Rumors of war

Finally, the new administration has agreed to meet with Israeli officials. There will be a series of meetings during the month of May; something I find interesting because of the context. It looks like the month of May is being devoted to the Middle-East, as a series of meetings will take place between the Obama administration and various leaders from the region. Why now?

The context is interesting - at the same time that we see an acute focus on the Middle-East, we see many articles from the region pointing to ongoing war preparations:

"Hamas Army Preparing for New War"
"IDF staged drills over Gibraltar, in preparation for Iran strike"
"Arrow operators prepare for Iran threat"

Collective quotes from these three articles:

"Air Force reservists who operate the Arrow and Patriot missile defense systems have recently begun spending one day a week on duty to sharpen their skills, amid fears that in a conflict with Iran, dozens of long-range missiles would be fired at Israel."

"We are working hard to be ready for the Iranian threat" a top IAF officer said, "We are preparing for barrages, split warheads and other surprises..."

"The fact that the drills were held 3,800 kilometers away from Israel 'confirms that the Israel Defense Forces is making concrete preparations' to attack Iran over its refusal to cooperate with the international community..."

"We would not make a threat [against Iran] without the force to back it. There has been a recent move, a number of on-the-ground preparations, that indicate Israel's willingness to act."

Interestingly, suddenly the Middle-East is now in focus for the White House. That may not be good for Israel however. It is clear that Obama, as a continuation of the Bush policies will demand that Israel give up a substantial amount of land, including the West Bank: (read here).

Additionally, Benjamin Netanyahu fears that Obama will make further demands which will further weaken Israel (read here). According to this article, a number of aides to Mr. Netanyahu will meet with senior officials from the Obama administration and officials in Europe, for the same purposes.

It would appear that the Iranian issue is pushing leaders to get a handle on Iran and their nuclear threats. Speculation leads one to wonder if this could be the last flurry of activity, in a last minute attempt to prevent Israel from attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. Its hard to know - but its clear that May will bring the Middle-East to the top of the agenda for the White House and for leaders in the Middle-East.

The outcome from these meetings will be very interesting from a prophetic perspective. We'll be watching closely for any decisions made, and the general rhetoric coming from these leaders.

Whatever the outcome - God is also watching. Genesis 12 is absolutely worth repeating here, as God's word regarding Israel is absolute:

"I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse" (Genesis 12:3)

God repeated the same exact message to Isaac, regarding the land of Israel and her people:

"May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed" (Genesis 27:29)

God also confirmed His absolute committment to Israel's land:

"I will make you a communities of peoples, and I will give this land as an EVERLASTING POSSESSION to your descendants after you." (Genesis 48:4. emphasis mine).

It is clear biblically, that God will not find favor with those who attempt to give away Israeli land. That land was granted to Israel, by God, in an unconditional covenant, confirmed by the passages in Genesis 15.

Of course, political leaders involved in the Middle-East are not looking to the Bible for any direction in these negotiations. As usual, "man" believes that he can make certian determinations regarding Israel, but God has a history of intervening when the time is right. He will do so again.

The month of May could be very interesting.

We'll be watching. So will God.