A DEFENSELESS ISRAEL?

Good morning, blog readers, from cloudy and cold (21 degrees) Wisconsin where, on my morning walk, I did not see any of God’s creatures, but had a nice walk. Thank You, Jesus!

This recent headline, from The Jerusalem Post, caught my eye this morning: “IDF (Israeli Defense Force) admits Houthis penetrated Eilat missile defense for the first time.”

In the article, Yonah Jeremy Bob reported: “The IDF late Tuesday night admitted for the first time that the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have penetrated the country’s missile air defense. According to the IDF, reports of an unidentified object landing north of Eilat on Sunday night referred to a cruise missile which came from the direction of the Red Sea. Although the IDF did not specifically identify the Houthis, the Iranian-backed group in Yemen has tried to strike Israel numerous times for months. Until now, all of its missiles had been shot down, often by the Arrow 1 or 3 missile defense system. There was one case of a small drone fired from Syria penetrating into Eilat, but it did little damage and had little potential for damage.

In contrast, the cruise missile in question did not hit any structures and landed in an open area, but could have potentially done far more damage. The IDF said it was probing why the missile was not shot down. One possibility could be that it was a cruise missile that flies in a more line-drive fashion and which might have caught the air defense operators by surprise. Israel’s David Sling is also made to shoot down such cruise missiles, but it has not been used in Eilat to date.”

This made me (Doug) think of Deuteronomy 28 where the Lord spelled out for Israel His blessings for Israel’s obedience and curses for her disobedience. For example, we read in Deuteronomy 28:6, 7: “Blessed shall you (Israel) be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way and shall flee before you seven ways.” On the other hand, in verse 15, He said to Israel: “But it shall come about, if you will not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses (verses 16-68.) shall come upon you and overtake you.”

Question: “Could it be that Israel’s humiliation on October 7, 2023, and the Houthi missile getting through Israel’s “defenses” came as a result of her disobeying the Lord’s commands?” If that is true, then I highly recommend to the people of Israel: “Believe in the Lord God and keep His commandments that it would go well for you not only in regards to war, but also in regards to salvation that you might be the “apple of God’s eye (Zechariah 2:8),” as He intended you to be.

And, if you are not a believer in Jesus, please know He is not only your long-awaited Messiah, but also your Savior Who died on a cross for your sins, was buried and raised from the dead (I Corinthians 15:1-4) to forgive all your sins and give you eternal life (John 3:16). Then, watch, wait, work, witness for, walk with and worship Jesus until He comes. Blessings, Doug (3/21/24)