Rabbi’s Reflections – Monday, May 8, 2023
Shalom,
Day 30 of counting the Omer
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּֽנוּ עַל סְפִירַת הָעֹֽמֶר
Baruch Atah Adonai Elohenu Melech Ha-Olam, Asher Kid’shanu B’mitzvotav, Vitzivanu Al Sefirat Ha-Omer.
Blessed are You O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by his commandments and commanded us about the counting of the Omer. Today is four weeks and two days of the counting of the Omer.
Follow up that prayer by remembering a blessing from the Lord and give Him thanks.
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A Call to Fast and Pray for Jerusalem
Rabbi’s note: I saw the letter below from IHOPKC “call to prayer and fasting” at 3:30am, last Friday. It is very timely, considering this RR will be widely distributed on the evening of Sunday, May 7th. May 7th begins a worldwide call to 21 days of prayer and fasting. I have mentioned this in a previous RR, and now the time has come. Please read this slowly. End RN.
My connection to what follows began 40 years ago, when I became a Jewish follower of Yeshua. Back then, I was newly saved in a Messianic Jewish congregation, made up of both Jewish and non-Jewish people. Due to the richness of the testimony of this community, I was finally able put Yeshua in His Jewish context. That made things I had always viewed as “strictly Gentile” sensible to this Jewish boy. My point is that it took the witness of both Jewish and non-Jewish people to win me over. It is too easy to view a “Jewish only” witness as just a bunch of Jewish converts.
At the same time, whenever I told those non-Jewish believers that faith in Jesus is not for Jewish people, it was easy for them to say, “Well it is for those Jewish people,” as they pointed out their Messianic Jewish brothers. I came to realize that faith in Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah, doesn’t do away with my Jewish heritage, rather, it affirms it.
Fast forward to last Labor Day weekend (2022). The Shomair elders held our 4th annual elder’s retreat. As we prayed our way through the agenda over the weekend, we began to sense God’s call on some things that were not even on our agenda. We sensed that God was calling our community to be participants in an areawide awakening of the value of His body coming together.
It is the Psalm 133 vision… Psalm 133:1 A Song of Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! “Brothers” are Jewish and non-Jewish brothers, living in mutual love (unconditional acceptance) and for the purpose of mutual blessing. (Sounds like a marriage made in heaven, doesn’t it?).
Yeshua had a vision of His body… (The body of His bride, to whom He will be wed at the marriage supper of the Lamb.) John 10:16 I have other sheep that are not from this fold; those also I must lead, and they will listen to My voice. So there shall be one flock, one Shepherd. Those “other sheep” are His non-Jewish followers.
Following that September meeting, in November of last year, the Tikkun America Apostolic Team (of which I am a member) met in Florida. They also had a prophetic sense that there is a great awakening coming, much like what happened between Peter and Cornelius two thousand years ago. Just as Peter didn’t understand his vision until he met Cornelius, we knew we would not understand ours until we met our own “Cornelius.”
Rabbi Trail: It is important to see that every time “nations” are mentioned in Scripture, it is a reference to all the people groups except Israel. The entire Bible is written from a very “Judeo-centric” point of view. End RT.
All of the Jewish prophets had various iterations of this unifying vision. Zechariah 14:9 Adonai will then be King over all the earth. In that day Adonai will be Echad and His Name Echad. What’s next? Only 7 verses later everyone who has blessed the Lord will come to Jerusalem on Sukkot to worship the King. Zechariah 14:16 Then all the survivors from all the nations that attacked Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot, and to celebrate Sukkot.
My point, as I bring this to a close, is this…. We must realize that none of us are going to reach our God-intended destiny without the “others” coming along. Jews will not attain their calling among the nations without a lot of non-Jews coming along. Non-Jewish people will not attain their calling as grafted in among Israel without a lot of Jewish people coming along.
Please plan to join us and our beloved friends with Grace and Glory Fellowship on Sunday morning, May 28th at our building for a special Shavuot service beginning at 10:30am. After the service we will enjoy a picnic together at nearby Holston River Park. Details will follow later.
With that in mind, please read the following, released last week from the International House of Prayer, Kansas City. I have received similar messages from many other participating ministries. Let’s be grateful to each of them as they and we partner together to take this next important step on the road to Jerusalem.
A Historic Fast for Israel
by IHOPKC
May 2023 will bring about something historic. Multiple Christian leaders believe this will be a once-in-history kind of development, carrying with it the invitation for a significant commitment from the Body of Christ.
Believers from all four corners of the world are joining together (locally and virtually) for a 21-day fast, May 7–28, in the spirit of Isaiah 62. The fast is centered around prayer for the peace of Jerusalem, God’s salvation purposes for Israel, and for the Lord to raise up 100 million intercessors for Israel.
For 21 days, 1 million people are interacting in this global solemn assembly fast at various levels. Many groups are serving as prayer hubs for the fast, and IHOPKC will be hosting daily prayer meetings for Israel in the Global Prayer Room in Kansas City, partnering with God’s heart for Jerusalem through intercession and live worship.
These 21 days in May are unique. Well-known and established prayer leaders, prominent messianic ministries, and some historians all agree that never in history has there been a time when a company of people prayed for Israel for 21 straight days, 24 hours a day. This is the first time ever in human history. And we get to participate in it!
I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. (Isaiah 62:6–7)
When the Lord says, “I have set watchmen on your walls,” He’s referring to His intercessors, those who won’t be quiet, reminding Him night and day of His promises. Although there will probably be some watchmen on Jerusalem’s walls in the literal sense, this verse is spiritually speaking about the walls of intercession. God promised the prophet Isaiah that there would be a time in history when He would sovereignly set His watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem to stand in the breaches and the gaps.
Although God promised this 2,700 years ago, it has only happened a little sprinkle here and there in history. But as we’re approaching the escalation of end-time events at the coming of the Lord, there’s going to be a massive acceleration of God’s setting watchmen on the wall. He’s marking hearts with His own zeal for Israel, primarily of Gentiles who—although they love Jesus sincerely—are unaware that He is very zealous for the city of Jerusalem.
The vast majority of the Body of Christ does not grasp the Lord’s zeal for Zion, but He is clear about it in His Word. “I am zealous for Zion with great zeal” (Zechariah 1:14; 8:2). And the Lord wants His people zealous for Jerusalem. He is the one who’s waking up believers’ awareness of this issue, gripping them with what grips Him about Jerusalem. The Lord will sovereignly put His hand on the minds and hearts of Gentiles, and they will be set sovereignly in place on the wall of intercession, carrying the zeal of the Lord for His people Israel.
And these watchmen shall never be quiet until God makes Jerusalem a praise in the whole world. That is a statement directly connected to the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Most evangelical Gentile believers who love the Great Commission are not aware that the preaching of the gospel to all nations mentioned in Matthew 24 has something about the Gentiles provoking unbelievers in Jerusalem to see Yeshua. Jesus is only coming back when the leaders of Jerusalem say, “Jesus, we want You back.” And right now they’re not saying it. But God’s going to move by His Spirit on many of them, and He’s going to use the Gentiles on the earth as His tool to provoke Israel to jealousy. The Gentiles have got to be on board with that.
Paul builds this thought a bit more in Romans 11. He says that there was an increased anointing on Gentile leadership of the gospel because the Jews failed to respond to it—so the gospel went to the nations. Paul says that their failure is riches for the Gentile nations. And if their being cast away brought the gospel to the nations, what will the acceptance of Jerusalem be to Jesus? Life from the dead to the whole earth, the whole millennium kingdom! Jerusalem saying yes to Jesus is a gigantic issue in God’s leadership.
Psalm 102:13 says, “You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favor her, yes, the set time, has come.” There is a set time in God’s calendar for Him to have mercy on Jerusalem. That doesn’t just mean wars and attacks will cease. It means that Israel will turn to Jesus. They will see Him as their Redeemer and their Savior.
We believe we are stepping into an acceleration of a set time this May, which is going to keep accelerating. There are probably 20–50 other key things on the earth that the Lord is pushing buttons on in their set time—there are many facets to His great symphony. But there is only one set time in history like this that ultimately leads to Jerusalem being saved. We believe May 2023 is a catalyst month in an acceleration of a set time.
This 21-day fast will culminate on May 28, the day when over 5,000 prayer networks have committed to pray for Jerusalem as part of the four global days of prayer in 2023 through the 110 Cities initiative. For the first time in history, 100 million intercessors will be praying for Jerusalem in one given day.
The vast majority of those praying that day might not be connected to God’s purpose for Israel and her vital role in God’s end-time narrative. So the 21-day fast preceding May 28 serves as a great window for the 1 million people engaging with the fast to cry out for the Lord to mark each intercessor with His purpose for Israel. And we believe the Lord’s going to Holy Spirit ambush them in the most glorious way. That’s 100 million in the Body of Christ set up for the Lord’s arrows to strike their heart with His own zeal for Zion.
Therefore, although the commitment (at different levels for different individuals/families) is an extravagant one, it is worthwhile! It is an invitation to be part of something that’s never been done in history, even as we do it in our weakness. It is a sign of the times. Never has there been a period in history where God marked millions for Israel in a short period of time. It’s coming right around the corner.
So could you and would you engage with the Isaiah 62 global fast for 6–12 hours a day? Although engaging 12 hours per day is better than six, we know that a lot of folks have families and things that can’t be paused for three weeks, and that’s okay. We don’t need to get so intense that someone’s not practical about it.
We are also placing a special call for 300 radical young adults (150 men and 150 women) to fast and pray in Kansas City in the NightWatch (12am–6am) during the fast. Housing and Daniel-fast friendly meals will be provided. Click here (https://www.ihopkc.org/gideon300/) to apply to join the 300.
The dramatic nature of the Isaiah 62 Fast is commensurate with its extravagant commitment and engagement. We are invited to draw back on things and put business as usual on hold. You can learn more and be a part of this momentous fast at isaiah62fast.com.
How can you be part of this historic fast?
Join us in fasting May 7–28, as more than 1 million believers worldwide intercede for Israel and God’s purposes for the Jewish people. On May 28, the final day of the fast, 100 million believers with pray for Israel. You can pray with IHOPKC during the fast at www.ihopkc.org/isaiah62-kc-hub/ and learn more about the Isaiah 62 fast at isaiah62fast.com.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Day 30 of the Omer
Mon 8 May-2023 17th of Iyar, 5783
Le 25:19-28 Jer 1 Job 21 Ro 2 (Mt 21)