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1:02And they express the deepest concerns of the human heart and a great trust in the God of creation, the God of the Bible, the God of Israel, to act when we are helpless in our situations. And so, with me, would you please read aloud from Psalm 83? O God, do not keep silence, for do not hold your peace or be still. O God. For behold, your enemies make an uproar. Those who hate you have raised their heads. They lay crafty plans against your people. They consult together against your treasured ones. They say, Come, let us wipe them out as a nation. Let the name of Israel be remembered no more. For they conspire with one accord. Against you, they make a covenant. The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the inhabitants of Tyre, Ashur also has joined them. They are the strong arm of the children of Lot.

2:24Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, who were destroyed at Endor, who became dung for the ground. Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeb, all their princes like Ziba and Zalmuna, who said, Let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God. O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before. Were the wind. As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, so may you pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane. Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O Lord. Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever. Let them perish in disgrace, that they may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the most high over all the earth. Let's take a moment and pray to God.

3:44Lord, we continue praying to you after words have been read that are themselves a prayer to you, that you might teach us from this prayer found in Psalm 83 how we might pray even in a time of crisis today. Give us your wisdom. Give us the truths from your word that guide us, that help us, that assist us in our own times of need, and not only this great national crisis about which we've been speaking today concerning the current and modern nation of Israel and the Jewish people worldwide. But Lord, I pray that for all the families of the earth, you might be known.

4:30And your power might be exhibited in a way that will cause every knee to bow and every tongue confess. And Lord, before that great day on which you will cause this to become the reality of all the nations, we ask, we pray, that you might call people, even people that we know and love, away from ourselves and our own sense of strength and stability, away from our own self-confidence, to a confidence that knows that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are most high over all the earth, and that you rightly rule in our daily affairs as well. And we'll give you praise in Jesus' name. Amen.

5:24Well, this passage of Scripture, like many, can be studied best with a map. Did you notice in the passage some verses back? For instance, in verse 6 and 7 and 8, you find various place names. You find various people groups whose territories are well known in the scripture. And I like the statement when someone says, I believe the Bible. I believe the Bible, not just from Genesis to Revelation, I believe the Bible from Genesis to maps. In other words, it's all true. These places are not make-believe. No, it's not once upon a time in a land far, far away. Nothing ever happened. No, it's once upon a time in a land that you can go to today, and many of you have, and you can stand right there and open the Bible for yourselves and look around and see this is exactly how it occurred. And so you could keep your finger in Psalm 83 and go to maps if you know how to use them, but I'll help you and suggest a map here on the screen. Take a look at these enemies that are listed in Psalm 83.

6:44Psalm 83 is a lament. In fact, it's a communal lament for the nation. In other words, some psalms are happy psalms. They're psalms of praise. Things are going great. God is on his throne. We are being blessed as we obey him and do his will. But not every day is a day in which praise psalms describe your reality. In this fallen world, there is sin and destruction. And therefore, God has given his people an avenue for worshiping him even in lament, even in crisis. And these psalms help us see just how that is to be done. They turn us from... Our situation to the God over every situation. Or maybe I could put it like this: someone might ask, How are you doing? And a person might say, Well, all right, under the circumstances.

7:45But this psalm causes you to ask, Well, what are you doing under there? Under those circumstances? Because God is still on his throne, even in the times of our deepest despair. This communal lament, like all lament psalms, provides some window into an occasion or a specific situation, either in personal life or in the public life of the nation. And here, it seems to be, and various scholars guess, and various study Bibles might have you, well, look at this text in Chronicles, or maybe this point it was pre-exilic, or maybe it's in the exile, and people are guessing as to which exact moment Israel was being attacked. And yet, if you look throughout the history of the Bible, you would find that regularly, because God had placed his love specifically on Israel and made so many promises about that which would be done to bless Israel, the enemy, the declared enemy, the adversary, Hasatan is the Hebrew word, the adversary, the devil, he Always at work to thwart the plan of God. And so, various enemies are going to come on the scene. By the way, you can note the major empires of the biblical world and memorize them in order if you just memorize your ABPs, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and then the Persians. This seems to mention the Assyrians a bit when using that word Ashur, Ashur, a form of the term for the Assyrians. And it could very well be that this empire, and this is where one major king and kingdom is ruling over smaller city-states and other kingdoms. And so it's as if the Assyrians, this could be the historical background to this psalm, prior to the Babylonian exile, the Assyrians are in control, they have their empire, and they're using all of these neighboring groups to somehow come against Jerusalem and come against Israel. And so they're listed here, and you see them on the map. By the way, when you think of the ancient enemies of Israel, not all of them may have been major threats during the time of the Assyrian Empire. I mentioned this morning the Ancient Philistines, once David fought Goliath, they were kind of fading off the scene, and they're only really spoken of in the rest of Scripture as people who were once a problem. But the Assyrians seem to want to revive that problem from the coastal plain in the south, where those five lords of the Philistines once ruled over five city-states. Some suggest that that is the reason why David picked up how many smooth stones out of the brook in the Ela Valley? Five.

11:01Because these city-states, each with their own king in Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, moving inland to Gath and then Ekron, were the five lords of the Philistines. But let's move from that coast inland past the Jordan River to the area often called the Transjordan. It's the modern area ruled by the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan today. This is where the ancient Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites dwelt. And they also have ancient connections to the patriarchs of Israel in the book of Genesis. You'll recall that the Ammonites and Moabites are descendants of Lot, the nephew of Abraham. And interestingly, they are named for the incestuous relationship. Which they were born. Think about this. You'll recall that after God rescues Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah, and his family flees the destruction that was coming on those cities. His wife looks back, is turned to a pillar of salt. But now Lot and his two daughters are left. And in one of those stories that we don't celebrate in Sunday school, and it's not a happy moment of holiness and highlight in the biblical storyline, it's more of a tell it like it is. This is how it really happened. And sometimes you need the miserable truth of just how far people's hearts are turned away from God to realize you don't ever want to go there. Look at the destruction that could be caused when you leave God's word and God's will behind. They took matters into their own hands, and these daughters of Lot sought to get their father so drunk that night after night they could each sleep with him. And to these two daughters were born, two sons. One gave birth to a son named Ben-Ami. Now, apparently, this was a little too clear in Hebrew. Ben-you might actually know this Hebrew word. It's one of the top ones, like shalom, you probably know that. Abba, you probably know that. Ben, son, right? A lot of boys named Ben-Ami. Benjamin, Ben-Yamin, the son of my right hand. Ben Ami. Ami is a little word that has the two letters spell am, meaning people, a people group. But the E sound is a possessive ending, like our apostrophe S in English. Ami means my people. So if Ben-Ami is the whole name, it means that this child is given the name son of my people. In other words, it was a little too obvious that this is a person born of an incestuous relationship. And so the name Ben-Ami for the people group was changed to just Amon or Ammon.

14:22Let's kind of forget about that. The Moabites. This also comes from a root word that I mentioned a moment ago. You might know this Hebrew word. Again, it's in like the top 10 of Hebrew words that non-Hebrew speakers already know. So the word for father, Abba, has a shortened form, Av. Moav means from father. It's pretty clear that the Moabites, the Moavim, these are the ones who were, yeah, incestuously born from. Their own father. Yeah. So the Ammonites and the Moabites are people groups who are known for like the worst sin in their family tree. And then let's not stop with them. Just to the south of them are the Edomites, Edom. It means red. And you'll notice that this is in the area of modern-day Petra today, where there are many red stones, perhaps from volcanic activity. But it wasn't the red stones from that area for which the Edomites were named. These are the descendants of Esau. Remember Esau? He sold his birthright for some red stew. And so it's as if, looking at the map here, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the Edomites are all named for the worst sin in their family history, the most devastating or the most originating sin that united them as a people group. Aren't you glad that that's not how things work today? I mean, hi, you know, my name is, and then suddenly, oh, you know, we know about your people.

16:15Thankfully, that's not what it's like. And also, isn't it good that even if there are shameful things that those that came before us have done, that when we come to saving Pharaoh, In our Messiah, he even gives us a new name and washes our sins away so that we can be encouraged that even in redemptive history, people like Moabites, such as Ruth, are redeemed and are cleansed and are made righteous. God can do that. We also see that among those listed in Psalm 83 are the Ishmaelites. So if the Edomites are from Esau, let's go back a generation. The Ishmaelites are from Ishmael.

17:15To these, we might add those in the Sinai Peninsula. Why are they located there? Amalek and the Hagrites? Well, because now we're going back to the time of Moses when God led the children of Israel out from Egyptian bondage right at that first Passover, and they were to eat the Passover meal, not even giving time for the bread to rise, but put it right on the fire, and thus the annual remembrance of the Exodus with a feast of unleavened bread. They were to eat this bread and eat the meat of the Passover lamb with their shoes on their feet, their staff in their hand, and Their loins girded. In other words, their robes like tucked into the belt so that their feet would be free to move at the command of God.

18:11As they moved, they found themselves not only chased by the Egyptian soldiers of Pharaoh, who eventually are taken care of at the Red Sea, but in the wilderness they encountered the Amalekites who began to attack the most weak and sickly and feeble among them. They would sneak up toward the end. They might see the large nation of the Israelites passing through the desert, and they would wait and they would lurk and they would plot for those who are at the end of the line, the slowest, the weakest, and start attacking them.

18:51You might search through other Psalms to find just how the Lord feels about attacking the weak. He has a special heart for those who are defenseless, for those with least resources. The Amalekites typify this evil of going after the most vulnerable. And so they are also listed here. The Hagrites, these seem to be related to the person of Hagar. And now we have come through. Most of the map, but going north from the Philistines to Tyre, this is a city in modern-day Lebanon. This is the area where the ancient Phoenicians settled on the seacoasts in the north of Israel and in modern-day Lebanon. And then Gebal, about which less is known. But take a look at the geography and now consider a bit of the literary context.

20:03Here in verse 1 of Psalm 83, we have a plea, a plea for help. Here we're reading about how the psalmist calls right out to the Lord and states, like we should in our time of need, O God, do not keep silence. Do not hold your peace or be still, O God. It's a plea, a plea for help. Further, there is a protest against Israel's enemies in verses 2 through 8. And we've been discussing who some of these enemies are specifically on the map. And verse 2 tells us about these enemies when the psalmist declares that these are not my enemies. Notice it's the second person pronouncing. That is used when speaking to the Lord. For behold, your enemies make an uproar. Those who hate you have raised their heads.

21:13And this is why they are motivated to hate God's people because ultimately they hate Him. This is what we read in verse 3: They lay crafty plans against your people, they consult together against your treasured ones. You see, if God values them, then the enemy hates them. They say, Come, let us wipe them out as a nation. Let the name of Israel be remembered no more. For they conspire with one accord against you, they make a covenant. You see, that second person pronoun again. This is against God, ultimately. It's encouraging that when we read the Psalms, we see God's people stepping back from their problems to gain a biblical and divine perspective. And it helps us as later readers of the Psalms. We are not Israel. We're a part of the church, even Jewish believers who kind of are, you know, if we draw the Venn diagram of the interlocking circles, maybe you could say, okay, there are Jewish believers today who are Israel, but the church is not Israel. And so we're not wholesale taking Israel's promises, but we are wholesale benefiting from Israel's scriptures. That's how we read the Psalms. And we see things that are true about the character of God and his covenant promises to Israel. And we apply those in ways that we're also reminded that God gives similar promises in the New Testament scriptures to believers today and in any generation, because God's character is unchanging. And so we would see these scriptures that speak directly about how these ancient enemies who are named all surrounding Israel on the map. And yet we can also look at our own trials today as modern readers of the Psalms and say, wait, wait, wait, wait. I know God loves me and has given me his salvation. I benefit from the realities of the new covenant because of God's character. And there are also times when I will have enemies that are attacking me. And I should respond in a way like the psalmist responds. I should believe in the character of God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And I can call on him in the same way. Because ultimately, when people conspire against the Lord's people, they're conspiring against him. Maybe some of you have seen that little. Triangle diagram in books about marriage and conflict resolution. It has God at the top, and then the husband and the wife. And the thought is that God is always a part of the marriage dynamic. I'd like to change this. I think it's an improvement if we flatten the triangle to a line with three dots. Yes, you have the husband and the wife, but you know what? God is always right there in the middle. You can't sin against your wife without sinning against God. You can't sin against your husband without sinning against God. He's right there in the midst all the time. And in the same way, these people who in verse 5 conspire with one accord, they do so. Notice what the text says: Against you they make a covenant. And this is why God's people call on him, because ultimately these attacks are against him.

25:00We have looked at the geography in verses 6 and 7, noting also Ashur or the Assyrians in verse 8. But you'll notice, picking up in verses 9 through 18, there is a petition for divine judgment, where the psalmist will ask the Lord to do to them as you've done in the past. And for this, we find numerous references to the famous battles found recorded. In the book of Judges, you look at these place names and you find Midian listed. Midian was the people group that attacked in the days of the judge named Gideon. It's nice when they rhyme like that, it helps you remember. Midian and Gideon. And perhaps you'll remember Sisera and Jabin.

25:59And this reminds us of that famous episode in the book of Judges where the female warrior, if you will, took this evil leader who wanted refuge in her tent, gave him some milk, and let him rest. And then you remember what she did. Her name was Jael. Jael with a nail. And she must have been pretty good at setting up tents because she was a one-swat tent pegger. And, you know, she probably had quite a bit of practice. And so she knew exactly what she was doing. And it was lights out for this enemy of Israel.

26:52The Kishon River is mentioned. It's also mentioned not only in the context of the book of Judges, but Associated with judgment in 1 Samuel 18 and 19, where that famous contest between the prophets of Baal and Elijah. And when you go to Mount Carmel today, you can go to the very place at this monastery where the Catholics of, in fact, what kind of Catholics there? Carmelite. So why Carmelite? Because they're up there on Mount Carmel. This Carmelite monastery is there, and there's a huge statue of Elijah with a sword. And at his feet, one of the skulls of whom? Well, the prophets of Baal, of Baal.

27:43He chased them down from that contest that was up there on Mount Carmel. Down, down, down this steep incline from Mount Carmel. Carmel means, well, from Kerem El, the vineyard of God. It must have been quite an impressive place for growing grapes. It was a god-like vineyard, Kerem El, Mount Carmel. Well, chasing them down this steep incline, and down below is a little brook. You can still see it today if you squint. It's more like a dry creekbed most of the time. Once in a while, there's water that's observable from the road. But there at the Kishon River, The prophets of Baal were slain. And so the Kishon is mentioned in this passage. We continue on, and we note that there were others who were, verse 10, destroyed at Endor. Of course, this comes up as well in the book of 1 Samuel, where in chapter 28, the witch of Endor, Saul, bad judgment, he chooses to consult a medium. The Torah already had encouraged the Israelites to never do that, but here's a king of Israel who's supposed to be so familiar with the Torah as one who's commanded to write a copy of it every year. He would know that this is off-limits. This is not kosher to go consulting a medium, a spiritist.

29:15But he does and consults the witch of Endor. And when she actually somehow is responded to by the real Samuel, she shrieks like out of shock. And, well, judgment comes both for her and for King Saul. Endor is associated with judgment. So the call here is to do to these current enemies as you've done in the past at places like Midian or the Kishon River or at Endor and make these people, well, examples like those who became dung for the ground. Friends, that's that's.

30:01Some of you are out here in Varelia and familiar with some agriculture. This is stuff that you got to scoop up. This is the dung for the ground. This is as low as it goes for the enemies of the Lord. Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeb, Zeib, as it's pronounced in English for the most part, and all their princes like Zeba and Zalmuna, these bywords of history of people who have been defeated because they said things like verse 12, let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God. It's interesting that one of the causes for this outrage is that these enemies have chosen to take for themselves the pastures that belong to God. I mean, that's exactly how this land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has been called throughout Scripture. It's not that Abram over there in the Ur of the Chaldees was thinking one day, God, I'm just really not content over here. I wish you'd give me some land over by the Mediterranean. No, he was perfectly content in his homeland, and it was the Lord who Came to him, you could do a concordance search in the book of Genesis on the word land, erits, and you would find that it is the Lord who brings this up time and time and time again. Go to the land that I will show you, and commands Abram to travel to this land, this land that I will give you, this land that I will give you, this land. This word for land, Eretz, is repeated over and over as that which will become the possession of Israel. But this group of people, or these groups of people, are those who say, Let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God.

32:14Verse 13, O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. Chaff has already come up in the Psalter, already in the first psalm. Chaff. In a reminder of two ways to live, Psalm 1 sets up two agricultural images and says that the righteous person will be like a tree planted by rivers of water, whose leaf does not wither. It's sturdy, it's secure. And then it contrasts the righteous with the wicked and says, Not so the wicked. They are like chaffs. Chaff, which the wind drives away. Chaff is that worthless part of the grain harvest. It's not the part that you're going to make your flour with or use for food stuffs. No, the chaff is that part that as they're separating the harvest, the edible, the usable part of the plant from that which is extraneous and unusable. Maybe I could illustrate it like this. If you make popcorn and you have all those nice big kernels in the bowl, nice puffed pieces, and you eat those nice big pieces, and then you notice toward the end you're having to pick through the unpopped pieces, but not just the unpopped pieces, it's those little skins. Okay, you could tell if you do this little experiment, don't do this at home, and if you do, close your eyes tightly first. Just blow in that bowl, a big puff, and all that stuff that flies away, that is chaff. Notice how unsecure it is, how not nailed down, not rooted like the tree. It's like chaff, it just blows away. You might never find all the pieces again.

34:25Well, these two images in Psalm 1 give us the background. To this term here in Psalm 83. They're like chaff. They're like whirling dust. That's how the psalmist asks the Lord to reveal them to be. Make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets mountains ablaze, so may you pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane. If I were in North Carolina, I would be making more of the hurricane imagery. That's what they call some of their sports teams there. But this idea of a force of nature that overwhelms, no human is strong enough to stand against it, and that is exactly how divine judgment will be.

35:26Fill their faces with shame that they may seek your name, O Lord. Let them be put to shame. Notice shame is used twice, once in verse 16 and again in verse 17. Let them be dismayed forever. Let them perish in disgrace. But verse 18, the last verse of the Psalm, tells us why. It gives us an indication for. The purpose of this prayer. Why might the psalmist pray what you might call such a judgmental or imprecatory prayer against the enemies of God?

36:13In the end, we might see that there is somehow hope for even the salvation of the wicked. Notice the imprecation against them, verse 16, fill their faces with shame and let them be put to shame and dismayed forever. Let them perish in disgrace. This is not how we want to regularly pray for people, even if they have offended us. But please note that when such imprecation is utilized, there is an ultimate divine purpose, that they may seek, verse 16, that they may know, verse 18. Notice again, it's fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O Lord. Wouldn't it be amazing if even among terrorists there would be such a realization of the blood that is on their hands that they might see their wickedness? And be ashamed to think, how could I have done this? Oh no, what have I done? That they might be convicted by God's Spirit, that he might reveal the truth of their evil to them, that they might seek God's name and request his forgiveness. Further, verse 18, that they may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are most high over all the earth. In other words, the prayer is that this judgment against them would be accomplished so publicly and obviously that everyone would have to admit that this is God who has acted. Are you familiar with the account from December of last year when after the terrible atrocities of October 7 in Turkey, one of the opposition lawmakers died two days after suffering a heart attack and collapsing in front of parliament as he finished a speech criticizing the government's policy toward Israel? In fact, he was cursing Israel and, you know, like mid-curse suffers a heart attack and then two days later dies.

38:56I mean, it's like he's calling out judgment. And he's not able to even finish his cursing. I think it had to cause some people to wonder if this was an act of divine judgment. I mean, right there, mid-curse. And there he goes. When we look at Psalm 83, perhaps we can even consider its literary shape that some have observed a chiastic structure, as Willem van Gameron in his Psalms commentary in the Expositor's Bible commentary points out. He notes that verse 1 is a prayer for God's action. And that's exactly how the Psalm ends as well. And so you might see the beginning of the Psalm, which we could outline as letter A. And then you'll notice some of the letters to where the end have the little apostrophe mark.

39:59This allows us to differentiate between A and what is called A prime. And then you'll notice as well the plottings of the enemy in verses 2 to 4, and how that's parallel with verses 13 through 16 with B prime, the shaming of the enemies. Verses 5 through 8, that section which listed all those places on the map, caused us to admit the greatness of the opposition. I mean, We have the Assyrian Empire and then all their friends that are called into unity against Israel. Like, who is ever going to think that Israel could survive this?

40:43But God. But God. You see, verses 9 through 12 speak not of the greatness of the opposition, but of the great acts of God in Israel's history. Where, remember, the Kishon River and Endor and these other places where Israel's enemies met their doom time after time after time. There's a fantastic t-shirt that I'd like to show tourists in Jerusalem. It's a pretty simple little list of all these enemies who have attacked Israel. And near each one, it's like Assyria, check. Babylonia, check. Persia, check. You know, Greece, check. Rome, check. You know, and throughout history, all these people who have attacked Israel. And then it simply says Iran, question mark. You know, like, let's see what happens. You want to poke the apple of his eye? Just see what happens. Even though all the map would suggest there's absolutely no hope, but God.

41:52And that's how this chiastic structure often works. It's called chiastic because the outline that goes in and then back out. Is shaped like one edge of the letter X, or in Greek, key, or chi. So here is a chiastic structure. The purists might call it a chiastic structure because the Greek letter key, but here it is, going in and coming out just like one side of the letter X, or key. The beginning of the psalm, oh, it's the same as the ending of the psalm.

42:29The first from the front, and the, or second from the front, and second from the last, ah, they are similar. The plottings and the shamings of the enemies. But they're in the center, that's usually, you could say X marks the spot, you know, where it comes together, where you're in the thick of this chiasm. Well, this is where the point of the story normally lies. It's showing that despite the greatness of all of this opposition, God is greater still. And He acts in Israel's history. So, friends, we begin to look at a prayer. A prayer for ancient Israel by ancient Israelites. And it can be the basis of how we begin to pray today. I've been asked to share with several people how we might pray for Israel now. Light of the recent attacks of October 7.

43:34And I think of instructions in the New Testament, like 1 Timothy 2:1 and 2. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings, and for all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. Scripture encourages us to pray for political leaders. They make decisions that other people have to live with, sometimes very bad decisions. But let's pray for political leaders. And as we do, we might even think of some specifics about how to pray for Israel and its leaders and the leaders of other groups that affect Israel. I have a little list of prayer requests that I'd like to share with you. Maybe you'd take a photo of these and join me in continual prayer for the situation in Israel. For instance, for those who are most directly affected by the events of October 7, think about it. If it were your child who had been taken captive by these terrorists, wouldn't you want, of all prayers, For them to be released safely. That's how parents, siblings, grandparents, and relatives are praying today. Pray for the safe release of hostages. Further, I'd encourage you to pray for the safety of Jewish people globally. After this event, I remember a Jewish woman sharing with me, I've never been afraid of being Jewish in the United States of America until now, because even now it's not safe here.

45:34And we find an uptick in the hatred of the Jewish people. So we want to pray for the safety of Jewish people globally. Further, pray for the success of the Israeli Defense Forces as they defend Israel. It's a dangerous job dealing with terrorists and those who've sworn against your very existence. And here, I would also encourage you to pray for the terrorists, just like Psalm 83 requests that they might even know that you are God. Wouldn't it be amazing if these terrorists would turn from their sin toward the Lord and do what is right? That perhaps people have already shared the gospel with them and they've rejected it, but even in hardness of heart, Heart that God would call them to himself and convict them of their sin, that they might do what is right, release the captives. Further, pray for Gaza's liberation from Hamas. Perhaps every time you see a sign that says, Free Palestine, you could remember how the sentence should be completed. Because many people who live in the areas that are claimed for the Palestinians are persecuted by their own political leaders, including the terrorist group Hamas. Peace-loving Palestinians need to be freed from Hamas.

47:14And finally, pray that this crisis will draw many in Israel and in Gaza to saving faith in Jesus. The Lord can do that. I mean, this might sound like an outrageous request. I'm reminded of the hymn writer John Newton, who has famously encouraged believers to trust in God and to pray to Him. He put it like this, so poetically, he said, Thou art coming to a king. Large petitions with thee bring, for his grace and power are such that none can ever ask too much. Let's pray that God will do something amazing, that the world may know that he did it.

48:01Others are asking, okay, I'm going to pray, but I also want to help. How can I do that? Well, I'd encourage you to be informed and to inform others. Just that, the speaking of truth in the midst of all of this chaos, is so helpful. I'd encourage you to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people. Can you imagine, in the face of all of this uptick in anti-Semitism, if a Jewish neighbor or friend, co-worker, or person in public that you know in your area were to receive a letter from you saying, I see what is happening in our evil world, and I just want you to know that I love the Jewish people and we stand with you.

48:48It's not exactly the type of letter that most rabbis ever receive from Gentiles. It's not a common thing for people who are part of the Jewish community to hear a loving word, even from Christians. But you could make a real difference there. And I would encourage you, you don't even have to give your whole gospel rationale. You could just even state that I love Jesus, and I know that he comes from the Jewish people, and even that motivates me to love you. Hey, this could open a door for a later conversation that you have already. Gained the opportunity to be a safe person with whom one could speak. So send letters of support to area synagogues and Jewish organizations or donate to trusted organizations and ministries that are clearly doing good. Be on guard because, you know, there are always bad choices about where to direct your donations.

50:01Perhaps you would even want to join us this June as we will lead a study solidarity and service tour with wisdom passages. We're planning to go and direct a study tour like we do most years, but we're taking time to carve out from this journey time to spend with not just the ancient biblical sites, but so that people can meet the living stones, if you will, local Israelis, find opportunities to serve. And I just kind of leave it open like that because the need of the moment changes every moment. I mean, if the war expands and other nations come against them, who knows how long this could be protracted. But if, within the coming weeks, there is a serious defeat and a return of captives, hey, we could be in a rebuilding phase. We could be painting. Houses near the Gaza Strip. Who knows? So we'll just say opportunities to show our solidarity and to serve the people there. Friends, this is a very practical time to do something as we pray, to join other believers who are praying and seeking practical help for Israel. I want to thank you for the opportunity to share with you today. Thank Pastor Baber for the invitation to come and take two services to seek to bring you up to speed about Israel's current conflict and God's eternal plan, to turn our hearts toward the scriptures, to encourage us to pray, and to provide some resources in the back. We'll have the book table available for a little longer this evening. Ariel Ministries focuses on Bible teaching from a messianic Jewish perspective. Our founder, Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, he turned 80 last September, and in January, he reached out to me further conversations in February and March and asked if I would follow him as the next director of the ministry. I mean, I remember meeting with some folks on the board in an interview process and thinking about Arnold, who's written over, you know, 35 books. If I live to be 100, I'll never write 35 books. I might have five in me, but not 35. And yet I think, wow, what a faithful brother, a Holocaust survivor himself, turned follower of the Jewish Messiah, a faithful teacher of sound doctrine, whom God has blessed with a ministry that's nearly 50 years old now, focusing on Jewish evangelism and discipleship. People can take classes at Ariel College, and they're a la carte. It's not some big sign-up, but at their own speed at various levels. Books and commentaries are available. And then our Shoshana campus in upstate New York is an amazing opportunity to get away in the summer months of July and August for eight weeks of intense Bible teaching from a Messianic Jewish perspective. Five hours of Bible teaching a day from really amazing faculty. There are over 10 global branches. We focus on doing Bible conferences like the one at which Dr. Fruchtenbaum will be speaking in Houston later this week, beginning tomorrow, and on leading tours to Israel and beyond, where people can see for themselves the lens of the Bible. Well, thank you again for the opportunity to share with. With you. I'd invite you to sign up for our personal prayer letter from me and Bernice and take any of the free literature as well. And let's pray now as we conclude. Lord, you are so good. Thank you for the words of the Psalms that direct us in confusing times, that give us your divine perspective, your inspired prayer lists, and that point us back to your eternal, unchanging character. Lord, we thank you for your covenant promises that you've given to Israel.

54:38We thank you that when we pray to you, we are praying to a God who neither slumbers nor sleeps. You see the needs of the day, and you care. We thank you that we are coming to a king. And so to you, we bring these large petitions, trusting you in your character, calling on you to intervene so that you ultimately will get the glory. And we pray this in the name of our Savior and coming King, Jesus the Messiah. Amen.