1. Praise:

   This week's Torah portion begins the instructions from God to Moses of the building and operating of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Those instructions take 15 chapters in Exodus and the first nine chapters of Leviticus, so this is very important to God. The reason is Exodus 25:8: Let them [the children of Israel] make Me a sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them. Thus Mount Sinai is not just the mountain of the law, but also the mountain of God's grace which enables Him to dwell among his sinful people.

   • We are in awe that You, our Creator, desires to dwell with us, Your creation (John 1:14; Rev. 21:3).

   • We praise You for being a God of details as Exodus 25-40 and Leviticus 1-9 clearly demonstrate.

   • Considering our battle against our sin nature (Rom. 7:22-25), we rejoice that You tell Moses how You will commune with us over the Mercy Seat which covered Your Law (Ex. 25:22; Jam. 2:13b).

   • Thank You that because of what our Lord Yeshua did, You Abba, and Your Son now dwell in us through the Holy Spirit (John 14:17-23; 1 Cor. 3:16).

   • We bless You Lord Yeshua for telling us that You will never leave us nor forsake us (Matt. 28:20b).

2. Government & society:

   Israel's political leaders always need our prayers as does the hostage situation which is still very distressing to most Israelis.

   • Lord Yeshua, as all authority on earth is in Your hands (Matt. 28:18), we trust in You, and not in Israel's leaders, and therefore we look to You to lead us as we pray for them (Prov. 16:1).

   • Almighty King, use Israel's current governing coalition for Your glory (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • God, if Israel's coalition is doing something that is not in Your will – overrule them (Prov. 16:9).

   • Almighty Father, since Bibi Netanyahu is still Israel's leader (Dan. 4:32), guide him to accomplish all things that You have ordained for him (Psa. 23:3b; 68:27; 75:5-7; 80:17; Phil. 1:6).

   • Lord God, train him to hear Your voice more than the voice of any man (Josh. 24:24).

   • Bring around Bibi wise and godly counselors and supportive friends (Prov. 17:17; 18:24; 27:6).

   • Loving Father, guard over him spiritually, shielding him with a divine "Iron Dome" (Psa. 3:3).

   • God of Israel, lead Netanyahu to encourage himself in You and in Your Word (1 Sam. 30:6), and by doing this let his end be much more fruitful than his beginning (Psa. 126:5; Eccl. 7:8).

   • Support Bibi in his court case and turn what is intended for evil to good (Gen. 50:20).

   • Lord of hosts, make the new IDF Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, a courageous son of Zion, and raise up others like that to positions of authority and responsibly in Israel's military (2 Sam. 10:7).

   • Divine Healer; heal Israel's society from Hamas' mental, emotional and spiritual poisons (Psa. 6:2).

   • Messiah Yeshua, comfort Your nation (Isa. 61:1-3) and heal all ex-hostages (Psa. 30:2-3; 147:3).

   • Give closure to the families who are receiving back the dead bodies of their loved ones (Psa. 23:4).

   • Use Israel's national grief over these dead hostages to turn Your nation unto You (Psa. 6:7-10).

   • Abba, may the families whose loved ones were murdered by terrorists now being released from jail as a part of the ceasefire-hostage deal, cry out to You for justice (Job 8:3; Psa. 82:3b; Prov. 21:3).

   • Lord God, let the mindset of Your people conform to Your commands as they read how You order them to put to death both the murderer and the kidnapper (Ex. 21:12, 14, 16).

   • Abba Father, protect the younger generation of Israelis, and Jews in exile, from the humanistic, anti-Christ lies that are often spread via the internet and social media (Psa. 71:7; Isa. 54:13).

   • Abba Father, we bless You for maintaining Israel's economy during its conflicts (Psa. 132:13-15).

3. "Operation Swords of Iron:"

   The current hostage-for-terrorist-murderers exchange is a bad deal that was foisted on Israel by US President Trump's ME envoy, Steve Witkoff. While Bibi and his coalition should have said "no", the pressure from the anti-Bibi demonstrators screaming for the hostages and media coverage which constantly took their side, made this almost inevitable. Also, most Israelis do want this to continue until all hostages, alive or dead, are home.

   • Abba, not all things are good, yet You can work in all things for good (Rom. 8:28), and so we ask You to lead us in prayer about this very difficult ceasefire/hostage situation (Rom. 12:15).

   • Lord, do not allow this to continue on much longer, but release the IDF to totally destroy Hamas, Israel's modern day Amalek enemy (Ex. 17:14-16; 1 Sam. 15:2-3; Prov. 16:4).

   • God, we thank You for Ron Dermer who is now in charge of the hostage-ceasefire negotiations with Hamas as Israel considers what to do now that phase one is over (2 Chr. 2:13).

   • Do not let Israel agree to extend this deal through Ramadan unless that is Your will (Prov. 21:1).

   • Abba Father, as You have done so often in biblical days, we ask that today You would rescue all the remaining hostages and remove them as human shields for Hamas (1 Sam. 30:18-19; Isa. 49:24-26).

   • God Almighty, fulfill Psalm 10:16 over Hamas and every other terrorist group in Gaza (Job 38:13).

   • Lord of hosts, let Hamas' pride betray them (Prov. 16:18; Obad. 1:3-4, 8).

   • Let the mixed messages from Hamas' leaders create an unrepairable internal division (Psa. 55:9).

   • God Almighty, remove Israel's reluctance to repossess Gaza – as it is theirs to own (Judg. 2:1-4).

4. Foreign relations:

   God is building up "Jerusalem" today, which is also symbolic for all of Israel. This is in prophetic preparation for the return of Messiah Yeshua (Psa. 102:16; Zech. 14:1-4). And as we are seeing Zechariah 12:2-3 being fulfilled, Zechariah 12:10 cannot be far behind!

   • King of all nations, may Your foreign policy be done on earth as it is in heaven, and continue to use Israel to enable that to come to pass (Deut. 28:9-10, 13; Psa. 9:19-20; 33:10-11; Luke 11:2).

   • God of Israel, anoint Israel's leaders with divine courage to just say "no" to any external pressure or demands which are against Your will for Your nation at this stage in history (Neh. 2:20; Prov. 3:7).

   • Almighty God, overrule in all meetings between Israeli and international leaders (Psa. 103:19).

   • Lord God, so far we are pleased with US President Trump's dealings with Netanyahu and Israel, yet do not allow any Israeli from looking at America's leader as their "savior" (Psa. 146:3; Jer. 17:5).

   • Use the Zionists in the Trump administration to provoke Israelis to be more Zionistic (Psa. 126:1-3).

   • Again we ask that if Trump's plan to relocate most Gazans is an answer our prayers for You to rid Your land of its enemies, then make it happen soon and do it suddenly (Psa. 10:16; Jer. 12:14-17).

   • Hold Israel back from being dragged into Trump's dealings with Ukraine and Russia (Prov. 26:17).

   • You told Moses that You created man's mouth and teach those You send what to say, so please do exactly that through, Israeli politicians and diplomats as they speak to the world (Ex. 4:11-2).

   • God of Israel, establish a connection between Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and America's Secretary of State Marco Rubio that furthers Your kingdom purposes (Mark 6:7).

   • Lord of all, give Sa'ar wisdom in relating to right-wing pro-Israel groups in the EU (Job 12:12-16).

   • Lord Yeshua, watch over Numbers 24:9b concerning the UN and its outreaches (Isa. 8:9-10; 54:17).

   • Messiah Yeshua, stir up believers to warn their birth-nations of Your judgments falling upon many of those countries today as a result of their betrayal of Israel (Ezek. 29:6-7; Joel 3:1-2).

5. Internal security:

   There was a huge divine miracle in Israel late last week. Multiple buses blew up; yet not one Israeli was murdered because the terrorists set the timers for 9 pm instead of 9 am, which would have been during Friday morning's rush hour. Still as it is the thought that counts, Israel must aggressively attack and eliminate the terrorist swamp growing in Judea and Samaria today.

   • God, set Israel's political leaders free from their habit of retaliating only if people are killed, and let them consider the intent of the attack and respond as if it were successful (Psa. 12:8; Eccl. 8:11).

   • Lord of hosts, send forth Your angelic armies to war against the spiritual powers of Israel's enemies as Israel battles against them on earth (2 Kin. 6:16-17; 2 Chr. 32:7-8; 1 Chr. 15:46).

   • God Almighty, guide the IDF's timing, strategy and tactics, using Israel's army to destroy all terrorist groups throughout Your land – especially in Judea and Samaria (Ezek. 37:10).

   • Uncover and eradicate all links between these terrorist groups and Iran (Prov. 15:3; Isa. 29:15).

   • Abba Father, release a supernatural fear and deep dread of the IDF on all of Israel's enemies in the land that You have promised to it (Ex. 23:27; Deut. 11:24-25; Josh. 2:9-11; 2 Chr. 20:29).

   • Abba Father, multiply the number of Israelis who perceive the existential need for Israel to expand its sovereignty over all of its land west of the Jordan River (Gen. 13:15; 1:18; Psa. 105:4-11).

   • Lord, show Israel that extending its sovereignty over its land is their biblical responsibility and does not depend on what any other nation or NGO thinks or says (Deut. 7:1-5; Judg. 2:1-4; Psa. 105:5-11).

   • King of Israel, move upon Your nation to be in full agreement with that which You are doing with all of Your heart and soul as You plant them back in all of Your/their land (Jer. 32:41-44).

   • Since this is 100% Your will, speak to them like You spoke to Moses at the Red Sea (Ex. 14:15)!

   • God of Israel, shield both civilians and security forces during Ramadan, Islam's holy month, which begins this weekend (Psa. 91:4; 121:4).

6. External security – Middle East [ME]:

   Israel is surrounded by enemies: Turkey, Iran, the Houthis in Yemen, Al-Qaeda and ISIS in Syria, various Palestinian terrorist groups in Jordan, and now a possibility that Egypt is becoming a major threat once again. Yet this is God's land upon which He chose to plant His people and with it comes His promise to protect them (Jer. 31:10).

   • God, protect Israel according to Your Word – and for Your glory (Psa. 115:1-3; 121:4; Jer. 31:10)!

   • Almighty King of heaven's hosts, continue to create Israel into Your weapon of war against all of Your ME enemies (Jer. 51:20-24; Zech. 9:13-16).

   • Abba, with Iran's economy in horrific shape, and only getting worse, have mercy on the Iranians and encourage them to overthrow their demonically-inspired leaders (Prov. 11:26; Jer. 49:38b).

   • God, warn Trump that any "deals" with Iran's current leaders are worthless as the Islamic tactic of taqiyya – lying in order to further Allah's cause – makes their words void of truth (Prov. 26:24-26).

   • God Almighty, sovereignly destroy Iran's nuclear facilities (Psa. 54:5; 137:8; Isa. 34:8), or if You want the IDF to do it, guide its timing and tactics to be super effective (Prov. 21:31; Jer. 51:20-25).

   • Lord, watch over Nahum 1:5a against all of Iran's underground nuclear facilities.

   • God most wise, impart divine wisdom to Israel's intelligence services to know what the new Syrian leadership is thinking and planning concerning Israel and the Jews in general (2 Kin. 6:8-12).

   • Keep Israel in the areas it has taken in Syria, as they are all part of the Promised Land (Gen. 15:18).

   • Lord God, guide Israel in its positive dealings with the Druze communities in southern Syria.

   • Abba Father, show Israel how to enforce Bibi's directive on the demilitarization of Syria south of Damascus, with no military forces of the new Syria regime allowed to set up bases there (Psa. 44:5).

   • Expose all anti-Israel plans of Turkey's anti-Christ-like leader Erdogan (Prov. 5:21; Jer. 32:19).

   • Abba, let Erdogan's curses against Israel and Bibi fall back on his head (Num. 24:9b; Gal. 6:7).

   • Lord God, despite all of their boasts of victory, we praise You that neither Hamas nor Hizbullah are the threats to Israel that they were before Oct. 7th (Psa. 44:4-6).

   • Almighty, as priests (1 Pet. 2:9) we ask You to fulfill Joel 2:17-21 and drive Hizbullah far off from Israel's northern border (Mal. 1:5), and to remove from it any of its remaining demonic protection.

   • As in days past, let Israel's foes war against and destroy each other (1 Sam. 14:15-16, 20; Hag. 2:22).

   • God of Israel, as Egypt's betrayal of Israel is revealed, deal with Egypt as per Isaiah 19:1-5.

   • Destroy all of the ties between Egypt, Turkey and Qatar that are a threat to Israel (Psa. 129:5).

   • Show the Trump administration how Qatar is deceiving them (Job 12:17-25; Psa. 120:6-7).

   • Messiah Yeshua, during Ramadan, save multitudes of Muslims worldwide (Luke 19:10).

   • Lord Yeshua, strongly caution Your Body in Lebanon, Syria and the rest of the ME that if they curse Israel, they will set themselves up to be cursed as well (Num. 24:9b; Psa. 6:1; Mark 3:5a; Rev. 2:14a).

7. Aliyah:

   It is an awesome privilege to be alive to witness the return of the Jews to the land God promised them several hundred times in the Tanach (Jer. 31:10). Yet a great responsibility comes with this as God expects His Body to be deeply involved with this prophetic fulfillment.

   • We praise You Abba Father, as the aliyah is an open sign to the nations of Your faithfulness and power to fulfill Your biblical promises, in spite of the world's opposition (Isa. 43:12; Heb. 10:23b).

   • Merciful Father, draw Your people home through Your grace and mercy (Isa. 54:7; Jer. 31:3).

   • Lord, also use the rise of anti-Israel/anti-Semitic acts in the West to chase home Your people who have been so comfortable in exile that they have not even considered aliyah (Jer. 16:16).

   • Rid Your people of their vain hopes for life to return to the pre-Oct. 7th "normal," as this explosion of anti-Semitism will likely continue to grow until You return (Deut. 30:3-5; Zech. 10:8-9; 12:2-3).

   • Lord God of Israel, let Jews who are afraid of coming to Israel in the midst of a war see that life outside of Israel today is also a war for Jews and the chance of gentile security forces laying their lives down to protect them is much less than Israel's security forces who do that daily (Psa. 38:12).

   • Draw back home all Israelis living in the nations, including Messianic believers (Isa. 35:10; 51:11).

   • King Messiah, guide Israel's Minister of Aliyah and Integration, Ofir Sofer, to ease the hardship of any Jew who wants to make aliyah – professional or not (Isa. 62:10).

   • Lord Yeshua, speak to the huge mountain which hinders aliyah for many Jews, which is the rabbinic definition of who is a Jew, and replace it with Your biblical definition (Isa. 62:10; Mark 7:9, 13).

   • God of Israel, replace all bureaucrats in Israel's Interior Ministry and its Jewish Agency who are lukewarm towards aliyah and fill their positions with those who are zealous for Zion (Zech. 8:1-8).

   • Lord Yeshua, show Your Body their biblical duty to aid the Jews in making aliyah – by prayer, through finances and by good works (Isa. 49:22; 60:1-12; 61:5; Rom. 15:26-27).

8. Salvation:

   Paul writes that all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26)! In context, all Israel is a remnant of His people (Rom. 9:27; 11:5; cp. Jer. 31:7). We believe that our prayers can add to that remnant – especially as God does not want any to perish (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

   • God of Israel, move Your people away from the humanistic rabbinic thinking and instead let them feed on Your Word and obtain a biblical mindset (Jer. 15:16).

   • Abba Father, give them a spirit of inquiry and a hunger for Your Word (Jer. 29:13-14).

   • Lord God, watch over Zechariah 12:10 and pour out Your spirit of grace on Your people back in the land now, and let multitudes look upon and trust in Your Son (Psa. 2:11-12; Acts 19:20).

   • Turn many Jews to call out to You at this time of increased global hatred against them (Psa. 86:5).

   • Give opportunities for Christian "lovers of Israel" to provoke Your people to jealousy (Rom. 11:11).

   • Lord Yeshua, let the light of Your glory shine brightly through all believing Israelis at this time and use them to provoke other Israelis to jealousy (Matt. 5:14-16; Rom. 11:14).

   • [Ask God which specific group or groups of Jews He desires for you to pray about this week.]

9. Body of Messiah:

   In order to pray in line with God's will for today we must understand what He is doing to prepare the way for His Son's return. That obviously focuses on Israel's restoration and its position in His end time plans (Jer. 32:41). Yet for this to be obvious to believers, they must be comfortably familiar with all of His Word – starting from Genesis.

   • King Messiah, brainwash Your Body in all of Your Word (Eph. 5:26).

   • God Almighty, teach Your Body that since You do not change (Mal. 3:6), what You said to Pharaoh about Israel being Your son, Your firstborn (Ex. 4:22-23), applies today as well.

   • Lord, show believers that You see the world through Israel – the pupil of Your eye (Zech. 2:8b).

   • Also Lord, reveal to Your Body that the planting of Israel back in the land is the only thing You said that You will do with all of Your heart and all of Your soul – in all of Your Word (Jer. 32:41)!

   • Messiah Yeshua, expel replacement theory from Your Body (Eph. 5:27; 1 Tim. 4:1), along with all demonic spirits of Jew-hatred and Israel-hatred (Gen. 18:18; 22:18; John 4:22; Rom. 9:1-5).

   • Lion of Judah, may the biblical truth of the link You have woven between Israel and Your glory become very clear to Your born-again children (Isa. 46:13; Jer. 13:11; Luke 2:32; Rom. 9:4).

   • Show believers that You call them a special possession and a kingdom of priests because they are grafted into Israel's cultivated olive tree (Ex. 19:4-6a; Rom. 11:16-24; 1 Pet. 2:9).

   • Lord Yeshua, provide Your Body with elders who can teach and preach from all of Your Word, and will openly declare from Your Word, Your eternal love for Israel (Acts 20:27; Jer. 31:35-37).

10. Water:

    Winter weather, with snow on Mt. Hermon and some of the other high places, came upon Israel last week. While it was not as much as most Israelis were hoping for, yet we thank you for asking God to send the water over His land, and ask you to continue to ask Him for that as overall Israel is experiencing a drought (Deut. 11:11-12; Psa. 68:9).

11. IFI:

    Thank you for praying for us and supporting us through words of encouragement and financial gifts. All are greatly appreciated – especially your prayer covering.

Shabbat shalom and blessings from Jerusalem

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

Num. 6:24-26