Ezekiel 38:1-39:29
The two chapters we have
to look at today can be looked at from at least two different
perspectives. I feel like on one hand,
they can be hard to relate to, funny names and places. The events described will happen in the
future even from our perspective. It can
take on a “what can it all mean” sort of feeling. At the same time, the events described in
chapters 34-37 are happening in our time.
The stage is being set for the events of chapters 38 and 39. It’s quite amazing to think that what we are
reading was written down by Ezekiel almost 2600 years ago. And now, we seem to have a front row seat at
least to the beginning of the recovery of Israel and the reestablishment of the
nation.
So, chapters 38 and 39
form one story, a prophecy really. This
prophecy flows out of the events described in chapters 36 and 37. The beginning of chapter 37 describes this
valley of dry bones. I think that is
strongly memorable. What did the bones
represent? It was the whole house of
Israel which felt dried up, hopeless, and cut off after their exile and the
destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
God said to them that he would open the graves, bring the people of
Israel up from them, and bring them back to the land of Israel. And, if you recall, in the second part of the
chapter, God spoke through Ezekiel about the recovery and binding together of
all the tribes of Israel, those of the northern kingdom and those of the
southern kingdom. God gave Ezekiel a
physical sign to take two sticks and write names of the tribes on them and wrap
them together so that they would be one stick in Ezekiel’s hand. God would bring them back from all over the
earth and make them one nation in the land, and there would be one king over
all of them. That king would be
David. This messianic ruler is called
David because he is a descendent of King David, the man after God’s own
heart. He will fully achieve for Israel
what the original King David had only temporarily achieved. Of course, we now know that this Son of David
is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Prince of Peace and the prince of the people
of God forever.
So here is the picture,
the peoples of Israel from all the tribes scattered throughout the earth have
been returned to the land of Israel in unity.
How will the nations respond to the restoration of Israel? Well, they’re not exactly going to send gifts
and sing Kumbaya. There will be a
massive coalition of world powers. Their
purpose? To attempt to destroy the
kingdom of God on earth. How will that
turn out? Well, you’ll see.
Let’s pray and then we
will get started in Ezekiel chapter 38.
The
word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of
the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshek and Tubal; prophesy against him and
say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince
of Meshek and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring
you out with your whole army--your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a
great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords.
Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also
Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its
troops--the many nations with you. – Ezekiel 38:1-6
Gog and his army and many
other nations. It will be a great
host. And yet, God is in control. He will turn Gog and bring him out. He will put hooks in their jaws as if leading
an unruly animal. It would seem that Gog
was probably attacking or threatening another nation already. Gog appears to be a global bully.
This passage is full of
names, unusual names. Some you might
have heard at other times, but many of them you may be hearing for the first
time. God wants Ezekiel to address a specific person named Gog. Gog comes from the land of Magog. He is the chief prince of two other places
Meshek and Tubal. We’re going to see
there is much more to God’s message for Gog, but as an introduction, God is
against Gog. Not a great way to start.
Before we go on, let’s go
over all the names. Many of the names
first occur as the names of people, early descendants of Noah, primarily his
grandchildren. Noah had three sons. Shem, Ham and Japheth. The Israelites are descendants of Shem which
is where we get the name Semitic peoples, and the expression anti-Semitic. The list of these names is first found in
Genesis 10 which is sometimes called the table of nations. In addition to some genealogy, it explains
from where many different people groups originated.
Though they were first
people, their descendants were associated with their names, and then places
could also come to be affiliated with those names. Since Gog does not appear in the list of
nations of Genesis, let’s skip over him for a moment.
Magog was the second son
of Japheth, and a grandson of Noah.
Josephus placed Magog north of the Black Sea where I show it on the
map. Of all the names, it may have the
most diverse potential placements due to the possible people groups who claim
or are attributed descent including but not limited to Mongols, Goths,
Scandinavians, Irish, Huns, and Magyars.
We are literally talking
about thousands of years of history here.
From Noah until Ezekiel was 2500 years, lots of chances for offshoots
and multiplication to happen. Of course,
my time is quite limited compared to the vast number of historians who have
drawn conclusions about these names and places.
I mentioned the animated
movie Robots recently. I thought about the movie again while trying
to sort out some of the details around these names. In that movie, just before the final battle,
a group of seven would-be heroes confront the main villain. One of the good guys is voiced by Robin
Williams, and he gives a speech as only Robin Williams could, channeling
Braveheart, his inner William Wallace and Mel Gibson, using an intentionally
fake Scottish accent, and concluding, “We will defeat you!”
One of the less brave and less outspoken heroes adds “Yeah! because there’s seven of us and only one of you.”
At which point, the villain spreads out her arms and a vast array of bad robots appear behind her. What about these?
Since it’s a comedy and a kids’ movie, a couple of the good robots start to count. “Eight, nine. Did you count that one?”
“I think so. Will you all stop moving around! It’s so frustrating. I think I counted one of you twice.”
And so, we have here a vast array of enemies multiplied and spread across all the points of the compass from the vantage point of Israel.
Next on the list is Meshek
also one of the sons of Japheth, and a grandson of Noah. Ancient historians most often associate them
with the region of Asia Minor that is Turkey today. Some ancient historians also make references
to Meshek in the Balkans. Still later
historians make connections to the region of modern Russia.
Tubal still another of the
sons of Japheth, and a grandson of Noah.
Ancient historians also associate Tubal with the region of Asia Minor
which is Turkey today.
There may be some who are
familiar with the NASB or who have studied or read more extensively about bible
prophecy. In addition to Meshek and
Tubal, you may have seen the title prince of Rosh applied to Gog in Ezekiel
38:2 and 3. What’s going on with
that? Where did Rosh go?
It didn’t actually go
anywhere. Rosh is still there. It’s that word translated here as chief. So is it prince of Rosh or chief prince? The Hebrew word Rosh means head or top, and
it’s in the bible a lot, like 600 times a lot.
It’s used in lots of expressions.
In Genesis 2, roshe is used to describe the headwaters of the four
rivers. When God addresses the serpent
in Genesis 3, he says that the seed of the woman will bruise the serpent’s head
or roshe. In Genesis 8, when the waters
of the flood recede and Noah can see the tops of the mountians, the tops are
the roshe of the mountains. You get the
idea. At this point, prince of Rosh has
pretty much been realized as a mistranslation.
Even the NASB has removed prince of Rosh in its latest version (2020),
replacing it with the expression chief prince.
Persia is probably the
most well-known of these names. From the
perspective of the book of Ezekiel, in less than 50 years, Persia will conquer
Babylon and become a mighty empire that rivals any empire that preceded
it. The nation of Persia continued to
hold that name until 1935 when it took the name Iran which was a reaction to removing
the influence of the Soviet Union and Great Britain. The primary language spoken in Iran today is
Persian also called Farsi.
Interestingly, the name Farsi came about because standard Arabic doesn’t
have a “p” sound.
The origins Persia are not
clearly explained in the bible. There
are regional similarities with Elam and Persia, and Elam is mentioned in the
lament of nations in Ezekiel 32 as an enemy of Israel.
Cush was Ham’s oldest son
and a grandson of Noah. The land that is
Sudan and Ethiopia today was known as Cush throughout the Bible.
Put was Ham’s third son
and a grandson of Noah. The land that is
Libya today was known as Put throughout the Bible.
Gomer was Japheth’s oldest
son and a grandson of Noah. He was the
father of Togarmah which is next on the list of names. Gomer was affiliated with the region of
Galatia in the heart of Asia Minor or modern day Turkey. The descendants of Gomer continued to be
affiliated with further regions as time went by, including the Balkans,
Germany, and the Welsh people.
Beth Togarmah or house of
Togarmah comes from the name of Gomer’s son and was a great-grandson of
Noah. The land based on that name is
associated with the land between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Jewish tradition holds the Turkish people are
actually descended from Togarmah. Some
sources also hold that the Armenians are descendants of Togarmah. I thought that interesting because there has
been and is such enmity between the Armenians and Turks.
That covers all the names
that appeared in verses 1-6. There are a
handful of additional names that will come up later. Since we already have the map up, let’s go
ahead and talk about them now. Sheba and
Dedan were brothers and great-grandsons of Ham and great-great-grandsons of
Noah. Sheba is associated with southern
Arabia.
Dedan is connected to a
specific oasis in the northwest of Arabia.
Tarshish is a grandson of
Japheth and great-grandson of Noah. He
and his brothers are described as a maritime people who spread out into their
own territories each with his own language.
Tarshish is associated with the western Mediterranean, usually modern
day Spain.
Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish
are all trading peoples, and that will be obvious when we come to them in the
text.
Three more places are
mentioned in today’s passage. They are
all in Israel: the valley of Hamon Gog,
the village or town of Hamonah, and the region of Bashan. Hamon God means hordes of Gog. Hamonah means place of the horde. Bashan is a region east of the Sea of Galilee
known for its rich pastureland capable of producing sleek cattle.
That was a lot! But wait, what about Gog! Where is he?
Turns out Gog first appears in Ezekiel.
Well okay, there is another person named Gog in a genealogy in I
Chronicles, but that’s all we get about that Gog. One name.
Gog son of Shemaiah of the tribe of Reuben. No relation to the Gog of Ezekiel. So, yes, this is the first appearance of this
individual who is leader of a multinational coalition and a vast army. We don’t know more about Gog than we will
read today. He comes from Magog. He rules Meshek and Tubal. Some have wondered if Gog is not a name but
rather a title of some kind. Later, we
will see that God says that Gog will be called from his place in the far north,
or the uttermost north. Relative to Israel,
the uttermost north would be the western part of modern day Russia.
The only other time Gog
appears in the bible is Revelation 20:8. That’s two chapters from the end of
the bible. The scene is the preparation
for the final battle. At that time,
Satan
will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the
four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In
number they are like the sand on the seashore. – Revelation 20:7-8
They
marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s
people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured
them. Revelation 20:9
It seems like Revelation
20 could be describing the battle of Ezekiel 38-39, but perhaps Gog and Magog
in the context of Revelation 20 are a metaphor to set our expectation of what
that final battle will be like, comparable to Ezekiel 38 and 39.
There are at least a
couple of reasons why these don’t appear to be the same battle. In Revelation 20, it is the final
battle. Immediately following the
battle, the judgment follows, the first heaven and earth pass away, and the new
Jerusalem appears, coming down from heaven.
As we will see in chapter 39, life in the land of Israel continues after
the battle.
The locations of the
battles also appear to be different. In
Revelation 20, the armies surround the city God loves which would be
Jerusalem. In Ezekiel 38-39, the battle
happens in the hills and mountains of Israel.
The place of the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 and the description of what
happens there matches more closely to the battle of Armageddon in Revelation 16
than the last battle of Revelation 20.
Okay, so back to Ezekiel
38, verse 7:
"
'Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take
command of them. After many days you will be called to arms. In future years
you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered
from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate.
They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety.
You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing
like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land. " 'This is what
the Sovereign LORD says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you
will devise an evil scheme. You will say, "I will invade a land of
unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people--all of
them living without walls and without gates and bars. I will plunder and loot
and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the
nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land." Sheba
and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you,
"Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry
off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much
plunder?" ' – Ezekiel 38:7-13
Gog is not called
immediately. It will be after many
days. The expression future years is
taken from a word meaning the end or last.
Other translations say latter days and distant future. At least during part of those many days, the
nation of Israel has to be reassembled.
People gathered, immigrated to this newly established nation, settled in
the land, economic stability achieved, safety established within and without.
I spent some time reading
about the modern state of Israel in preparation for this message. I will put a couple of links in the transcript
if you are interested to read them for yourselves.
A Brief Economic History of Modern Israel (eh.net)
Immigration to Israel 2019 (cbs.gov.il)
I learned a lot. There are 9.5 million people in Israel
today. 74% identify as Jewish or 7
million people. In 1947, there were just
over 600,000 Jews in Palestine. More
than a 10 fold increase in 80 years. The
nation of Israel was formed in May 1948.
The population of Jews in Israel doubled by 1951. Subsequently, there have been times of higher
and the lower immigration. The biggest
surge after 1951 was in the 1990’s after the breakup of the Soviet Union when
more than a million Jews came to Israel.
A comparatively slow immigration time period in the 1970’s saw 325,000
immigrants. I was surprised to find that
only about a third of Jewish heritage people live in Israel today. I thought it would have been around 50%. Of the remainder, more than 50% of those
eligible live in the United States. More
than 80% of all Jewish people in the world live in the US and Israel. 16% live in 10 other nations. The remaining 3% are spread among 98 other
countries.
According to that bastion
of knowledge, Wikipedia, the modern nation of Israel is described this way:
In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and
democratic state, and the nation state of the Jewish people. The country is a
liberal democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation, and
universal suffrage. The prime minister is head of government and the Knesset is
the legislature. With a population of around 9 million as of 2019, Israel is a
developed country … It has the world's 31st-largest economy by nominal GDP
[while being 99th in population], and is the most developed country currently
in conflict. It has the highest standard of living in the Middle East, and
ranks among the world's top countries by percentage of citizens with military
training, percentage of citizens holding a tertiary education degree, research
and development spending by GDP percentage, women's safety, life expectancy,
innovativeness, and happiness.
Israel grows 95% of the
food that it consumes. It really is
mind-boggling. This nation did not exist
80 years ago. Yes, the United States has
a remarkable origin story. I won’t deny
it. But I don’t think it makes sense to
compare the two. They are each unique
and amazing in their own ways. Israel
has certainly faced its own set of unique challenges and has continued to
prosper in the midst of incredible adversity.
Can there be any other explanation than God’s provision and protection?
Who
has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a
country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no
sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children. Do I bring to the
moment of birth and not give delivery?" says the LORD. "Do I close up
the womb when I bring to delivery?" says your God. "Rejoice with
Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her,
all you who mourn over her. …" For this is what the LORD says: "I
will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding
stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees. As a
mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted
over Jerusalem." When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will
flourish like grass; the hand of the LORD will be made known to his servants. –
Isaiah 66:7-10, 12-14
We’ve read in Ezekiel, and
we can see these things in the present day nation of Israel.
‘This
is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations
where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back
into their own land. I will make them
one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel – Ezekiel 37:21-22
They
will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them.
They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. – Ezekiel 34:28
I
will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be
victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. – Ezekiel 34:29
I
will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be
fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and
will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the LORD. –
Ezekiel 36:11
They
will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden;
the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified
and inhabited.” – Ezekiel 36:35
And yet, while what we see
happening is amazing and marvelous to our eyes, it does not fully align with
passages in Ezekiel that we have read in the last weeks. Things like,
“I
will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he
will tend them and be their shepherd. I
the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I
the LORD have spoken. – Ezekiel 34:23-24
And
I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to
keep my laws. – Ezekiel 36:27
There
will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or
be divided into two kingdoms. – Ezekiel 37:22
I
will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I
will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary
among them forever. – Ezekiel 37:26
We have not seen these
things all come to pass, and yet, it is not fully time.
Sometimes when I prepare a
message, I get choked up, a kind of emotional amazement. Sometimes it’s weird things that prompt
emotion. The most stunning thing I
learned studying for this message, the thing that to me showed the fingerprints
of God so clearly, is that Israel doesn’t have a constitution. When I read that blurb from Wikipedia
earlier, it began, “in its Basic Laws …”
I saw that, and I wondered why did they use that expression, “Basic
Laws?” What does that mean? In 1950, the Knesset or elected parliament of
Israel could not agree on a constitution and instead put forward a temporary
document, The Basic Laws. These were
intended to be draft chapters of a future Israeli constitution which has been
continuously postponed since 1950.
The modern nation of
Israel has a temporary government. Is
that amazing? God has said that Israel
will have one shepherd, one prince, Jesus.
During this season of reassembling the nation, God has allowed a
temporary democratic government of the people.
That’s just amazing to me. It
lines right up with scripture.
Think about the dry bones
for a minute. The process happened in
stages, right? First, the bones came
together, then flesh grew on the bones, but they didn’t have life. It looks an awful lot like that’s where
things are. Israel exists as a flesh and
bones nation, but it is not yet spiritually alive. But, God told Ezekiel to speak breath into
the bodies, and so it will come to pass.
It seems like we’re in
between verses 13 and 14 of Ezekiel 37.
Then
you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring
you up from them. – Ezekiel 37:13
I
will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own
land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it,
declares the LORD.’ ”– Ezekiel 37:14
The Lord has opened the
graves and has brought many up from them.
He has put his Spirit in some of the Jewish people, but substantially
fewer than have returned to Israel. We are
right smack in the middle of God’s fulfillment of prophecy. That’s awesome!
And Gog appears to be that
last thing that happens to fully draw the people of Israel to the Lord. And, He will cause all the nations of the
earth to know Him through this conflict.
"Therefore,
son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In
that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice
of it? You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations
with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. You will
advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to
come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me
when I am proved holy through you before their eyes. " 'This is what the
Sovereign LORD says: You are the one I spoke of in former days by my servants
the prophets of Israel. At that time they prophesied for years that I would
bring you against them. This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks
the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD. In
my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great
earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky,
the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all
the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains
will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the
ground. I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the
Sovereign LORD. Every man's sword will be against his brother. I will execute
judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain,
hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations
with him. And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make
myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the
LORD.' – Ezekiel 38:14-23
Gog is the one who leads
the nations for that will be judged and punished for their hatred and desire to
destroy the people of God. This
outpouring of God’s wrath is not indiscriminant. It is rightly and appropriately directed at
those who hate God and His people. Those
that love the Lord will be preserved as we will see. God’s power, His greatness, and His holiness
will be on full display. As a result,
many nations will know that our God is the Lord.
"Son
of man, prophesy against Gog and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
... I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from
your right hand. On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your
troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of
carrion birds and to the wild animals. You will fall in the open field, for I
have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will send fire on Magog and on
those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the
LORD. " 'I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no
longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the LORD
am the Holy One in Israel. It is coming! It will surely take place, declares
the Sovereign LORD. This is the day I have spoken of. – Ezekiel 39:1-8
There are those in Israel
who love the Lord. There are those who
are not believers in Jesus that revere the name of God, Yahweh, Jehovah, the
great I AM. And yet, I imagine there are
many living secular lives in Israel.
What does secular mean? It means
not religious or of this present world.
When people live as if there is only this world, and especially Jewish
people, it profanes the Name of God. If
you have loving parents who cared for you, you wouldn’t ignore them and never
talk to them would you? How much more so
our loving creator and gracious Savior!
God’s mighty deliverance of Israel from Gog and His countless hordes
will cause the people of Israel to turn to God.
And so, after this mighty
battle has ended. The people living in
Israel will go out and gather the weapons and use them for fuel for seven
years. They won’t have use any other fuel
for that time. They will find a great
deal of plunder from those who wanted to plunder them. Gog and all his armies will be buried in the
Valley of Hamon Gog, the hordes of Gog.
It will take seven months to complete that work. It will be such a huge area that it will
impact travel to and around the Dead Sea.
The people will remember the day of their deliverance from God. Ezekiel 39:15 describes a more detailed
search that will be carried out and special markers used so that the grave
diggers can take care of all the human remains.
In this way, they will cleanse the land.
(Ezekiel 39:9-20)
"I
will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the
punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them. From that day forward the
people of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God. And the nations will
know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were
unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their
enemies, and they all fell by the sword. I dealt with them according to their
uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them. "Therefore
this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob
and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for
my holy name. They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they
showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make
them afraid. When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered
them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in
the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God,
for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to
their own land, not leaving any behind. I will no longer hide my face from
them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the
Sovereign LORD." – Ezekiel 39:21-29
From that day forward, the
people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. And, the nations will know.
God will not leave any of
His own behind. And, He will pour out
His Spirit on the people of Israel.
I will put my Spirit in
you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will
know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD. (Ezekiel 37:14)
God is working. We may not know times or places precisely,
but we can have confidence that God’s plan will come to pass at the right time.
And following God’s
deliverance, the people of Israel will forget their shame. We too look to Christ, how He puts things
right, and we who walk by faith will not be ashamed.
You
see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the
ungodly. – Romans 5:6
“Anyone
who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and
Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” – Romans
10:11-13
Let’s
pray … Father God, thank You for telling us of things to come. Thank You that our hope in You does not
disappoint. May Your Name be glorified
through the whole earth. In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
One of the less brave and less outspoken heroes adds “Yeah! because there’s seven of us and only one of you.”
At which point, the villain spreads out her arms and a vast array of bad robots appear behind her. What about these?
Since it’s a comedy and a kids’ movie, a couple of the good robots start to count. “Eight, nine. Did you count that one?”
“I think so. Will you all stop moving around! It’s so frustrating. I think I counted one of you twice.”
And so, we have here a vast array of enemies multiplied and spread across all the points of the compass from the vantage point of Israel.
Immigration to Israel 2019 (cbs.gov.il)
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