We read in the prophet Isaiah these words to the people of Israel; “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.” (Isaiah 30:20 ESV)
Once again Israel as a nation is at the crossroads with the leadership of the nation in turmoil as it battles the ever increasing COVID-19 Pandemic, not to mention their implacable enemies on all sides, some who are still hell-bent on wiping Israel off of the map and others want to see a so called ‘Palestinian ‘State that has no place for the Jewish people. There are even Arab ‘Christians’ who want to see the creation of a Palestinian state and are calling the Israelis oppressors of the Palestinians.
And so the prophet Isaiah writes… “And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction…”
God said through the prophet Ezekiel; “This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: Where is the good way? Then walk in it and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’” (Ezekiel 6:16) As we see the political upheaval, uncertainty and a seemingly stalemate between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz we also see that even the Knesset itself is divided. Another election is out of the question in the current crisis where Israelis are basically in lock-down as the COVID-19 takes its toll on the nation.
God said through the prophet Hosea; “For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.” (Hosea 3:4) In the Torah God gave His people the principles and laws of government but they have chosen to follow the ways of the Egypt of this world and turned their backs on the only one who can direct the nation at this time. And so the nation is without the guidance of God.
The religious orthodox Jews claim to follow the Torah but reject the Messiah of whom Moses wrote about in the Torah. If they really had spiritual insight concerning what Moses wrote they would see the one He wrote about was the Messiah our Lord Jesus. (Deuteronomy 18:15,18,19) (Acts 3:22-23) However, the veil remains over the eyes of their hearts to this day and sadly only the bread of adversity and the water of affliction is what will draw them to the Messiah so that He might remove the veil. (2 Corinthians 3:14-16)
Israel as a nation is no stranger to the bread of adversity and to the water of affliction as their long and troubled history has shown. Physically bread and water are the basic necessities to sustain life. So God has given Israel their Messiah our Lord Jesus who is Himself the bread and the water of life, but by and large, the nation has rejected Him and has hewn out cisterns for themselves that cannot hold the water of life. God said through Jeremiah the prophet “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)
To this day turmoil still reigns in Israel at the political level in the Knesset and at the national level. The people of Israel are still looking to the Egypt of this world for support but will not look to the God of Israel, their rock of salvation. Even though there are many among the Jewish Orthodox Rabbis and their people praying and seeking God they are still rejecting their Messiah. They are still labouring under the curse of the Law.
They cannot see that only through the atoning blood of the Messiah has the curse been removed but they reject His atoning work. To this day they remain under the curse which brings upon them the bread of adversity and the water of affliction. If only they would realise that when a Jewish person comes to repentance and faith in the Messiah and in His blood which justifies, sanctifies and cleanses a sinner from sin, that the curse over their life will be broken. (Galatians 3:13)
Yet we also see what the prophet Isaiah writes…”Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days”
Israel as a nation is yet to face their darkest hour and in that day the survivors in Israel will realise that the cisterns of materialism, self-confidence, idolatry, immorality, sodomy, non-therapeutic abortions, living only for the pleasures of the flesh and living the lifestyles of the pagan nations, will prove to be broken cisterns that cannot supply the spiritual sustenance they need. This will drive them to the one who is the fountain of life and in whose blood is that fountain that can cleanse the heart and conscience from all sin and unrighteousness. (Zechariah 13:1) (1 John 1:7-9) (Hebrews 9:14)
The day is coming when Israel’s teacher the Messiah our Lord Jesus will reveal Himself to His wayward brethren and in that day God Himself says; “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10) In that day their eyes shall see their teacher and the tears of repentance and joy will be great in Jerusalem and it will be a sound that will reverberate around the globe.
