The Obed Project

“Times and seasons.” These words are so familiar to Christians and so much a fabric of our lives that sometimes we forget the larger picture. In my personal life, God has a way of demonstrating physically the spiritual truth He is working in my life.
In the two weeks before I left for Israel to be gone for five weeks and to lead two groups back to back, I retired from the company I started over thirty-one years ago, I bought (and moved into) a new home, and moved my office to The Obed Project’s new offices. I am finally now able to devote full time to Obed – which pleases me. However, all of this change caused me to have to touch everything I own, make decisions about each possession and either give it away, throw it away, or box it up for moving. It did not take deep spiritual acuity to see that I was in a changing season in my life. I knew it and had been praying for wisdom in the transition. I never suspected that everything would happen so fast!

Although I lead groups often (65 trips so far!), I am always amazed and astounded by what the Lord does and the powerful lessons He teaches us.

During the first group, we experienced record high temperatures, comfortably lower temperatures, dust storms, and desert winds – all in all, just regular June Israel weather. We traveled around the country and, as always, I fell in love with the land once again. One of our goals at The Obed Project is to show Israel to the traveler through a biblical lens, thus causing the searching Christian to see the everlasting, faithful, covenant relationship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has with the land and the people of Israel. This always happens. Each time. To me.

The second group was very small. We had a smaller bus and a very intimate feeling (it is hard not to feel this way when you are bouncing around in a smaller bus!).  From the beginning, some truly unusual things happened.
To understand the miraculous nature of what I am about to tell you, you first must know that the rainfall in Israel follows a most basic pattern. It only rains in the winter. It never rains in the summer. Here is a quote from a Jewish site which says it better than I:

“For starters, you can leave everything outside during the summer months — laundry, bicycles, furniture, grill. It does not rain in the summer. Ever.

The first rain will hit sometime during the High Holidays. It doesn’t matter if the holidays are early or late, it will rain sometime, often during Sukkot. The corollary to this is that it is impossible to find umbrellas, rain boots or raincoats in the stores until after the first rain.

The last rain will hit right around Passover, usually on seder night. “

So, from about April till about October, it simply does not rain (thus the concept of the latter and former rain).   I remember thinking on my first trip to Israel in September of 1983 that the guide was arrogant when he said: “I can guarantee you that you will have no rain while you are here.” I wondered how he could promise something like that with such authority. Then I learned what is second nature to Israelis – rain means winter in Israel.

Our second group spent the first three days of our tour at the Dead Sea. On the third day, as we exited our hotel for the day’s activities, we noticed that all of the Israelis, including our guide and driver, were looking up and talking excitedly (O.K. – I admit that all people speaking Hebrew sound excited!).  We looked up and saw some fluffy white clouds in the sky. This did not seem worth getting excited about to our group who were mainly from the southern USA. But to the people who know Israel, this was very unusual. When I got on the bus, the driver told me that it was already at 8AM over 40 degrees Celsius. (This is a daily calculation for me – Celsius to Fahrenheit.) I struggled and then came up with a temperature of 104F. The driver, guide, and I also discussed the clouds – with such wonder that a tour member asked what was the big deal about the clouds. The guide then spoke to the group about the fact that there are rarely clouds in the desert in the summer (not much in the winter either!).

We stopped at Qumram to discuss the Dead Sea Scrolls and the group called the Essenes. We were standing outside in the sun (baking) when suddenly we felt drops of water. The guide stopped speaking and the group knew the wonder of rain – in the desert – in Israel – at the very end of June. Amazing.

These clouds (and very light showers) followed us into the Galilee but in a few days had disappeared. It was a lesson to the group about how closely Israelis are tied to their land and the seasons of the land. And it was a huge confirmation to me that truly now is a time of change of seasons. This season change is happening to all of us, whether we acknowledge it or not. God has announced a change of seasons on the earth. Let us all pray and discern our part in this change.

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This month let’s take a quick look at history using one ancient and one modern example to see if we can’t get a glimpse into the days that are before us. Travel with me, back to ancient Egypt.  The time has come for the children of Israel to return to the land promised to them long ago. Moses approaches Pharaoh with his exit strategy but Pharaoh says no. One of the things that I love about the Lord is His wonderful mercy. God gives the nation of Egypt ten different warnings and chances to bless His people, but what did their leadership decide? Oppose Israel! It was a bad choice; their decision to resist God’s plan for His chosen people proved disastrous.

Fast forward with me to the 20th Century after World War I when Britain sets up a mandatory government in Palestine. God’s plan again rises to the forefront of human history as He attempts to bring His people back and settle them in their Land. The role that Britain took in opposing this plan is very similar to that of Egypt many years ago; they not only did not cooperate with His plan, they actively opposed it. In the first part of the 1900s Great Britain was the largest empire on the face of the earth. Not so today.

Zechariah 12:3 says; “ … I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.”

Let me ask you a question: did Egypt injure herself? Did Great Britain?

Derek Prince in his book, Promised Land writes, “For any nation or government, it is expedient to gain the favor of Almighty God, but it is extremely inexpedient to incur His disfavor.”

ARE WE NEXT? What path of destruction has America chosen in opposing the will of God in regards to the Land of Israel? Today our leadership actively reaches out to try and displace the “immovable rock” by partitioning the land that was given to Israel as an eternal covenant by God. It does not bode well for our future. In His mercy, He is trying to get our attention.  Will we not learn from the lessons of history and the warnings of His word? If we do not turn back we will suffer the fate of those who have gone before us. Pray! Pray! Pray! for our president and his advisors. Are we next? I fear the answer to that question is yes.

Jerusalem is the city of the “great King”; hands off.

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Many years ago I read a book by J. Sidlow Baxter that had a strong effect on me. The premise, as I remember it, was that there were many “themes” in the Bible that followed to the end, would strongly revolutionize your understanding of God’s plan. One of these “themes” was on the lamb. Here is what I remember.

In the Bible there are some notable passages in which the concept of the Lamb of God are highlighted. They seem to be progressive and they light our understanding as we look at them.

1. Abel and his lamb (Genesis 4)
2. Abraham offers a lamb (Genesis 22)
3. The Passover lamb (Exodus 12)
4. The Lamb as a sin-offering (Leviticus)
5. The suffering Lamb (Isaiah 53)
6. Jesus is the Lamb (John 1: 29-36)
7. The lamb is Messiah (Acts 8 )
8. The lamb is resurrected (1Peter 1)
9. The lamb is enthroned (Revelation 5)
10.The lamb reigns (Revelation 21 & 22)

In Genesis 4 the emphasis is on the necessity of the Lamb.
In Genesis 22 the emphasis is on God’s provision of the Lamb.
In Exodus 12 the emphasis is on the slaying of the Lamb.
In Leviticus the emphasis is on the character of the Lamb (without spot or wrinkle).
In Isaiah the emphasis is on the Lamb as a Person.
In John 1 the emphasis is on Jesus as the Lamb.
In Acts 8 the emphasis is on Jesus the Lamb as Messiah.
In 1 Peter 1 the emphasis is on the resurrection of the Lamb.
In Revelation 5 the emphasis is on the enthronement of the Lamb.
In Revelation 21-22 the emphasis is on the Kingship of the Lamb.

In Genesis 4 He is our Propitiation. (One sacrifice)
In Genesis 22 He is our Substitution. (For one person)
In Exodus 12 He is our Protection. (For one family)
In Leviticus He is our Absolution. (For one nation)
In Isaiah He is our Expiation. (For all the elect)
In John He is the Removal of sin. (For the whole world)
In Acts He is our Salvation. (For whosoever)
In 1 Peter He is our Redemption. (For all history)
In Revelation 5 He is our Government. (For all the universe)
In Revelation 21 & 22 He is our Glory. (For all eternity)

For me, the progression of these themes is thrilling and very satisfying. The picture of Jesus in the Scriptures is progressive and deep. He is the Word of God. The universality of Jesus becomes more and more personal until we have to accept or reject Him on our own as our sacrifice before the God of the whole universe. We must accept Him as the Messiah of Israel before we can accept Him as our personal salvation.

It blesses me beyond measure that in all of the pictures presented in scripture of the Lamb, the shadow of the reality of the sacrifice of Jesus are manifest. As one example, the ram caught in the thicket in the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac was caught in the thicket by his horns - a crown of thorns was on his head!

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A popular credit card company ends their advertisements with that penetrating question: “What’s in your wallet?” Obviously, they’re hoping it will entice you to rush out and secure one of their cards so that you can buy a lot of stuff you don’t need and can’t afford so that they can charge you exorbitant interest on the unpaid balance.

It is however true that you can tell a great deal by looking at someone’s wallet. Try it sometime. If you looked at mine you would immediately know that I’m too cheap to go out and replace it even though it’s ragged, old and beginning to fall apart. You would discover that I buy Shell gas, am a blood donor, grocery shop at Harris-Teeter, vote in Mecklenburg County, work for The Obed Project, and am somewhat obsessive-compulsive since I sort my money by denominations & have them all facing the same way. By looking at my driver’s license you will see that I am blessed with good looks.

In a related matter, let me ask you another question: what is in your “tithe & offerings” wallet? Investors tell us that we need to have a diversified portfolio. I would echo that in regards to your giving; not only should you support the local church you attend but your giving needs to include the things that are near to the Lord’s heart. I believe that each and every one of us should have specific-targeted giving as it relates to the poor, world missions and Israel.

As you can well imagine, my point of interest here is Christians and their giving as it relates to Israel. What does the itemized giving on our tax returns under Charitable Contributions say about our heart for Israel? Do we care about the land and people that scripture calls the “apple of His eye”? Are we sacrificially giving to make a difference? Let me encourage you to get involved with ministries and churches that are actively supporting and ministering to the Jewish people and the land of Israel. Hopefully the treasures you’re storing up in heaven include some shekels.

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