Zvi Mar/Apr 2001
Many people here live with horrifying memories of the Holocaust. They came here to find peace. But with the unrest in Israel today, the terrible fear they lived with in Europe has returned to them. The nations surrounding us are trying hard to destroy us and are singing the same songs we remember from the Holocaust but in a different language.
Etbah el Yehud! Ermium el bahar! “Butcher the Jews! Cast them into the sea!” People who are far from the Lord are terrified. So I often go to them to encourage them—not with fictitious stories but with the Word of God. I show them passages, such as Deuteronomy 7:17–18 where it is written,
If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them? Thou shalt not be afraid of them, but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt.
What happened in Egypt at the time of Moses is much the same as what is happening today. When I was in the army in 1948, the enemy came against us like the swarm of locusts in Egypt, trying to cast us into the sea. The Arabs were sure they would win without even a fight. They believed they would destroy us easily and march triumphantly into Jerusalem because they were so many in number and we were only half a million and had no weapons.
But God is the same today as He was centuries ago. I want people here to understand this fact, so I teach them from the Bible. I show them Exodus 15:4–22 where the Bible teaches how Pharoah’s big army was hurled into the sea and the Lord covered Himself with glory. They must believe the Bible, or they will live in fear forever.
I spoke with a group of people a few days ago. Many of them have started reading the book of Psalms every day. Unfortunately, most of them read only with their lips, not with their hearts. So I read them Psalm 118:8–9 to encourage them to trust the Lord, not man.
At first they thought I was from a political party. “We have listened so much to you,” they said. “But now we want to know, Who are you? Whom are you representing? Which party?”
I told them I represent the Lord and that I go to people who are at a crossroads and are looking for direction. I want to help them find the right way. I am not from a political party but have come to my people to teach them about God’s salvation. Then the questions started coming.
“How can you speak about faith?” they asked. “You come here and do not even have your head covered.”
“What is on my head is not important,” I said. “What is in my heart is what matters. I come before the Lord with an open heart. A hat will not bring salvation or forgiveness of sin.” I showed them Ezekiel 36:24–31 where God says He will give them a new heart and put a new Spirit within them.
But this was not good enough. They still wanted to know who I was. I had to be careful. You cannot come to people here like a big wind and blow them over. You must come gently. So I read to them from Isaiah 53 and verses from the prophet Zechariah, so they could see for themselves whom I was speaking about. This is the best way to bring the gospel of Christ to these people.
They could not tell me that I was lying because I showed them that all the words I was reading were from the Bible itself, not from brochures or pamphlets. They saw everything in black and white. Then I read to them from Jeremiah 31:34, where it is written,
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
We had a good conversation, and they told me their doors are always open to me. I plan to return and speak to them again and help them see that God will remove their sin and their fear if they place their trust in Jesus the Messiah.
