Shalom Friends,

 

I will curse those who curse you

In Genesis 12:3, God promises, "I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you…" The Hebrew word "bless" is the same both times, but the Hebrew for "curse" is two different words. This difference shows exactly what opens one up to God's curse.

God's "curse," aw'rar, means to strongly curse, to denounce, to loathe, to declare hateful. The word is first used when God cursed Satan for deceiving Eve (Gen. 3:14). Next is when God cursed the ground as part of Adam's punishment (3:17). Third, the curse that resulted from Cain murdering his brother (4:11). Then Genesis 12:3, where God declares He will "curse" those who "curse/despise" [see below] His people, the children of Abraham. Genesis 27:29 repeats this as God includes those who "curse/despise" the descendants of Abraham through Jacob. Hundreds of years later this is reaffirmed when God warns the prophet Balaam not to curse His people because they are blessed (Num. 22:12). Balaam then, in the presence of their enemy, proclaims this divine protection over the people of Israel (24:9).

Besides hatred towards Israel, another reason for a curse coming on peoples and societies is humanism, the worship of mankind. "Thus says LORD, 'cursed is the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from LORD'" (Jer. 17:5).

God feels so strongly about certain issues that He listed twelve things that bring a curse - even upon His blessed people (Deut. 27:14-26): idolatry, dishonoring parents, moving a neighbor's borders, deceiving/ harming the helpless, perverting justice for the powerless, a man having sex with his father's wife, having sex with animals, incest, a man having sex with his mother-in-law, violence toward a neighbor, taking payment to kill the innocent, and any person not in agreement with these laws.

What does a curse entail?

There are many ways things can go wrong. For those who do not obey His Covenant, God promises they will. Do any of these apply to your people or nation who claim to know the Lord - problems with the food supply, children's health, travel woes, insanity, blindness, confusion, infectious diseases, inflammations, tumors, violence, skin cancers, toxic mold, drought, pesticide resistant infestations, diseased crops, defeat by enemies, bad relations with other nations, oppression, evictions, shattered dreams, repossessions, debt collections, children moving far away and/or being taken captive by strange beliefs? In Deuteronomy 28:16-68 God lists these situations resulting from curses. But there is more.

A cursed society becomes cheap labor for other economies, the alien will surpass the home-born, foreign enemies will besiege that people in their own land. Civilization breaks down, plagues rage, most of the people die and people resort to cannibalism. At the end, such a people are plundered and taken captive, scattered over the earth to serve enemies who show them no mercy. They have no rest, but only anxiety and anguish. What is seen will cause constant fear. As slaves, such a people is not in demand, but only valued for fertilizer. Could God's warning have been any stronger?

Israel has experienced the fullness of God's curse, paying double for her sins (Isa. 40:2), because she alone of all nations, has had an intimate relationship with Him (Amos 3:1-2). Israel was chosen to be the example nation of both the blessing and the curse of God. Today, she is being drawn back into blessings (Jer. 31:3) - while most other nations are coming under curses - and that word in context implies a long-term process of destruction.

What exactly is "cursing" Israel?

The "curse" towards Abraham's seed (Gen. 12:3), which brings God's strong curse to bear, is in Hebrew kaw'lal. It basically means despising the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Strong's definition [OT7043] includes to ridicule, to belittle, to make insignificant. In one form the verb means to make despicable, to curse, and in another form to treat with or bring contempt or dishonor. In Genesis 12:3, "curse" (Piel stem) takes on intensity and intention. When God says (in the Qal or "prophetic future" stem) that He "will-curse", it can mean instituting a process of destruction for those intentionally and repeatedly "making -despicable/cursing" the Jewish people.

On those who curse/despise the Jews, God threatens destruction for two reasons. First, nations that despise His people and the great things He has done for them, rob God of His glory by profaning His name - basically saying He no longer keeps covenant, or He has changed His mind about His covenant promises to Israel, or He doesn't know the future (that is, if He had known the Jews would reject His Son, He would have chosen some other people group). Any of these is a perversion of God's character. This is why replacement theology is blasphemous.

Second, God places protection on Abraham and his seed for the sake of the gentiles. Genesis 12:3b, following the section we have studied, is the gospel to the gentiles, as Galatians 3:8 states. "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the [nations/gentiles] through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In you shall all nations be blessed." If in history God did not protect His chosen people, then there would not have been a gospel to declare - to the Jew first, then to the gentile (Rom. 1:16).

Looking at the news with this in mind, we see why this world is shaking. God's curse is operating on all who despise Israel.

The war against Hamas in Gaza…

as of this writing, is still raging. To clarify facts that most of the world's media have muddled, here is a short analysis received Jan. 4, 2009, from CFI-UK director Geoffrey Smith.

"Who started it? On Dec. 19, Hamas declared it would not renew a 6 month ceasefire agreement. Instead they stepped up rocket fire from Gaza into Israel. On Christmas Eve…50 rockets; on Christmas Day over 80 rockets and mortars against Israeli citizens."

What nation would ignore these blatant attacks?

"Is Israel's response disproportionate? What is proportionate? In the last 3 years Hamas has fired 5800 rockets and mortars randomly against Israeli citizens. What would the world say if Israel had done that to Gaza? Israel has targeted Hamas fighters, infrastructure, [smuggling] tunnels…Israel has repeatedly said if the rockets stop, it would stop its bombardment. Hamas has continued to fire…

"What is needed to end the conflict? A change to the security situation…Hamas used the last ceasefire to smuggle longer-range Iranian made [Grad] rockets into the Gaza Strip. These have been used to hit a school in Beersheva and flats in Ashkelon and Ashdod …If Israel accepts another ceasefire without destroying this stockpile of rockets or putting in place controls to prevent new, even longer range rockets being smuggled into Gaza it faces a repetition whenever Hamas decides to renew hostilities…

"What is the reaction of the Arab powers? No Arab nation would have allowed a neighbour to fire rockets into its sovereign territory. Any Arab state would have reacted far more strongly and would have not been so concerned as Israel to minimise casualties…

"What about the humanitarian situation…? The people of Gaza are living under a despotic regime. Hamas expelled its opponents by throwing them off high-rise buildings or shooting them…Hamas does not allow other voices in civil society and persecutes the small Christian minority."

Israel allows into Gaza an average of 90 aid trucks daily and has not cut off Gaza's power supplies from the Ashkelon power station even when it is under attack.

Israel's left-leaning President, Shimon Peres, made a statement to the media. "Israel left Gaza completely …We suggested aid in many ways - economically, medically, otherwise…I have not heard until now a single person who could explain to us…: why are they firing rockets against Israel?'" ("Peres: 'Anyone Asking Israel to Stop Shooting, Change Address'," Arutz 7, 28 Dec. 2008)

ME expert Barry Rubin says Hamas uses the suffering of people in Gaza to blame Israel. Western pragmatists reason that obviously Palestinians must prefer peace, prosperity and statehood. Rejectionism must then be due to desperation and lack of a good offer …" Hamas knows "that the best way to put pressure on Israel and …gain Western help is to be more radical, not more moderate."

Rubin cites as an example The NY Times, which recently wrote "that both sides violate the ceasefire: Hamas fires rockets at Israel; Israel retaliates by closing the border. By this definition, the fact that Hamas and allies fire rockets at civilians doesn't allow any Israeli response, military or otherwise."

A military conflict also attracts the "peacemakers," who insist "something must be done to defuse the crisis," which usually means more "unilateral Israeli concessions."

Hamas' "intransigence and aggressiveness increase support in the Arab and Muslim worlds. As with Hizbullah, waging war and portraying it as victory even though the facts are otherwise makes one a hero and attracts financing."

Finally, popular support among Palestinians, is gained more "by producing martyrs than by producing higher living standards. Thus, Hamas will do better in its rivalry with the Palestinian Authority [PA] by fighting Israel than by fighting poverty." ("Liar, liar, pants on ceasefire," B. Rubin, JP Op-ed, 21 Dec. 2008)

A theme the international media continually play when Israel is at war, is the death or injury to "civilians". As BFP's Ron Ross says, seeing the innocent suffer is offensive to the West. "But that is not the case in the hardnosed world of Islamic terrorism. Hamas radicals speak openly of a 'death industry'." For example, a Hamas politician early this year "spoke of his pride in using women and children as human shields," saying, "Palestinians desire death with the same intensity that Israelis desire life."

Ross: "It is a sad case of ignorant journalism when Western writers blame Israel for a strategy which Hamas believes honors Allah. By calling on their people to die, they actually believe they are serving him." ("Israel Battles the Gaza 'Death Industry'," R. Ross, Bridges For Peace Israel Mosaic Radio, 30 Dec. 2008)

Why has the IDF bombed mosques in Gaza? One "was used to store a large number of Grad-type Katyusha missiles, Kassam rockets, other weaponry and ammunition…The mosque also served as a rocket launching site, a Hamas terrorist meeting place, a staging ground for terror attacks and a communications center…" ("IDF Strikes Include Terror Mosque…" Arutz 7, 2 Jan. 2008)

For those who think there would be calm if only Israel would talk with Hamas, read this excerpt from a Hamas cleric's sermon this past July. "The annihilation of the Jews in Palestine is one of the most splendid blessings for Palestine. This will be followed by a greater blessing, Allah be praised, with the establishment of a Caliphate that will rule the land and will be pleasing to men and Allah." ("Annihilation of the Jews in Palestine is the Most Splendid Blessing for Palestine," MEMRI, 28 Oct. 2008)

The only hope for the people of Gaza - and for Moslems in any part of Israel's land - is to turn from their false god Allah, and submit to the one true God - the God of Israel (Jer. 12:14-17).

The Prince of Persia Rises

A real concern is that Iran, who has drawn Hamas into her circle, is manipulating the situation in Gaza to divert attention from their nuclear weapons program. As Ashley Perry of Jerusalem Center for Public Affairsnotes, the war in Gaza has focused most of the world media, and all "major international organizations such as the UN, the EU and the Arab League" to discuss nothing else. "Perhaps this is the point of the whole conflict…"

Only weeks ago, "the world's spotlight" was on Iran's quest for nuclear weapons. "The situation has become so desperate that Arab nations had petitioned the UN to hold meetings on Iran. The five permanent members of the Security Council [UNSC] plus Germany agreed to discuss" Iran with these nations, which included Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. "One of the Arab attendees stressed there was a new 'understanding' about the threat Iran posed to the region and beyond…

"Lost amidst the smoke of battle in Gaza is a very important report released during the very last days of 2008 by the French Government," stating that Iran is a "short distance" from being able to make a nuclear warhead. The report's findings "were based only on facts acknowledged by Iranians themselves. This was to become a major tool in convincing the UNSC to impose the sanctions that many feel are necessary to bring Iran to heel…

"Many in the Arab world have been saying Iran is playing a major destabilizing role in the region for a while, but some in the West have refused to believe them." One Arab columnist wrote, Iran "does not intend through the $25 to $40 million it spends monthly in Gaza to support Palestinians, but rather to use them."

Perry: "Iran has a great vested interest in destabilizing the region and diverting attention from the real threat of its nuclear ambitions. It is incredulous [sic] that while the world is glued to a conflict involving a few hundred casualties, a threat to hundreds of millions, even to much of Europe, is being ignored." ("Is world being distracted?" Ashley Perry, Ynetnews Op-ed, 6 Jan. 2008)

Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad of Israel's Defense Ministry, said, that "Israel could not be reconciled to a nuclear Iran - not only because it might press the button, but because the very fact of this regime having that weaponry would constitute an existential threat…Iran is controlled by an ideology and a regime that has set itself the goal to be rid of Israel." ("Defense Ministry's Gilad: We won't let Iran go nuclear," JP, 14 Nov. 2008)

Senior defense officials added, "A nuclear-armed Iran is an existential threat to the Jewish state, and is viewed by Jerusalem as a totally unacceptable outcome." ("Israel may attack Iran without US approval," Israel Today, 4 Dec. 2008)

Canadian MP and Law Prof. Irwin Cotler, on incitement to genocide, says, "The enduring lesson of the Holocaust and of the genocides that followed is that they occurred…because of state-sanctioned incitement to hatred…The Holocaust did not begin in the gas chambers; it began with words."

Cotler says, in "all other cases of state-sanctioned incitement to genocide" the Holocaust, the Balkans, Rwanda and Darfur, the genocides are already history. Only with Iran, "can we still act so as to prevent a genocide foretold from occurring."

Iran uses "incendiary, demonizing language," with metaphors similar to Nazi incitement.

"Ahmadinejad characterizes Israel as 'filthy bacteria,' 'a stinking corpse,' 'a cancerous tumor that needs to be excised,' while referring to Jews as 'evil incarnate,' 'bloodthirsty barbarians,' 'defilers of Islam' - the whole as prologue to, and justification for, a ME genocide…

"Iran has already committed the crime of incitement prohibited under the Genocide Convention…[The] threat of genocide is not a distraction from the nuclear issue; it is the terrifying and vilifying context in which the nuclear threat operates…

"What is so astonishing is this criminal incitement by a nuclear weapon-seeking Iran has yet to be addressed by any UN agency …What is no less disturbing, considering that indifference and inaction are also what made prior genocides possible - is that no state party has invoked any of these mandated initiatives."

("Never Again?" I. Cotler, JP Op-ed, 4 Dec. 2008)

Surprise! There are no "Israeli Occupied Territories"

International law professor Louis Rene Beres writes,

"In urgent matters of national survival and geopolitics, words matter. The still generally unchallenged language referring provocatively to an Israeli 'Occupation' always overlooks the pertinent and incontestable history of the West Bank (Judea-Samaria) and Gaza.

"Perhaps the most evident omission concerns the unwitting manner in which these 'Territories' fell into Israel's hands," that the "'occupation' followed a multi-state Arab aggression of 1967 - one never disguised by Egypt, Syria or Jordan.

"A sovereign state of Palestine did not exist before 1967 or 1948. Nor was a state of Palestine ever promised by UNSC resolution 242. Contrary to popular understanding, a state of Palestine has never existed. Never.

"Even as a non-state legal entity, 'Palestine' ceased to exist in 1948, when Great Britain relinquished its League of Nations mandate. During the 1948-49 Israeli War of Independence (… fought because the entire Arab world rejected the authoritative UN resolution creating a Jewish state), the West Bank and Gaza came under the illegal control of Jordan and Egypt respectively."

For millennia, the land had been under gentile rule.

"Significantly, however, a continuous chain of Jewish possession…was legally recognized after WW I, at the San Remo Peace Conference of April 1920. There, a binding treaty was signed in which Great Britain was given mandatory authority over 'Palestine'…to prepare it to become the 'national home for the Jewish People'."

The Treaty defined Palestine as all "territories encompassing what are now the states of Jordan and Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza. Present-day Israel comprises only 22% of Palestine as defined and ratified at" that conference.

"In 1922, Great Britain unilaterally and without any lawful authority split off 78% of the lands promised to the Jews - all of Palestine east of the Jordan River," creating the nation of Transjordan, which was renamed Jordan in April 1949. From "creation, Transjordan was closed to all Jewish migration and settlement, a clear betrayal of the British promise in the Balfour Declaration of 1917, and a patent contravention of its Mandatory obligations under international law."

In 1947, a newly created UN,

"rather than designate the entire land west of the Jordan River as the long-promised Jewish…homeland, enacted a 2^nd partition…Jewish leaders accepted the painful judgment. Arab states did not. On May 15, 1948, exactly 24 hours after the State of Israel came into existence, Azzam Pasha, Secretary General of the Arab League, declared to a tiny new country founded upon the ashes of the Holocaust: 'This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre'.

"This unambiguous declaration has been at the very heart of all subsequent Arab orientations toward Israel, including those of [Abbas'] 'moderate' Fatah. Even by the strict legal standards of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Arab actions and attitudes toward the microscopic Jewish state in their midst has remained patently genocidal…"

In 1967 Israel, "as a result of its unexpected military victory over Arab aggressor states, gained unintended control over the West Bank and Gaza." Obviously, this was God's intention!

The Palestinian Liberation Organization had been formed in 1964, "before there were any 'Israeli Occupied Territories'. Exactly what was it, therefore, that the PLO sought to 'liberate' between 1964 and 1967?"

Beres ends,

"International law is not a suicide pact. Because a Palestinian state would severely threaten the very existence of Israel - a fact that remains altogether unhidden in Arab media and governments - the Jewish State is under no binding obligation to end a falsely alleged 'Occupation.' No state can ever be required to accept complicity in its own dismemberment and annihilation…For substantially documented reasons of history and national security, it is imperative that a 23^rd Arab state never be carved out of the still-living body of Israel."

("Israel 'occupies' no Arab territories," L.R. Beres, JP Op-ed, 18 Nov. 2008)

"I will make Jerusalem…" (Zech. 12:2-3)

Is this next news item a prelude to Zechariah 12:2-3? If so, that also means 12:10 is near - when all Israel gets saved.

On December 16^th, at "the urging of the US government," and cosponsored by Russia, "the UNSC adopted a resolution declaring peace negotiations between Israel and Palestinians 'irreversible.' The resolution makes no room for changing circumstances or non-compliance by the parties involved. It appears to have been passed in response to Israeli prime ministerial frontrunner Benjamin Netanyahu's stated intention to alter the flow of the peace process as a result of Palestinian non-compliance…

"Various UN officials who spoke at the session clarified the meaning of the resolution by insisting that the coming year must see a headlong rush to birth a Palestinian Arab state on most, if not all, of Israel's biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria."

Because of years of Palestinian non-compliance, Netanyahu wants to alter the pace and the focus of the peace process. He will talk with the PA, but will "put a hold on land concessions." Instead, he will focus on "boosting the Palestinian economy and quality of life," both of which are used as an excuse for terrorism.

A public opinion poll published that same day, "showed nearly two-thirds of Israelis still oppose surrendering Judea, Samaria, the eastern half of Jerusalem and the Golan" in any "peace" deal. ("US, UN try to handcuff Israel…,"Israel Today, 17 Dec. 2008)

Obama and the widening gap

The result of the US elections, which included Barak Hussein Obama as next president, has moved America further to the left and further away from biblical values in almost every area. If, as we fervently pray, Netanyahu becomes Israel's next leader, he will likely form a government that will move Israel further to the right and perhaps closer to God's will for Israel. This will widen the gap between Israel and the US. God said Israel will not be as other nations, but will be a nation that dwells alone (Num. 23:9).

Columnist Daniel Pipes reveals, "Ali ibn Abi-Talib, 7^th century figure central to Shiite Islam," the sect ruling Iran, "predicted when the world will end…A 'tall black man' commanding 'the strongest army on earth' will take power 'in the west.' He will carry 'a clear sign' from the 3^rdimam, Hussein…

"Barack Hussein in Arabic means 'the blessing of Hussein.' In Persian, Obama translates as 'He [is] with us'. Thus the name of America's new president, his physical attributes and geographic location, suggest that the Islamic version of the End Times is near, precisely what Ahmadinejad has been saying.

Moslem reaction to Obama's victory was mixed. US Moslems were thrilled. "Hamas, and Islamist movements in Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, India, Indonesia and the Philippines" were also delighted.

But other Muslims were not. "Iraqis are divided about Obama's plan to quickly withdraw US troops from their country. That, plus promises to end US dependence on ME oil and to negotiate with Iranian leaders rattled leaders" in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states. ("Obama Wins, Muslims Divided," Daniel Pipes, Philadelphia Bulletin, 12 Nov. 2008)

Fox News wrote that the global reaction to Obama's victory "has elevated America's president-elect to an unparalleled post: president of the world." An Israeli in Tel Aviv said, "This may be the beginning of a new world." ("In Some Nations, People Look to Obama as President of the World," Fox News, 6 Nov. 2008)

Yet David Bedein, of the Israel Resource News Agency, says the Jews chosen by Obama for his new administration should sound alarm bells for all true Zionists. Obama has picked "Jewish advisors who are quite critical of Israel…people who fantasize about Saudi Arabia and its peace intentions." These men have "promoted the peace intentions of the PLO…Dennis Ross, Dan Kurtzer, Martin Indyk. "Obama's first appointment in the White House, Rahm Emannuel, was the key person in the Clinton administration…to make Oslo happen…" ("Jews Around the Next US President," Arutz 7, 12 Nov. 2008)

Israel's true King and leader is Yeshua, but until He returns, we are commanded to pray for those whom God raises up (1 Tim. 2:1-4). Do we see a ray of hope in this excerpt from a recent speech by Netanyahu in the Knesset?

"We will not return to the 1967 lines. The Jordan Valley, the Judean Desert and the Golan Heights will continue to serve as the eastern security belt of the State of Israel.

"Two matters are not subject to negotiation: First is the entry of [Palestinian] refugees to…Israel. No nation can engage in negotiations over its annihilation….And we will not carry out negotiations on Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people for these 3,000 years."

("Excerpt: MK Netanyahu's Red Lines - Knesset Address…" Dr. A. Lerner, IMRA, 27 Oct. 2008)

Good news from the economic earthquake

Is the one world economic order almost upon us? Sooner or later it will happen and we need to be prepared to trust God and resist receiving the mark of the beast (Rev. 13:11-18).

The good news is that current economic shakings are shaking Israelis out of America, as many are calling Israeli consulates, "asking for help in getting back to Israel." ("Israelis in US desperate to return home," Ynetnews, 24 Nov. 2008)

"Jews around the world are starting to look to Israel as a haven from the financial storm. Israel's Ministry of Absorption and the Jewish Agency [JA] for Israel expect more than 30,000 immigrants and returning Israelis," to come home in 2009. ("30,000 Immigrants Predicted For 2009 Thanks to Global Crisis," Arutz 7, 16 Dec. 2008)

Arutz 7 said,

"Chanukah marks the ancient miracle of a day's supply of pure olive oil burning for 8 days in the Holy Temple. This year, another miracle is oil-rich Arab nations in panic over the plunge in crude oil prices from $147 in the summer to less than $40 on Chanukah…The world-wide recession…has pushed oil-rich Arab nations into a frenzy over expected debts.

"Analysts also have estimated that the plunge might succeed where the western world has failed in its attempt to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power…The collapse of the crude oil market is putting Iran under the kind of pressure Tehran has not endured for several years…The country's inflation rate is 30%, and the government, burdened by outlays for the nuclear development program and other weapons systems, is looking at a $50 billion deficit. The mood of the public is angry," plus recent newspaper headlines blared, 'What has the government done with $200 billion in oil revenues?'"

("Modern Miracle of Oil: $147 a Barrel In Summer, $39 on Chanukah," Arutz 7, 23 Dec. 2008)

"LORD has prepared His throne in the heavens; His kingdom rules over all."

(Psalms 103:19)

Chuck & Karen Cohen

Chuck's Future Ministry - Lord Willing!

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