PSALMS S.O.A.P. ~ PSALM 70
Wednesday, 10/25/23
SCRIPTURE:
God, hurry to rescue me.
Lord, hurry to help me!
~ Psalms 70:1
OBSERVATION:
His timing is always perfect...
...though my sense of timing gets me in trouble more times than not...
Still, He will rescue and help me...
...if I let Him... (His gift of free will is almost as good as His gift of grace through Jesus...)
APPLICATION:
Rely on His timing...
Rest in His timing and rescue...
Don't rush my will into the way of His timing...
PRAYER: (Including verses 4 & 5)
Loving, timely Father God - too often I find myself calling for You to hurry to rescue me...hurry to help me because I have started off on my own trail without seeking Your will first... May Your Spirit guide me to actions that let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may I recall and love your salvation continually saying, “You are great! You are my help and my deliverer!" Lord Jesus come, do not delay. In His Name, and for Your glory and praise in all things...
Rejoicing in Him - for you and yours...
𝖌
<))><
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Key terms necessary for understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict :
Part 1- Ancient Israel to the founding of modern Israel, Jewish terms
A/N: Hey! The results are in, and this is the topic my followers chose🫶 Writing this felt very much like retaking my high school history finals lol. Enjoy reading.
*These terms and definitions will be organized by topics, in chronological order.
**If I have made a mistake or if you feel like I forgot something important- don’t hesitate to tell me in the comments. It is very hard to summarize thousands of years.
*** Be respectful, I am human.
1. Key terms in Judaism and the connection to the land of Israel :
Israel and Judea- Were the two ancient Jewish kingdoms.
Zion ציון- Is one of the 70 biblical names for the city of Jerusalem. In fact, Jerusalem is referenced by this name in the bible over 150 times.
The word Zion is very much embedded into our culture: it is used in many prayers and Jewish texts written throughout Jewish history, songs etc.
Zion and the exile from it:
It is especially used when describing longing and the wanting of return to the land of Israel:
The most famous example that uses the word Zion is the biblical prayer from the book of Psalms, 137:
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
תהילים פרק קלז
א עַל נַהֲרוֹת, בָּבֶל--שָׁם יָשַׁבְנוּ, גַּם-בָּכִינוּ: בְּזָכְרֵנוּ, אֶת-צִיּוֹן.
This verse is an example of the longing for Israel: as it was written after the exile to Babylon.
*Yes, the funky Boney M song is based on this Psalms verse :)
Coming full circle- It is also used in the official hymn of the modern state of Israel, Ha'Tikva. התקווה, written by Naftali Herz Imber.
This word might sound familiar to you, as it is also the origin of the word "Zionism".
Zionism- is the notion that the Jewish people deserve to have a state of their own.
Semite- is a term for people relating to, or constituting a subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic language family:
Semite languages- are a group of ancient languages, that originated around the same time, in Africa and the Middle East- aka the neighboring countries of Israel.
The Semitic languages are: Hebrew and its other ancient dialects , Arabic, Amharic, Aramaic and more. Unfortunately , most of these are extinct and no longer spoken.
The languages that are still spoken to this very day are : Arabic, Amharic and Hebrew.
Some Hebrew Fun facts :
-While there are only estimated 8 million Hebrew speakers nowadays( most of them Israeli), Hebrew is considered a holy language in is spoken during prayer.
-Ancient Hebrew and modern Hebrew are very similar. So much so that if I were to time travel, I could have a decent conversation with my ancestors😊 (some pronunciations, grammar and words have changed, but it’s essential the same).
-Which cannot be done with Romanic languages or Celtic languages..
Antisemitism
A\N: This word is getting its whole section because it simply deserves it.
Nowadays, every time a Jewish person says something is antisemitic, they will usually be bombarded with mocking comments about how Jews like to call everything antisemitic.
If had a nickel for every time I got those comments or an Arab person tried to troll me in the comment section by saying "I can't be antisemitic if I'm a Semite myself"...
Let's make it clear (once again).
As I have explained before, the word Semite refers to a group of ethnicities. However, the word Antisemitic refers to Jewish hatred:
"Antisemitism is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews.[2][3][4] This sentiment is a form of racism,[5][6] and a person who harbors it is called an antisemite. Though antisemitism is overwhelmingly perpetrated by non-Jews, it may occasionally be perpetrated by Jews in a phenomenon known as auto-antisemitism ".
TLDR: Don't be a Jerk and use antisemitic rhetoric, blood libels, and stereotypes... You don't get to choose if something is antisemitic or not, Jews do.
2. Modern Israel and its founding
The Knesset- Is the Israeli parliament consisting of 120 members, elected democratically every 4 years.
Usually- there have been 5 elections in the last 5 years. It also currently has 36 ministers. Yes, that _IS_ a lot.
Kibbutz- "Kibbutz is a community where people voluntarily live and work together on a noncompetitive basis. The first kibbutzim were organized by idealistic young Zionists in the beginning of the 20th century."
As time moved on, starting in the 80s, many Kibbutzim struggled financially and closed down.
Today, there are 265 Kibbutzim left, with approximately 200,000 residents. Less than 20% of them are communal.
Unfortunately today, the word Kibbutz has a different connotation:
British mandate- Yep, they colonized us too lol. After the first world war, Between 1917 and May 1948 (Israel was founded literally as soon as the mandate ended).
Fun fact- Today, there are still a few rules left from the British mandate In Israel (Most of them were updated or changed by Israeli law makers after it's founding, usually by the Knesset and the Supreme court of justice).
“Homa U’migdal” (חומה ומגדל Tower and stockade)- During the British mandate, Jewish settlements were built overnight due to a legal loophole still valid from the Ottoman rule. The loophole prevented the British from destroying the new settlement:
"Homa U'Migdal is the name of an operation that the leaders of the Yishuv initiated in Palestine, during which 52 new settlements were founded. This operation was a response of the Yishuv to the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt and the restrictions the Mandatory authorities placed, both on the building of new Jewish settlements, and on the amount of Jewish immigrants allowed into Palestine. The building of each settlement began at night. First, the guard tower and the defense stockade were set up, so the operation was named “Tower and Stockade”. According to an old Ottoman law that was still valid during the Mandate period, the destroying of a building was not allowed after the roof had been erected. For this reason the British did not destroy the "Tower and Stockade" settlements which had not received building permits. "
The 2-state solution - The notion that the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be two states for two people- one for Arabs and one for Jews.
Balfour's declaration- is the famous letter sent by then-British foreign secretary Lord Balfour to Lord Rothschild in 1917. In the letter, Lord Balfour stated that the British Empire would support the forming of a Jewish Zionist state in the land of Israel.
Peel Commission- was a community created in 1936 by the British rule during their Mandate over Israel. As the name suggests, the head of the Commity was Lord Peel. A suggestion for a Two-state solution was suggested to representatives of both Jews and Arabs. Unfortunately, the Arabs have refused it.
1947 Partition Plan- A partition plan suggested by the UN, that included another draft of the two-state solution, with different borders. The Arabs have refused it once more.
Declaration of Israel's Independence from Britain:
And so, as the British mandate ended on May 14th, 1948, the people's Council (that later served as the initial government of Israel) declared the formation of the modern state of Israel.
The day following the declaration, the Arabs in Israel revolted and with the help of 5 foreign armies that invaded Israel, tried to stop the formation of Israel: Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon.
They failed and Israel was formed.
You can watch David Ben Gurion, head of the council (and Israel's future first prime minister) declare its formation/independence here.
PS- this was the flag of Palestine before the current one:
Sources:
-Semite languages pic:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Semitic-languages
-Kibbutz: * https://kibbutzulpan.org/about_kibbutz/
*https://www.hamichlol.org.il/%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C (Hebrew)
-Homa U'Migdal" : http://www.zionistarchives.org.il/en/Pages/TowerStockade.aspx
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I Waited Patiently for the LORD
1 I waited, waited for יהוה; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry.
2 And He drew me Out of the pit of destruction, Out of the muddy clay, And He set my feet upon a rock, He is establishing my steps.
3 Then He put a new song in my mouth; Praise to our Elohim; Many do see it and fear, And trust in יהוה.
4 Blessed is that man who has made יהוה his trust, And has not turned to the proud, And those turning aside to falsehood.
5 O יהוה my Elohim, many are the wonders Which You have done, and Your purposes toward us; There is no one to compare with You; I declare and speak: They are too many to be numbered.
6 Slaughtering and meal offering You did not desire; You have opened my ears; Burnt offering and sin offering You did not ask for.
7 Then I said, “See, I have come; In the scroll of the Book it is prescribed for me.
8 I have delighted to do Your pleasure, O my Elohim, And Your Torah is within my hearta.”
9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness, In the great assembly; See, I do not restrain my lips, O יהוה, You know.
10 I did not conceal Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your trustworthiness and Your deliverance; I did not hide Your kindness and Your truth From the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold Your compassion from me, O יהוה; Let Your kindness and Your truth always watch over me.
12 For evils without number have surrounded me; My crookednesses have overtaken me, And I have been unable to see; They became more than the hairs of my head; And my heart has failed me.
13 Be pleased, O יהוה, to deliver me; O יהוה, hasten to help me!
14 Let those who seek to destroy my life Be ashamed and abashed altogether; Let those who are desiring my evil Be driven back and put to shame.
15 Let those who say to me, “Aha, aha!” Be appalled at their own shame.
16 Let all those who seek You Rejoice and be glad in You; Let those who love Your deliverance always say, “יהוה be exalted!”
17 But I am poor and needy; Let יהוה think upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my Elohim, do not delay!
— Psalm 40 | The Scriptures 1998 (ISR 1998)
The Scriptures 1998 Copyright © 1998 Institute for Scripture Research. All Rights reserved.
Cross References: Genesis 49:18; Joshua 22:22; Job 5:9; Job 7:11; Job 37:24; Job 42:3; Psalm 7:9; Psalm 18:5; Psalm 18:29; Psalm 22:19; psalm 22:26; Psalm 25:3; Psalm 25:10; Psalm 28:7; Psalm 34:8; Psalm 35:4; Psalm 35:21; Psalm 35:26-27; Psalm 38:22; Psalm 57:3; Psalm 70:3-4 and 5; Psalm 86:1 Matthew 3:15; Luke 21:20; John 4:34; Acts 20:20; Acts 20:27; 2 Corinthians 3:3; Hebrews 10:5-6; Hebrews 10:7-8 and 9; 1 Peter 5:7; Revelation 5:9
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