Elisha Vision – Commentary

You nations, come here and listen; you peoples, pay attention! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it, the world and all that comes from it. The LORD is angry with all the nations– furious with all their armies. He will set them apart for destruction, giving them over to slaughter. For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a time of paying back Edom for its hostility against Zion.  (Isaiah 34:1-2, 8)

With the provocations against Israel from her neighbors and the turmoil within the neighboring nations making them politically desperate there is an anticipation of conflict.  It just seems like the battles prophesied in Psalm 83, Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38 and 39 are all about to be fulfilled.

There is a prophecy in chapters 34 and 35 of Isaiah where the Lord is against the nations who have been against Israel. He says that their lands will become barren and that He will give those lands to the desert creatures including the hyenas, wild goats and screech owls. He even guarantees those critters will have possession of the land in (Isaiah 34:16). Search and read the scroll of the LORD: Not one of them will be missing, none will be lacking its mate, because He has ordered it by my mouth, and He will gather them by His Spirit. But to Israel he guarantees blessing even in the Arava (desert), maybe especially there. It is located just across the Dead Sea Valley which will make the contrast of the curse to Edom and the blessings to Zion stand out. The photo of the tomatoes is just one of many that can be found in photos of the Arava, along with watermelons and lakes. “The Arava valley stretches from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea and is part of the Syro-African rift, and much of the region is below sea level. 65% of the fresh vegetable export from Israel and about 13% of the cut flowers comes from the Arava where the most advanced farming methods are used.” (Caption from Arava photos) From a local super market I just purchased “Sharon Fruit” which is a seedless persimmon fresh from Israel. They come out each year during January and February.

Let me share a few verses to show the miracle of an agricultural desert. The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose. It will blossom abundantly and will also rejoice with joy and singing. 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) Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, for water will gush in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the parched ground will become a pool of water, and the thirsty land springs of water. In the haunt of jackals, in their lairs, there will be grass, reeds, and papyrus. (Isaiah 35:6-7)

Already the plants of the more fertile areas of Carmel and Sharon grow in the Southern Negev Desert. Israel’s deserts are the only deserts in the world that are shrinking as the deserts of their neighbors grow and become more desolate. There are places where water is in abundance and there are even fish farms with Tilapia (St. Peter’s fish) and other varieties in the desert.

There is a place in Israel called Makhtesh Ramon (the world’s largest box canyon referred to as the Grand Canyon of Israel). A man a few years ago asked the Israeli government to drill for water on one of the plateaus there but was refused. So he used his own money and drilled and hit water that gushed 192 feet in the air. Today, at that site, dates, pomegranates and grapes grow next to a lake. (Jerry Golden’s news) These prophecies have been and continue to be fulfilled in our day. As one preacher often says, “What a wonderful time to be alive.”    Shalom. Pastor Bruce Johnson www.reedycreekonline.com

Thanks to my good friend Pastor Bruce Johnson (Reedy Creek Baptist Church) for today’s guest post.

Les Lawrence, Voice of Christian Zionists    (READ MORE)