Indepenedence Day!

Yesterday was Yom Hazikaron, the day that Israelis stop to honor their fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. It began with the sounding of the sirens and ended yesterday evening with Yom Ha'atzaut, Independence Day, commemorating the day in 1948 that Israel declared its independence. Last night the streets were filled with fun, food, music and fireworks and just about every type of celebration that one could imagine.  

In 1948 no one could envision the thriving state that Israel is today.  Back then there were 650,000 Jews surrounded by the combined forces of their Arab neighbors determined to wipe them from the face of the earth, and that was after Hitler had already tried.  Today, Israel is a nation of 8 million that is a regional military superpower and the second-largest hi-tech startup nation in the world, exceeded only by the United States. Why are they still here and thriving despite what still are sometimes frightening odds?

Today we celebrated Independence Day in the same way that we have often celebrated our own Independence Day at home, at a church picnic.  And before the fun and eating began, one of the men of the church spent some time giving a short message mainly to the children. Why is Israel still here?  Because God has a plan - God is determined to show the world that he is the One True God. The Jews just happen to be part of that plan so, in spite of the odds, Israel won that war in 1948, and 1967 and 1973, not because Israel's army is so good, though it is; but because God has a plan and He will see it through to the end. He has a message to deliver - that is that He is the One True God!