There is now a temporary peace between Israel and Iran, and we hope and pray it holds and that the actions of both the Israeli and United States military have neutralized the nuclear threat Iran posed to Israel and the free world.
A New Understanding of Sheltering!
The word “sheltering” is the term our Israel staff families use to let us know they are safely in bomb shelters as missiles rain overhead from Iran, Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah.
This beautiful and impactful Hebrew word for shelter, סֵתֶר (seter), is found throughout the Bible, but especially in the Psalms. For example, one of the most well-known uses appears Psalm 91:
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark (Psalm 91:1–4).
Seter is often used to refer to the secret place where God hides His saints. The following are some other wonderful and comforting passages where seter is used to describe God protecting His people:
- “You are my hiding (סֵתֶר) place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance” (Psalm 32:7).
- “In the secret place (סֵתֶר) of His tent He will hide me” (Psalm 27:5).
- “You hide them in the secret place (סֵתֶר) of Your presence” (Psalm 31:20).
This word has taken on a new depth of meaning for me after spending a few weeks in Israel this summer. Over the past year and a half, my dear brothers and sisters in Israel have been bombarded by missiles from various sources: Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and more recently and intensively, from Iran. Iran sent hundreds of drones and ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles loaded with explosives.
The first two waves came through Iranian proxies—Hamas and Hezbollah—who Iran has been supporting, arming, and encouraging! Let us not forget that on October 7, 2023, thousands of Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel, mercilessly killing innocent young Israelis at a music festival, on an army base, and then turned their ire onto various settlements in what is known as the “Gaza envelope.” By the end of that day, more than 1,200 people were murdered, 250 were kidnapped, and since the defensive war began, more than 1,000 Israeli soldiers have been killed as well.
When the war in 2023 started, almost 700 days ago, our staff—mostly younger Israelis and many with small children—would rush to bomb shelters throughout the night and sometimes during the day. Through their WhatsApp group, they would let everyone know they were safe in their shelters by using the English word sheltering as a code word for safety.
Our Tel Aviv Messianic Center’s Dedication Tour Interrupted
In mid-June, I led a tour of sixty devoted followers of Jesus and lovers of Israel on our dedication tour that marked the opening of our new Tel Aviv Messianic Center. Little did we know that on our way through the tour, Israel would attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and many military positions to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Soon Iran’s proxies would regularly fire missiles, which drove us to visit the bomb shelters. For days we heard the blasting sirens at least twice a night and sometimes during the day.
Israel’s leaders had sufficient reason to believe that Iran and its military leaders had manufactured enough nuclear material to put together at least a half a dozen nuclear projectiles that would undoubtedly magnify their efforts to destroy Israel. The leaders of the Jewish state chose to act quickly to neutralize this threat, as well as the Iranian military infrastructure. Israel was able to stage a preemptive strike and, though not perfect, the Israeli Air Force was able to significantly reduce Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
However, Iran still launched hundreds of various types of missiles into Israel. Most were shot down by Israel and the United States, but some made it through, killing people and damaging homes, schools, hospitals, and other buildings, including our rented center and our new center, which was dedicated two days before the attack.
Helping Those Displaced by War
Let me tell you what happened immediately after Iran’s intensive bombing on Israel and then give you some idea of how you can help. I received this email from a staff member—at that time still at the last hotel where our group stayed—the day I began leading our sixty-plus tour participants out of Israel through Amman, Jordan:
When the tour group left, we noticed the hotel lobby filling with families from a building that took a direct hit from an Iranian rocket. There were 110 hotel rooms of people who arrived with over 100 children. I immediately went to the manager and asked if we can do something to help the children. They gave us a room that was used for displaced children earlier in the war. It was dirty and disorganized, so we cleaned it up and began offering the parents a place with games and crafts as well as helpers for their kids.
We have now coordinated with the hotel and have a team of social workers, along with a volunteer community group, who works with kids, but it’s not nearly enough. As some of us engaged the kids, others spoke and prayed with moms and offered an ear and comfort to people who were displaced and frazzled. We are also supplying some personal hygiene items and diapers. Since we were still at the hotel after the tour, we decided to prolong our stay for a week to try and serve these newly displaced Israeli families in practical ways and show them the love of God through Jesus the Messiah.
Please pray as the people don’t know how long they will stay here or where they will go. The children are very stressed by the sirens and the level of threat to their families and homes.
Thank you for your prayers and for the support Chosen People Ministries is providing so that we can serve needy and hurting Israelis and their children.
Helping the Helpers!
Let me share a few ideas about how you can partner with us during Israel’s time of need. Our ministries in Israel must continue and increase more than ever before, as the need is overwhelming.
- Chosen People Ministries needs to meet the physical and material needs of Israelis in the name of Jesus, as the Messiah also fed and cared for those He was seeking to save.
- Israel needs the prayers and support of the global church:
- Please pray for Israel’s defense, and for nations of the world and the media to be more supportive of Israel.
- Pray for the victims of the Iranian regime whose ideology is shared by the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah. Please also pray that, along with Israelis, the innocent in those countries ruled by these terrorist groups discover the love of God and His ability to shelter us from evil.
It is wonderful to see how many Israelis and Jewish people outside Israel recognize that truly devoted Christians have a deep and abiding love for the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
We know Israel is not perfect, nor is any country or human being. Because of that universal reality, we need to live our lives in the shelter of His presence and help others discover the real peace that comes from the presence of the Lord. More than anything else, the Jewish people need to know the Lord, and our global staff is bringing the gospel message to Israelis and Jewish people, young and old, around the globe.
Dr. Mitch Glaser 