A letter from within Israel by Rachel Boskey

Rachel Boskey's email: psalm67@netvision.net.il

Thursday, August 30, 2001

Note by Steve Shultz: Rachel and Avner Boskey are good friends in Israel. When they speak, I listen with both ears. Be challenged and especially ENCOURAGED by these signs of awakening in the heart of Israel. The enemy doesn't want this word out. I had it completely formatted and unlike anything I've seen, it just disappeared off my computer with no sign of ever having been there. I KNOW this is an important word to the Body of Christ! -- Steve Shultz
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Rachel Boskey . . .

Shalom dear friends,

Every so often I feel strongly urged to write a letter like this one. As the days grow darker in Israel, faint rays of light are beginning to be seen. Those of you who are farther away from the Israeli scene may not be able to see these rays of light as clearly as do those of us who are here, waiting and watching from a closer position on the walls. That's why I am writing - to encourage you that there is movement in the hearts of God's beloved people Israel.

I am writing this letter to encourage you to not grow weary in well doing. You are on our e-mail list because you carry Israel in your hearts. You are like Simeon in the temple, waiting for the Messiah, "looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him." Just as Simeon rejoiced to see the Messiah with his own eyes, YOU WILL SEE THE MESSIAH BRING CONSOLATION TO ISRAEL. Some of you will see it in your lifetime; some of you will see it from eternity. But you will see it. It's only a matter of time. And prayer.

For the past 11 months I have been noting some of signs of awakening in the heart of Israel. We know that one of the signs preceding the Lord Yeshua's return to this earth will be a massive turning of Israel back to Him. The Lord said through Hosea: "I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; IN THEIR AFFLICTION they will earnestly seek Me." (Hosea 5:15). Yeshua Himself said to Israel: "I tell you - you will not see me again until you say 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.'" (Matt.23:39).

I want to share some of these signs with you. They range from personal encounters with neighbors and friends, to media reports I heard, to newspaper articles. Be encouraged! I want to start with an article in today's newspaper.

There is some serious soul-searching going on over here. Israelis are asking deep questions. Just as Israel cried out to the Lord in their affliction in Egypt, some here are beginning to do the same. Michael Freund (a religious Jew who worked in the Prime Minister's office 1996-1999) writes in the Jerusalem Post (Aug 29, 2001): "With each passing day, the danger facing Israel seems to mount, as does our frustration. We all want to help; we all want to do something at this critical hour that will make a difference for our people. And yet, we seem at a loss as to just what we can and should be doing. The usual . . just doesn't seem to cut it anymore. There must be something more . . . the key to Israel's victory may very well lie . . in the words of your heart. Israel's best defense is the power of prayer, and it is time we unleash this weapon with all the ... determination that we can muster." Freund goes on to suggest a campaign of reading/praying the Book of Psalms which is "one of the most potent weapons in Israel's spiritual arsenal" . . . "The fact is that for the past decade, we have given politics a chance, and it has failed us. Now is the time to give God a chance, for unlike politicians, He can always be relied upon to keep His word." It's as if Freund is saying - when all else fails, read the directions!

It is interesting that Israel's current troubles started last year on the Feast of Trumpets (Sept. 30, 2000) almost a year ago. To those who love the prophetic word, this feels like more than a coincidence. It certainly has been a national wake-up call.

Last October, several weeks after the initial explosion of violence, a neighbor of ours came over to our house to visit. We have become friends and she has occasionally tutored our boys. She is in her early 70's, a very astute modern Orthodox woman who was born in Israel before 1948 and who has lived through all of Israel's wars and troubles. She came over to our house deeply shaken, perhaps more than she had ever been before. With tears in her eyes, she asked us "Is God now abandoning Israel?" We assured her that He will not abandon Israel and that there are tens of thousands of believers in the Bible all over the world who are standing with Israel in prayer.

Among the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel there is a real awareness that we are living in the times they call "the birth pangs of the Messiah." Many Orthodox know that what is now happening to Israel is somehow designed to accomplish redemption.

Consider these words in an article by Larry Derfner, the former IDF chief psychologist, in the Aug 24, 2001 Jerusalem Post. Derfner quotes Dr. Reuven Gal, another former chief IDF psychologist: "The situation today is different from anything that's gone before. This is the first time that the predominant Israeli attitude is one of hopelessness." Derfner goes on to say "the future is a time Israelis don't want to think about these days." He quotes Israeli born artist Zigi Ben-Haim "People don't know what's going to happen, but they've got to go on day to day."

Others in the Israeli establishment are saying that this situation could go on for five or ten years. Perhaps this is the dynamic which Hosea was describing when he prophesied, "IN THEIR AFFLICTION, they will seek Me," said the Lord.

In an article "We are our own worst enemies" from the Jerusalem Post (June 1, 2001) Gerald Steinberg discusses why the Versailles wedding hall floor collapsed, killing and injuring scores of people in Jerusalem last May. "The operators of wedding halls and other services skirt regulations by paying off the officials. In this sense, the Jewish people have not progressed from the period of the Judges, over 3,000 years ago. In that time, when there was no government in the Land of Israel and the priests were corrupt, 'every person did what was appropriate in his own eyes.'" Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was quoted in the same newspaper (at the Knesset discussion of Versailles disaster) "Look how we behave on the football field, on the roads. We have to eliminate this desire of ours to outsmart the system, this need of ours to make quick gains."

This is an expression of soul-searching by one at the highest level of Israeli government.

In writing these words to you I do not want to expose Israel's shame and pain in an unseemly way. Rather I want to ask you to weep and humble yourselves on Israel's behalf as God leads them through a very dark valley. The Lord calls us, through the prophet Joel, to "Weep, between the porch and the altar, O priests of the Lord. Say 'Spare Your people and do not make Your inheritance a reproach, a byword among the nations." (Joel 2:17).

We have a very good friend in Israel, a Jewish woman who made aliyah (immigrating permanently to Israel) from St. Petersburg, Russia. She now lives in Netanya and is involved in full-time ministry. Some months ago she was before the Lord in prayer. She told me what the Lord had directed her to do as she was before Him.

God directed her to lay on the floor and hold on to the legs of her TV table. The Lord asked her to begin to intercede for the nations of the world, as they are focusing more and more negatively on Israel in the media. He directed her to pray for mercy for the nations, for they "are FEASTING ON THE SHAME OF MY PEOPLE ISRAEL, and for this they will be judged."

So as I share with you some of the shakings that are going on over here, and some of the heart-rending and painful signs of the cracking of Israel's stony heart, let it not be for you to feast on Israel's shame. Let it be for you to weep. For as God deals with Israel, He will surely deal with the world.

In the past months scores of Israelis have been murdered by Arab terrorists as they have driven along roads following their daily routine. They have had no choice but to use these roads. Some of these Israelis have been "settlers," some have not. But for their murderers it has not mattered if they were settlers or not, only that they were Jewish. Israelis have been shot at in their cars, either by terrorists driving by or by terrorists hiding among rocks and trees on the surrounding hills. Many children have been killed or wounded, or have lost one or both of their parents. At 7:00 AM, May 30, 2001, Gilad Zar, a 41-year old father of eight was murdered as he drove to work. He was buried the same day, according to Jewish tradition. Gilad Zar's family is Orthodox and they are personal friends of PM Ariel Sharon.

The day after Gilad Zar's death Israel Army Radio broadcast a few moments of his funeral on the 7:00 AM news. Gilad Zar's mother cried out "God, what do you want from us? We are doing everything we know to do. Just tell us - what do you want from us now? Just tell us and we will do it. Anything!" The sound of her travail went deep into my heart. Her level of brokenness and desperation was deep. Many in the Orthodox community are aware that God requires something of them in this situation. They just don't know what it is. In many ways these people seem to be asking deeper questions. But it also seems that secular Israelis are not far behind.

A similar cry was heard at the funeral of Tzira Schijueschuurder. Tzira, her husband Mordechai and three of their children, Ra'aya, 14, Avraham, 4, and Hemda, 2, were murdered by the suicide bomber at the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem on August 11. Five children remain alive; two of those were seriously injured. Chief Rabbi Israel Lau, who had married the couple, broke down during the eulogy after speaking about Tzira's work with children. "In her name, I call on the Creator of the world, hear our voice," Lau said, sobbing. "Hear our voice, hear this voice of mourning." (Jerusalem Post, August 12, 2001)

It is not customary in Judaism to address God in such a direct way. Often traditional prayers are used, but such cries of desperation are not often heard. The Lord is near to the broken-hearted. As Israel is being softened, may our prayer be "Lord, in wrath, remember mercy."

Several months ago, in June, I ran into our children's dentist at the local supermarket. She is the Orthodox daughter of Holocaust survivors, a well traveled, highly educated, multilingual mother of five. We began to discuss the current troubles Israel is facing. We had never talked at such a deep level and I immediately sensed the Lord's presence as we talked. I told her how I have often been moved to prayer and to tears on Israel's behalf, that I am a believer in Yeshua, and that there are countless others like me around the world who care deeply about Israel's pain and are praying for Israel. She was touched by my words. She told me that she, and many others like her, believes that God is pressing on Israel, as olives are pressed in an olive-press. She said that God wants His people to be like pure oil. She said that Israel is not yet a righteous nation. Even though Israel was birthed through the Holocaust, Israel is not yet the nation God wants her to be.

She believes the Messiah is coming to help Israel. I told her that He has come and that He is coming again. She said that the main thing is "just let Him come!"

An awakening is beginning to take place in Israel. The calling of God on the Jewish people is a great and glorious one, and God will have His way with His people. Israel will enter into her calling, but the Prophets make it clear that this will happen only when she embraces her Messiah.

As you pray for Israel, pray that the soul-searching that has begun here will increase. I believe we are beginning to see the first signs of repentance in the hearts of a few in this nation. Pray that these signs of repentance will increase. Pray that the Jewish believers in Israel will be moved to stand in intercessory repentance for the sins of this nation.

In the days before the start of the school year my four sons are at home having their last few days of summer fun. My two oldest (Daniel 17 and David 15) invited over a bunch of their believing friends, so I've had ten teenage boys in my house for the last few days. These young guys are on fire for the Lord and standing for Him in their respective schools and communities around Israel. There is an exciting stirring of God going on among over 100 believing youth throughout Israel. Pray for these kids. Some of them are in the Israeli army now and some are going into the army in the next few years. Pray that God will keep them strong and safe and shining lights for Him.

It is a pleasure for me to be able to share my heart with you. It is encouraging to know that we are not alone and that we have friends and partners in the spirit. Avner joins me in thanking you for standing with us!

We love you.

In Yeshua, Rachel Boskey