The seventh month of the Hebrew calendar begins the Jewish civil new year, starting with three high holy days — Rosh Hashana (the Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles). The days from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur are known as the “Ten Days of Repentance,” or “Days of Awe.” It is a time of reflection and fasting.
 
This year, the Days of Awe contain a horrible anniversary — October 7th. On that day one year ago, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel. They killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They took 251 hostages — again, mostly civilians. This was not an uprising. These were not freedom fighters. Those who question the difference between freedom fighters and terrorists should ask themselves this: Who but terrorists would intentionally butcher babies and their mothers?

The numbers don’t convey the savagery of October 7th. When you hear about the crimes Hamas committed that day (and since), remember that the descriptions have been filtered. Societal norms limit the level of detail witnesses and journalists can give in telling these stories. Rescued hostages usually tell almost no one the true horrors they faced while held captive by terrorists.

On October 8th of last year, Hezbollah decided to add another front to Israel’s war. With the Hamas battle raging to the south in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon began firing missiles at Israel from the north — close to 10,000 of them over the last year. Imagine someone firing thousands of missiles at the United States. Would the US start its response by calling for a ceasefire, or would it first shut down the enemy’s ability to make war?

In a limited way, Israel struck back with targeted attacks on key Hezbollah leaders. But the battle to the north really heated up on September 17th and 18th when Israel exploded thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies in a precisely targeted attack against mid-level and higher Hezbollah fighters. In a stunning series of moves, Israel then destroyed all Hezbollah’s top leaders.

Israel fights because it must. The Jews in Israel cannot run. They have no other place to go. But escape is not on their minds. They are where they want to be. They choose to make their stand in the Promised Land, the place God gave them. May we all make our stand in the Land of Promise. 

In April of this year and again in October, Iran launched massive aerial assaults on Israel. Combined, the two attacks included 170 drones, over 30 cruise missiles, and more than 300 ballistic missiles. The October bombardment was the largest ballistic missile onslaught in history. The April attack tragically severely wounded a 7-year-old Bedouin girl, and in October the Iranians killed one Palestinian man. Otherwise, these massive assaults did only minor damage. And that is a miracle of biblical proportions. 

As Israel looks forward to the Day of Atonement, it is still in a seven-front war — with Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Shiite militias in Iraq, and Palestinian militants armed by Iran and operating in Judaea and Samaria. But even in the middle of all that, these are indeed Days of Awe. For most people, it’s too big to have fully registered yet, but here’s the situation. In just the last few days and weeks, we have seen nothing less than the hand of God moving openly in human history to fulfill His plans and promises as revealed in the Bible. We should all humble ourselves before Him during these days… and stand in awe.

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