I think Ronald Reagan got it right! Consider this…

It’s the middle of the night right now in Israel, and the IDF has been in action. The response, though, was a weak one in comparison to what has taken place under the previous Israeli government.

Following recent rockets from Hamas operatives in Gaza and skirmishes at the border yesterday, the IDF seems to have targeted three terrorist positions in Gaza and action seems to have stopped. That is quite different from responses prior to the “government of change” taking power in Israel.

It also begs important questions: Will Hezbollah rockets from Lebanon follow? Was this a test to see how Israel would respond? Will weakness beget further aggression from those who wish to wipe Israel off the map?

With Israel’s weak response and America’s distraction in Afghanistan, terrorist groups on Israel’s borders feel empowered and confident they can now do whatever they want, with little to no consequence. But why such a weak response from Israel?

Keep in mind that, in order to gain power, the Bennett-Lapid coalition had to have the support of Arab parties in Israel to gain a majority and win the premiership. Don’t think for a moment that Arabs in the Israeli Knesset (parliament) have better intentions for Israel than they do for the Arab people (including terrorists) who oppose Israel’s existence.

What a difference a year makes. At this time last year, President Trump and his team had successfully negotiated the Abraham Accords, bringing peace between Israel and moderate Arabs states such as the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco. Partnership with Saudi Arabia was at never-before-seen levels. America was standing strong militarily and had lost no soldiers in Afghanistan since Trump’s warning to the Taliban that America would rain down hellfire if they so much as touched an American.

Today, we have an incompetent administration in America, seeming intentionally bent on destroying our country in every conceivable way, and the coalition in power in Israel is only slightly better. (At least they don’t outwardly reveal their disdain for their own country.)

This should educate us as to how quickly God is capable of moving chess pieces on the prophetic chessboard! That is not to say God has CAUSED these things to happen, but when God removes His hand of blessing, these are the kinds off consequences people and nations have experienced throughout history! It does not take a prophet to understand clear Biblical principles. For example, in Galatians 6 (particularly verses 7-8) we are clearly taught the laws of sowing and reaping. God is not mocked! We (people and nations) will reap what we sow! Just look at Hosea 8, when Israel “sowed the wind and reaped the whirlwind.”

If God will not spare His own people when they habitually turn from Him, why would we expect anything different in America after murdering millions of babies, promoting immorality throughout the land and around the world, and shaking our fist at God by removing prayer and Christian freedoms from public places? Why would God choose to let that evil go on? America is reaping the whirlwind…and Israel may be reaping it as well.

But friends, we serve a God who is not only just, but also loving. He must punish sin…or He wouldn’t be God! Imagine a “god” who allowed evil to happen, never allowed consequences to follow, then said, “Oh well, no problem! Everyone gets a free pass to heaven.” It just wouldn’t make sense! There has to be a penalty for sin and evil.

However, that same God of justice is a God of grace! He is the One who sent His only begotten Son (Jesus) to earth in order to live a perfect life, yet die for the sins of all mankind, so that we might become the righteousness of Christ, required to enter eternity in heaven! Jesus Himself, though sinless, paid the penalty for our sin. Consider these verses carefully:

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

~Romans 5:8

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

~2 Corinthians 5:21

⁹ If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; ¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

~Romans 10:9-10

¹¹ He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.

~1 John 1:11-13

The good news is this: God judges sin and we all sin. But no matter how bad you have been or what evil you may have participated in, God paid the price for that by sending His Son to die for you! Every terrorist on the planet has the same opportunity as the greatest, most godly person you know. Most of us fall somewhere in that spectrum, and God paid the price for every one of us! We must only confess with our mouths (state it to Him!) and believe in His name!

If you don’t know Jesus, it is crucial that you do. If you are reading this and know someone who needs this encouragement, please share it! Jesus is coming back soon. “Soon” on God’s calendar could be weeks, years or decades, but nonetheless, as we see our world spin into chaos, we can be assured that our Redeemer is coming for us and it could literally be any moment.