Yad Vashem | Elisha Vision

Is Israel the Garden of Eden?

20 05 2019

View from Yad Vashem today

“So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden;” Ezekiel 36:35

Doreen and I first visited Israel 35 years ago in 1984. My memory of the Jerusalem hills is that they were rocky and quite barren. The picture below is from that trip. You can see the horizon, beyond the sculpture. It is clear that there are relatively few trees. The above picture is close to the same area today! (Yad Vashem – The World Holocaust Remembrance Center)

Yad Vashem view in 1984

Am I saying that Israel is the garden of Eden? I really don’t know where it was, but the promise is clear. People will “say” that it is like the garden of Eden. That is my point. The contrast from just the last 35 years is stark. Imagine the changes since Jew first started returning to the land 150 years ago! More than 250 million trees have been planted since 1900. The Jewish National Fund plants 3 million trees as year!

Thus says the Lord Yehovah: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt. The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, Yehovah, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, Yehovah, have spoken it, and I will do it.” Ezekiel 36:33-36

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and pray for rain.

Les Lawrence, Voice of Christian Zionists (Read more)

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Tags: Elisha Vision, Israel trees, Jerusalem forest, Les Lawrence, Yad Vashem
Categories : Israel Commentary

Israel’s Transformation

22 04 2015

View from Yad Vashem

Our recent trip to Israel spotlighted the epic transformation of the land. We first visited Israel in 1984 and Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial, was a highlight. But, the contrast between 1984 and 2015 could not be more spectacular. I wish we had a picture of the barren rocky hills that year, because this year it is full of trees and pastures. The above photo was taken this February at the exit of Yad Vashem. Israel has planted more than 240 million trees in the last 100 years. It is a miracle of restoration and reclamation of the land. The barren rocky hills are indeed transformed!

I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’
and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’
They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures
and on hills that were previously bare. Isaiah 49:9 NLT

My good friend and brother, Doug Walton, sent me a text yesterday pointing me to Isaiah 49. The vivid promises of our faithful God are now before our eyes! You need to take a few minutes and read the whole chapter. Here are a few more choice verses.

See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.

Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.

Soon your descendants will come back,

and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.

Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land

will soon be crowded with your people.

Your enemies who enslaved you will be far away.

The generations born in exile will return and say,

‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’ Isaiah 49:16-17, 19-20 NLT

God has turned the page from the exiled judgment of His people. We are now living in the historic fulfillment of prophecy! This is the time of Israel’s restoration, favor and blessing. Thank you, Jesus. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

Les Lawrence, Voice of Christian Zionists