I’m trying to figure out (again!) how to write about my trip to Israel—I do not want this to be just an accounting of places I travelled to and a record of archeological sites I visited.  The fact that we stayed in wonderful hotels and ate amazing food (and amazing amounts of it!) really is not what this trip was about.  Personal struggles dimmed in the midst of trying to grasp as much as possible of the significance and history of where God birthed a nation, and where our Savior, Jesus Christ, was born, grew up, and died.

Having recently read the 10^th chapter of Genesis and seeing some of the lands where Noah’s family began to spread out, names and people groups began to take on identities, blessings and curses started becoming apparent; and significantly, God’s sovereignty in leading people and establishing nations—most notably, the Hebrew nation—was discernable.

…which is good to remember as there is so much strong (and violent) opposition to God, to Israel, and to Christianity in the cultures of this world—and it is increasingly reflected in the leadership of nations.  However, we have this assurance that “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1).

We can see God’s hand in using Pharaoh to demonstrate His power in securing the deliverance of the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt.  We can also see Him working through a pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar, in bringing judgment on the people of Judah.  In fact, Jeremiah records two times when God called Nebuchadnezzar “My servant” (Jeremiah 25:9).  And, “…Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters: ‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me.  And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him” (Jeremiah 27:4-6).

Even though it was necessary for God to allow judgment to come upon His people, He still refers to Himself as the God of Israel.  And a couple of chapters later God assures His people, “‘Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord, ‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity.  Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid.  For I am with you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you; though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you.  But I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished.’” (Jeremiah 30:10, 11).

At the end of seventy years of captivity in Babylon, “…the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:  All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me.  And He has commanded me to build Him a house in Jerusalem which is in Judah.  Who is among you of all His people?  May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem….” (Ezra 1:1-3).

God also used king Artaxerxes for the rebuilding of Jerusalem.  As the prophet Nehemiah (faithfully) served the king his wine, Artaxerxes noted Nehemiah’s downcast countenance and inquired concerning his sadness.  Fearfully he responded, “May the king live forever!  Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste and its gates are burned with fire?” (Nehemiah 2:3) Artaxerxes responded to Nehemiah’s request, “I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it” (Nehemiah 2:5), by allowing him to go, sending letters with him to the governors of the region that they would allow him passage and letters to the keepers of the king’s forest to supply timber for rebuilding.

Even though Nehemiah had the support of the king, he still faced opposition.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the plain of Ono the past couple of weeks.  Located about 30 miles NW of Jerusalem, it was from there that the enemies of Judah and Jerusalem sent Nehemiah a message saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.” (Nehemiah 6:2) But Nehemiah understood that it was a trap and, even though they sent the message four times, he refused to go, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.  Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” (6:3) So the enemy changed his strategy and started accusing Nehemiah of planning a rebellion.  And again Nehemiah replied, “‘No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.’  For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying ‘their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.’  Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”  (Nehemiah 6:8, 9)

God is Sovereign!  Whether a nation’s leaders are antagonistic towards God’s people—like Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar—or if they appear to be supportive—like Cyrus and Artaxerxes—we will always have enemies who seek to destroy us.  And like ancient Israel, who had the everlasting covenant that God made with Abraham, and the promise, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope,” (Jeremiah 29:11), we have a New Covenant, “…being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness.” (Romans 3:24, 25).

Just as Nehemiah’s enemies bid him meet them at the plain of Ono in order to trap and harm him, our enemy “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).  And like Nehemiah, we must “resist him, steadfast in the faith” (5:9).

Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of the enemies of God’s people sought to set a trap for Nehemiah by luring him away from God’s Word and His purposes for the prophet’s life.  They tried to instill fear in him and plotted to isolate him from the support of God’s people.  When that didn’t work, they accosted him with lies, intimidation, and deception.  The devil and his cohorts work against us in much the same ways by attacking our identity and calling, undermining the Word of God, and attempting to isolate us from fellowship.  When those tactics don’t work, he seeks to instill fear, deceive, intimidate, and spread lies about the followers of Christ.

As the culture and political climate grow increasingly hostile towards God and His people, let us determine not to go down to the plain of Ono—not to make compromises with God’s Word and His destiny for our lives, not avoiding fellowship with other Bible-believing Christians.  May we trust the sovereignty of God, and not bow to the intimidation and lies of the enemy; instead, let us “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might”, taking “up the whole armor of God, that [we] may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand!” (Ephesians 6:13)