by Rev. H. R. Moshe Radcliff, Th.L.
The recent weeks have witnessed interesting events in the Middle East that must be seen in the light of Scripture. Once more the world has seen God’s faithfulness to His Ancient People, the Jews; that they are still beloved for their fathers’ sake. He no doubt was on their side and brake the snare of their enemies by giving the Jews victory. Egypt and her Arab neighbours attacked Israel with the avowed aim of driving her into the sea, and to cause her to cease from being a Nation. (Psa. 83. 4). When the Egyptian army crossed the Suez Canal the soldiers shouted: “Allah is great!” But where is the greatness of their Allah now? Here both the Israelies and the Arabs, Jew and Moslem, have uncontradicted evidence that there is no God but the Lord, and no Saviour but Jesus the Messiah who came out of Nazareth.
One remarkable portion describing and fortelling the events is Zecariah 12. Here the Holy Spirit prophesies that the nations will gather in a siege against Judah and Jerusalem. Their ambition, however, will be frustrated and they will not succeed. On the contrary it will be to their own destruction (vv. 2 and 9). Well, this is precisely what happened. The cease fire came just in time to save the Egyptians and Syrians from a crushing defeat. Verse 10 goes on to promise that after such a defeat God will at last convert the Jews by pouring out upon them the Spirit of grace and supplication, which will give them a faith’s view of the crucified divine Messiah. Such a view will give the Jews godly repentance for their sins — their sins of unbelief, rebellion against God, their rejection of Christ and their part in the crucifixion of their Messiah.
It needs to be said that the Jewish people of today have no sense of sin. This is borne out by the reply that a Rabbi gave the writer not so long ago: “I don’t let my sins worry me.” Further, they seek to wash their hands of all responsibility in Christ’s crucifixion with their standard answer: “The Romans crucified Jesus”. But there can be no conversion of the Jews without both a conviction of sin and the heart-breaking confession of their participation and hand in the crucifixion. When the Spirit will come upon them, they will not only know what their fathers did, but also that their cry “His blood be upon us and on our children” is being fulfilled in the experience of the Jews to this very hour. They will also know that the present generation is as guilty of this cry as were their fathers. The writer himself is very conscious of this in his own soul. He cannot fail to recognise his own voice in the shouts of the multitude. Yet such a conviction, such humbling, such mourning, such confession shall not be fruitless. It will be followed by a full and free pardon from God. This will be all of His free and sovereign grace.
It is always unwise to predict times and seasons for they are in the secret purposes of God, and one day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as one day. Nevertheless what is happening today — and no less in the Middle East — is what God has decreed from eternity. These events clearly reveal that He is faithful to His promises. He Who did not fail to deliver Israel from the hands of those who would have destroyed them will not fail to deliver them from their unbelief and will surely convert them. Not only so, but their conversion is drawing nearer — their conversion is imminent, whether the time is hours, days, months or years away.
The duty of the Lord’s People is clear. We ought to be fervent in our prayers for the Jews: “Oh, that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.” (Ps. 14:7). We are always safe in returning the prayers of Scripture. It is our duty to pray for the conversion of the Jews in private, family and public. The Lord’s People must not, however, forget to pray for the conversion of the Arabs also, that they might know, that the One Whose name is Jehovah is God alone. (Psa. 83:18). The Holy Spirit has not left them without a promise in Isaiah 19:23.