We’re going to depart from the Galilee area to visit places in far northern Israel.  (Don’t worry…we’re not done with the Galilee area yet!)  To get your bearings, take a look at this map:

Israel is yellow-shaded (or light green-shaded on some computers…so I hear!) and the white areas are disputed territories (though the Lord says it belongs to them!) If you pay attention to the news, you have heard of the Gaza Strip.  It is the tiny white strip on the Mediterranean Coast, just to the northeast of Egypt.  Terrorists smuggle missiles and ammunition into the Gaza Strip through tunnels from Egypt, and those missiles manage to find their way to launching pads which propel them into Israel! Over 60 were fired into Israel only a day or two after we returned home.  Needless to say, tours typically don’t go near the Gaza Strip, and the terrorists in Gaza haven’t figured out yet how to actually penetrate Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system! BTW – within hours, the Israeli Air Force identified and took out the missile launching sites! (They don’t monkey around!)

The West Bank is the larger white area above the Dead Sea and running northward along the Jordan River. Undoubtedly, you’ve heard news of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and this is the chunk of land the Palestinians are wanting the Jews to hand over in return for peace!  Land-for-peace deals have NEVER worked, and won’t work this time either.  The only “peace” the Palestinians want is Israel…piece-by-piece!

Today, though, we’ll focus on the Golan Heights…the area in the far north portion of Israel.  Take a good look at the map above, and keep in mind that Israel is the size of New Jersey!  Do you see how “squeezed in” the Golan Heights are between Lebanon (a Hezbollah/terrorist hotbed), Syria (whose capital, Damascus, is headquarters of many terrorist groups), and Jordan (who happens to be Israel’s friendliest neighbor at the moment).  The Golan Heights are a key strategic point, as there is great elevation there.  You can imagine the advantage that terrorists and terrorist nations would have if Israel did not “occupy” that piece of land!  Artillery and rockets would be fired downhill into the cities and towns in the Galilee area, only a few miles away.  To give up that land would be devastating to Israel.

Currently, civil war is tearing Syria apart.  However, there is much more to that story!  While the Assad regime has killed over 100,000 of its own citizens, terrorist nations such as Iran are feeding the frenzy, and are doing their best to import missiles into Syria and into Hezbollah’s hands in Lebanon. Not long ago Israeli jets took out a convoy of missiles being trucked from Syria to Lebanon. Those were destined for use against Israel…and the world is focused (yet doing nothing) on the civil crisis in Syria!

There is constant activity on the Golan Heights, as the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) attempts to keep the Syrian civil war on the correct side of the border. It is not unusual to see military exercises taking place on the Golan Heights.  I think I have seen military activity on every trip I’ve taken to Israel.  Here’s what we saw this time around.

Not much different from previous times!  This is from a previous trip:

This is the “intelligence gathering equipment” perched on a hill overlooking Syria!

Tiny, but powerful…Israel knows how to defend herself!  (Of course, having the hand of God on you certainly doesn’t hurt matters either!)

So, why am I sharing this?  Because a trip to Israel wouldn’t be complete without gaining some understanding of just how amazing it is that the tiny nation of Israel still stands!  Enemies press in from every direction, and Israel is “out-sized” thousands of times over!  Yet, God continues to be faithful to His promise!  In 1948, Israel was re-born and God will be faithful to His chosen land until the very end!

In a Bible study, Looking for the Blessed Hope, I share an entire lesson on Israel’s miraculous war history, and I paint the picture of how war-after-war-after-war Israel was totally out-manned, yet God brought victory in miraculous ways.  Truth be told, Israel is well aware of God’s presence and protection, and they go forward believing that God will defend them.  I’m not saying that Israel is filled with followers of Yeshua, the Messiah.  However, their history book tells them of the great and mighty victories accomplished throughout history by the hand of God.  THAT, they understand!

Tomorrow we’ll visit the Biblical sites in this area, so stay tuned!  Meanwhile, pray for the peace of Jerusalem!  (Psalm 122)