It Looks Like Reign Is Coming
Zechariah 9:5-6
"Ashkelon will see it and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, and Ekron too, for her hope will wither. Gaza will lose her king and Ashkelon will be deserted. A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod, and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines."
And he did. And now that land is desolate, though populated still. The homeland of the descendants of first century Christians and present day Sunni Muslim Arabs. It's bordering Israel to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and its remnant villages are along the high road from out of Egypt to the south. Today these once great Philistine cities are now governed by the Palestinian Authority. Maybe a couple million Arab and Muslim/Christian people call this area home.
Before the 1948 Arab–Israeli War this region was controlled by Egypt. Before that the region was established as "Palestine" by the British Empire following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. It was used as a staging ground for Arab Palestinian refugees fleeing the wars. And has been previously occupied by Egypt before the current Israeli occupation. It's never known peace under any regime. Mainly due to its proximity to the high road out of Egypt. No invading nation throughout the ages, Assyrian, Greek, Roman, Islamic, or British, could avoid marching through these cities and towns and involving them in their wars. And Israel could not secure their sovereignty without controlling that region to some degree. God had indeed kept his prophecy and humbled the mighty giants of the Philistines, but that region remains even now in the international spotlight, garnering attention across the globe. Causing activists and dissidents to march in defiance to divine justice and the long-shared history of Palestine and Israel. The Jewish connection with Gaza stretches back to the dawn of our very existence.
In the Book of Genesis (20:1), the Torah says that Abraham “lived in Gerar,” a city in Gaza. In (Genesis 26:3) God stops Isaac in Gerar as he's leaving Egypt and tells him explicitly: “Dwell in this land, and I will be with you, and I will bless you; for unto you and unto your seed will I give all these lands”
Later on, following the Egyptian exodus into the Promised Land, Gaza was given to the tribe of Judah (see Joshua 15:47) as a share of its inheritance. And we can see again the promise regarding Palestine in the Book of Judges (1:18), “Judah captured Gaza and its border.” And even so throughout the ages that region has remained a thorn in Israel's side.
In 145 BC king Jonathan surrounded the area with his armies. He walled them off from escape. And he conquered the area, burning all the lands around them. This pacified the populace, and he compelled the Gazans to plead for peace. The Gazans didn't keep their promise of peace, sound familiar? Later on, the Maccabees under Simon's leadership quelled the uprisings somewhat and reestablished a fragile security in the region. After a yearlong siege, Alexander Jannaeus captured the region and he brings a form of peace there. And for a time, Israel controlled the area and built settlements and synagogues there. In those Israeli lands in Gaza is the ruins of one of the oldest synagogues dating back to the early sixth century, more than 1,400 years before the invention of the Palestinian plan created by the British Empire. This region was frequently visited even in the Christian New Testament period. The converted Jews, the gospel writers, spread the good news about Jesus Christ in Gaza (see Philip in the book of Acts).
And so, you see, Israel has always strived to remain in their promised lands. Though the Christian crusaders ripped them from their ancestral homeland, for more than 2000 years they've always tried to return there. The Romans evicted the Jews from there, as did the Crusaders. And the Ottomans, Napoleon, the Brits, and the Egyptians did the same. Time after time they were exiled and left homeless, but they always sought to return there. And even Israel itself has conspired to join that insidious group of warring nations by uprooting their own settlements there.
Gaza is not only a part of Jewish history, but also, its Israel's inheritance, and destiny. That region was set aside by God for the people of Israel and has been a blessing and a curse. A judgement upon the children of God. A promise of both triumph and tragedy, exile and return, swords and shields, always a road for invading armies. It's always going to be a place of reign. Someone from somewhere is forever trying to reign there. It's never going to be a place of peace until the king of the universe returns and establishes his kingdom reign.
Friends,
Do not doubt, God's Spirit is causing dreams and visions among many in the Palestinian world. A small remnant of Gazans are giving their hearts and minds to Jesus Christ. Today a former PLO sniper, who formerly worked for Yassir Arafat, leads a Christian humanitarian mission there.
And he comments:
"Despite all of the destruction that is taking place, I believe God has a purpose to get the Palestinians in Gaza to wake up and look at a different alternative to what they believe." - Taysir Saada.
The Spirit works everywhere. Many Christians remain in Gaza to provide aid to the Palestinian community. There are a thousand Christians left still in Gaza, amidst a sea of 2.2 million Muslims. This is the church being the church, doing the gospel. In the midst of this modern and ancient conflict, Christ continues to send his gospel messengers, in dreams and visions, and through manifestations of hope.
Pray for Gaza and Israel. Pray for peace and God's mercy upon them all.