Since the focus of Fortress of Faith is on the dangers of Islam, we often have a negative tone. In this article, I want to remind us that God is still on the throne. The fact that Islam is growing is no surprise to Him. I believe He has a purpose in this. If we continue in our sin, God will allow judgment to come upon our nation just as He did in Israel of old. He always warned them that if they continued in their rebellion against Him, judgment would come. But if they would turn back to Him, He would send a blessing.

Before God sent judgment He always sent preachers to warn. The people would not listen and God would send the pain. I believe that we are at that point here in America today.

I believe that this is the calling that God has put upon me. He called me back from the mission field to warn my own country that we are making the same mistakes that Europe made. Having lived in Europe for a major portion of my life I have seen the results of turning from God.

God will not wink at our sin.

James 4:17 – Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Sometimes we fear because of what is happening. Fear is sometimes a good thing. When I was growing up my dad wanted me to fear the lawnmower. He took a stick and put in under the lawnmower while it was running. The stick was chopped to pieces. He told me to imagine that it was my foot. He brought fear into my life, but it was that fear that helped me keep my toes.

Today I want to bring some encouragement to you. Many times Israel faced insurmountable odds and we saw God take them through these impossible situations. God showed that He can be trusted if we will just follow His precepts.

Israel was released from the most powerful nation on earth when God brought them out of Egypt. He used ten plagues to bring Pharaoh to his knees and he finally let Israel go. After he let them go God allowed them to get trapped with Egypt’s army behind them and the Red Sea in front of them. There were mountains on either side and there was nowhere for them to go. When there was no hope, God delivered them and wiped out Pharaoh’s whole army. This, and the many other times God delivered Israel, shows that God can be trusted, even under insurmountable odds.

God put Israel to the test when they were ready to take the Promised Land. The first time they failed the test, God put them through 40 years of wandering. When they came back the giants were still there but God allowed them to take the land.

Look at the wars that Israel had to fight in Bible times. Look at Gideon in Judges chapters 6-8, for example. God sent away the majority of Gideon’s army and gave them victory with just 300 men against 135,000 Midianites. That is one Israeli soldier against 450 Midianite soldiers.

How about the story in 2 Kings 6? The king of Syria made plans to assassinate the king of Israel. The plans kept being foiled and the king of Syria wondered who kept letting the cat out of the bag. The king learned that it was the Prophet Elisha who kept tipping off King Jehoram. Shouldn’t the fact that God was telling the Prophet, and the Prophet is telling the king, be a warning that Syria should stop trying to mess with Israel?

2 Kings 6:15-17 – And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Elisha’s servant thought it was all over for them. The answer from the Prophet was “fear not.” This expression is in the Scriptures 65 times. He told his servant that “they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” Elisha prayed that his servant might see and the servant’s eyes were open. He saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire.

Someone expressed it this way, “You and God are a majority.” If you have God on your side, you are in the majority. Sometimes we fail to acknowledge God’s power.

I want us to look at how God has protected Israel since she became a nation in her homeland. Israel has always been outnumbered, both in people and in weapons.

Just the fact that Israel became a nation is a miracle. She had to overcome the opposition of Great Britain and the Arab nations just to come into existence.

The Arab nations have tried to wipe Israel off the map several times. Each time Israel has been attacked she has prevailed. This can only be accounted for by God’s protective hand in His chosen people.

Let’s look at what has happened since Israel became a nation in 1948.

6 Day War – June 5-10, 1967

Israel knew that they were going to be attacked. The battle plans had been made and they were to be attacked on 3 Fronts.

• South – Egypt
• East – Jordan & Iraq
• North – Syria & Lebanon

The Soviets had pumped $2 billion in weapons into the Arab Nations. Things really didn’t look good for Israel.

This chart shows the balance of forces before the battle.

Was this God’s hand confusing the enemy and making this a comedy of errors by the enemy?

• Two weeks before the war, President Nasser replaced all his commanders in the Sinai with officers who were not familiar with the region.
• President Nasser dismissed the warnings that Israel was going to attack.

• Commander of Egypt’s Air forced, Abdel Amer, took his high command to a remote base for a party.
• On the morning of June 5, Jordan’s Radar picked up the Israeli air force taking off. However, Jordan used the wrong day’s code to send the warning to Egypt and they could not decipher the message.
• This resulted in Israel being able to decimate Egypt’s air force while their planes were still on the ground.
• With Egypt being crippled, Israel had command of the skies and was able to win the war.

This 6-day war was almost like something out of the Bible They fought for 6 Days and on the 7th Day rested. This war resulted in Israel tripling their land, and they recaptured control of Israel for the first time in 2,000 years.

Israeli Commander, Moshe Dayon, was not a religious man, per se, but he went to the Western Wall (Wailing Wall). The tradition is to put prayers on paper and put them in the cracks. He wrote:

Psalm 118:23 – This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

Land for Peace

On June 19, 1967, Israel voted to give the Sinai back to Egypt and the Golan Heights to Syria in return for peace agreements. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now.

Yom Kippur War – or Ramadan War or October War.

Oct 6-25 Oct. 1973 (6 years later), Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement, the Arab nations launched a surprise attack. Egypt and Syria led the attack with support from Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, Cuba, Morocco, and Tunisia. The biggest miracle is that Jordan did not participate. Jordan remembered what had happened 6 years earlier and out of fear of the God of Israel didn’t participate in any major way.

An Example of the Many Stories of Miracles

Commander David Yinni’s forces were in a confrontation with the Syrian army. They were trapped in a minefield. One of the soldiers uttered a heartfelt prayer and a sudden windstorm blew in. It blew away so much of the dirt that the mines were exposed and the entire platoon managed to escape unharmed.

Remember Who Our God Is

Remember that we, as Christians, serve great God. Keep the following verses in mind when fear starts to rise up in your hearts.

Isaiah 41:10 – Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

John 16:33 – These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Jeremiah 29:13 – And ye shall seek me, and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

As God protects tiny Israel in the midst of her enemies, He will protect us through the trials of this life.