Genesis 14:14-16 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
Abraham’s rescue of Lot and his household from the four Mesopotamian Kings in the middle of the night was an act of holy chutzpah! Israel’s first patriarch demonstrated great faith, courage, family loyalty, and military strategy during this successful rescue operation.
This story of Abraham reminded me of another story in modern Israeli history. It was on June 27, 1976, when a jetliner was hijacked by a Palestinian Liberation group and taken to Uganda.
In an astounding rescue, 100 elite Israeli commandos led by Yoni Netanyahu, (Benjamin Netanyahu’s older brother) traveled over 2,500 miles to Kampala, Uganda and liberated scores of passengers taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists from a hijacked airplane. “Operation Thunderbolt” took place on July 4, 1976, whereby 103 hostages were saved, while only three died. Yoni Netanyahu was the one Israeli who sacrificed his life for this mission. The seemingly impossible rescue, which also took place at night, required a week of planning and lasted just 90 minutes. It was totally unexpected and unprecedented in modern history and became a model for rescue team training in the US military.
These two examples of courage and daring ought to inspire us in certain situations where evil should be boldly and radically confronted. There are times when we, too, can and should operate with holy chutzpah, surprising the enemy with fearless courage, faith-filled action, and laser-sharp strategy. “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” [Luke 10:19]
There is a time to wage war with holy chutzpah. When our cause is righteous and the goal is rescue and deliverance from evil then we ought not to be passive. In these situations, we need the Lord’s strategy and the courage which comes with true righteousness. Perhaps it will require a strong word spoken in love; perhaps a day or a week of serious fasting and prayer. It may even involve addressing an evil spirit as the Apostle Paul did in Philippi [Acts 16:18]. There are times for radical action without fear that it can’t be done. Our Lord, on the cross, exemplified tremendous courage and heroism to rescue us from our sins and the devil’s power. In the power of His Spirit, we also can be instruments of dramatic deliverance – with Holy chutzpah!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel finally crossed into the Promised Land—on the 10th day of Nissan, the very day they had been commanded to choose their Passover lamb [Exodus 12:3 , Joshua 4:19]. They couldn’t enter into their inheritance until a lamb was chosen—a powerful foreshadowing of the more excellent Lamb to come, in preparation for the Passover [Joshua 5:10], they were about to observe at Gilgal.
In the days of Yeshua (Jesus), the cross was an instrument of death, and crucifixion, a horrible method of torture. Over the next 200 years, in light of the Lord’s resurrection, the cross became identified with Christian faith and was transformed into a symbol of life and hope. Yeshua was able to turn it upside down, transforming an instrument of death into a symbol of life.
The New Testament records that when Yeshua (Jesus) died; there was a great earthquake and the veil of the Temple was torn in two. The size of this gigantic veil is not recorded in the NT…but we read from other sources that it was roughly 60 feet long and 30 feet wide with multiple woven layers the thickness of a man’s hand! It was hung on a crossbeam stone – a lintel – which was over 30 feet long and weighed more than 30 tons! It was not an easy cloth to tear…
Thousands of people all over the world will celebrate Pesach (Passover) tonight, commemorating the day the Angel of Death passed over the Israelite slaves in Egypt, sparing their firstborn because the blood of a lamb was applied on their doorposts. Many believers in Yeshua (Jesus) also recognize this as the day that Messiah was crucified, offering Himself as the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, which reconciled man to His Maker, and restored them to close relationship.
Tomorrow night, thousands will begin celebrating the feast of Pesach (Passover), the day we remember God’s merciful redemption of the Jewish people from Egypt. When the final plague struck Pharoh and the Egyptians in Exodus, those who were spared were the ones who applied blood to their doorposts as God warned. Interestingly, the blood that God required them to apply then was the blood of a spotless, unblemished lamb.
In the parable of the unmerciful servant, the servant mistakenly thought that he could demand justice from another servant all the while asking mercy for himself from the king. When the king found out about this servant’s awful behavior, he became enraged and said to him “You wicked servant, I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to; couldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”
There are two kinds of birds that roam the desert: vultures and hummingbirds. The vulture thrives on a diet of rotting meat. He flies overhead searching for traces of leftover carcasses from slow-footed critters eaten by wild animals who’ve already had their fill.