Blessings in Yeshua, the Rock of our salvation!

On Thursday, May 24, 2001 about 700 people were celebrating a wedding on the top floor of the Versailles Wedding Hall in Jerusalem when the floor collapsed, bringing down the entire center of the building. Twenty-three people died and 341 were treated in Jerusalem hospitals. The bride, Karen Yosef-Dror, suffered a broken pelvis. The groom, Assaf Dror was physically unhurt.

The cause of the collapse was found to be a weak foundation. The building was not originally built as a wedding hall, but was reclassified as such about twelve years ago. During renovations, supporting pillars were removed from the building to make room for more guests. This made the Versailles unsafe for a large wedding party.

The tragedy was termed the "worst civilian disaster in Israel’s history." It was indeed a "family tragedy," with multiple members of families being treated at hospitals or buried at the same time. The bride and groom’s pain was compounded by the theft of their wedding gifts (mostly cash and checks in envelopes) from the site.

We have been praying regularly for Israel, asking God to protect and comfort the terrorist victims, but this particular tragedy made a deep impression on our hearts. The Lord reminded us that what happens in Israel often has a spiritual parallel in the body of Messiah. Then He showed us that the wedding hall collapse was a modern-day parable. The bride (in Israel and in the body) is wounded. She will recover once her wounds are tended to, but she is hurting. The root cause of her wounds has to do with weakened, faulty foundations. God is very concerned about our foundations and wants them to be rebuilt, strengthened and restored. The bride is also being robbed. Israel’s economy is in a desperate state due to the tense political situation and drop-off in tourism. Jewish ministries such as ours have experienced a sharp decline in funding as the "thief" instills fear in hearts due to our faltering economy. The Lord wants His children to resist the thief (Satan) and agree with Yeshua who said: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

A wedding feast was going on when suddenly everything changed. Yeshua said that His coming will also be very sudden, even while wedding feasts are going on: "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." (Matthew 24:37-39)

We must be awake and alert spiritually. Our Messiah could return at any time! Even in Israel, as a result of the wedding hall and other recent tragedies, some Jewish leaders are calling for "intense religious introspection." Now is the time for the body of Messiah to engage in some intense introspection as well (Ps. 139:23-24).

A strong foundation is a theme that runs throughout the entire Bible. Many verses refer to God as the One who lays a firm foundation. He laid the foundations of the earth (Psalm 102:25, Job 38:4) and the foundation of the city of which He is called the builder and maker (the New Jerusalem). This holy city of pure gold, with walls of jasper, will have a foundation adorned with all kinds of precious stones (Revelation 21:18-20). Foundations are important to our Heavenly Father.

When the Temple in Jerusalem was restored in the days of Zerubbabel, as commanded by King Cyrus of Persia, the laying of the foundation was accompanied by great fanfare. Ezra tells us that the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites with cymbals, to praise the Lord. There was responsive singing, praising and giving thanks to the Lord and finally a great shout as the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid (Ezra 3:10-11).

"Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." (I Peter 2:6)

Yeshua is our sure foundation (I Corinthians 3:11). He is the rock upon which we build our lives. Our spiritual houses will not collapse when the floods arise and the rains beat down upon them, for they are founded on solid rock (Luke 6:48-49) as we put Yeshua and His Word first in our lives.

"If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Ps. 11:3)

Our home congregation has taken the message of a weakened foundation to heart. Our rabbi has called the congregation to pray every Thursday evening. Attendance has been greater than expected. God is moving and revealing areas of the congregation’s foundation that need repair, restoration and strengthening. Jewish Jewels has also begun our local intercessory prayer meeting again, after a too-long hiatus. PRAYER is a foundation that must be strengthened in the body. So is ASSEMBLING TOGETHER with other believers. The Bible tells us to: " ... consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25) Other foundations to be considered are GOD’S WORD, TIME WITH GOD, RELATIONSHIP TO AUTHORITY, FORGIVENESS, SOUL WINNING, all of the TEN COMMANDMENTS and their extension in the SERMON ON THE MOUNT (Matt. 5). The Judeo-Christian foundations of our country are despised by the majority today. We need to take a stand for these foundations and make sure that our lives and congregations are built on Yeshua and God’s Word.

Many members of the bride of Messiah still carry around wounds inflicted in childhood. Others have been wounded as adults. Abuse, neglect, rejection, abandonment and other traumatic situations affect our present and the way we approach the future. When God is not present in the foundation (of a marriage, a family, a business relationship), there can be a disastrous collapse with great pain and suffering. Some believers who have been set free from the power of sin and death through the atoning work of Yeshua the Messiah, still live their lives as "walking wounded." God desires this to change! Sometimes just coming to grips with the truth of a faulty foundation can set someone free. Sometimes foundations themselves can be changed, rebuilt or restored. New foundations, grounded in God and His Word, can make "all things new." Getting back to basics may be a fresh start for some members of Messiah’s bride. To everyone who is wounded in Israel and in Messiah’s body worldwide, our Father speaks these words of comfort:

One of the ways in which Jewish Jewels is ministering to the wounded bride (the Church) is by restoring the foundation of the Jewish roots of the Gospel. This basic part of our spiritual foundation in Messiah was removed from the Church in the first century. This weakness in the Church remains with us today. To Israel, Adonai’s wife, estranged from her husband, wounded by terrorists, riddled with fear and uncertainty, we seek to minister the love of God, in person and via television. Our message to Israel is that healing and salvation, love and peace are available today in the Name of Yeshua. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is lovingly calling His ancient people to return to Him with their whole heart.

Jacob Damkani is an Israeli believer who came to the Lord through the witness of a faithful non-Jewish believer. His book Why Me? is out of print, but we have received permission to share a chapter with you (see enclosed Offer Form) in which Jacob creatively witnesses to an Israeli named Yosef (Joseph) using the biblical story of Joseph and its parallels with the life of Yeshua. Jacob’s story has challenged us to be active witnesses for Yeshua this summer. Salvation is the foundation and God’s heart is for souls. He does not want any to perish. Reach out! Begin now.

Most of us in the U.S. are "wealthy" compared to believers in other countries. We have so much. Our ‘"wants" as well as our "needs" are usually satisfied. GIVING is one of the foundations of our faith that we must not let become weakened. Our Lord promises that as we give, He will give to us (Luke 6:38). When we give to God’s Kingdom, we are storing up treasure in heaven. If God has blessed you financially, please prayerfully consider the following verse from I Timothy 6:17-19: "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." As the Lord leads, we appreciate your giving to Jewish Jewels especially during the summer months. We will continue to minister all summer long!

Much Love and Blessings in Yeshua,

Neil and Jamie