Harvest of Asher
Akko, Israel
What does it mean to trust in the Lord, and what do we normally perceive as the source of our sense of security? What makes us feel safe?
In everyday life our sense of security might come from operating within a framework we are familiar with: where we live, daily routine, work and income. The way people treat us and whether we feel appreciated, understood and accepted by family and those around us can also be a part of our confidence and trust in others.
During biblical times a sense of security was dependent on the might of your rulers and how they provided for those under their rule.
For example how many battle chariots were in the king's army? (Chariots were like powerful armored tanks in ancient warfare.) Another example of this is how people from many areas would migrate to Egypt, a center of both physical and spiritual wealth, for the provision it had to offer those who lived there. The account of Joseph and Egypt’s storehouse of wheat is only one example of the vast wealth of the area along the Nile River, and the exports of Egyptian wheat. Gold, copper, livestock and agriculture were part of the strength of Egypt that caused others to put their trust in her. When the Israelites were in the desert, they longed for the foods of Egypt, conveniently forgetting that they had lived there as slaves (Numbers 11:4-6).
During the rule of the Israelite and Judaic kings after Solomon, the people of Israel were either under Egyptian or Assyrian influence and later the rule of Babylon. Located in the middle of the Levant, at the crossroads between Egypt and Assyria; Israel continually found itself making alliances with one side or the other whenever they were at war. The two kingdoms often came to fight each other on Israelite battlegrounds.
In 2 Chronicles 35:21, Pharaoh Necho, King of Egypt, called the area of Megiddo “the house with which I have war.” Later in history we see Judah trusting in Babylon. Neither Egypt, nor Assyria nor Babylon were faithful to their alliances with Israel. They always came with their agenda which then led Israel to some form of destruction.
If we look to more recent history, whether the Greeks, the Romans or the nations where Israel was exiled in Europe, Asia and Africa, we always found ourselves to be outcasts. Throughout the centuries we see betrayal and broken alliances. Now that God has brought us back to Israel, the question is:
In whom should Israel put her trust today?
Can we stand on the promises in God's Word that encourage us to trust only in Him?
"Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, And rely on horses, Who trust in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the Lord!" (Isaiah 31:1 NKJV)
