Hurricane Ida and the Afghanistan debacle are the latest in a long list of disasters to befall the U.S. for pressuring Israel to give up its covenanted land
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Giving Away Israel’s Inherited Land
The land of Israel is arguably the most disputed and embattled piece of land in the world, polarizing people, political parties, and nations. But the Bible is clear that God promised the land as an “everlasting possession” to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac. While God exiled them because they forsook the covenant, God’s covenant is everlasting and He promised He would bring their descendants back to the land.
After nearly 1,900 years, God brought the nation back overnight. As Isaiah prophesied, “who has heard of such a thing?… Can a nation be brought forth all at once?”
God upheld this covenant when Israel’s neighboring countries tried to remove it from the land. Against overwhelming forces, Israel prevailed and gained land in 1948 and 1967. The outcome of the muti-front Six-Day War in 1967 could only have occurred by God’s hand. How else could Israel defeat forces from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Lebanon in just six days?
Source: Embassies.gov
The land gained in the Six-Day War included the West Bank that Jordan had taken from Israel. God also provided Israel a much-needed barrier between Israel and its hostile neighbors. And most importantly, God gave Israel the Temple Mount.
Ever since that day of victory, the nations have tried to coerce Israel to give back control of this land in exchange for peace. And no country has led this effort more than the U.S. But a careful study of America’s attempts to pressure Israel into land for peace deals reveals that America met with catastrophes which each attempt.
Are Hurricane Ida and the Afghanistan debacle the latest judgments upon the U.S. for meddling with God’s covenant?
God Promises Judgment for Those Who Interfere with Israel’s Covenanted Land
Scripture is clear that any nation that tries to divide Israel’s land will face judgment.
He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth.
He has remembered His covenant forever, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,…
Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance,” – Psalm 105:7-11
I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land. – Joel 3:2
For thus says the Lord of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple [pupil] of His eye. For behold, I will wave My hand over them so that they will be plunder for their slaves.” – Zechariah 2:8-9
It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. – Zechariah 12:3
Judgment Seen in “Land for Peace” Deals and Cataclycisms
Before discussing Hurricane Ida and Afghanistan, I want to summarize the long and strongly correlated history between the U.S. meddling in Israel’s land and the occurrence of disasters, both natural and economic. The degree to which these events correlate is amazing. Several sources have noted this phenomenon. One of the sources is the book As America Has Done to Israel by John P. McTernan.
Here are a few interesting points from McTernan’s book, based on data from the time it was published in 2006.
- Presidents George H. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush all saw record-breaking natural disasters hit their home states at the exact time they were pressuring Israel to exchange its covenant land for peace.
- Of the top 10 costliest disasters listed by FEMA, nine directly relate to the U.S. pressuring Israel on “land for peace” deals.
- Of the 47 billion-dollar disasters listed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 20 can be connected to land for peace deals with damages totaling $335 billion.
And this trend has continued after this book was published.
A skeptic would argue that disasters occur all the time, so any correlation between a transgression against Israel’s land and the disaster is merely coincidental. But when you examine the consistency of these occurrences over the past 30 years, the correlation is too strong to be a coincidence.
And this phenomenon is occurring, unbeknownst to most, right before our eyes.
Biden Pressures Israel on Settlement Construction
Biden began his presidency breaking tradition with previous Presidents. As Israel is one of the U.S.’s closest allies, it is customary for the incoming President to call the Israeli Prime Minister soon after taking office. However, while Biden made a “flurry of calls” to America’s other allies, he held off calling Netanyahu for four weeks.
All of the media outlets took note of the perceived snub. As NBC News noted in a tagline, “raising fears of a frosty four years to come.”
Biden’s message was clear, showing the Israeli Prime Minster his place and humbling him in front of the world. Soon Biden would be the one humbled.
Reverting back to Obama-era policies, President Biden began pressuring Israel to cease construction of new homes in the West Bank. On August 13th, the Jerusalem Post reported that Biden pressured Israeli PM Bennett to cut back construction plans in Judea and Samaria, in response to complaints from PA President Abbas. Bennett acquiesced to the pressure and reduced the plans for 3,623 homes down to 2,200 homes. The reduction was accompanied by the unusual approval of the construction of 863 Palestinian homes in areas designated for Israeli construction.
This was the first time since Biden took office that he took action against Isreal’s rights to its covenanted land.
One day later, Biden began the evacuation of Afghanistan. On August 15th the Taliban took Kabul. The proceeding events resulted in the total humiliation of Biden and his administration. They had to evacuate the diplomats, U.S. citizens, and troops under complete subservience to the Taliban. It was clear to the world that the Taliban was in charge and America was running away. The impact on Biden and America’s status is only starting to be felt.
And Biden did not stop there.
Israeli PM Bennett Meets Biden
On August 27th, newly seated Israeli Prime Minister Bennett met with President Biden in the White House for their first meeting. Coming into the meeting it was clear that the U.S. and Israel conflicted on several positions.
Departing from Trump’s policies, Biden restored $235M in aid to the Palestinians and disclosed plans to open a U.S. consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem. Israel strongly opposed this move because it would connote that Jerusalem is the capital of a Palestinian state. This is a sharp break from Trump, who moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem in recognition of the city being Israel’s capital.
Biden has also emboldened Iran, pleading with them to re-establish the JCPOA. Israel strongly opposes this move, which isolates Israel in its stand against Iran’s nuclear plans.
Following their meeting, in a joint press event, Biden seemed inattentive at times. As Bennett spoke kind words about the relationship between the countries, Biden dropped his head for a full 30 seconds, failing to make eye contact with Bennett even when Bennett addressed him directly. This led many to believe Biden had fallen asleep. Whether you believe he fell asleep or not, Biden’s actions once again conveyed disrespect towards Israel.
The Response for Biden Working Against Israel’s Land
The catastrophic response to Biden’s anti-Israel positions was immediate.
The day before the meeting, Tropical Storm Ida formed. On the day Biden and Bennett met, it became a hurricane and then rapidly intensified after their meeting. Ida went from a category 1 hurricane to a category 4 at landfall with sustained winds growing from 85 mph to 150 mph.
Interestingly, Ida’s formation through landfall occurred over the span of Bennett’s visit. Bennett and Biden delayed their meeting one day because of the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport. With the Sabbath having begun the evening of their meeting, Bennett remained in DC for an extra day and left on the 29th. Hurricane Ida made landfall just as Bennett was departing the U.S.
Significantly, Ida made landfall in Louisiana on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, linking the two events. In 2005, Katrina formed on the very day Israel finished evacuating 8,000 Jewish settlers from Gaza as directly by Bush. Katrina’s damages were more than President George Bush could handle. He was humiliated by his lack of preparedness, which sank his approval rating.
Similarly, Biden was humiliated by the evacuation of Afghanistan, and his lack of preparedness, which sank his approval rating. The Biden administration ceased its evacuation of Afghanistan on the 30th, as Ida flooded the country.
Hurricane Ida’s Historic Devastation
Ida was a rare and powerful storm, tying Hurricane Laura and three others as the fifth strongest hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. Only two hurricanes on record have hit Louisiana with sustained winds that strong: Last Island in 1856, and Hurricane Laura in 2020. Ida destroyed parts of Louisiana and caused major flooding and tornadoes in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
In New York City rainfall broke a record set the prior week with Tropical Storm Henri. 3.15 inches of rain fell in Central Park in one hour, smashing the recently set record of 1.94 inches. For the first time in history, the National Weather Service declared a Flash Flood Emergency in New York City.
CNBC reported Ida’s estimated damages total $95 billion and believes the storm will have a notable impact on the U.S. economy during the third and fourth quarters. As noted by AccuWeather founder and CEO Joel Myers, “It is rare for a hurricane from the Gulf of Mexico to produce this much damage this far north.”
At last count, 82 people lost their lives in the storm.
Like past Presidents, President Biden failed to see the connection of the storm to his policies on Israel. Instead, Biden blamed the storm on man-made climate change. He and most of the world fail to see the impact of our sins on the world and the judgments that result from our actions against His will.
A Suggestion to U.S. Presidents – A Model for Blessings
I frequently write of judgments befalling the U.S. or other countries, but what about blessings?
Florida has been the recipient of some of the most damaging hurricanes in history. But in 2020, the year climate new sources describe as “horrific” and “record-breaking,” Florida was unscathed. Why?
In September 2019, Florida Governor Ron Desantis led a delegation of more than 90 citizens on a trade mission to Israel. As written in his prepared statement, Governor Desantis stated, “During this trip, we will affirm Florida as the most pro-Israel state in the nation and strengthen the bond between Florida and Israel for decades to come.“
While in Israel, he signed a resolution honoring the “Israeli-Florida relationship” and a bill prohibiting anti-Semitic remarks. And, while praying at the Western Wall, he inserted a prayer between the blocks that stated, “Good Lord, spare us hurricanes this year.”
Florida was spared the wrath of a record 11 named storms that made landfall in the U.S. Perhaps the country should follow Desantis’ lead.
As God told Abraham from the beginning, “…I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.“
When Will the Country’s Leaders Learn?
The evidence that the U.S. faces judgment when it meddles with Israel’s borders is overwhelming. If you need more convincing, my next post will demonstrate the cause and effect of events over the past 30 years of history.
The U.S. leaders NEED to understand that God gave the land to the Jews through an everlasting covenant. As promised, after a long exile, He delivered them back to the land and protected them from the nations that sought to destroy them. THEREFORE, when the U.S. interferes with the Jews’ inheritance of their covenanted land, it directly works against God and His covenant.
If the U.S. continues down this path is will be weakened and possibly even decimated. But imagine how the U.S. would be blessed if it praised what God has done in Israel and worked within God’s will to protect the inheritance to His people.
See these posts on related topics:
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On the Eve of 9/11, was Bush was about to Recognize a Palestinian State under pre-1967 Borders?
Harbingers of Judgment: The Prophet’s Storm and the Omega Sign
The Climate Change Culture is Under One of the Great Delusions of this Age