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Biblical Israel: Second Temple Model

By Marc Turnage

The large, scale model of Jerusalem in A.D. 66 offers one of the main attractions at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Hans Kroch, the owner of the Holy Land Hotel in Jerusalem, commissioned Professor Michael Avi-Yonah and his students to create the model in honor of Kroch’s son who died in the War of Independence in 1948. Avi-Yonah provided topographical and archaeological detail and architectural design. 

For many years, the model resided at the Holy Land Hotel. Today the model is housed at the Israel Museum. When Avi-Yonah and his students began the project, the Old City of Jerusalem as well as the City of David—the area of biblical Jerusalem—lay in East Jerusalem, which was controlled by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. 

From 1948 to 1967, the city of Jerusalem was divided between West and East Jerusalem. West Jerusalem belonged to the State of Israel, while East Jerusalem belonged to the Kingdom of Jordan. East Jerusalem contained the area of biblical Jerusalem, which meant that during the period under Jordanian control little archaeological work and activity was conducted; thus, much of the archaeological information that came to light in the latter part of the twentieth century remained unknown when Professor Avi-Yonah built the model. 

This raises the obvious question: how could he have built such an accurate model of Jerusalem in A.D. 66 without the assistance of archaeological discovery? The answer lies in the rich descriptions of Jerusalem provided by the first century Jewish historian Josephus. Josephus wrote his works for a non-Jewish, Roman audience that had never been to Jerusalem. He provided such a detailed description of the city that using what they knew about the Roman world and the land of Israel in the first century, Professor Avi-Yonah and his students were able to produce this model, which contains a great deal of accuracy. While there are some mistakes within the model, it offers a testament to Josephus and his value as our greatest source on ancient Judaism and the land of Israel in the first century. 

Visitors to the model will notice three primary features. First, Jerusalem in the first century covered much more area than the modern Old City of Jerusalem (which has nothing to do with biblical Jerusalem). 

Also, the city had two principal foci. On its western edge, at the highest point of the city, stood the palace of Herod the Great. The largest of Herod’s palaces, his palace in Jerusalem played host to the wisemen (Matthew 2) and Jesus when he stood before Pilate. On the northern end of palace stood three towers, which Herod named Mariamme, Phasael, and Hippicus. On the eastern side of the city stood the Temple and the enclosure that surrounded it, which made the Temple Mount the largest sacred enclosure within the Roman world in the first century. The Temple provided the economic and religious center of the city. 

Jerusalem in the first century produced nothing; it did not sit on a major trade route. It dealt in religion. Jewish and non-Jewish pilgrims (see Acts 2) streamed into the city from all over the known world three times a year: Passover, Pentecost, and Sukkot. Pilgrims approached the Temple from the south. On top of the Temple Mount today stands the golden Dome of the Rock. To gain perspective, Herod’s Temple, the Temple that Jesus, Peter, and Paul knew, was twice the height of the Dome of the Rock. Looking at the model, visitors gain some perspective of its awesome grandeur. 

The third feature of the city is its walls. In the model, people see three different wall lines. The wall that comes from the south-eastern part of the Temple Mount surrounding the southern and western sides of the city, which turns east and connects at the western wall of the Temple Mount, Josephus calls the first wall. A large wall includes the northern neighborhoods; this is Josephus’ third wall, which was built after the time of Jesus. Inside the third wall, visitors to the model see a second wall. The first and second walls contained the Jerusalem that Jesus knew, which was twice the size of the modern Old City. 

One of the biggest challenges for guides of Jerusalem is helping their groups understand the city’s history and many layers. The model of Jerusalem at the Israel Museum offers an excellent visual, as well as a monument to the city at its height in the first century.

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

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

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Weekly Devotional: Go Into the Wilderness

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” 

Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 

So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place (1 Kings 19:4-9 NKJV).

The dry and arid wilderness south of Beersheva where Elijah traveled is harsh and inhospitable.

God takes people into the wilderness in the Bible. It serves as His classroom. Yet, often before they encounter Him in the wilderness, they find themselves overcome with the despair of their situation.

The wilderness functioned as a place of self-confrontation. Elijah came face-to-face with himself in the wilderness. How? Because in the wilderness, one meets silence. It brings you into contact with yourself. Sometimes we have to confront ourselves before we can encounter God.

Have you noticed that our world tends to fill our lives with constant noise and busyness? God often had to lead the prophet outside of civilization to quiet the noise; then the prophet could hear Him.

We actually do not need much in life. We often think we do, but when we lose our health, source of support, and/or shelter, we realize what really matters. The desert reduces one to the bare essentials. It returns us to soft, malleable clay that God can shape. 

There are no self-made people in the desert. Elijah had just called fire down from heaven. He ran to Jezreel before the chariot of Ahab thinking that he would have a warm reception. Instead, Jezebel threatened to kill him, so he ran to the desert. 

He needed to be reminded that a self-made person does not exist in the desert. The angel of the Lord provided His nourishment. A person who has spent time in the desert realizes how small and powerless they truly are.

The desert can also remove our sharp edges. Once we confront ourselves, we can finally hear God—and return to allowing Him to teach and shape us. We can learn the lessons He desires to impart to us. But we have to be willing to go into the wilderness.

PRAYER

Father, no one likes the hardship of the wilderness, but that’s where You often teach and shape us. May we learn what You want to impart to us. May we hear Your voice and grow into the servants that You have called us to be. Amen.

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Israeli Singer Resists Terror with Hope at Eurovision Song Contest

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

If you are a fan of American Idol, you may also be a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest that’s been held for the last 69 years throughout Europe. Last Saturday—in a venue in Basel, Switzerland—Israelis at home and in the Israeli delegation joyously celebrated Yuval Raphael’s second-place win. The 24-year-old’s voice electrified listeners with her enthralling song “New Day Will Rise,” written by Israeli songwriter Keren Peles.  

Yuval speaks three languages, and the lyrics, mostly in English, also include Hebrew and French. She observes, “The song represents the healing that we all need and the optimism for the days ahead.”

The chorus reflects the enduring hopes amid tragedy and trauma that Israel continues to display, especially since October 7, 2023:

“New day will rise

Life will go on

Everyone cries

Don’t cry alone

Darkness will fade

All the pain will go by

But we will stay.”

Yuval had the backing of her nation after she won Israel’s “The Next Star for Eurovision” in January 2025. But the respect and admiration she enjoyed from Israelis was far deeper than fame. She is a survivor of the October 7 Hamas massacre at the Nova Festival near Re’im on the Gaza border.

When Yuval stepped onto the dazzling stage at the Eurovision Finale on May 17, she sang not as someone who had stepped out of a bullet-ridden deathtrap. She sang as a survivor—and for Israel, her beloved homeland.

In the months after October 7, the singer faced post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. In an Israel Hayom interview, she nevertheless made her future clear. “I decided I wasn’t going to live my life with PTSD. I wanted to turn my pain into something meaningful.” That is what Yuval did by advocating for survivors of the Nova massacre. She traveled to the United States and Europe with a weighty goal. “People need to know what happened. They need to hear it from someone who was there.” 

Representing Israel in the Eurovision competition gave Yuval a worldwide stage—with “New Day Will Rise,” her interviews, and the merciless outrage from protesters, both before and during the weeks of rehearsal and the May 17 finale.

Reading part of her story below, you will understand that the anti-Israel, anti-Jew protestors are not done with their diabolic behavior, even at a famous music competition. Thousands screamed their hatred for Israel outside the venue. During Yuval’s performance, three British pro-Palestinian activists tried to storm the stage before being arrested by alert Swiss police. Despite plentiful applause, some booing broke out. Far worse, the event organizers had to evacuate the Israeli delegation to keep them safe.

Yuval knew she would face ongoing hostilities after the October 7 massacres. “But that’s exactly why I have to go,” she said. “I want to stand on that stage, wrapped in the Israeli flag, and make sure the world hears our story.”

Here is that story. When Hamas invaded the Nova festival and turned unbridled joy into waves of terror, Yuval’s harrowing experience was amplified by gunfire, screams, and death. She and her friends found refuge in a small roadside bomb shelter, where more than 40 had run for their lives.

But Hamas terrorists discovered the frightened group inside the shelter. As they began firing, Yuval called her father, Zvika Raphael, to tell him “I am alive.” Their conversation became part of a defining recording of the massacre.

Yuval whispered, “Dad, there are dead people on top of me. Please, send the police.” Zvika wisely replied, “Play dead. Do not move. If they think you’re dead, they’ll leave you alone.”

Yuval quickly passed her father’s advice on to the huddled group. “Every single time that we hear them coming, we have to play dead.” The terrorists came back many times, shooting anyone who moved and throwing grenades inside. Even after she was hit by shrapnel herself, she remained still and quiet.

Seven hours passed before security forces finally reached the roadside shelter. Yuval later described that she was “pinned under corpses and soaked in blood. I kept saying to myself, ‘Don’t breathe. Don’t move. Stay dead.’” Only 11 of the people in that shelter survived. After the rescue, Yuval kept “looking at the sky and could not believe I was alive.” 

Some may wonder why Yuval and Israelis were thrilled with her second place win at Eurovision. Many factors were at play. For example, in the powerful ballad “New Day Will Rise,” the public voted the song into first place with 297 points, but in the jury vote she received only 14th place. The lyrics and meaning of the song permeated the public response. Hopefully, enemies will finally see the light.

In recent interviews, she emphasized that the “real victory’” will be won when the hostages are home. Yuval hopes that she gave Israelis a “moment of peace amid the madness of war and to make them proud,” adding that she will “be grateful for our nation every day of my life.” 

Austria’s singer JJ won first place at Eurovision, and Yuval noted his “incredible vocals.” She said, “I’m very proud of him. He deserves it.” 

Yuval Raphael may have been Eurovision’s second-place winner, but she won first place in the hearts of Israelis and the voting public for her passionate, flawless rendition of “New Day Will Rise.”

The singer’s inspiring outlook is indicative of a winner who has suffered trauma, then turned it into a testimony to bring hope to others. She feels she has “won at life!”

At the end of her performance, Yuval shouted, “Thank you Europe! Am Yisrael Chai.” We echo the same for our Israeli and Jewish friends worldwide:

Am Yisrael Chai, the People of Israel Live!

We welcome you to join our CBN Israel team to pray for Israel. In 1 Chronicles 13:8, we’re reminded that David and all Israel were celebrating in God’s presence with all their might, with songs, with lyres, harps, tambourines, symbols and trumpets.

Prayer Points: 

  • Pray that creative displays of music, art, and film will inspire more support for Israel.
  • Pray that “New Day Will Rise” will top music charts worldwide.
  • Pray for IDF members as they conduct Operation Gideon’s Chariot in Gaza.
  • Pray that the hostages—whether alive or dead—will be found and brought back home.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.

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Victim of Terrorism: Jenia’s Story

In the crossfire of the Ukraine war, Jenia lived her worst nightmare in a moment—watching her husband die right in front of her in a rocket attack. Devastated, this elderly widow fled to Israel, making Aliyah to become a citizen and start over in a new country by herself.

She settled in Kiryat Gat near the Israel-Gaza border, but arrived with nothing, and needed help to get furniture, a washing machine, and other essentials. To make matters worse, since the October 7 invasion and attacks, she was now caught in the middle of another war and suffers from post-traumatic stress. Who could she turn to?

Jenia is so grateful that friends like you were there for her. Through CBN Israel, caring donors provided her with basic furniture and a new washing machine. They are also delivering nutritious groceries to her, which helps stretch her budget. And as Jenia deals with the horrors of war and losing her husband, they are offering her counseling and trauma care.

“Thank you so much for your help!” Jenia exclaimed. “I lost everything and felt so alone. But your kindness has been such a blessing to me as I try to rebuild my life.”

Your generous gifts to CBN Israel can be a blessing to others who are struggling and feel alone. You can bring vital assistance to immigrant families, Holocaust survivors, single moms, and terror victims. Because of you, they will receive the aid and compassion they need right now.

And as the war with Iran and its terror proxies continues, the needs are soaring. Your support can provide crucial food, shelter, and financial assistance to those who are hurting—while reporting on headlines stories from the Holy Land.

Please join us at this critical time!

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Biblical Israel: Avdat

By Marc Turnage

Located in the modern Negev Desert on the spur of a mountain ridge, overlooking the plain around the canyon of En Avdat (the “Spring of Avdat”), sits the ancient ruins of the Nabatean city of Avdat. Avdat sits along the ancient caravan routes that crossed the barren lands from Elat (ancient Aila) on the Gulf of Aqaba, and Petra, the Nabatean capital in the Transjordan, to the Mediterranean coast and the port city of Gaza. 

The Nabateans, a nomadic people, immigrated out of the Arabian Peninsula, and in the period of the New Testament, their kingdom stretched from southern Syria to the northern Hijaz in the Arabian Peninsula. Their capital was Petra, in the south of the modern Kingdom of Jordan. Although the land of their kingdom was vast, they had few urban centers. They controlled the trade and caravan routes through the Transjordan, including those that extended west to the Mediterranean coast. Their ability to travel through the dry desert regions, in part by using their caravansaries, like Avdat, enabled them to acquire a great degree of wealth. 

In the New Testament, Herod Antipas, who beheaded John the Baptist, was originally married to a Nabatean princess, the daughter of the Nabatean king Aretas IV. He divorced her in order to marry Herodias, the wife of his brother with whom he had an adulterous affair (Luke 3:19-20).

Avdat was originally settled at the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century B.C. as a station on the caravan routes. By the end of the first century B.C. and into the first century A.D., Avdat had become a religious, military, and commercial center. Nabatean shrines were located at the site. 

The Roman annexation of the Nabatean kingdom into Provincia Arabia in A.D. 106 did not hurt Avdat. In fact, the second and third centuries A.D. saw the site flourish, as both agriculture and herding became part of the local economy. With the rise of Christianity in the fourth century A.D., two churches and a monastery were built on the site replacing the pagan shrines. Avdat relied upon the cultivation and production of a fine variety of grapes and wine during the Byzantine period. The site was abandoned in A.D. 636 with the Arab conquest. 

The earliest periods of settlement left little in terms of remains, especially a lack of architectural remains. Coins and imported pottery provide the main discoveries on the site from the fourth century B.C. to the early first century B.C. During the first century, public buildings were erected on the site including a shrine (temple) where the Nabatean pantheon were worshipped. 

Although not mentioned in the New Testament, Avdat and the Nabateans stood on the edge of the New Testament world. Herod the Great’s mother likely belonged to the Nabatean aristocracy, if not the royal family. We already mentioned the wife of Antipas. Throughout the first century, the Herodian lands came into conflict with Nabatean territory, which sets the backdrop for life in the region.

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

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

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Weekly Devotional: Forgive to Be Forgiven

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’

So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 

Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:23-35 ESV). 

This parable should trouble us. Why? Because this teaching of Jesus does not fit well with many contemporary theological views about forgiveness and salvation.

Yet, Jesus plainly states that if we choose not to forgive others, then God will not forgive us. The unpayable debt that God has forgiven for us means little if we do not show that same mercy toward others. That should bother us.

We often live as if what truly matters is God forgiving us—but that is not the message of Jesus. If we do not allow the mercy that God shows us to lead us to show mercy to others, then we should expect God’s wrath against us. This is what happened to the servant who chose not to forgive his fellow servant. According to Jesus, we cannot love God without loving our neighbor.

Think about the world we live in. How much differently would it look if we all showed mercy to others as God has shown mercy to us? The parables of Jesus convey His theology, how He viewed God, and how we should live our lives. But far too often, we misunderstand or gloss over aspects of His teaching, because they do not always align with our own beliefs and theology. Jesus commanded His disciples to “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).

When people look at our lives, do they see God’s abundant grace and mercy? Is it clear to them that we forgive others because God has so graciously forgiven us? If not, can we truly consider ourselves followers of Jesus?

Forgiveness is not easy; it is a choice. But if we truly appreciate God’s mercy, and our need for that mercy, we must then show mercy toward others in the same way. If we do not, we run the risk of facing His judgement against us. Therefore, extend the mercy you have received.

PRAYER

Father, You have been so gracious and merciful to us; may we show that same mercy and forgiveness to others. Amen.

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Miracles In World History from the Innovation Nation

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Israel celebrated its 77th Independence Day yesterday, May 14. Despite being engaged in a seven-front war, Israel continues to endure as a modern miracle—with its tall buildings, ancient structures, and archaeological finds—which continually prove that for 3,500 years Jews have been the indigenous people of this land: the rightful occupants, not occupiers.

Many of their achievements past and present are singular ones. I selected only a few facts from the many thousands of accomplishments. For instance, Israel is the only nation to revive its ancient language. On May 14, 1948, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced Hebrew as Israel’s primary national language. At that time, only 806,000 people lived in Israel. In 2024, the population had risen to more than 10 million, with 74 percent of them Jewish, 21 percent Muslim, 5 percent Christian, and the rest foreign citizens.

Israel is a treasure trove of innovations and initiatives. It is a world leader in wastewater reuse—recycling 90 percent of its wastewater to beat their water crisis. The start-up FireDome deploys capsules containing fire retardant to combat wildfire devastation—combining proven defense tactics with cutting-edge AI technology. (The U.S. is using that technology this year to fight wildfires.) IceCure Medical developed a minimally invasive ProSense system that destroys benign and cancerous tumors by freezing them with liquid nitrogen. Israel also airlifted a record number of passengers on a commercial plane in May 1991, when it evacuated 1,086 Ethiopian Jews on an El Al Boeing 747.

In the aerospace industry, a critical sensing technology addresses the need for making flights safer amid increasing airline accidents. Odysight.AI (“odyssey,” “sight” and “artificial intelligence”) offers a system of computerized sensors that alerts pilots of any detected anomaly and also predicts potential failures.

Offering a rare opportunity, Israel is home to the only theater company in the world for deaf and blind actors, called Nalaga’at—or “please touch.” And here is an amazing quote from Astronaut Neil Armstrong when he visited Jerusalem: “I am more excited stepping on these stones than I was stepping on the moon.” Click here for more amazing facts about Israel.

Biblically, we know that a strong, healthy awareness of Jesus’ reality thrived through His Jewish disciples. The early church was populated for around eight years by Jewish believers. The brilliant Jewish apostle Paul, radically commissioned by God, engaged the known Gentile world with the Good News.

However, over the next centuries, the land lay forlorn and forgotten. But the Jews, the indigenous people to whom God deeded His Holy Land, never forgot their ancestral homeland. In dispersion, Jews lived in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, South and North America, and beyond. Ever faithful, they stubbornly upheld the festivals and the five books of Moses (Torah), maintained their prayers facing toward Jerusalem, and with hope repeated “Next Year in Jerusalem” wherever they lived.

God makes it clear in Jeremiah 30:3: “’The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the LORD.’” That day began in one day: May 14, 1948!

Looking at Jerusalem’s storied history, we can extrapolate remarkable facts about the entire Holy Land. Consider that Jerusalem, Israel’s ancient and modern capital, was conquered more than 40 times—by the Persians, Romans, Ottoman Turks, British Empire, and others. The word Jerusalem is found over 900 times in the Bible. Jews have been the largest ethnic group in Jerusalem from 1840 to the present day. Jerusalem has more than 2,000 active archaeological sites, 50 Christian churches, 33 Muslim mosques, and 300 Jewish synagogues.

The question still arises: How did Christianity drift away from its Jewish roots? That’s a complex question, so please regard the following as a short list of answers. Constantine, Rome’s first Christian Emperor, recognized Christianity as the official state religion in A.D. 381. The Gentile church blossomed. Although Paul’s 30 years and 10,000 miles of travel lit Christianity’s fire for Gentiles roughly 350 years before Constantine, a precursor of already embedded omissions had crept in. It began with the church fathers around A.D. 150 neglecting Jews and Judaism as the midwife of Christianity.

In 1523 Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, wrote an informative pamphlet, “That Christ Was Born a Jew.” Yet, he steadily grew enraged that Jews refused to convert to Christianity. Two decades later, in 1543, he marred his otherwise profound legacy by writing a slanderous tract, “On the Jews and Their Lies,” where he called them “vermin” and incited horrific violence against them—such as burning synagogues and schools and destroying Jewish homes.

Then, in a dreadful manipulation of Christianity, Hitler drew his deadly Holocaust rationalizations from Luther’s 1543 pamphlet. In his book Mein Kampf (My Struggle) Hitler wrote, “Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.”

Today, to us as believers in our Jewish Messiah and grateful for the Jewish men God engaged as scribes, the world is upside down. Israel is accused; terror is excused. Poison spills over from far and near into Israel and the Jewish community worldwide.

Is it too late for today’s Christians to help stem the tide of hatred? No! God has given us a second chance to show our goodwill toward the Jewish people as evidenced by friendships growing between our two communities in the last four decades. We compose one of Israel’s greatest allies against Jew hatred. We are, after all, grafted as branches on an ancient Jewish olive tree with the promises given to Jews by the grace of God.

We have seen Jew-haters marching through the centuries with boots, bombs, tanks, and terror. Now, social media concocts its own poison readily accepted by those who do not discern the lies or take time to find reliable sources.

Let us commit to sharing facts as one antidote for the anti-Israel, anti-Jewish poison. Reposting at least one fact a week on social media is helpful. CBN Israel and CBN News provide extensive resources and reports that you can share on social media and with your family and friends.

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to pray with us this week:

  • Pray with gratitude that God has preserved His chosen people and land.
  • Pray for Christians to speak up and advocate on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people.
  • Pray for Israel’s leaders and government amid all the problems and challenges they face.
  • Pray for the safe return of all remaining hostages being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
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Victim of Terrorism: Yovel’s Story

Married just one month, Yovel planned to relax over the October 7 weekend with her new husband Mor. It had been a hectic season of wedding events and Jewish holidays. Instead, friends insisted they all go together to a music festival in southern Israel. That decision would alter Yovel’s life forever.

Ten minutes after they arrived, rockets flew overhead, and they jumped back in the car and sped north. Believing they were out of harm’s way, the road was suddenly blocked by a white Hamas truck. Mor decided to go around it, telling them to “duck and start praying.” As he swerved, bullets pounded their car. Tragically, a bullet hit Mor’s head, as the car flipped into a ditch.

When Yovel regained consciousness, asking who in the car was alive, she panicked when Mor didn’t answer. Trying in vain to revive him, she screamed, “It can’t be that you’re dead! It can’t be. We just got married—there’s no way!” And then, they realized that Hamas terrorists were roaming nearby, shooting anyone in the vehicles they had struck, and finishing off any survivors.

So for five hours, they pretended to be dead, as they heard the horrific sounds of abductions, rapes, and executions. Finally, the army arrived, and got them to a hospital. Yet now, Yovel, who is 26, is dealing with severe anxiety attacks and nightmares, and can’t go back to work.

But through CBN Israel’s partnership with the Jewish Agency, friends like you gave Yovel financial assistance to help support her until she is able to work. Donors also offered her trauma care and counseling, as she starts her life over. She says, “Thank you for opening your hearts, so that we can smile and laugh again… It is not taken for granted how you are standing with us.”

In addition, your ongoing support to CBN Israel can offer safe shelter and hot meals to war victims, while providing groceries, housing, and essentials to families and the elderly who need our help.

Please join us in extending a hand of compassion to those in crisis!

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Biblical Israel: Jezreel Valley

By Marc Turnage

The Jezreel Valley provides an east-west corridor across the Central Hill Country separating the mountains of Samaria from the Lower Galilee. The name of the valley means “God sows,” and it derives its name from an Iron Age site, Jezreel, located on the eastern end of the valley on a rocky spur of the Gilboa mountain range. In the Late Bronze Age (1550-1200 B.C.), the valley seems to have been called “Ginnah,” which also refer to its agricultural fertility.

The shape of the valley is like an arrowhead. The northern mountains of Samaria form its southern boundary. In the west, the Carmel range forms the boundary. The Nazareth ridge forms its northern boundary. In the east, one finds the shaft of the arrowhead, which is the Harrod or Beth-Shean Valley. The shaft of the arrowhead is created by the Hill of Moreh to its north and the Gilboa mountain range to the south. The Harrod Valley ties the Jezreel Valley with the Jordan Valley and the Transjordan. The Kishon River drained the Jezreel Valley towards the west and the Mediterranean Sea.

The valley’s rich alluvial soil and perennial springs make it a great place for agriculture; however, it also tended to flood, in part due to the basalt within the soil of certain parts of the valley.

The Jezreel Valley provided an important crossroads of regional and international travel and commerce. The international coastal highway that connected Egypt with Damascus and Mesopotamia passed through the Jezreel Valley turning east from the coast heading towards Damascus. The Jezreel Valley was separated from the Coastal Plain by the ridge of the Carmel range, which cut across the Coastal Plain and protruded into the Mediterranean Sea.

Three routes passed through the Carmel range and into the Jezreel Valley. The southernmost passed through the Dothan Valley. The central route was the narrowest, and the city of Megiddo guarded its entry into the Jezreel Valley. The northern route passed by the ancient site of Yokeneam. The Jezreel Valley also connected with the north-south route through the Jordan Valley, as well as the routes in the Transjordan.

In fact, the Jezreel Valley served to connect the international coastal highway with the King’s Highway that ran north-south through the Transjordanian highlands. These two important routes met in Damascus. Also, the main north-south route through the Central Hill Country terminated at the Jezreel Valley.

The Bible recounts three battles taking place within the Jezreel Valley. Deborah and Barak fought the Canaanite forces of Jabin, king of Hazor, and his general Sisera (Judges 4-5). Gideon fought the Midianites on the Hill of Moreh (Judges 6-7). The third battle was Saul’s fight against the Philistines, in which Saul and his sons perished (1 Samuel 29-31). Numerous events in the Bible happened in cities and settlements around the Jezreel Valley attesting to its importance and strategic significance.

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

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

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Weekly Devotional: Little Is Much

And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened” (Luke 13:20-21 NKJV). 

A little leaven can leaven a larger amount of dough. Why did Jesus use this particular image to speak about the kingdom of Heaven?

Jesus told parables to help His audience understand His message. Because the world of the parables is not ours, we often miss His simple yet profound point. For Jesus, like His Jewish contemporaries, the kingdom of Heaven referred to God’s rule or reign. God rules and reigns wherever His people do His will: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10 NKJV). 

Jesus, however, used the kingdom of Heaven to refer to His movement, which He understood as part of God’s redemption that was breaking forth. He expected His followers to exemplify obedience and devotion to God, but He continually spoke about people entering the kingdom.

For Him, one entered the kingdom of Heaven through acts of charity and compassion. He described the kingdom as a treasure in a field—when one finds a thing of such value, he goes and sells all he has to buy the field. He gives everything to acquire it—just as Jesus instructed the rich ruler to do.

So, what’s the connection with leaven? A little has a great impact. It’s easy for us to look down on small acts of kindness and compassion. We figure: Oh, that doesn’t matter much. 

Jesus confronted such limited thinking and conveyed to His followers that little acts of charity and mercy had an ability to dynamically impact the world in which they lived. Those loving acts unleashed God’s redemptive power. So, do not undervalue them or think lightly of them.

We often think that the big things for God matter most, but Jesus didn’t see it that way. Our little acts of charity and compassion provide the opportunity for God to enter situations and people’s lives; moreover, in as much as we do to the least of these—the poor and naked, the homeless, the sick, those in prison—we do that unto the Lord.

Do we look for opportunities to introduce God into the world around us through small acts of love, mercy, and kindness?

Do we believe that these little acts can take part in God’s redemptive plan? What would happen if each of us sought to bring more of His reign and rule to our broken and hurting world through acts of charity and compassion? How different would our world look?

PRAYER

Father, may we never despise the little things that we can do in the lives of others. May we be faithful and choose daily to take part in releasing Your redemptive power into our world. Amen.

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