November 29, 1947 Israel fielded 18,000 men, 10,000 rifles, 3,000 sub machine guns, a few field guns, two tanks, and four planes, of which two were shot down on the first day of this small nation’s existence. By the measure of a man Israel was hopelessly out numbered. She did not even have the means to supply each of her men a gun of their own. With two planes, she faced full-fledged air forces. If she had not somehow taken two tanks from the British military, she would have been completely without amour. But by the time the UN stepped in and arranged a cease fire between Israel and the seven arab nations determined to wipe her off the map (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iraq) even before the ink had dried on the document giving her statehood, Israel was nearly three times the area of land that she had been allocated in the very same partition. Reading about these days is like reading a page from the book of Kings or Chronicles. This was not only the case in 1947, but in ever other war this little nation of the Living G-d has faced up to the summer of 2006. In the Sinai campaign of 1967, two Israeli tanks topped a sand dun to find themselves facing a complete Egyptian tank unit. Without explanation, the Egyptians stopped, opened their turrets, jumped out and began to flee through the desert. After they were captured, they explained their actions by saying they had encountered “hundreds of Israeli tanks.” During the Yom Kippur war of 1973, Syria marched across the unprotected Golan Heights. They could have been in the city of Haifa within 24 hours had they not suddenly stopped on the ridge of the Jordon river, nearly within the firing range of the city of Tiberius, and remained their for three days. This gave the Israeli’s time enough to gather their forces and engage their enemy. Why had they stopped? A nonreligious Israeli general later described a “great gray-white hand pressing down onto the Syrians from the sky.” Many of the wars started against this little nation only ended after an increase in square miles. When the new state of Israel was established in 1947, the landmass consisted of 3,000 square miles. At the conclusion of the war of independence in 1948, it increased to 8,000 square miles. The six day war of 1967 expanded her landmass to 26,000 square miles. The Yom Kippur war of 1973 increased it to 36,000 square miles. In 1947, in population of Israel was less than 1 million. By 1973, it was still less than 3 million. Today the population is over 715 million. In the 60 years of Israel’s modern history, her people have returned from over a hundred nations. This story is far from complete. There are over 12 million, perhaps more, of Israel’s children scattered throughout the nations. Ezekiel speaks of a time when they will all gather to their own land, “not leaving any behind” ([b]Ezekiel 39:28[/b]). Paul talk’s of all of them coming to faith in Messiah ([b]Romans 11:26[/b]). And Zechariah ([b]12[/b]) tells us of a time when the “grafted in” clans of Judah stream to Jerusalem as living sacrifices, becoming as torches and consuming those on the right and the left. On that day all of Israel will see the love of Messiah in those “grafted in branches”. They will then look upon Him “who was pierced” and mourn. They will shout “Baruch Haba Bashem Adonai” (Blessed is He who comes in the name of the L-rd) at the top of their lungs. Then a spring of cleansing and purification will open to Israel. Will you, the gentile, be the watchman? ([b]Jeremiah 31:6-7[/b]). Will you be like Caleb,the son of Jepunneh ([b]Numbers 13[/b])? Or have you chosen your place alongside Nabel, the Calebite ([b]1 Samual 25[/b])? Thru Messiah you are grafted into the clan of Judah, and soon G-d will be calling you to Jerusalem, are you ready to lay your life down for those who are the apple of His Mighty eye? Will you prove yourself His child? Look!!! You can see His Mighty Hand as Scripture is being written before our very eyes!!!

Great post. It's hard to know how to respond to something like this, but I can see by the Viewed count, that others read it, too. Indeed, I see His hand in Israel, and when I'm debating theology with a nonbeliever, that is one of the first and most repeated elements I'll go to. The odds were.. almost beyond hope.. Not just once, but time and again.. in 1956, 1967, 1973.. and yet, it seems like the worse things look for Israel, the better off Israel is in the end. The current debates about whose land it is, revolve around gains taken in various wars which were started extinguish the Jewish race from the middle east forever. All these things work to the glory of the One True G-d, G-d of Avraham, G-d of Yitz'chak, G-d of David. Blessed (praised) are you, Ad-nai our G-d, King of the universe, who gives the Torah of truth, and the Good News of salvation to His people Israel and to all the peoples, through His Son Yeshua the Messiah, our L-rd.

I actually just got back from this meeting thing of a group called the MJAA (Messianic Jewish Alliance of America). It was really neat, what the speaker there talked about, some of it was what you just posted. like Matt said [quote]Blessed (praised) are you, Ad-nai our G-d, King of the universe, who gives the Torah of truth, and the Good News of salvation to His people Israel and to all the peoples, through His Son Yeshua the Messiah, our L-rd.[/quote] Amen.