A tiny nation birthed officially on 14 May 1948, Israel is surrounded ominously by hostile nations 65 times its size (22,072km). Hence, her 8 million people have to be on daily alert to threats of the Muslim nations in the north, east and south. Nations that ruled Israel in the past were Babylon (587 BC), Persia (538 -333 BC), Greece (333-63 BC), Rome (63 BC -AD 313), Byzantine (AD 313-636), Arab (AD 636-1099), Crusaders (AD 1099 -1291), Mamluk (AD 1291 -1516), Ottoman (AD 1516-1918), and Britain (AD 1917 -1948). In 1948, under David Ben-Gurion, Jews reestablished sovereignty over their ancient homeland and the modern state of Israel was birthed.
A day after the declaration of independence on 14 May, the five surrounding Arab nations of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq invaded Israel. They boasted, “We will push the Jews into the sea.” This was the War of Independence where these Arab states jointly declared full-scale wars against Israel: 1948 – War of Independence, 1956 – Sinai War, 1967 – The 6-Day War and in 1973 – Yom Kippur War.
Despite the superiority of the Arab armies, Israel defended herself successfully each time and won. Miracle after miracle that stupefied the intellect happened and displayed God’s mighty hand over Israel.
The Ingathering of Jews, a significant miracle, soon happened: Diaspora Jews came from Georgia, Morocco, Russia, America, China, Ethiopia, Europe and other countries (Isa 43:5,6). The horrible genocide in the Holocaust of 6 million Jews by Hitler only made these unique people of God more resilient.
Prime Minister Netanyahu commented, “The failure of the Soviet communism to capitalise on the outstanding R&D skills of the Russian Jews was a stroke of good fortune for Israel. We now have the highest per capita of scientists in the world. This has put Israel on the cutting edge of technology.” What was once a barren, infertile land became well-irrigated, luscious agricultural land for various fruits, vegetables and husbandry, making Israel the economic envy of the nations (Isa 38:12-13: Ezek 36:34-35).
Today, this tiny country is an exceeding beauty, with thousands of years of wonderful history and a potpourri of cultural and traditional diversities. Israel is truly God’s Miracle-Nation! Let’s join our hearts to pray for Israel! (Zech 8:23)
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