Teaching Team

Yom Haatzmaut

By Boaz Michael  | Comments (1) | Posted on May 7, 2008

Thursday May 8 is Yom Haatzmaut, the Israeli Independence Day. In Israel, it's a day off work for parades, celebrations and picnics. This year's Independence Day marks 60 years since Israel became a state.

As an Israeli citizen, I feel a certain sense of pride that Israel has survived these six decades despite all adversity. One cannot help but see the clear hand of God in the formation and protection of the state of Israel. Israel went from zero to first world country while most of the rest of the Middle East is still trying to figure out the meaning of the word infrastructure.

The nations of the world gnash their teeth at the tiny Jewish state and plot its demise. For reasons that I do not understand (except in spiritual terms), Israel is hated throughout the world. The people who consider themselves the voice for tolerance and liberal thought are the first and the loudest in condemning Israel, even though there is no other country in the Middle East that exercises tolerance and liberality like the State of Israel. Human rights advocates constantly condemn Israel even though there is no other state in the Middle East that cares about human rights like Israel does.

At First Fruits of Zion, our goal has been to connect believers with the land, the people and the scriptures of Israel. Our ministry used to be based out of Israel. Currently we maintain only our design office in Israel, but my hope and prayer is that we will soon be able to reopen an active First Fruits of Zion office and outreach effort in the land.

We believe that God is moving in the world through His people, and amazing prophetic events are being fulfilled in our lives. Not the least of these is the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, an event that was foretold by all the prophets. According to the prophets, the return to the land and the return to Torah are supposed to go hand in hand.

Unfortunately the modern state of Israel is very secular and worldly. Most Israelis are neither religious nor Torah observant. A deep divide exists between religious Jews and secular Jews. Even among Messianics this divide is evident. Only rarely does one find believers in the Israeli Messianic Jewish community who understand the importance of living lives faithful to God's covenant and commandments.

On my recent trips to Israel, however, I was encouraged to see more and more young people in Israeli society who seem to be taking a few steps towards God. I saw more young people praying at the wall than I used to see. It seems that there may be something of an awakening happening in the new generation. My prayer for Israel, as she turns sixty, is that she will return to God, return to faith and return to Torah and that God will return her righteous Messiah King soon.

Happy Birthday Israel.

About the Author: Boaz Michael is the president and founder of First Fruits of Zion.

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