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Yesterday was a day of huge mourning here in Israel as they returned the Bibas babies’ remains. It was an unbelievable display, bringing children on the stage in Gaza to cheer while these babies’ bodies were returned in coffins. Their mother’s body is still not found.

But in the midst of this going on in the country today, last night the Lord gave a real sign, I believe, to Israel that they are not forsaken or abandoned.

It’s the 21st of February, day 504 of the war.

Israel, Not Forsaken or Abandoned

Last night, someone in Bat Yam, which is south of Tel Aviv, noticed something suspicious on her bus and notified the bus driver. Long story short, he was able to get everyone off the bus and get the bus somewhere before a bomb exploded.

It turned out that that bus, and two or three others, did explode, but no one was killed or even injured, and this is an amazing miracle.

They believe what happened is that the bombers who had made these had used analog timers and set them for 9:00, but the timers went off at 9:00 at night rather than 9:00 in the morning.

They discovered many, many more bombs on public transportation here in Israel, so there was evidently a plan that could have killed hundreds of Israelis this morning at 9:00.But instead, the plot was discovered, it was thwarted, it was stopped.

They closed out all public transportation till they could search and get rid of every bomb. God supernaturally protected His people, and this is such a comfort in the midst of this difficult time to know that God has not abandoned and has not forsaken Israel.

You know, in the scriptures, He talks to Jerusalem. He tells them you could feel abandoned or forsaken, but you’re not, and He is with them.

He who watches over Israel doesn’t slumber or sleep.

In the midst of things that we don’t understand, we see the faithfulness of God and the mercies of God in protecting what could have been hundreds of Israelis who could have been killed this morning. So, we encourage you to thank the Lord with us for His continual protection. That He who watches over Israel never slumbers and never sleeps.

What Man Meant for Evil, God Can Turn to Good

And God can turn even this horrible situation that happened concerning the Bibas family. He can turn it into something good for Israel in the long term.

Of the bombs that they thwarted, they are almost certain that they came out of Judea and Samaria, a city called Tulkarm.

In one of the bombs, it said in Arabic that there were greetings from Tulkarm.

So, suddenly, the nation is waking up to the fact that you cannot even trust the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria. It’s getting clearer and clearer that there has to be a plan, a solution, for the day after this war in Gaza, for also dealing with Judea and Samaria.

And we, as you know, like to pray into the long-term purposes of God in the scriptures because that’s something clear that we can stand upon.

Take Ezekiel 36. I encourage you to read the whole chapter to proclaim it over Israel. It talks about the mountains of Israel, and the mountains of Israel are almost all found in Judea and Samaria, what the world calls the West Bank.

And God promises that He will give those back to His people, Israel, that they will come from the nations and settle on them, and that there will be a tremendous answer. He says those mountains will no longer devour your children.

And so, there are tremendous promises. So, I encourage you to read Ezekiel 36, bearing in mind that the mountains of Israel are Judea and Samaria, which is what the world calls the West Bank.

Let’s proclaim the long-term purpose of God, that Judea and Samaria is to be a place to no longer devour the children of Israel but actually to receive them from the nations. How all that’s going to work is beyond us, but our God is a mighty God. He has already done so many miracles and shown His great wisdom.

God’s Mercy Thwarts Iran’s Scheming

It’s very obvious that everything had been planned by Iran so that, at the same time, Gaza would invade, Hamas would invade, Hezbollah from Lebanon would invade, and the Houthis would send in their missiles.

They had a plan, and in Judea and Samaria, they were preparing these bombing cells, these terrorist cells. So, if all of that had happened at the same time, I don’t know if Israel could have dealt with it.

But God was so merciful in His wisdom to allow them to deal first with Hamas.

As we’ve been praying that Hamas would not just be pruned again but uprooted, we need to hold on for that. But Hezbollah has been severely weakened. I spoke this week with a man directly from Lebanon who said it’s unbelievable to them how weak Hezbollah is right now.

And that now is the time to believe the Lord for the full uprooting of Hezbollah. And now, through this thwarted bus bombing, Judea and Samaria—the West Bank—have been exposed.

What Iran had hoped to do is being dealt with. But the bottom line is the head of the snake, the head of the octopus, was Iran. So, I encourage you to keep praying the scriptures.

Breaking the Bow of Elam

Many of you have been praying with us from Jeremiah 49. If you’re not familiar, in verse 35, He promises He will break the bow of Elam. And Elam was the capital, the provincial capital of what is now Iran—it’s Shushan, the city where Haman was defeated, where Queen Esther and Mordecai had their intercession answered.

So, He says, “I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might.” In other words, God Himself will arise to break up their nuclear capabilities and their military capabilities.

And then, the wonderful promise comes for Elam in verse 38: He says, “I will set my throne in Elam.”

So, it’s redemptive—to set the people free. God’s desire is not just to protect Israel but to set Gaza free from the oppression of Hamas, to set Lebanon free from the oppression of Hezbollah, and also to set Iran, the people of Iran, free from the oppression of their evil regime.

Sanctions on Iran are Having a Great Effect

Now, I was talking with an Iranian this week, and he said the pressures that the Trump administration is putting upon Iran right now through sanctions are having a great effect.

He said that every three days, the price of just staples, like eggs or bread or things, have risen 10%, 20%, and 30% every few days.

Now, no country can keep on going like that without the people rising up at some point.

So, let’s pray for Iran. The very best-case scenario would be that the people would rise up and overthrow their evil regime. But if not, we need to pray that there will be wisdom for the timing of a military intervention that would take out their nuclear program that could create a horror beyond anything that has been seen in the Middle East.

God is Still Working

So, God is still at work. We thank the Lord that He has cut off one arm of the octopus of Hezbollah and another arm off the octopus of Hamas, and we believe He will go for the head of the octopus, the head of the snake, and that He will set His throne in Elam.

So, let’s keep praying and believing the Lord for His long-term purposes. God has great promises for Israel, for Gaza, for Lebanon, for Yemen, and for Iran. They are wonderful promises in the Word of God.

And let’s keep proclaiming His Word and standing on His Word, that He will fulfill everything He has spoken.

Shalom from Jerusalem.