nations under the hateful hands of cruel terrorists. 

It’s a good time to remember that our Lord knows suffering because He experienced suffering for us. Now we have unconditional love and healing in our Savior’s nail-scarred hands. 

2 Corinthians 5:21—“For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Please join us this week in prayer for Israel, Afghanistan, and the Middle East:

• Pray that God will make a supernatural path of escape for those that have been left behind in Afghanistan.
• Pray the Lord will hide those at risk from enemy eyes who wish them harm. 
• Pray that God will send help to defeat the evil schemes of the Taliban and other extremist groups in Afghanistan.
• Pray that the truth of the Gospel will pierce the darkness and spread all throughout Afghanistan and the entire region. 
• Pray that God will continue to surround the people and nation of Israel with His protection in the weeks and months ahead. 

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 now an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel 25 times. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited by Artist Pat Mercer Hutchens and sits 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 her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

As a single mother from Ukraine, Ludmila immigrated to Israel with her children to start a new life. She found a job as a caretaker for the elderly—but her work suddenly came to an abrupt halt. When the pandemic hit, her clients began caring for their own parents.

“I didn’t have many clients to begin with, because I was new to the job, so the work just stopped,” she recalled. “I was still struggling to learn Hebrew and didn’t know where to go for help. I felt so alone.” Yet, the hardest part for Ludmila was seeing how it affected her children.

She admitted, “It broke me, trying to explain to them why we could only eat the cheapest, most basic food. I felt so much shame.” And then, friends like you were there, through CBN Israel. 

We brought this family groceries in the midst of their challenges, and Ludmila exclaimed, “There is so much variety! The food is very nutritious, and my kids really enjoy it. It was such a wonderful surprise… It gave me hope.” Soon, she found a better job as a cleaner for the local courthouse—with more stability, and flexible work hours. Ludmila is excited for their future, and says, “I’m very grateful… your support has meant everything. Thank you!”

And CBN Israel is helping many in need who feel alone—including single mothers, new immigrants, elderly Holocaust survivors, veterans, and lone soldiers. We provide them with food, essentials, housing, financial aid—and hope. 

Your gifts to CBN Israel can bring compassionate relief to those who are impoverished across the Holy Land. Plus, you can share vital news from the Middle East, and award-winning documentaries that tell Israel’s stories. 

Please join us in reaching out today!

GIVE TODAY

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 Marc Turnage

The most mentioned city in the Bible is Jerusalem. From the time that David made it the capital of his kingdom, it became the focal point of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and later of the Jewish people and faith. 

Jerusalem’s origins date back to over four thousand years ago. It originally grew up around the Gihon Spring, a karstic spring, which served as the water source of the city for thousands of years. Over its history, the city expanded and contracted. The original city that David conquered from the Jebusites occupied the eastern hill of the city, where the modern City of David sits (this was biblical Mount Zion). 

David’s son Solomon expanded the city to the north building his palace, administrative buildings, and the Temple. As the importance of the city grew, and with the collapse of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C., people began to settle on the western hill (modern day Mount Zion), which lay outside of the walls of the city at that time. King Hezekiah encircled the western hill with a wall, portions of which are still visible in places where it has been excavated. 

This was the city destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. When the Judahites returned from the Babylonian Exile, they resettled the eastern hill, and the city shrank in size. This was the situation during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. 

In the second century B.C., during the Hasmonean kingdom, a wall was built around the city that followed Hezekiah’s wall line and even incorporated portions of it. Then, sometime in the first century B.C., a second wall was added that incorporated a northern, market section of the city. This was the extent of the Jerusalem known to Jesus. It had two focal points, on the east the Temple Mount, and in the west, the palace of Herod the Great with its three towers perched on its northern side. 

During the reign of Agrippa I (A.D. 41-44), a third wall was begun, but construction was halted at the request of the Roman Emperor. This third wall was not completed until shortly before the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt. At this point, the city reached its largest size in antiquity. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and tore down the three walls. The destruction of the city was so complete that the footprint of the city moved north and west. 

Jerusalem would not reach or exceed the size it was prior to the destruction in A.D. 70 until the modern period, when, in the 19^th century, people began to settle outside of the modern Old City Walls, which were constructed by the Ottomans in the 16^th century.

The modern Old City, which has little to do with biblical Jerusalem, follows the layout of Jerusalem established in the Late Roman Period. Subsequent centuries left its imprint on the city, Byzantine Christians, Umayyads, Crusaders, Mamelukes, Ottomans, and British all left their marks on Jerusalem. 

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 … Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:24-27 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.

Modern Rosh Hashanah 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. 

By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

Rosh Hashanah (“head of the year” in Hebrew) is another miracle of promise-keeping by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This Jewish New Year celebration—the 5,782nd—commences at sundown on Monday, September 6, and ends at sundown on Wednesday, September 8. Israel continues to survive and thrive!

The holiday is considered the anniversary of the birthday of the universe and the creation of Adam and Eve. The Jewish New Year marks the first of the High Holy Days and begins 10 days before Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement—which is the holiest day of the year for Jewish people worldwide. The Jewish New Year, like many Christian denominational holidays, is celebrated in varying ways. But it’s full of special meals, gatherings, the sounding of shofars, special prayers, and apples dipped in honey signifying hopes for a sweet new year. 

A few days before the New Year, workers clear out tens of thousands of prayer notes in the Western Wall, sometimes called “God’s mailbox.” Shmuel Rabinowitz, the Western Wall’s rabbi, observes, “There are notes from all over the world.” He goes on to say that the notes are buried because they have the status of letters to God. Twice a year, they are collected and respectfully buried by Rabbi Rabinowitz and his helpers in the Jewish cemetery located on the Mount of Olives.

Leading up to the Jewish New Year is an ideal time to look back on a few of Israel’s latest innovations. The country’s small size and population has not stopped them from making enormous contributions to the world. It’s a “little giant,” a David stepping up to fight the growing Goliath of anti-Semitism and security challenges. Nevertheless, Israelis manage to innovate in ways that reach across the world. Israel never ceases to astonish me. 

Israel possesses a mere one-thousandth of the world’s population. Despite this, the little giant imitates its ancestor King David. He triumphed against all odds as the youngest of his brothers and the most unlikely Israelite to take on Goliath. Israelis could understandably play the role of victim due to the continual terrorism and terror threats on three of their borders. 

Iran’s newest leader, likely through a rigged election in August, President Ebrahim Raisi is deemed by human rights groups as responsible for thousands of Iranian deaths. The hardliner’s hatred of Israel from 1,200 miles away calls on his surrogates right next door to Israel—Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria—to do the job for him. Despite such threats, however, here are some of the cultural markers that enliven Israel’s Jewish citizens and their innovations.

Israel’s small size—just 260 miles from north to south—and modest population promotes the benefit of close collaboration on many levels. Its mandatory military service is a literal “idea incubator” across a broad spectrum of disciplines, from medicine and agriculture to technology. I’ve often commented when speaking to Christian groups that I’m not surprised God inspired the Bible through ancient Jewish scribes. Their skill, entrepreneurial inventiveness, and dedication to detail are also cultural markers. Ancient biblical texts survived so that we could read God’s profound words and encounter our Jewish Lord Jesus where we discover His strength and blessings in our faith.

Embedded in the Bible and Jewish culture is the concept of “repairing the world” (tikkun olam). It repeatedly motivates the Jewish people and the Jewish state to do good in the world. Tikkun olam has no boundaries. 

Despite COVID-19, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rescue team traveled to Florida in late June to help, following the tragic collapse of the Miami condominium. In July, an Israeli Ministry of Health medical team flew to the Philippines to help with their vaccination program. Tikkun olam was in force even during the latest Hamas-instigated war against Israel in May. Israeli semis trucked humanitarian aid into Gaza despite terrorists firing at them. In previous years, thousands of Israeli trucks have rumbled through the Erez crossing delivering tons of humanitarian aid to Gazans trapped by Hamas. 

John F. Kennedy once commented, “Israel was not created in order to disappear—Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom.” 

One of my favorite go-to websites is www.Israel21c.org. When I read it to catch up with some of the latest discoveries, I’m always smiling. Israel 21 documents as best it can the thousands of Israeli innovations pumped out by the little giant. Every month, even every day, new innovations and discoveries flow out of the Holy Land. I especially enjoy looking over the past year’s list; however, innovations began right away in 1948 when Israel celebrated its first modern birthday. It was year 5708!

In 1948, Israel’s population numbered around 800,000. They opened their arms to resettle more than 500,000 Jews, the forgotten refugees, who had been kicked out of surrounding Arab nations. Although Israel was an impoverished land with a low standard of living, it welcomed expelled Jews from Arab lands and made do with very little. Inventions of necessity and cultural markers moved forward no matter what. 

In 1955, Israeli physicist Harry Zvi Tabor invented the first solar water heater. Three years later, Israel hosted the first international Bible contest. In 1973, Israel invented the first steel security door with a geometric door lock. Israeli librarians and computer analysts created the first automated library system in 1976. In 1983, Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu began exploring natural pollination techniques and natural pest control solutions that now are used on farms across the world. The Jewish Agency led the way in 1986 to farm the desert between the Dead Sea and Eilat, which now produces most of Israel’s exports of flowers, vegetables, and yes, fish produced in the desert! Even Israel’s cows are very productive, producing the highest milk yield per cow in the world!

On into the next decade, the emergency bandage that stops bleeding in physical trauma was developed in Jerusalem in 1990—a lifesaving innovation in military medicine. Also in the 1990s, in massive airlift operations, Israel rescued thousands of Ethiopian Jews and brought them to their ancestral homeland. At the turn of the new millennium, an Israeli company developed the first flash drive. Then in 2004, the ReWalk robotic exoskeleton enabled paraplegics to walk, and a few years later the popular WAZE navigation system enhanced ground traffic navigation. Another Israeli company’s stem cell technology holds the potential to treat diseases like ALS. In 2021, Bloomberg named Israel the seventh most innovative nation in the world. Again, the little giant competes against nations far bigger and with far greater resources.

Looking at the past year, it’s difficult to choose highlights, but here are a few that attracted my interest. The list is truly endless. Maybe you’ll discover an innovation that will mean something to you or your family. 

Forty percent of Alabamans have high blood pressure, and many are without medical insurance. A major health center in that state has chosen a remote hypertension digital management system developed by DarioHealth—an Israeli-founded company—to help physicians better manage patients with hypertension.  

With 120 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves used globally each month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, safe disposal is presenting an enormous problem—one that’s of special concern to hospitals. Israelis have invented Envomed 80, a machine that reduces medical waste right on-site into a safe, environmentally disposable product.

On the agricultural front, a startup using artificial intelligence is helping indoor growers cut diseases in their harvests by 30 to 40 percent. 

And one of my favorites: Israeli ophthalmologists have successfully implanted the world’s first artificial cornea in a 78-year-old Arab-Israeli citizen.

In Genesis 26:3-4 God speaks to Isaac, saying, “Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”

Join us in prayer as we celebrate Israel and prepare to enter the Jewish New Year:

• Pray for the Israelis to continue, even increase, their discoveries—which are gifts to all of humankind.
• Pray for those who are anti-Semitic for their eyes to be opened to Israel’s outsized contributions to our world.
• Pray for Israel’s increased security innovations so that they can maintain the safety of the world’s only Jewish state. 

May we thank God for His eternal promises to Israel and to all those throughout the world who benefit from the endless innovations He gives us through His chosen people, the Jews!

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 now an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel 25 times. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited by Artist Pat Mercer Hutchens and sits 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 her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

He lived in a depressed area, where the economy was weak, and work choices were few. Carmi was very grateful for his factory job—and it provided just enough for his wife and two children. 

But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the economy worsened. Carmi lost his job—leaving his wife as the sole breadwinner with her small wage. Although they survived with emergency government welfare, their debts began piling up. Then, terrorism suddenly escalated from Gaza. 

Carmi’s city had seen sporadic rocket fire, but nothing like the 12-day barrage of sirens and rockets. After a year of lockdowns, the family was now confined to their bomb shelter. 

One day, Carmi took the children out for a little fresh air. Just then, the siren sounded, and he rushed his kids to the shelter. The children were safe—but as a rocket exploded nearby, he was hit with shrapnel. It left him 50% disabled, unable to work—and battling depression. 

Thankfully, friends like you were there for Carmi, through CBN Israel. We eased his family’s financial worries with immediate emergency aid. And we are giving Carmi the emotional support he needs to recover from the trauma he faced. Through local professional counselors who partner with us, he is finding peace again. Carmi shares, “I am very thankful you got in touch with us.” 

And your special gift to CBN Israel can help other terror victims—as well as single mothers, aging Holocaust survivors, immigrant families, and more. At a time when many are struggling to survive in the Holy Land, your support can provide food, compassionate relief, and God’s love to those in need. 

Please join us in reaching out to bless others!

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

Roadways are one of the most significant aspects of biblical geography. Roads often gave significance to locations, villages, and cities. In fact, roadways influenced and dictated settlement patterns, the building and establishing of cities and villages. Controlling roadways meant control of travel, commerce, and communication. Many of the events described in the Bible happen due to their strategic locations along important roadways. This aspect of biblical geography is often missed by the casual reader of the Bible. 

One of the challenges faced by Jerusalem in the period of the Old Testament was that it did not sit directly on major roadways. The principal north-south road through the central hill country laid west of the city, and deep canyons to its west and east made access from these directions very difficult. Therefore, the Central Benjamin Plateau, the tribal territory of Benjamin, was so important for Jerusalem; it provided the convergence of north-south and east-west roads. It was Jerusalem’s crossroads. If a resident of Jerusalem wanted to go to the east or west, he or she first traveled north to Benjamin where they met up with the east-west roads.

This reality continued to some extent into the New Testament period. However, with Jerusalem’s increased importance and the connection between it and Jericho, which sits about twenty-three miles to the east, a roadway was established between Jerusalem and Jericho. Over the course of these twenty-three miles, the land drops off between Jerusalem to Jericho from 2700 feet above sea level to 850 feet below sea level. 

This roadway, which still lay slightly to Jerusalem’s north, followed the route of a canyon system that cuts through the hills to the east of Jerusalem heading down towards Jericho in the Jordan Valley. The main branch of this system, above Jericho, become the Wadi Qilt. At the mouth of the Qilt sat Herod the Great’s winter palace; where, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, Herod died in 4 B.C. Herod’s palace consisted of two parts that straddled the Qilt, and he diverted water from the wadi to serve his pools, bath, and palace needs. 

Jesus passed by Herod’s palace (see Luke 19:11) on His journey to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. One route Galilean pilgrims took to Jerusalem brought them down the east bank of the Jordan River; they crossed near Jericho, and then ascended to Jerusalem via the roadway that followed the Wadi Qilt. This also served for the setting of the story Jesus told about the man “going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,” who fell among thieves, and eventually a kindly Samaritan helped him (Luke 10:30-37). 

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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Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast