Zvi Mar/Apr 2012
Living in Israel is like living on an active volcano. It has been this way ever since I came here more than 65 years ago. More than 150 million Arabs wait for an opportunity to destroy us.
And who are they? They are people without faith. They are filled with superstitions and do not know the meaning of forgiveness. They have false beliefs and worship a false god; yet they are full of confidence that, if they kill as many Israelis as possible, they will be big heroes on Earth and bigger heroes in heaven. Sadly, they do not realize only the gates of hell await them.
I speak to such people regularly. As one who believes in Christ, it is my duty to bring them the full truth about our Lord and Savior so that they can find true peace with God and others.
We live in an area in Jerusalem surrounded by Arabs. I do not know how I came to know Arabic. Yet I speak well enough to have long conversations with my Arab neighbors. They often tell me the end of Israel is near. I show them differently from God’s Word.
Recently one asked, “What do you think about this situation here in Israel? Do you think Israel will give us back the land it took from us?”
“It is not our obligation to give you our land,” I replied.
“But you have no right to be here!” he declared. “You must leave! And it will be better for you if you leave now.”
Then I asked, “Do you believe in God?”
They all said yes, but “not in your God.”
“So you think there is more than one god,” I replied. “We believe there is only one God. From Him we have received the land of Israel, and there is no power in the world that can take this land from us.”
“Where is such a thing written in your Bible?” he demanded.
“You asked me the best question,” I replied. “Here is what the Lord says to His Chosen People Israel.” I began with Genesis, where it is written,
And the Lᴏʀᴅ said to Abram,…“Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you” (13:14–17).
I also showed them Exodus 23:31, where God told the Jewish people, “I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.”
While we were talking, Jewish people in the neighborhood began listening, surprised I was speaking Arabic. “What are you doing?” one asked. “It is not good that you speak to them about the Holy Bible. They are not part of our nation. And what is worse, they are our sworn enemies.”
“That is why they need to know to whom this land belongs,” I replied. “The Bible is not political. It is God’s Word. I showed them where it is written, ‘I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’ [Gen. 12:3]. These people need to know that even though we are but a tiny nation, God has not forsaken Israel.”
I told the Arabs, “You have 2 billion people, and we are but 5 million. But you can see for yourself what the Lord tells us:
You, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen….Fear not, for I am with you;…Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; they shall be as nothing, and those who strive with you shall perish. “Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 41:8, 10–11, 14).
“You speak these words with such confidence,” one said. “But look at your situation!”
I told them my confidence is in the Lord. “The best example I can show you is 1948,” I said. “You were so sure you would destroy us when eight Arab armies came against us––150 million Muslims against 500,000 Jews. Yet you fled before this poor worm, Israel. So what have you to say now? Are you still confident you will destroy us?”
Then one asked, “Are you certain that what is written here will be fulfilled?”
“Yes. His Word is eternal and settled in the heavens. I am not reading you fictional stories. I fought in all of Israel’s wars through 1973. We did not have the many weapons you had. Yet it is clear who fought on our side.”
One asked, “Can you tell us where we can buy a Bible in the Arabic language?” So I told them about a store in the Old City. “We will come to speak with you again,” one said.
“Read the Bible,” I told them. “The Holy Spirit will show you the truth.”
