Comment By Torchlight

"Go forward"

Israel's plight was desperate. "They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in", was Pharaoh's assessment of their predicament. Pharaoh left Israel's God out of his reckoning. The people murmured. They too forgot the God who had delivered them so wonderfully. There is no way out; we are trapped without hope, they reasoned. Then came the word of the Lord to Moses:

"Wherefore criest thou unto Me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward" (Exodus 14.15).

There is a time for prayer and a time for action. To discern divine leading in times of crisis, and not to lean on human reason, is an important discipline in spiritual conflict. When God says, Go, then no weapon that is formed against us shall prosper. Hopelessly outnumbered, and without means of defence against Pharaoh and his hosts, Israel went forward and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the Red Sea. The path of deliverance for God's people became the grave of their enemies.

Our God is a God of deliverances. The path of His choice is always a path of triumph. If the path leads to suffering and death it is none the less triumph, "For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4.17).

"Himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. So that with good courage we say, The Lord is my helper: I will not fear: What shall man do unto me?" (Hebrews 13.5,6).

Israeli dilemma

At the time of writing (September 10) allegations of grave violations of the 90-day ceasefire are mounting, and hopes of saving the Middle East peace talks in Washington are burning very low. Israel is surrounded by a ring of steel, and if estimates of the armed forces gathered on her borders are reliable she is outnumbered by more than four to one. How long can this situation continue in the face of Israeli fear and indignation? She claims that 15 new missile sites have been erected close to the Suez Canal, pointing straight at the heart of Israel. The Egyptians describe this as "completely far from the truth", and accuse Israel of numerous violations of the ceasefire by building fortifications on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal. In this atmosphere peace talks seem impossible. There are fears that in desperation Israel will take the initiative as she did in the six-day war in 1967 and resort to all-out hostilities. A new outbreak of war in the Middle East seems imminent but miracles have happened before. No nation or alliance of nations can ever destroy Israel. All who have tried, from Pharaoh to Hitler, have been broken in the attempt.

Whatever setbacks Israel may receive as a result of the present impasse, her future is assured in the prophetic Word. That future will exceed in glory anything she has ever known before. She has yet to face her greatest baptism of suffering in the great tribulation of the end-time (Matthew 24.21). Then at long-last, purged and purified, she will be ready for the role designed for her in the divine plan for this earth: "There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Romans 11.26), and in the circumstances graphically described in the article beginning on page 146 of our present issue the Son of Man will return to Immanuel's land. Glorious day for Israel and for mankind

Christians awake!

All who rely on the verity of Scripture will stand in awe as the forces gather for the final conflict. These are solemn days no time to be at ease in Zion, but days for service and toil. Last month we drew attention to the sufferings of many of our fellow-believers in totalitarian countries who face the full fury of atheistic persecution. In Western lands such persecution is rare but these conditions could change rapidly. We face two dangers: neglect of our opportunities and lukewarmness. The day of testing may come and find us wanting. "It is high time ... to awake out of sleep.... The night is far spent, and the day is at hand" (Romans 13.11,12).

A noble army, men and boys,

The matron and the maid,

Around the Saviour's throne rejoice,

In robes of white arrayed.

They climbed the steep ascent of heaven

Through peril, toil and pain

O God to us may grace be given

To follow in their train.

unknown | Oct 1970
Comment By Torchlight