Happy Birthday, Israel!
A plane trails a banner congratulating Israel on her 75th independence day in the Netherlands on April 26, 2023. | Photo: Christians for Israel
Today, Israel celebrates its 75th birthday.
On this day, we acknowledge and celebrate that Israel is unique among the nations.
Scattered throughout the world, the Jewish people have always been longing for Jerusalem. In the mid 19 century, they started to return. In 1920, the League of Nations acknowledged âthe historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that countryâ. Since then, they have restored the land, and made the desert flourish.
No other nation has been born in such tragic and difficult circumstances. Arising out of the ashes of the Holocaust, Israel was born on 14 May 1948 in the midst of war, when all nations around it were threatening it with annihilation.
No other nation has achieved so much, in such little time. In just 75 years, the tiny State of Israel has become a world leader in many fields â medical research and technology, hi-tech startups, security, the arts â to name just a few.
No other nation is so committed to freedom and the rule of law. Israel ranks amongst the highest countries in the world on Freedom House indices, and Israel is undeniably the only free country in the region. Notwithstanding its lack of a constitution, it has strong institutions of government, and as the current debates in Israel show, a vibrant democracy where everyone can express their point of view. Christians, Muslims, Arabs and others – all have rights not enjoyed in any other country in the Middle East.
No other nation is so maligned and demonized. Every week, resolutions are adopted in UN bodies criticizing and condemning Israel for alleged human rights breaches and war crimes. A UN Human Rights Council permanent commission of inquiry has been established â the most expensive ever â to investigate and condemn just one country: Israel.
Yet, no other nation contributes per capita so much, and has contributed so much, to mankind. Israel ranks highest among Nobel Prize winners. Its lawyers, doctors, engineers, scientists and artists are contributing daily to the betterment of society globally.
Perhaps most importantly – no other nation represents and embodies the faithfulness of God. The return of the Jewish people is the fulfilment of Biblical prophecy, and the promises to restore the nation. Israel is a banner to the nations â a sign of Godâs faithfulness to all peoples and nations who are willing to accept that He alone is sovereign, and seek to honour His name.
Congratulations, Israel. You are a blessing to the nations, and we wish you every blessing!
The Editorial Team –Â Israel & Christians Today
âMay we all have a wonderful Independence Day for the State of Israelâ
Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s message to the Jewish people on the Jewish state’s 75th birthday. âWe must not forget that asking ourselves questions about our identity and our joint purpose is a gift. Having a country to shape together, to share together, to argue over, even, was a distant dream not long ago. And it is a blessing that we should not take for granted.â
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At 75, Israelâs population approaches 10 millionI
Israelâs population stands at 9,727,000, according to figures the Central Bureau of Statistics released on Monday, on the eve of Independence Day. Of them, 73.5% are Jewish, 21% Arab and 5.5% non-Arab Christians, members of other religions, and those without a religious classification in the Population Registry. Since the previous Independence Day, Israelâs population grew by 216,000 people, or 2.3%. During the period, some 183,000 babies were born, approximately 79,0000 immigrants arrived and 51,000 people died. At the time of the stateâs establishment, Israelâs population numbered 806,000 people. By 2030, the population is expected to reach 11.1 million, and by 2040 13.2 million. In Israelâs centenary year, the population is predicted to hit 15.2 million.
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In the Netherlands, Christians stage a solidarity-with-Israel flyover
Christians for Israel hires four planes to trail giant banners congratulating the Jewish state on its 75th birthday. Roger van Oordt, honorary consul for Israel in The Netherlands and previous executive director of Christians for Israel:Â âWe want to show Israel that it has widespread support in the Netherlands and we also want to encourage the Jewish community of the Netherlands through the flyover, to show itâs not alone.”
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The Decision –Â The Book of RUTH with Johannes Gerloff #14
Ruth has the choice. Naomi has set her free. She could go back to her home country. But the young Moabite woman decides to tie her whole existence to the bitter Jewish woman, even beyond death.
SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK
Deuteronomy 4:1-14
Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.
You saw with your own eyes what the LORD did at Baal Peor. The LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, but all of you who held fast to the LORD your God are still alive today.
See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, âSurely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.â
What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to Him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when He said to me, âAssemble the people before me to hear My words so that they may learn to revere Me as long as they live in the land and may teachthem to their children.â You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. He declared to you His covenant, the Ten Commandments, which He commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. And the LORD directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.
