First of all, since it’s important to know someone’s background/world view/ideology in order to understand their perspectives/opinions, let me outline my background:

• Human Being/Male/Gentile
• English-speaking Canadian, born in Montreal, currently in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
• Brought up Catholic; rejected it as non-scriptural
• Non-denominational believer in Yeshua as Messiah
• Believer in all of scripture (Tanakh and B’rit Chadashah (New Testament))
• Not a supercessionist
• Understand God’s plans for the Jews, Israel and the Gentile nations
• Intercessor involved in multiple global prayer initiatives for The Jews, Israel and the Nations

Netanyahu’s speech:

My thought after hearing the speech the first time:  The leader of Israel has made the will of God known to the nations. They have heard it. They now have to make their decisions in the “Valley of Decision”.

From the global platform of the podium of the US Congress, Netanyahu gave out to the nations (notably their leaders) a message of “Biblical” proportions. His message had two aspects: a naturalistic one and a Biblical one. I say “Biblical” because, even though he did not quote scripture, he articulated themes that are from the Bible. I view the Bible as the very Word of God. So, in my view, Netanyahu delivered a message to the World that comes from the heart of God. If that is true, it means the nations have officially been told the intentions of God and they are now responsible to decide whether to agree and obey God or to reject and rebel against God. This is the fundamental decision to be made in the Valley of Decision which is talked about in Joel chapter 3. The nations have been put on notice that they are accountable to the God of Israel who is the God of the cosmos. For those who may struggle with the meaning of that last term: it means there’s no higher authority to appeal to.

On the naturalistic side, Netanyahu reminded the nations that the world is at a “Crossroads of History”, that the clash is not as genteel as between civilizations but is as existential as between “civilization and barbarism”. He reminded us of past clashes and victories. He thanked Biden and by extension the US for help in getting hostages returned. He introduced grateful freed hostages and heroic soldiers. He called out anti-Israel/pro-Hamas protesters as “useful idiots”. He called out ivy league university presidents as “befuddled academics” (I loved that one!). He added many more great reminders that stem from the human and geopolitical experiences we are all going though and can agree with unless we are rabid Israel-hating antisemites or dyed-in-the-wool cultural Marxists. He reminded us all of the epitaph, NEVER AGAIN, that we, in the West at least, thought was understood and agreed to until October 7^th.

But I want to highlight the God-messages that Netanyahu relayed.

He said the soldiers of Israel “shall rise like lions. They have risen like lions, the Lions of Judah, the Lions of Israel.” This is reminiscent of Jacob’s blessing over his son Judah: Gen 49:9 “Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?”  This theme is also embedded in Balaam’s revers-curse on Israel in his second oracle: Num 23:24 “Look, a people rises like a lioness, And lifts itself up like a lion; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain.” And it is repeated in Balaam’s third oracle along with the Abrahamic blessing and cursing from Genesis 12, verse 3: Num 24:9 “He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? Blessed is he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you.”

And again, the prophet Micah foretells the character of Israel in the end times: Mic 5:8 “And the remnant of Jacob Shall be among the Gentiles, In the midst of many peoples, Like a lion among the beasts of the forest, Like a young lion among flocks of sheep, Who, if he passes through, Both treads down and tears in pieces, And none can deliver.” One commentator that I saw (Adam Clarke) says Micah 5:8 refers to the times of the Maccabees. And Netanyahu also mentioned the “indomitable Spirit of the Maccabees the legendary Jewish Warriors of antiquity”.

Nations, listen up. You’ve been told!

Netanyahu noted that, “the Jewish people are no longer helpless in the face of our enemies”.

This also lines up with scripture: Zec 9:13 “For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the sword of a mighty man.”

And again, from the prophet Zechariah: Zec 14:12 “And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. Zec 14:13 It shall come to pass in that day That a great panic from the LORD will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor And raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand; Zec 14:14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.”

If all that is not terrifying enough, I don’t know what is! Steven Spielberg depicted the plague very graphically in his movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. Notice that it is the God of Israel that is behind Israel’s lion-like character and victories. The nations need to understand that to fight Israel, is to fight their God; and their God IS GOD! A member of a street gang might say, “Fight me, fight my gang!” Well, Israel has every reason to literally say, “Fight me, fight my God!”. And, by the way, I really don’t know of any nation with which there is less reason to pick a fight. All they have done is given wonderful gifts to the world, the most fundamental of which is the knowledge of the true God and the salvation to which many of us Gentile believers can attest.

Nations, listen up. You’ve been told! Don’t do it!

Netanyahu highlighted a fundamental problem in our world that anyone with a shred of discernment has been watching grow over that last several years by saying: “Clarity Begins by knowing the difference between Good and Evil.” No kidding, Bibi!” Here’s what the God of Israel has to say about that: Isa 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Or how about who put male for female and female for male; or mediocrity for excellence and excellence for mediocrity; or equity for equality and equality for equity; or merit for privilege and privilege for merit; or freedom for slavery and slavery for freedom; or genocide for defense and defense for genocide; or truth for lies and lies for truth etc, etc. Need I say more?

Nations, listen up. You’ve been told! Stop it!

Netanyahu clarified the history of Israel for the historically challenged by outlining the nearly 4000-year history of the Jews from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel), through kings like David and Solomon and prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah and on.

Netanyahu was right in highlighting Israel’s history because of the selective amnesia of many. But God takes it way beyond just history. He’s got plans for the future as well, the infinite future! Throughout the scriptures, there are 120 verses about Israel’s destiny. Let’s review a few of them.

Genesis 12:1-3 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, … and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. There’s the start of it boys and girls. Notice this: the Jews are the only people group on the planet that exist solely because God exists. He started them from one man, Abram, whom He renamed Abraham. And He has covenants with them, eternal covenants. Don’t know what a covenant is? Well, it’s not a contract. If you want to know, start with marriage, real marriage: 100%/100% all-in for life with no limited liabilities.

And again, from God: Genesis 13:14 “The LORD said to Abram … look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.”  See that word at the end of the declaration: “forever”. That means “forever”, “eternity”, “indefinitely”, “infinitely”. It’s pretty clear to me. Why is this such a difficult concept?

Here’s God talking through the prophet Jeremiah, a prophet mentioned by Netanyahu, to king David, a king mentioned by Netanyahu: Jer 33:17 “For this is what the LORD says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel.” Note that “never” means “never”. In the same declaration, God reiterates: Jer 33:20  “If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, Jer 33:21  then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. Sounds pretty clear to me!

These are just a few of the many verses in God’s Word declaring the permanence of the destiny of the Jews.

Nations, listen up. You’ve been told!

Netanyahu called Jerusalem “our Eternal Capital never to be divided again”.

God calls the land Of Israel “my land” and He calls Israel “my people”.

Joe 3:1 “In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, Joe 3:2 I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat (The Valley of Decision). There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land. (Careful boys and girls!)

And, as we saw above, God says a descendent of David, a Jew, will sit on his throne.

And that throne was and will be in Jerusalem: 2Ch 33:4 … the LORD had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” And: 2Ki 21:7 … “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever.

And, further, God warns the nations through the prophet Zechariah:  Zec 12:3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.”

So, yes, Netanyahu has transmitted a true message to the nations.

Nations, listen up. Don’t mess with Israel’s land or its capital, Jerusalem!

Finally, Netanyahu closed with: “victory of Liberty over tyranny, victory of Life over death, victory of Good over evil that’s our solemn commitment”.

This just brings us right back to the Torah and God’s clear choice of life over death:

Deu 30:19 “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live Deu 30:20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

So, Netanyahu embedded in his speech fundamental messages of the God of Israel to the nations.

This Deuteronomy life choice is obviously made directly to the Jews; but those of us who believe in Messiah Jeshua believe that the Gentiles are also invited to make the choice of life in the God of Israel. We understand that the blood of Jeshua was shed on Passover, and we must apply it to the doorposts of our lives so that the angel of death will “pass over” us and we can receive life in the God of Israel. If this is not true, then we Gentiles are toast because we have otherwise no inheritance in the God of Israel, who, recall from above, is the only and final authority in the cosmos. But if it is true, then joy of joys, we, lost Gentiles far from God, can be brought near to share the promises of the God of Israel with the Jews (NB: not instead of the Jews).

Nations, listen up! The choice is yours in the Valley of Decision!

Thank you Bibi!