Fight for Israel With Prayer and Praise

Did Israel go far enough earlier this year in its battle against the terror and rockets of Hamas? The Bible holds the key to understanding this question.

The Jewish prophet Amos wrote, “Woe to you who put far off the day of doom, who cause the seat of violence to come near” (Amos 6:3, NKJV). The ancient Hebrew word for what our English Scriptures translate as “violence” is the word hamas. In fact, many of the Hebrew Scriptures use the word hamas wherever it says “violence.”

Is this purely coincidence, or is it a prophetic key to battling the power of violence and terror? We must realize that purely military means will not in itself win the day. Remember Ephesians 6:12: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.”

Hamas does not represent simply an Islamic resistance entity, as they refer to themselves. They are actually a demonic power being used as Satan’s instrument to perpetrate violence and terror against Israel, both Jews and Christians alike, and spread that force of evil to the nations.

Amos rebukes the nations for putting off a confrontation with this power. In today’s terms, he is referring to the United Nations, the European Union, and Russia, the United States and all the countries or groups of nations that can do something about the situation rather than appeasing it.

How can the nations on one hand call Hamas a terror organization and on the other hand force Israel to negotiate with terrorists? This is ludicrous and will only fuel the progress of terror and violence to the next battle. Psalm 140: 11 says, “Let not a slander be established in the earth; let evil hunt the violent [hamas] man to overthrow him.”

Appeasement of terrorist ideologies and demonic forces will only spread the cancer of violence throughout the world. Yeshua Jesus is quoted in Matthew 24:37 saying, “‘But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man.'” What is it about the days of Noah that brought God’s judgment to the earth? Genesis 6: 11-13 answers that question:

“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence [hamas]. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence [hamas] through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.'”

I would encourage Jewish and Christian believers, during this critical time in the last days, to take up the call to arms-in prayer, praise and proclamation. As the physical forces of Israel battle the power of terror and violence in the Middle East to preserve the freedoms we cherish and seek to maintain, let us take up the battle cry of the prophet Isaiah: “Violence [hamas] shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation [Yeshua] and your gates Praise” (Is. 60:18).

Barry Segal is the president of Vision for Israel (visionforisrael.com), a humanitarian aid work located in the Judean hills of Jerusalem.