Israel and the pressure to ceasefire and stop the war before absolute victory.
When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Lay your hand on the bow.” And he laid his hand on it, then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. And he said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, and the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have put an end to them.” Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. Then the man of God became angry at him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you put an end to it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”
2 Kings 13:14-19 NASB2020
The pressure that is building momentum on Israel to ceasefire, to diplomatically come to a peace, to vilify them in the name of humanity, while Hamas continues its total disregard for humanity, should be rejected by Israel. In both wars, Yom Kippur and the Six Day War, where they were invaded in both instances, they answered with force and were on the verge of dealing with their enemies, and were diplomatically pressured to stand down. Both were victorious, but because the nations brought pressure for peace they could not finish in real victory.
Now, once again the nations say, Israel has the right to defend itself, but that’s enough. The barbaric invasion they are fighting for is the right to exist, not just defend. Where is the nations’ outcry for ceasefire in the Ukraine/Russia conflict? The nations have always put limitations on Israel and held them to a different standard.
The “peacekeeping” UN is anti-Israel. They fought Israel and the 1948 recognition of becoming a nation. The Sovereign God and His prophetic word brought it into being. Israel needs to continue in its resolve to wipe out Hamas and drive them into the Sea of Forgetfulness, never to be again.
In the passage above, the King of Israel cried out to Elisha for Israel’s deliverance from its enemy, Aram, the Arameans, Syria. He was instructed to shoot an arrow out the window and then strike the ground. He did so but not with the resolve to see the enemies totally defeated. Elisha asked, “Why did you stop? Where was the resolve and the desire to see total victory?”
So often we cry out to God for deliverance and settle for relief and for comfort to be restored.
In 1994 I met on the border of Lebanon with a Syrian Senator concerning water purification. After our discussion concerning business, he asked me to talk politics. He said, “You are a Zionist?” I replied that I was American. He then proceeded to tell me Israel is like sugar in water—it will soon be dissolved. I referred him to the historical fact of the above recording in scripture that Syria exists because of King Joash’s lack of resolve and Syria’s history of conflict with Israel was not something to boast about. Not to mention the fate of Damascus prophetically stated in the scriptures. So much for that business deal.
Back to the subject of Israel’s resolve to deal with Hamas. David resolved to kill Goliath by choosing five stones to slay not only Goliath, but his brothers who stood with him. David did not just kill him, but he took Goliath’s sword and cut his head off. Making sure he did not just knock him out, but ensuring his defeat. He took it and paraded it before all of Israel declaring “the Lord of the armies is our God.”
“To You, Lord, I lift up my soul. My God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies rejoice over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.”
Psalms 25:1-3 NASB2020
My prayer for Israel is that they will not be ashamed and give in to the shamelessness of the nations and their vain imaginations. Shame was the first ungodly emotion that Adam and Eve felt that caused them to hide from God. Hamas will not, will not rejoice over Israel and Israel will not be put to shame. May those who deal treacherously with Israel be put to shame. Hallelujah to the Lord of armies!
-KC