Jerusalem,
Israel
JANUARY
26, 2024
Israel and the Nations
GPW News Prayer Update
TUNNELS UNDERGROUND IN GAZA:
Despite the recent high death toll of Israeli soldiers fighting in
Gaza (24 killed in one day), the war goes on…
The IDF has learned, during these 3 months of war, to be effective
in fighting and operating in the tunnels. Before 3 months ago, Israel did not
want to risk going into the tunnels. According to one military general, in a recent
briefing, the IDF now knows how to conduct operations underground; to overcome
booby traps; to know where the explosive devices are, as well as what they
call, “heavy blast doors." Israeli forces are able to kill terrorists, along
with moving safely inside tunnels.
Expect that when the Gaza war is over, the IDF will be called on
by the international community to share their expertise about the tunnels -- how
to operate in this new urban warfare environment. This is the benefit of
experience, even in the midst of the heartache of death and destruction.
Reports indicate there are no more border crossing tunnels in
Gaza.
Tunnels that end before the border could still be present in Gaza.
Strategic tunnels where Hamas can hide a launcher -- there are still tens of kilometers of those in Gaza.
LOOKING AT ISRAEL’S NORTHERN BORDER:
The tunnels in Lebanon are cement and fortified underground. In Lebanon
the terrain is vast. Maneuverability is quite a challenge with many hills and
valleys. The IDF is not so familiar with the terrain, which is a big disadvantage.
PRAY!
Signs from the military are that an expanded war in Lebanon is on
the horizon.
A testimony from a female officer in the reserves, that watches and
reports the daily movements of Hezbollah:
She recently went to the evacuated towns along the northern border.
She wondered if Israel lost control of the areas that northern residents
evacuated. She doesn’t know when the residents will be able to go back there to
live. Her words: “It feels like we are being hunted.” An example is of a mother
and child eating in their kitchen. A missile came through their window and killed
them. Obviously, the enemy was monitoring homes and saw that they were northern
residents that had not evacuated.
The assessment is that if the war in the north becomes a full-scale
war, the Iron Dome will not give 100% protection to Israel’s home front. The IDF is expecting 4,000 missiles a day, including
guided missiles, to be launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah, that can hit targets
anywhere in Israel.
Hezbollah is fully embedded within the south Lebanese population. Sixty
percent of Hezbollah operatives that have been killed were from south Lebanon. The
U.S. is pushing for the enforcement of UN resolution 1701, which demands that
Hezbollah pull back to the Litani River. But, according to this same IDF reserved officer,
how can Hezbollah withdraw from the border? They live there! Munitions are
hidden inside the homes and under the homes of the southern Lebanese population.
The question is: If we have a diplomatic arrangement, with an
international force, who will be the enforcer? (The 10,000-15,000 UNIFIL forces
have been ineffective). What kind of force will be capable of going home to
home, taking the rockets out, and fighting Hezbollah in their own homes in
south Lebanon?
Also, one Israeli soldier who is in an elite combat engineering
unit, said that the Litani River is no longer a safe marker because Hezbollah
has large and more precisely guided rockets than they had after the 2006 Second
Lebanon War. These rockets can still be launched, even north of the Litani
River, which would still be devastating to the Israeli home front.
The sense is that there will be an expanded war in the north in
which the IDF will confront the strategic capabilities of Hezbollah. Just how
vulnerable northern homes will be depends on whether the IDF can damage Hezbollah
to the point where the terrorist army will not be able to launch missiles or attack
residents. Otherwise, Israelis are not going to back to their homes in the
north. Furthermore, military assessments are that a full-scale war would
include many casualties in both Israel and Lebanon.
A situation analysis by military experts is that Israel must get
rid of the idea of “war deterrence.” It
is no longer about whether the enemy is counting the cost. (Hezbollah operatives
prefer death over life, so they have a different perspective). The only way is
to damage Hezbollah in its military capabilities. But, Hezbollah has been
building-up and improving these capabilities for almost 18 years!
The 2006 Lebanon War was not considered a full victory for Israel –
more of a truce. This may have weakened Israel’s resolve to be able to stop
Hezbollah. Instead, until now, Israelis lived under the rocket threat to the home
front.
CRAFTED PRAYER:
Lord of Hosts, we need Your heavenly hosts to fight this war on the
northern front. We ask You to disperse Your ministering angels to defend Israel
in its fight against Hezbollah. Only You can win this war against Israel’s
enemies. Save Israel from all this destruction that seems to be coming like a whirlwind sweeping over the north! Intervene in this
impossible scenario. We call upon You to protect Israel from its enemies!
Psalm 82:4: “Rescue the weak and needy; save them from the hand of the
wicked.”
Psalm 121:3: “He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.”
THE BIG WORD: UNITY
Some Israelis are saying that while the country is still united,
we have to win the war. We must build a safe place for future generations.
One military general talked about a golden age that will emerge
after this war. Prosperity and a strong Israel, but he also brought up the peace
processes. (And, we know where that is headed!) There are Israelis that are proverbial
optimists, who trust their enemies, and do not learn from past mistakes.
PRAYER: Let
wisdom and discernment flow throughout the land. Remember that we will bear the
consequences of staying naïve and moving into wishful thinking without applying
God’s wisdom in decision-making. From the highest level of man’s authority in
the land, our leaders need to embrace wisdom.
Luke 21:15: “For I will give you words and
wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.”
There is division among the Israelis about a long ceasefire that would
provide an opportunity to get the hostages back. Part of the nation is
demanding it, and part of the nation believes we will not go back to fighting
the war, after the ceasefire. Therefore, our goals of eliminating Hamas would not
be fulfilled. That thinking results in a conclusion among Israelis that over 500
soldiers will have died, in the ground war, in vain.
Citizens are back to their protests, condemning the current
government. The society is stressed-out, with exhaustion and mixed emotions. With
so many Israelis dead from this war, healing is greatly needed.
The sense is that there must continue to be UNITY in goals; UNITY
in purpose; and, an ability for the current government to finish the job in Gaza.
It is a key to Israel being victorious in battle, and able to overcome the
enemy. This kind of UNITY can repair the divisions that have plagued this
society.
Quoting from David’s prayer in the Psalms, which the Jewish People
know well in scripture and song:
Psalm 133:1: “A Song of Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and how
pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
David had a vision of this type of
coming together.
He says in verse 2: “For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that
ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe.”
David saw, in the Spirit realm,
what unity is like. It’s that anointing oil of the priesthood, and the fullness
of God’s Presence that overflows in authority and purpose.
Israel needs that fine costly oil. It’s
an oil of consecration bringing in God’s authority. It consecrates the whole person that has been
appointed to lead the people! It reminds
us of that costly perfume that Mary poured on the feet of Jesus.
John 12:3: “Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard,
anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was
filled with the fragrance of the oil.”
When the anointing is present, it can
touch everyone. When we submit to His will, realizing Who is the Commander of
the Armies of Heaven, and of Israel, He touches us with His Presence.
OPEN OUR EYES LORD! OPEN THE EYES OF OUR PEOPLE TO SEE!
CRAFTED PRAYER:
We pray for that sacred
anointing oil to be poured out on the IDF, with soldiers serving together on
the battlefield, for righteousness and justice to be a witness to the whole
world! We pray that even in the midst of suffering, the people of Israel will receive that
heavenly anointing oil, and be touched by the Lord, as a unified community.
Psalm 141, spoken by
David to the Lord is so beautiful in that it is worship in movement; and it is a
heart poured out to God. This is our hope for Israel.
David says in verse 2: “May my prayer be set before You like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.”
Luke 1:10: “And at the hour of the incense offering, the whole congregation was praying outside.”
1 Timothy 2:8: “Therefore, I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up
holy hands, without anger and dissension.”
Psalm 141:3: “Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door
of my lips.”
PRAYER:
Yes, take control of what we say, O
LORD, and guard our lips!
Psalm 71:8: “Let my mouth be filled with Your praise. And, with Your glory all the day.”
Psalm 23:5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
*See the connection between the
anointing oil of unity; of priesthood and authority; a cup that overflows as
Israel comes together, corporately. And, God then prepares that table for the
nation in the presence of their enemies. God’s favor, because of unity, wipes away
the fear, as our Father in Heaven, hallowed be His name, becomes for us our trusted
Shepherd who will meet us in the battle and help us to overcome!
ISRAEL IS CORRECTING MISTAKES, AS A
STEP IN FAITH, AND FOR THE SURVIVAL OF THE NATION:
Israel is now having to confront a
much stronger Hezbollah militia, who has been given control in areas of the
Lebanese government, and is deeply imbedded in the Lebanese army. Israel must
push back this fordable enemy, or lose its northern border!
Without realizing it, Israel is backtracking to make right – that which
was done wrong in the past.
One of those mistakes was withdrawing Israeli Jews from Gaza in
2005, carried out by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. When his military
generals advised that Israel should at least have a security presence along the
porous border between Egypt and Gaza to prevent smuggling, Sharon said no. He
foolishly made the mistake of wanting to totally withdraw from Gaza so the
world would see and understand that Israel is not into land grabbing.
However, Israel now wants overall security control of that border,
called the Philadelphi Corridor, and Egypt is refusing to allow it. This border
has become high traffic for arms smuggling to Hamas through Egypt.
If Israel had done things right in the first place, it would not
have come to this.
Israeli leaders need to see the picture clearly, and not
compromise (because of that gut feeling of knowing that the land must remain sovereign,
in the hands of the Jewish People before a holy God). The land must be
stewarded better by the people of this tiny nation, under the direction of the Lord,
Himself.
CRAFTED PRAYER:
In the Spirit realm, we declare before the Holy One of Israel, that this nation must retake its legal position before God as the gate keepers of His land. A redeemed and restored Israel will realize how much she has strayed from fulfilling her part in keeping covenant with our Lord. We proclaim that Israel will no longer break covenant with the Creator of this Promised Land. She will not withdraw, recede, or give territory over to the enemy – the Lord’s sovereign territory. In honoring the God of Israel, Israel will understand what Yeshua said:
John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
CRAFTED PRAYER:
We pray that Israel will stop
looking at the false peace of the world, but will embrace the peace He gives,
so that this nation can truly enter into peace in mind and heart! Amen!
(Source for this report: GPW News Prayer Update)