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“For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far away. It is not in heaven, that you could say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us, and proclaim it to us, so that we may follow it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you could say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and get it for us and proclaim it to us, so that we may follow it?’ On the contrary, the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may follow it” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14 NASB).

Did you ever play hide-and-seek as a child? The goal, of course, was not to get caught. Playing it outdoors during summer nights was the best. We sometimes act like we’re in a game of hide-and-seek with God. He hides Himself from us and His will. 

The book of Deuteronomy says differently. God’s commands are not too baffling or distant. His Word is near; it’s in your mouth and heart to do it. God does not seek to confuse us or hide His will from us. He wants us to understand what pleases Him and what He desires from us. That’s why He gave us His Word. 

But in the same breath that Deuteronomy states that His Word is near us, it describes the nature of its nearness, in our mouth and heart.

Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, the children of Israel are told to “repeat these words” that they are being commanded. This reflects the oral repetition common in ancient cultures. Repeat these words. The repetition of God’s commands makes His Word near in our mouths. 

Within the Bible, the heart was not seen as the seat of human emotion, as in English today. Rather, the heart was seen as the seat of reason and cognitive function. The action of the heart, then, was to think, to meditate instead of feel. God’s Word being in your heart means that you think on it, meditate on it. This brings His Word near to us. 

The repetition of His Word brings it near, which leads us to observe it and to do it. God’s Word is not esoteric or abstract. In fact, we perceive it when we repeat it, meditate upon it, and do it. We cannot know God’s Word and meditate upon it if we do not learn it.

Devotionals are helpful in stimulating our thinking, but they do not bring God’s Word near to us. For that, we must continually speak God’s Word, meditate on it, and live it out each day.  

PRAYER

Father, Your Word is life; it gives life; it instructs us. May we know it and You better as we study it, meditate upon it, and do it. Amen.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Israel’s biblical heartland is Judea and Samaria. This region is widely known as the “West Bank,” as it lies west of the Jordan River. Much of the world considers Israel as “occupying” this area—but they are wrong. 

God deeded Judea and Samaria to modern Israel’s ancient ancestors. Genesis 15:18 records it in the courthouse of heaven in the world’s most reliable book: the Bible. “On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates.’” God’s real estate deed is irrevocable, and the modern residents of the biblical heartland are rightly placed. 

Scornfully called “settlers” by the Palestinians and many other groups today, the Jews began “settling” in their biblical heartland in 1,400 B.C., when they crossed the Jordan River under Joshua’s leadership. Joshua 1:1-9 records it as happening more than 3,000 years ago. There are now around 450,000 Jews are at home in Judea and Samaria. 

Israeli citizens in the heartland are re-pioneering their ancient homeland referred to in Isaiah 61:4: “And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.” The term Zionism, coined in 1890, grew out of this verse. It is simply defined as the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty.

And in addition to the political Zionism that founder Theodor Herzl championed, there is another movement—Economic Zionism—that not only helps support businesses for Israeli livelihoods but also offers a tangible way for Christians and Jews to oppose the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. 

Briefly, BDS is economic warfare against the world’s only Jewish state. BDS proponents strive to halt the purchase of Israeli products, push back against companies that help Israel, and urge countries to sanction Israel. The movement was launched in 1995 by imprisoned terrorist Omar Barghouti, who has made the BDS goals clear: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. … Palestinians have a right to resistance by any means including armed resistance. Jews aren’t indigenous just because you say you are.” 

Countering BDS economic warfare by supporting local enterprise, Economic Zionism in Judea and Samaria offers amazing options to thwart BDS. What follows is a sampling of Israeli businesses (and a charity) that include olive oils, tea, soaps, jewelry, pottery, wine, organic cosmetics, and Judaica. Exploring the following sites, you can enjoy products from the land of milk and honey to bless yourself, your family, and your friends. And, by developing into an economic activist, you will be standing against the animosity toward Israelis living in their biblical heartland. 

First Fruits (Bikurim in Hebrew), found at bikurim-israel.org, is a global project that is defining a new generation of Zionism: Economic Zionism. They describe themselves as the “first and only non-profit initiative allowing philanthropic investment directly to the building and strengthening of the heartland.” The Hebron Hills, Judea, Jordan Valley, Binyamin, Samaria, and Gush Etzion where Bikurim’s warehouses are located is full of Jewish holy sites. Bikurim is a person-to-person operation complying with God’s covenants with Abraham 4,000 years ago. In fact, pilgrim farmers brought their first fruits—Bikurim—to the Temple as described in Deuteronomy 26:3-10.

Here is a poignant example of what occurred when a Philadelphian named Steven decided to contribute to Bikurim. Steven had learned about the horrific death of Ester Horgan, an artist murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in 2020. When he wanted to do something meaningful in her memory, Bikurim connected him with an artist in Tal Menashe where Ester had lived. Steven donated in Ester’s honor, remarking, “To just sit back as my people are being attacked, killed, and feeling helpless, was something I couldn’t live with. Bikurim offered me a practical and meaningful way to put my thumb on the scale and support the building of Judea and Samaria.” The blessing went both ways. Bikurim connected Steven with an artist who was Ester’s close friend. The friend, in tandem with Ester’s husband, sent Steven a portrait of Ester.

Another company, Blessed Buy Israel (blessedbuyisrael.com), was founded in 2016. In addition to highlighting products to purchase—such as exquisite ceramics, jewelry and coffees—they inform shoppers about misguided decisions. In one of their blogs, they cited the Seattle teachers union’s (SEA) recent decision that endorsed BDS to stand with “oppressed people in Palestine.” SEA also included a slanderous resolution to ban the Seattle Police Department from receiving training from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The truth is many U.S. police departments travel to Israel to learn excellent peacekeeping strategies. The absurd lie is that Israel trains U.S. police forces to unfairly target minorities—a theory that has been widely discredited.

Lev Haolam (LevHaolam.com) is another source for buying products from the biblical heartland in support of a local family business. They state, “Our region is most affected by terror and international boycotts in all of Israel.” Their subscription specialty is packing a hand-picked surprise-box of seven or eight products. The high-quality products are shipped free to their subscribers worldwide. They rightly define BDS as bigotry, discrimination, and anti-Semitism. 

Truly, subscribers and philanthropic investors, both Christian and Jewish, are large and small financial activists who are committed to the biblical heartland. Judea and Samaria are biblical not only for Jews as their ancestral homeland; they are biblical for Christians who read and treasure both the Old and New Testaments and know that the Christian faith was born on Israeli soil. 

Barkan Industrial Park in Samaria is an example of successfully shaping peaceful coexistence between Palestinian Arab and Jewish workers. BDS may demonize Israel, but it is estimated that Israeli businesses offer employment to more than 30,000 Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. I witnessed it in person when I attended the Israel Government Press Office’s Christian Media Summit in November 2019. I was delighted that Samaria was on our agenda and where the Lipski Company hosted us at the industrial park. It is one of 146 companies that employ Palestinians. CEO Yehuda Cohen gave us a tour around the huge factory where plastic and sanitization products are made. Lipski has made a significant mark for peace since 2007 in the biblical heartland. At the time we visited, Cohen employed 60 Palestinians and 40 Israelis in both managerial and regular positions. CEO Cohen explained, “The atmosphere is of one big family.”

The factory pays a good Israeli salary—more than Palestinian Authority jobs—and supplies benefits (pension, recreation, vacations, etc.) to all employees. Walking around the factory, we experienced an atmosphere of cooperation and hard work. Cohen commented, “The people want to live in peace. It seems that working together also brings the hearts closer, regardless of ethnic or political identity. I believe that peace will be obtained not through boycotts, but through living together.”

A good economy is vital for Judea and Samaria. The region is also an indispensable part of Israel’s security. Without Judea and Samaria, Israel is only nine miles wide in places. Its mountain ranges overlook Ben Gurion international airport, and most of Israel’s main cities would be a scant 15 miles away from its enemies. Judea and Samaria are strategic since they provide high ground and territorial depth. History makes it plain. When Israel gives up land for peace and relocates its citizens—as it did from Gaza in 2005—the results are disastrous. Terror takes over, and Israel’s enemies grow bolder with Iran’s backing. 

To reemphasize God’s ancestral deed to the Jewish people in ancient times, Samaria was designated in history as Israel’s northern kingdom and Judea as the southern kingdom. In the first Temple era, Samaria was deemed Jerusalem’s “elder sister” (Ezekiel 16:46: “Your older sister was Samaria, who lived to the north of you”). Shiloh was Israel’s spiritual center until the first Temple was built. The moveable Tabernacle was located three millennia ago in the heart of Samaria for 369 years.

It is imperative that Christians stand against the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic BDS movement and instead support our Jewish brothers and sisters in their ancestral, biblical heartland through Economic Zionism. 

Join with CBN Israel this week in praying for Israel and specifically the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria:

• Pray for a significant increase among Jews and Christians who will be economic activists to bless Judea and Samaria. 
• Pray that members of the BDS movement may be open to the facts of the Jewish claims to the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria. 
• Pray that each Israeli and Palestinian initiative for peace increases the well-being of both communities. 

May we pray for Israel this week in thankfulness that God keeps His promises, declaring in Isaiah 61:4—“They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” 

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.

It was 1941, and Zinaida was terrified. The Nazis had invaded her Jewish village in Belarus, and the Holocaust began. This child and her family were rounded up and had to live in a barn with the animals. Laboring in their own fields, all their harvests went to Germany—while they were left starving, with little to eat. It was a time of hunger and fear that stayed with her. 

Those who couldn’t work were killed. Only 15 people in Zinaida’s village of 3,000 were alive by the war’s end. Yet today, living alone in Israel, she struggles again to survive. 

Like many older Holocaust victims, she cannot get out like she used to. She has little money for groceries, and during the lockdowns this past year, her fear of hunger and isolation reminded her of past trauma. She admits, “Those memories of hunger have never left me. Not being able to see my friends, many of them Holocaust survivors, has been heartbreaking.” Where could she turn? 

Thankfully, friends like you were there for her through CBN Israel. Our staff brings Zinaida groceries and checks in on her, to help her feel less isolated. She is thrilled, and says, “It’s been so nice to have you come and bring me this food… Your visits are something I always look forward to, and that helps me get by. It means everything—I’m so very thankful for you!” 

And CBN Israel is bringing help and hope to so many seniors, single moms, refugees, young families, and others struggling in the Holy Land. At a time when many Israelis are in crisis, you can offer needed aid and encouragement. Your gifts can bring food, housing, financial help, and more to those in desperate situations.

Please join us in standing with Israel and blessing her people in need!

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

Pilgrims to Jerusalem in the first century A.D. approached the Temple Mount from the south. After ritually purifying themselves, either in the Pool of Siloam, at the southern end of the City of David, or in one of the ritual immersion baths located along the southern end of the Temple Mount, pilgrims ascended onto the Temple platform via the southern steps that led through two sets of gates referred to as the Huldah Gates. 

Entering through the Huldah Gates, one came into a double-vaulted entrance hall that led into an ascending tunnel that exited onto the Temple Mount platform. Upon exiting the tunnel, the pilgrim found him or herself standing on a pavement of colorful stones on the southern end of the Temple Mount platform facing the sacred precinct and the Temple itself.

Today visitors to the southern steps of the Temple Mount see remnants of the two sets of gates. The western most of the gates preserves the remains of a double gate, which served as the exit for pilgrims to the Temple. The eastern most set of gates is today a triple gate sealed, most likely, during the Crusader period. This gate was also originally a double gate, and through it, pilgrims entered the Temple. If a pilgrim was in mourning, they reversed their course, entering through the exit and exiting through the entrance, so that other pilgrims could comfort them saying, “May He that dwells in this house give you comfort!”

We hear of Jewish Sages sitting on these steps teaching their students and interacting with pilgrims entering and exiting the Temple. Today, most of the steps have been reconstructed, but a few of the original steps remain exposed. The steps leading up to the Huldah Gates follow a pattern of long, short, long, short. This arrangement makes it difficult for the pilgrim to ascend the steps either running or in great haste. Thus, one must approach the sacred Temple, the house of God, in a circumspect manner. 

South and east of the southern steps archaeologists uncovered a large and unique Jewish ritual immersion bath, a mikveh. Its proximity to the Temple, as well as its unique construction, have led some to suggest that this served the priests for their ritual purification. Other ritual immersion baths have been discovered along the southern end of the Temple Mount, which served Jewish pilgrims who immersed and purified themselves prior to entering the Temple (see Acts 21:24).

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

“For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13 NASB).

The ups and downs of life can easily distract us and sap our energies if we let them. Paul experienced such ups and downs in his journeys; he knew plenty and want, being well-fed and hungry. Yet he learned that even in the midst of life’s rollercoaster, the key to remaining steady—to being content—was found in Christ.

Paul does not intend the statement, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me,” as many interpret this verse today. It does not mean that if we are believers, we can do anything. Rather, it means that in the midst of the twists and turns of life, the ups and the downs, Paul finds stability and contentment in Christ. That’s his secret for navigating life.

Jesus also noted how the cares of life can distract us, detouring what God wants to accomplish in our lives (see Luke 8:14). If we allow the cares of life to distract us, to dictate our mood or outlook, then our feelings will run our life; they will color our outlook and perspective. We will get too high with the highs and too low with the lows.

This can lead us to being tossed about like a boat on the water. It can also lead us to identifying our circumstances with our relationship to God. Both experiences are not what God wants for our lives; therefore, we find contentment in all things and can endure all things through Christ who strengthens us.

How do you manage the ups and downs of life? Do you find yourself stressed and overwhelmed? Then perhaps you have yet to find the true contentment that Paul spoke about, the realization that you can do all things, whether in want or plenty, whether hungry or well-fed, through Christ, the one who strengthens you.

If others look at us and see us riding the waves of life and our emotions following, are we demonstrating a confidence in the God of the universe as our Father? Perhaps that is what an unbelieving world finds unbelievable.

PRAYER
Father, in the journey of our lives, may we find contentment in all things. Let us not lose sight of You in plenty or in want but let us find our stability and contentment in You. Amen.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Decades before the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, prompting the widespread use of face masks, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas had twisted together his own version of a mask—one that hid his lifelong motives and remade him into a credible world leader. Abbas controls the PA’s Fatah Movement and political party under the umbrella of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The PLO was led by Yasser Arafat until his death in 2004 when Abbas, an Arafat devotee, took over. 

In his earlier days as a key terror accomplice, Mahmoud Abbas went by another name. His followers called him Abu Mazen, a pseudonym. Whether he goes by Abu Mazen or Mahmoud Abbas, his mask somewhat obscures his past, promotes terror against Israelis, and shapes a presidency that harms the Palestinian population. 

Hostilities against the only Jewish state and the Jewish community worldwide often focus on the “plight” of the Palestinian people. Israel is slandered, berated, and accused of being an apartheid state—a system of segregation or discrimination based on grounds of race. Yet for years, the truth of Israel’s being a parliamentary democracy and having a diverse population has been lost in a wave of supersensitive emotion emanating from Abbas. In reality, the Palestinians live under the 85-year-old’s dictatorship, which is far grimmer than anything the Israelis could devise. 

Abbas, who was elected in 2005 for a four-year term, has since 2009 conveniently delayed new elections. He runs a kleptocracy with multi-billions in international aid donations aimed at helping his Palestinian population. Although some of the money is actually assigned to building civic institutions and aiding other efforts to relieve the growing frustrations of Palestinians on the street, the Abbas-style money management results in benefiting himself and Palestinian terrorists who are considered heroic martyrs. 

In fact, one of his most outrageous policies is to reward the families of dead terrorists or terrorists imprisoned in Israeli jails. In 2017, during the Trump administration, Congress passed the Taylor Force Act with robust bipartisan support. The Act halted most U.S. funding to the Palestinian Authority—except for water, childhood vaccinations, and East Jerusalem hospital funds—until the PA stopped paying stipends into its “Martyrs’ Fund.” Until it passed, American taxpayers had essentially been funding Palestinian terror. Israel’s i24 news reported that in 2017, for example, that the total budget for “prisoners’ payments” stood at an astonishing $345 million—half of the international contributions to the PA’s budget.

The Taylor Force Act grew out of its namesake’s death. The young man, an outstanding West Point graduate and U.S. Army veteran, was murdered while on a study trip to Israel with Vanderbilt University. On March 9, 2016, Fox News reported that Force was walking on a boardwalk in Jaffa, when a 22-year-old Palestinian terrorist stabbed him to death. It was part of a hideous spree; the terrorist knifed 10 others in three locations during a 20-minute attack. In July 2018, Israel’s Knesset passed its own measures against pay-to-slay. The Biden Administration’s commitment to the Taylor Force Act is somewhat questionable. In May, when Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Abbas in Ramallah, he announced an overall package of more than $360 million for the Palestinian people.  

A glaring example of Abbas’s excesses is the building of his $13-million palace that broke ground in 2015. The oversized palace located near Ramallah—the seat of his government in Samaria, which is part of Israel’s biblical heartland—boasts two helipads. His administration is riddled with corruption; foreign aid footed the bill for the palace and many other luxuries that Abbas believes he’s entitled to.

By his actions, Abbas shows that he doesn’t put his people first. The PA vaccination program has been poorly run. Our World in Data indicates in its July report that only 3.6% of Palestinians had received at least one dose, and less than 1% were fully vaccinated. Israel vaccinated Palestinian workers, and Israeli Arabs got vaccinated months ahead of other Arabs in the Middle East. In addition to rejecting lifesaving vaccines, last year the PA twice refused cargos of medical supplies from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) simply because it was coordinated with Israel rather than with them. 

Abbas presses on with his deceitful mask. In a July 11 call with Israel’s new president, Isaac Herzog, a press statement in the Palestinian official WAFA news agency reported that Abbas “stressed the need to bring about a comprehensive truce in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.” However, Abbas has refused direct negotiations with Israeli leaders since 2009, declaring, “I will never allow a single Israeli to live among us on Palestinian land.” Clearly, while anti-Israel hostility brokers are churning out lies, the United Nations, European Union, and growing numbers of anti-Semitic-leaning politicians, anti-Israel Jews, and Christian individuals and institutions are tone-deaf to the facts: the Palestinian Authority is not interested in peace with the Jewish nation. 

Palestinians’ well-documented and well-founded unrest toward Abbas and his corrupt policies is growing. On June 24 Nazar Banat, a brave Palestinian activist and harsh critic of the PA, died at the hands of PA security forces after being arrested. Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in the so-called West Bank demanding Abbas and his cronies to resign. 

Khaled Abu Toameh, an Arab Muslim, is an award-winning journalist who has covered Palestinian affairs for nearly 30 years. He is an exceedingly reliable source of journalistic truth. I, along with Christian leaders I have recruited for numerous trips to Israel, have heard Toameh’s excellent briefings in person. I frequently read his articles written for Gatestone Institute and many other media sources. Here’s one of his frequent quotes about the PA: “For many years the foreign media did not pay enough attention to stories about corruption in the Palestinian areas or about abuse of human rights or indeed to what was really happening under the Palestinian Authority. They ignored the growing frustration on the Palestinian street because of mismanagement and abuse by the PLO of its monopoly on power.” 

Khaled Abu Toameh is correct. However, not only have the media not paid attention—they have distorted and disseminated their version of news reported with little to no context. And doubtless you have not read from your news sources most of what I describe here about Abbas, his dictatorial leadership, and his policies. 

The octogenarian who wears a fine western suit, wrote his Holocaust denial PhD in the former Soviet Union, and looks so harmless nevertheless had Yasser Arafat as his mentor. Abbas stood by Yasser Arafat’s side for more than 40 years. A propaganda mastermind, Arafat was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1929. He sat at the feet of his great uncle Amin al Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, and learned his hateful tradecraft well. The Grand Mufti was a Nazi collaborator committed to Hitler’s “Final Solution.” Arafat went on to form the Palestinian Liberation Organization. 

The Oslo Accords signed in 1993 between Arafat and former Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin allegedly established a way to peace. Arafat, in a clever coup, was then awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 along with Rabin. Previously, Arafat had been kicked out of Jordan and Lebanon, then Israel allowed Arafat to move to Ramallah after the 1993 Oslo Accords. Arafat got busy creating the nomenclature of “Palestinians” in Israel to promote their victimhood and the “rights” to Israel’s ancient land. 

The peace Israel desperately longed for was not to be. Israeli leadership did not grasp the fact that although Arafat spoke Arabic, Arafat’s native language was deceitfulness and lies. The “peace” eventually erupted into the Second Intifada, which lasted from 2000 to 2005 and snuffed out the lives of more than a thousand Israeli men, women, and children—in restaurants, buses, and along highways. 

Arafat was Abbas’s tutor in terror. Although not on location in Munich, Abbas was nevertheless an accomplice to help fund the Palestinian’s Black September Olympic murders of Israeli athletes in 1972 along with other terror operations. 

Since Abbas took over after Arafat’s death in 2004, he has spoken at the UN General Assembly almost every year to a mostly enthusiastic audience that is primed to hear about Israel’s “mistreatment” of the Palestinians. Unlike his mentor Arafat, he doesn’t carry a gun into the UN. But in 1974, when Yasser Arafat addressed the UN General Assembly he said, “I’m holding an olive branch for peace in one hand and a freedom fighter’s pistol in the other.” Incidentally, he walked into the UN General Assembly with his pistol at his side and was forced to set it aside before mounting the podium. 

Abbas himself makes all manner of statements at the UN and with the undercurrent of cloaked lies and deception. He recently declared that Palestinians “spread a culture of peace … fight violence and terror,” and “are not against Jews.” He added that the PA will “never turn to violence and terror.” In another speech, he vehemently declared, “Even if I’m left with one penny, I’ll pay it to the families of the martyrs, to the prisoners, and to the wounded, and I won’t withhold this from them.”

Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), another excellent source of truth about Palestinian leadership, revealed videos of Abbas’s Fatah Movement when they entered the year 2020. They celebrated their Fatah anniversary in West Bank towns. The annual celebration marks January 1, 1965, when Fatah carried out its first terror attack against Israel, attempting to blow up Israel’s National Water Carrier—a vital system of canals and pipes that delivers water to most of the nation. They glorified terror and violence in their rallies with fake suicide belts, assault rifles, and knives. Since 1996, PMW (palwatch.org) has utilized a skilled team of Arabic language researchers who closely monitor, translate, and analyze PA-controlled media. It is important to note that Abbas and other corrupt leaders say one thing in Arabic and another in English for gullible foreign audiences. 

Hopefully, someday the Palestinians will finally have the freedom to vote against an Abu Mazen/Mahmoud Abbas and for a real leader—one who refuses thuggery and helps shape a democracy. 

Please join CBN Israel in prayer for both Israelis and Palestinians:

• Pray for Palestinians to live in freedom and someday vote in honest elections.
• Pray that those hostile to Israel will finally understand the facts about Israel’s demonstrated sacrifices for peace, such as its withdrawal of all Jews from Gaza in 2005. 
• Pray for the thousands of Palestinians demonstrating against Abbas’s corrupt government that positive change will result. 

Jeremiah 22:17 notes, “But your eyes and your heart are intent only upon your own dishonest gain, and on shedding innocent blood and on practicing oppression and extortion.” In our prayers this week, let’s focus on this verse to pray for Palestinian leadership. 

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.

Less than two years ago, Mila and her husband immigrated to Israel. They brought their five younger children, while their two adult children decided to stay in Ukraine. Just as they were beginning to navigate the challenges of being in a new country, COVID-19 struck. 

For Mila’s husband, the added stress made it too hard for him to cope. He became addicted to alcohol and refused to take care of his family, growing more aggressive and abusive. Finally, the marriage dissolved, leaving her to support and care for the children all alone. 

However, Mila did not give up. As a strong woman of faith, she worked long hours as a caregiver for several elderly women—while also caring for her own family. Yet, she began to grow weary, as she struggled to make ends meet by herself. She admitted, “The low income forced us to cook the simplest food for weeks—and only spend money on the bare necessities.” 

Just as Mila was feeling overwhelmed, friends like you arrived with help. CBN Israel brought her some needed appliances, food packages, and vouchers to buy groceries. “Thank you for all of your kindness… It means the world to me and my kids!” she exclaimed. “I’m so thankful God brought you into my life at this pivotal moment.” 

And your gift to CBN Israel can reach out to other single moms, refugees, Holocaust survivors, and more, who are trying to survive in the Holy Land. 

During this challenging season, you can offer food, supplies, housing, financial assistance, job training, and more to those in need. Plus, you can share vital reports from Jerusalem through CBN News. 

Please help us touch lives in this special land today!

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By Marc Turnage

The only gate on the western side of the modern Old City of Jerusalem is Jaffa Gate (so named because the road leading to Jaffa goes through this gate). Inside Jaffa Gate stands the Citadel or the Tower of David. This structure has nothing to do with David, which can confuse modern visitors to Jerusalem. 

The buildings and tower that stands today are built upon the highest point of the city at the end of the Old Testament Period and in the first century. In fact, the wall of the city in these periods turned to the east at this point going towards the area of the Temple Mount. The wall followed a shallow ditch that ran west to east along Jerusalem’s northern boundary. This offered the city’s only natural protection on its northern approach. 

In the first century, Herod the Great chose this strategic location to build his palace in Jerusalem. Its elevated position enabled him to look down over the Temple Mount. Because of the city’s vulnerability to the north, he built three large towers on the northern end of his palace. He named them Phasael (after his brother), Mariamme (after his beloved Hasmonean bride), and Hippicus. The base of one of these three towers forms the base of the Tower of David. 

Herod had palaces throughout his kingdom—Jericho, Caesarea, his palace-fortresses at Masada, and Herodium—but his Jerusalem palace was his largest and most splendid. He decorated it with all kinds of colorful, inlaid stones. Remains of two large pools have been excavated. He built two large building complexes within the palace, one he named Caesareum (after Caesar Augustus, his friend and benefactor) and the other Agrippeum (after Marcus Agrippa, Augustus’ number two man). Herod’s palace had its own aqueduct that provided for its water needs. The aqueduct originated south of Bethlehem. In this palace, Herod would have questioned the wise men seeking the baby Jesus (Matthew 2).

After the death of Herod in 4 B.C., his son Archelaus controlled the lands that included Jerusalem, but when Archelaus was removed by Rome at the request of the Jewish people in A.D. 6, his territory came under the direct rule of the Roman governors. The Roman governors lived in Herod’s palace in Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast. Paul was brought into Herod’s palace in Caesarea, into the Roman governor’s residence (Acts 23:35), which Luke refers to as “the praetorium of Herod.” 

The Roman governors resided in Jerusalem during the Jewish festivals to keep civic order, and they stayed at Herod’s palace. Jesus was brought before Pilate in Jerusalem to the praetorium, which Mark’s Gospel refers to as “the palace” (Mark 15:15). The most likely location in Jerusalem for this encounter was in the palace of Herod the Great. The mention in John’s Gospel of the lithostratos, which is a Greek term meaning “an inlaid stone floor,” further suggests Pilate’s location within Herod’s palace, which Herod had decorated with colorful stones. 

The earliest Christian traditions that follow Jesus’ journey from being beaten to his point of execution follow a route that begins in the area of Herod’s palace to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, as attested by the Bordeaux Pilgrim. In this way, Herod’s palace serves as a key location at Jesus’ birth and his death.

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

“He gives strength to the weary, and to the one who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary” (Isaiah 40:29-31 NASB).

The word “to wait” in Hebrew also means “to hope”—“those wait [hope] for the LORD.” The ability to remain steadfast, unmoved no matter what the circumstances—that’s what the Bible means by faith.

Faith in the Bible does not refer to “belief” in the sense of some inward, psychological state; rather, faith is steadfastness. It’s hard to remain steadfast when you’re tired. It’s hard to continue hoping when nothing seems to change, “yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength.” 

One of the reasons athletes train and condition is so that when they call upon their bodies to perform at peak levels during a performance, they can do so without becoming tired. When we are tired, we lose focus; we don’t function well. Tiredness affects mental and physical performance; it impacts our emotional health. It opens us up to giving up. Do we have patience to wait on God? 

That’s becoming increasingly difficult in our world today. We want rapid answers to our questions and prompt solutions to our problems. Waiting is not a part of our 21st-century DNA.

Paul spoke about what produces hope in our lives: “Affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:3-5 HCSB). 

Affliction, or suffering, produces endurance, and endurance produces hope. Our waiting and steadfastness produce hope in our lives.

We may get tired; everyone does, even the young. We may be weary, life does that. But do we focus on remaining steadfast in our commitment to obey God? That, Paul says, produces hope, and those who hope in God will renew their strength. 

The true test of our faith is not what we say, not what we feel, but how steadfast we remain. Hope does not disappoint because we serve a God who brings rest to the weary, who restores the downtrodden, and who strengthens the weak.

Our steadfastness also offers an incredible testimony to a watching world that wants everything now.

PRAYER

Father, renew us, we are weary. May we remain steadfast, hoping in You. Amen.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

The Vermont-based ice cream company, Ben & Jerry’s, has suffered a brain freeze—but not from eating too much ice cream at one time. No, their brain freeze is due to backing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). This campaign is anti-Semitism in another guise, economic warfare against the world’s only Jewish state. Israel’s new president, Isaac Herzog, noted, “The boycott against Israel is a new kind of terror.” President Herzog is correct. Anti-Semitism is the parent of BDS.  

BDS especially targets Judea and Samaria, Israel’s biblical heartland, calling them “occupied” and belonging to Palestinians. The bottom-line motive behind the BDS movement is not peace or even a Palestinian state. It is built upon hatred and destruction. Its goal is to take over Israel and eliminate the Jewish state altogether. Their slogan is clear: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” It is important to emphasize that the BDS movement ignores scriptural truths about the land of Israel. 

BDS is a spear of anti-Semitism aimed into the heart of Israel. Its goal is to render Israel and its supporters disabled or, worse yet, non-existent. BDS proponents utilize intimidation to target corporations, unions, and stores that sell Israeli products. They even intimidate celebrities into canceling their concerts in Israel. 

Nothing is exempt—not even the distribution of ice cream. The Ben & Jerry’s decision shifts this popular sweet delight into an unpalatable mix of BDS economic warfare against Israel. On July 19 they announced that they “will not renew the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year.” This means that they will no longer be distributing the ice cream in Judea, Samaria, and East Jerusalem. The decision would end a license agreement with an Israeli franchisee who has made and distributed Ben & Jerry’s in Israel since 1987. 

The company said in a statement on its website, “We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).” They are referring to Israel’s so-called West Bank, which is the biblical heartland full of ancient Jewish history, including the patriarchs. Is it possible that Ben and Jerry forgot their Bible history? Some 30 centuries ago, the ancient tabernacle in Shiloh was in the heart of Samaria for 369 years. 

It is an unfortunate wrong turn for the two Jewish pals from Brooklyn who launched their business in 1978. Known not only for their delightful marketing and successful business, this duo holds superb philanthropic values that have helped their own employees in economic downturns as well as many needy people through their foundation. 

However, when it comes to Israel, their uninformed philanthropy is just plain wrong. In their attempt to support the Palestinian cause, they ignore proven ancient history and penalize their 140 employees, some of whom are Palestinians. These individuals will be unemployed, and Israel once again slandered. 

Ben and Jerry have joined up with a growing segment in the American Jewish community who mistakenly view Israel as an apartheid state, along with increasing numbers of mainline Christian denominations like the United Church of Christ (UCC). On July 18, the UCC voted 83% in favor of this statement: “We reject Israel’s apartheid system of laws and legal procedures.” This slander toward Israel is egregious and is a gigantic misrepresentation of the facts on the ground. 

The outright lies, slander, and opposition to the world’s only Jewish state denounce God’s biblical covenants designating the Jews’ right to their 3,000-year-old biblical homeland in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem. When Ben & Jerry’s call Judea and Samaria OPT—the acronym for Occupied Palestinian Territories—it is in fact POT, Palestinian Occupied Territories. Palestinians are occupying ancient Jewish land. Nevertheless, few acknowledge that if Palestinian hatred, hostility, and terror against Israel stopped, there would finally be a real opportunity for Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side in peace and freedom.

The firestorm of opposition to Ben & Jerry’s will hopefully thaw and melt their recent decision, since it is swiftly backfiring on numerous fronts. Unilever, the British corporation that bought Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, sells the ice cream in 35 countries. The corporation is now experiencing a sharp decline in the stock market. Moreover, the Hebron Fund, a New York based not-for-profit charitable organization, just launched a petition against Ben & Jerry’s that at this writing has more than 20,000 signatures. 

Shurat HaDin Law Center, an Israeli firm in Tel Aviv, specializes in going after monetary compensation for individuals, families, and companies that have suffered due to anti-Semitism and terrorism. The firm is already organizing legal actions on behalf of one of the Ben & Jerry’s factories located in Israel; it is only one of three outside the United States. The NGO has already applied for trademark rights for “Judea & Samaria’s Ben & Jerry’s.” The law center is also thinking up fun names for new flavors. One of them is “Frozen Chosen People,” with a headshot of Theodore Herzl, the father of Zionism, on the pint box. 

The Jerusalem Post reported that Shurat HaDin founder and president, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, wants to force Unilever to defend its trademark in court and explain why they did business in such locations as Crimea and South Sudan. I agree with Darshan-Leitner, who said, “I don’t think they thought this out very carefully.” When companies like Ben & Jerry’s follow the lead of movements like BDS, they taking part in a movement that is less interested in justice and more interested in singling out the world’s only Jewish state.

In the meantime, Avi Zinger—CEO of the Israeli Ben & Jerry’s plant—announced, “We refuse to stop.” Israelis responded with buying more ice cream, which increased sales by 21%, to show their support for Zinger’s decision.  

The Israel American Council (IAC) denounced the decision, commenting that “Ben & Jerry’s decision to stop selling its ice cream to certain Israeli populations is a disgraceful surrender to the BDS hate movement, which promotes a culture of fear and violence and seeks to eliminate the Jewish homeland—the only democracy in the Middle East.” On July 23, the IAC took the step of flying a banner over the company’s Vermont headquarters emblazoned with the plea, “Serve Ice Cream, Not Hate.” 

Currently, 35 states in the United States have enacted laws penalizing companies and businesses that boycott Israel. Now, Florida, Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois are looking into divesting from Unilever. 

In another tasteless example of anti-Semitism, Vermonters for Justice in Palestine (VTJP) are delighted with the Vermont-based company. They and other pro-Palestinian groups have pushed Ben & Jerry’s for years. In their press release FTJP stated, “We join our fellow activists in the global BDS movement in welcoming Ben & Jerry’s decision to end sales of its ‘peace & love’ ice cream in Israel’s unlawful settlements and to not renew the licensing agreement with the Israeli franchise.” VTJP also thanked “thousands” of BDS activists both in the U.S. and internationally, including the Palestinian BDS National Committee, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Movement for Black Lives, and Jewish Voice for Peace. 

A New York Times article in 2010 quoted Jerry Greenfield: “We didn’t go to business school, but we wanted to do ice cream. So, we tried to give people what we wanted—a sense of fun.” The Ben & Jerry’s Israel plant is in Kiryat Malachi near Ashkelon and within rocket range of Palestinian terrorists in northern Gaza. Facing possible unemployment and rockets from Palestinians in Gaza is certainly not what anyone would consider “fun.”

BDS is a misplaced, targeted hatred for the Jewish nation and people. With anti-Semitism on the rise, we must recognize that God has given Christians another mandate, a second chance to overcome apathy and counteract hatred against Jewish people worldwide. 

The Holocaust remains engraved in Jewish hearts that bear the scars of grief and loss. Under Nazi rule, although Yad Vashem recognizes almost 27,000 Righteous Among the Nations as “Drops of Love in an Ocean of Poison,” Christian rescuers were far too few. Today, we must change that, recognizing Judaism as the birthplace of our Christian faith and motivated not just because we want to “be blessed,” as Genesis 12:3 says, but because it’s a tangible way to express our love and gratitude to God’s chosen people. 

We have tools to stop BDS. We can transform BDS—Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions—into Bless, Discover, and Support. Bless Israel with our daily prayers. Discover Israel by traveling there when possible. Support Israel through many wonderful Christian and Jewish organizations while also sharing the true story about Israel on social media and in our spheres of influence. 

In thankfulness to our Jewish Lord, employ these tools to honor Him for redeeming us and giving us a faith legacy through the Old and New Testaments imparted by God through Jewish teachers and scribes. 

Please join CBN Israel in prayer this week as we stand in solidarity with the Jewish nation and people:

• Pray against the toxic poison of anti-Semitism in all of its forms—particularly the misleading BDS movement. 
• Pray that the Christian community will be active and vigilant during this time.
• Pray that Ben & Jerry’s and other misled businesses will reverse their anti-Israel and anti-Semitic decisions.
• Pray that the Jewish community will receive our encouragement. 

Now more than ever, it is absolutely essential for Christians to stand strong with Israel and the Jewish people as they face a host of enemies: “But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong; and those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied” (Psalm 38:19).

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.