The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Isaiah 35:1-2
“You provided bread from heaven for them for their hunger, you brought forth water from a rock for them for their thirst, and You told them to enter in order to possess the land which You swore to give them.” Nehemiah 9:15
Deserts are blooming. Yes, Lord, we see it happening. Is it your doing?
One of the most eye-opening things about doing this focused time of learning and praying about Israel has been seeing the way God partners with people to bring His Word to pass. It’s always some combination of God’s Word, His “doing the impossible”, and obedient, human response and partnership. Remember how God fought the battles of ancient days? Sometimes He would send angels, sometimes he would use the sun, sometimes he would send mental confusion, sometimes He empowered a tiny group to just fight until all the enemies were gone. One thing remains true. God gave the orders and God was consulted for strategy. It was not just a overarching directive for them to take the land, but God showed them in each situation how to do it.
God’s way of doing things is in miraculous moments of power and revelation, but also in simple moments of human interaction and just “doing life.” Sometimes God miraculously reveals someone who needs help, and sometimes we just invite someone to lunch and find that it was a divine appointment. These moments are confusing for people, but not for God. “Is this you, Lord?” “What are you doing and how can I be a part of it?” We start off clumsily in this narrow way and, little by little, we learn to move in step with His Spirit, to walk like Yeshua did.
We often see Israel as a relatively young nation making claims to their own ingenuity (the video below is an example), and it is true that so much has happened since Israel came back to this land, but we also remember about the Kingship/Partnership of the Lord. Will Israel consult the Lord and return to Messiah? This is the question. We know the Kingdom of God will not come to pass in it’s ultimate form until the Jewish people acknowledge Yeshua as Messiah. Until then, we see these things as foreshadowings, not as complete fulfillments yet. This is important to understand, because we are not promised a consistent upward road for Israel as a nation until the return of the rule of God over Zion. We hope for a consistent increase of righteousness here through Messiah, but it is not guaranteed. Israel must decide to make God their King. They must choose Yeshua Ha Mashiach before we see the final flourishing of the Kingdom of God.
So, Is This the Lord’s Doing or Not?
So we believe that all of this flourishing of the land is a foreshadowing of the flourishing that Yeshua will bring. He will bring the it to pass, probably miraculously, because it is better is He gets the glory and not humans. God is comfortable with using human agents to accomplish His purposes. But the key thing is, He gets the glory and is chosen as King. Is this a partial, foreshadowing fulfillment of the blooming desert prophecies that may be setting us up for the coming rule of Yeshua? We think so. Is it the final fullness of this prophecy? Probably not. Because in scripture, this flourishing of the land is tied also to the peace of the land and the rule of God in Zion. The hand of the Lord will accomplish the full-fulfillment later, out of the zealousness for His own name. And no one will miss it when He does it.
Prophecy can only be truly understood as you see it come to pass. Imagining what prophecy WILL look like is what gets us into trouble over and over. It leads to false interpretations and prideful refusal to see the actual fulfillment when it comes. For example, why did the Jewish people not recognize Yeshua the first time? They pictured a warrior King instead of a servant King. The only ones who could receive Messiah were those who received Him as a PARTIAL, BUT IMPORTANT fulfillment of salvation of Israel. The ultimate fulfillment of the promises for Israel will be at His return and His Kingship over all the world. Drenching ourselves in the prophecies and then keeping watch for them to come to pass is the Biblical model. Think of Simeon and Anna in the temple worshiping and BY GOD’S SPIRIT, immediately recognizing the Messiah as a baby! It will be those saturated in the oil of prayer and worship who recognize the fulfillment of prophecies first as they come to pass. Many will be deceived in the last days, even from the best among us.
So how do we understand and pray according to God’s will and timing. We keep our spiritual eyes open and release the timing to the Lord and simply pray and worship through His Word. We are told in Isaiah 62 to give the Lord no rest until He make Israel the pride of the earth.
The Jewish Blossoming of Love for Yeshua and the Harvest of Hearts
Even as we see the flourishing in the land physically, and we receive it as a partial fulfillment and foreshadowing, we know the fullness will come with God’s establishment of His kingdom, the place that HE has prepared for us. So right now, in this season, we rejoice over the redemption of the physical land (as a foreshadowing) but we focus our attention in prayer on the blossoming of love for Yeshua in the hearts of the people.
The work we do in this season on the ground here is heart work. We work at the heart-soil level, even those of us who love creation-care, which is awesome! Our main task is the soil of hearts. We are approaching the end of days, and we must work til the night comes. We do the work of the harvest. We preach the gospel. As we intercede over the next few days, we are focusing in on the land ripe for the harvest of hearts.
Let’s Pray
Adonai, Help us know how to prepare the way for you in the hearts of people until we see the fullness of your Word. You will accomplish your word. Help us to see you and recognize when you are fulfilling your word. And have wisdom in interpretation as your people in unity. Make us one. Bring your word to pass for Israel. Lord, we thank you for softening the soil in the land here. We thank you for the fruitfulness coming from the lips who proclaim your name, Yeshua. We honor you and lift you up. We worship you and praise you because YOU are the source of Living Water. You pour it out on us. We thank you Yeshua for the gift of your Holy Spirit. You said,
“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this you were talking about the Spirit being poured out. John 7:38-39
We receive the power of your Spirit for empowered witness to the Jewish people. We pour out our worship empowered by your Spirit. We pray in the Spirit. Fill us with fresh water today.
Pray over Israel as you listen and worship through this song that the Holy Spirit will flow and fill this land with fresh water!
Lord you said:
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 35
“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11 “All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.
12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.
13 For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the Lord
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
20 so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it. Isaiah 41
On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down…I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it…12that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” says the LORD who does this thing…14 “I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities…they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. 15 I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them”… (Amos 9:11-15)
I will sanctify My great name…and the nations shall know that I am the LORD…when I am hallowed in you [Israel] before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations…bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean…26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you…27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes…30 I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields…35 So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the…ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it…37 I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will increase their men…the ruined cities be filled with…men.”
(Ezek. 36:23-37)
