Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Israel Now and Then



1 Samuel 14:47-52

Israel of 2017 has these neighbors; it borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest.

 Most or maybe All of Israel’s neighbors hate them, but they also respect that Israel will fight to the last person to keep and protect what God has given them.  Israel has the 34th-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic products as of 2016, this information taken from Wikipedia.  The country benefits from a highly skilled workforce and is among the most educated countries in the world with one of the highest percentages of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree.  Israel has the highest standard of living in the Middle East and has one of the highest life expectancy in the world.  And yet the whole nation could fit into the state of Maine with lots of room left.  Israel is (22,072 km² and Maine is 91,646 km².

So not much has changed, Saul is King in this timeline 1080 – 1010 B.C. and they have enemies on every side.  Moab lays to Israel’s southeast, east of the Dead Sea.  The Ammonites were east of the Jordan River to Israel’s east and northeast.  Edom is located south of the Dead Sea.  Zobah was an Aramean city-state in Syria.  These verses give the impression that Saul and his army secured all of Israel borders at this time.

It is evident in the time of Saul and in 2017 that God has blessed Israel and the nations of the world do not like people who have been chosen by God.  So Israel today has a great military, and King Saul has the power to enlist the best and the finest of men into his army, just as Samuel warned a king would do in chapter 8:11.

But Israel has a mighty weapon, and it is held in reserve, it is not the arsenal of Nuclear weapons but Michael Archangel, Israel’s prince and protector.  If only they understood God’s plan for His people would happen according to His will.

From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice

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