1. Psalm 97 - The Lord reigns in the midst of the uproar in the Middle East. He reigns above. v2: Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

   • We praise and thank You. Your character is love, righteousness, kindness and generosity. Your promises are everlasting. No-one can take Your scepter out of Your hand. You are constant faithful, true, the Rock and our High tower. You humbled yourself to be our Saviour.

   • Halleluyah for the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

2. We're in a very difficult situation. The police tore down an "illegal" outpost in Samaria. There was much violence on both sides. There are no deaths but police used rubber bullets on the settlers.

   • According to the (League of Nations) Mandate for Palestine, Jewish people may live anywhere between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. This also the Biblical imperative. However as in any other country the government sets standards for building. Who can build what and were. While we stand for the right of Jewish People to build anywhere in the Land, we cannot stand for anarchy.

   • Yesterday the settlers held a "Day of Rage"- Rage is rage. God is not pleased with this attitude. This kind of reaction is self-defeating as it only further alienates those Israelis who don't believe in living in Judea and Samaria in the first place. It is bad public relations and could divide us against each other. The Rabbis say that 2000 years of exile were due to "brother lifting up hand against brother."

     A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle.

     Prov 18:19

   • Rage is born of hate.

     Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

     1 John 3:15

     We prayed for the settlers to take Proverbs 18:19 as a warning and ask God to deal with hate in their hearts.

   • It is good that the settlers have a passion for settling the land but not in the process turning against the state and against fellow Jews. Prov 19:11 gives us a Godly response.

     The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.

   • We confessed the sin of our people - both the sins of destroying habitation and of rage/hate.

   • We asked the Lord to convict them of sin - lifting their hands against the police, and of inappropriate police action.

   • Lord, bring healing and restoration, let us know Your resolution.

   • Lead Your people to these scriptures and to truly know them.

   • Reveal the clash between love of the land and rage against the laws of the land.

   • Help us all to see our need to be united within when there is so much enmity from without. May the settlers be reminded of the words of the rabbis - that the nation was destroyed because of "sinat am". May they repent of hatred and sin.

   • It is a mistake to imitate the rage of the Arab nations. May the settlers find the Godly way to protest the destruction of their homes.

   • May Jesus no longer need to weep over this city!

   • Teach us how to disagree without causing division.

   • May the Rabbis give a clear word from the scriptures in their Shabbat services, calling for repentance and unity as a people.

     A Song of Ascents. Of David.
     Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
     For brethren to dwell together in unity!
     It is like the precious oil upon the head,
     Running down on the beard,
     The beard of Aaron,
     Running down on the edge of his garments.
     It is like the dew of Hermon,
     Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
     For there the LORD commanded the blessing -
     Life forevermore.

     Ps. 133:1-3

   • We need to distinguish between right principle and a wrong heart. This should be a lesson for all of us.

   • May the media give an accurate report to equip praying people to pray rightly.

3. May God use this terrible situation to draw people to Himself, causing people to question their motives and ask, "What am I doing here?"

   • Lord, turn to good what the enemy intended for destruction. Reveal Yourself to a lost people! You have an appointment to reveal Yourself on the Mountains of Israel - Judea and Samaria.

   • Lead them to a living relationship with the living God.

   • Jeremiah 30:18-19 - You are bringing Your people back. May they know the Lord - Turn to You and find You.

   • Jeremiah 29:11-14 - The Jewish people have been returning to the land from over 100 nations but the second part is not yet fulfilled: we will call on You and pray.

   • Stir the settler movement on the principle of seeking You with all their heart - to know the living God.

   • May Your words to them not be dry, dusty letters, but breathing with the Spirit of God.

4. It is rumored that the PM is about to make a ground-breaking speech to lead to the establishment of a Palestinian State in temporary borders. There is intense pressure on Netanyahu. Commentators say the PM has lost all credibility both in Israel and Internatonally.

   • We believers live in something of an ivory tower. On a certain level the future of the nation is not dependent on us. We tend to see things as either black or white without experiencing the pressures of those we expect to make Godly decisions for our land.

   • The US President is not a friend of Israel and doesn't like the PM, though we have supporters in Congress.

   • We need to lift the PM before the throne of God. He's about to make a speech. We don't know where or when. The rumor says that it will be to a joint session of the US Congress.

   • What do we know?

     • We are lacking friends in the world.

     • Dividing the land is a sin.

     • Much of the Church has no (or little) revelation of God's purposes in the restoration of the Nation of Israel.

     • The Quartet is due here next week to put pressure on the PM to initiate the Peace Process.

     • It's irrational to consider this to be THE time to "solve" the problem of Israel and the Palestinians. Rational thought would teach us that this is NOT the time.

     • All of Israel's attempts to curry favor with the world by giving in to Arab/Palestinian demands have not brought good fruit - not for Israel, not for the Palestinians, and it has not bought us any positive points with the world community. That is reality!

   • Pray for the PM to be founded on the Rock of Israel (According to the Israeli Declaration of Independence, "Israel is founded on the Rock of Israel").

   • May the PMs decisions and words not offend the God of Israel though he may offend the world.

   • It's much more important what Netanyahu says and does.

   • Pray for the PM and his government and advisers.

   • In the intense pressure Israel is in, come to his aid. Chief Shepherd, give wisdom to this under-shepherd. Remind the PM that Barack's Camp David trip cost 1000 Israeli lives and 3000 Palestinian lives and the world still blames us.

   • Sharon was heralded as relieving the pressure through the withdrawal from Gaza, but we still have war and the world still blames us. There is no peace through surrender. Reveal this to the PM in power so that he may know that he cannot surrender the land.

   • May the Spirit of the living God be upon Bibi, that he may know You, not just know about You. May he have a personal relationship. Like Moses was a friend, may he be more: a son/child of God. May he know the Lord Yeshua. May Bibi be like David, with a heart towards You. David was a sinner, he failed but had a heart toward You. He sought You for direction. May Bibi seek You and give him courage, boldness and inner strength to pursue Your will.

   • Joel 3:1-2 warns the PM that he will bring the nation and himself into judgment if he tries to divide the land.

5. Water - we give thanks for the rain we've had, but it hasn't had a great impact on the Sea of Galilee. There's been little snow on Mt Hermon. The situation is critical.

   • Pray for rain, fountains of snow from the earth.

   • Open the heavens. May the season not end without the needs being met - Sea of Galilee replenished, aquifers refilled, however You want to do it. Have mercy on the dwelling places of Israel.

   • Pray for the people of Israel to know reality and be given urgency to cry out to God.

   • Have mercy upon this land and upon Your prophetic word. If there is no water, we will need to cut down trees and plough in crops. Let the nations not say that You brought us back but could not keep us in the land.

6. Iran is profiting from the turmoil in the Islamic world.

   • Pray that the Iranian hand stirring up problems would be revealed. The world will ignore it, but maybe a few will see the light and move towards the truth.

   • Iran is seeking to rule the Islamic world and indeed the whole world through Islamic rebellion, Sharia Law, and the pursuit of a nuclear weapon. Iran is a clear and present danger in the world today.

   • Reveal the extent of Iran's involvement - through agents provocateurs, sending money and/or arms or however they are acting. Show it so clearly that the nations will have to respond against Iran.

   • May they have not success against Israel. Bring to nothing their attempt to galvanize the Islamic world against Israel. May they be unable to achieve nuclear capabilities.

7. Awaken believers in the Church around the world.

   • Use these uprisings to awaken the Church. May they have a revelation concerning aliyah and what God is doing in Israel. They need to see and proclaim what God is doing in Israel.

   • You are the God of history and are involved in the events in the world. May Your people discern this and relate events with Your Word, and pray for Your will to be done. Give the Church a bold stance.

8. We closed by proclaiming the goodness and faithfulness of God.

   • Hodu l'Adonai ki tov, ki leolam chasdo. (Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.)

     Ps. 118:1

Shabbat Shalom from the IFI team in Jerusalem