Like many of you, I’m sure, these days are filled with conflicting emotions regarding the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release. But on this beautiful Sunday, we find solace and peace in the shadow of the wings of the King of Israel. Dear friends, may we lay our emotions, as raw as they might be, both positive and negative, at the feet of Jesus today. And may they remain there as we endeavor to share the incredible burden of our Jewish friends as they go through the incredibly traumatic days ahead.

Assuming the agreement is carried out, beginning today (January 19, 2025), 33 Israeli hostages will be released (3 or 4 at a time) during the 42-day first phase of the agreement. But Israel will pay a heavy price. In return, up to 1,650 Palestinian prisoners will be released, all of them criminals with lots of blood on their hands. The contrast in value of life could not be more stark. Furthermore, Israeli officials have no idea how many of the 33 are still alive, and there are at least 65 other hostages who are not even in consideration for release.

Friends in Israel tell me emotions are running extremely high. There is overwhelming joy for suffering families of hostages who will receive their loved ones back after 470+ days of captivity. On the other hand, families of those brutally murdered by psychopathic terrorists on October 7, 2023, are distraught by the notion those monsters will be released. I cannot think of a greater moral dilemma when it comes to this decision.

While the lives of all hostages are infinitely valuable, the two Bibas babies (5-year-old Ariel and 2-year-old Kfir) have drawn international attention. Sadly, we do not know if they are still alive but are praying they are. They are among those on the list of 33 to be released. I suspect Hamas will draw out the drama as long as possible and release them last. Horrifically, their mother and father are not on the list of those to be released. The psychological warfare exerted by Hamas is crushing.

Israel has extremely difficult days ahead. So today, I’m encouraging us all to meditate upon and pray through this passage of Scripture:

¹⁴ For the Lord will not cast off His people,
Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
¹⁵ But judgment will return to righteousness,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶ Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?
Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
¹⁷ Unless the Lord had been my help,
My soul would soon have settled in silence.
¹⁸ If I say, “My foot slips,”
Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.
¹⁹ In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.

²⁰ Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law,
Have fellowship with You?
²¹ They gather together against the life of the righteous,
And condemn innocent blood.
²² But the Lord has been my defense,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
²³ He has brought on them their own iniquity,
And shall cut them off in their own wickedness;
The Lord our God shall cut them off.
~Psalm 94:14-23

May Israel find refuge in the One who never slumbers or sleeps but watches over them forever. (Psalm 121:4)