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As believers celebrate the Resurrection this Sunday, we look at our Jewish friends who are simultaneously celebrating Passover and the poignancy of protecting their freedom and their very existence.
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The great Jewish feast of Passover [began] at sundown on April 1. And in reflecting on the “festival of freedom,” a top Israeli official reminded the world that freedom is never free, and must be defended, sometimes with weapons of war.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar posted on X, “Tonight, around the Seder table, we’ll ask: ‘Why is this night different?’ In our national soul-searching, it’s important that we know how to answer this question well and precisely.” And he has an answer, too: “There’s no freedom without the willingness to defend it.”
In an unprecedented victory, the Jewish people in the 20th century reclaimed part of the homeland God promised to them as a perpetual possession (Genesis 17:8) thousands of years ago. Sa’ar explained, “Most of us were privileged to be born into a sovereign and free Jewish state in the land of our ancestors, after 2,000 years of exile. We were born into freedom and statehood after generations of exile, persecution, and destruction.”
The tragic reality is that the rebirth of Israel was immediately met by Islamic terror, which has never stopped since. “Israel has fought for its existence since the day it was born,” Sa’ar stated. “The truth is that there hasn’t been a single day in which we have not stood on guard, in which we haven’t fought. From the founding of the state until today.”
Unfortunately, the demonic jihadis who hate God’s people are determined that each war they lose will never be the last.
God commanded the Israelites to wage war on evil enemies numerous times in the Old Testament (e.g., 1 Samuel/Kings 15:3, Joshua 6, Numbers 31:2).
During the first Passover, however, God Himself slew the firstborn of all the Egyptians to ensure His people would go free. God commanded the celebration of Passover in Exodus 12, the sacrifice of unblemished lambs (a figure of the Messiah to come), the eating of the lambs with unleavened bread, and finally the exit from Egypt.
The Egyptian pharaoh of that era tried to wipe out the Jews, as the terrorist Iranian regime wishes to do today.
Referring to Iran’s regime, Sa’ar affirmed, “We stood before a danger of elimination. Our enemies, chief among them the Ayatollah regime in Iran, devised a plan of elimination. Not only through clear public declarations revealing their intentions. Not merely as an abstract aspiration, but as a concrete plan.”
Sa’ar further went on to that, “Today, we can say: We’ve removed the threat of elimination. We still have bitter and cruel enemies, but they’ve been dealt a severe blow. We don’t promise that this will be the “last war.” We’ll need, in the future too, to remain vigilant against the schemes of our enemies.”
While the regime can still fire at Israel, it is now incapable of destroying it. Meanwhile, the Israeli government is already preparing for the next diplomatic deal and the next war.
Are you taking time to pray for Israel today? Leave your prayers in the comments section below.
(Excerpt from PJ Media. Photo credit: Kzara Visual/Canva Pro)
