The Jewish roots of Christianity

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Bible teaching with an emphasis on Israel, prophecy and the Jewish roots of Christianity

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Episode: “Fighting for Israel”
David was a warrior in the physical sense, but also a spiritual role model for us all! His wars against the Philistines, Amalekites, and Ammonites are discussed, along with modern-day applications and how we can go on to ultimate victory.
Series: “The Warrior King (2022)”
David-like Leadership for Goliath-like times
This series originally produced in 2009, Warrior King: David-like Leadership in Goliath-like Times, not only tells the story of King David’s time but also the story of our own time. With challenges larger than Goliath all around us, we need Bible-based leaders now more than ever. Dr. Jeffrey Seif taught this eight-part series from Israel. David and Kirsten Hart join Jeff in the studio for up-to-date analysis of each program’s teachings. We also get location reports from Chaim Malespin and hear the music of Zola Levitt.

Caption transcript for The Warrior King (2022): “Fighting for Israel” (4/8)

  • 00:03 David Hart: Welcome to "Our Jewish Roots,"
  • 00:06 with insightful Bible teaching by Dr. Jeffrey Seif.
  • 00:08 How can a man known for writing music
  • 00:10 also kill tens of thousands?
  • 00:13 Find out today on "Warrior King."
  • 00:15 ♪♪♪
  • 00:25 ♪♪♪
  • 00:35 ♪♪♪
  • 00:45 ♪♪♪
  • 00:55 ♪♪♪
  • 01:02 David: We are so glad you joined us today.
  • 01:04 I am David Hart.
  • 01:05 Kirsten Hart: I'm Kirsten Hart.
  • 01:07 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: And I am Jeffrey Seif.
  • 01:08 We're looking at David, and we're looking at the Peleshtim,
  • 01:13 the Philistines.
  • 01:14 David had some wars, didn't he?
  • 01:17 Kirsten: Well, today's program gets a little intense.
  • 01:19 I mean, there's blood and guts and swords and--
  • 01:22 David: Yeah, blood on his hands is what we--
  • 01:23 Kirsten: Ooh.
  • 01:24 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yeah, I don't wanna glory
  • 01:26 in all of that.
  • 01:27 Blood on your hands has a negative connotation.
  • 01:29 At the end of the day, there we are in the ancient Near East.
  • 01:32 You had to fight, at the end of the day.
  • 01:35 You were either going to fight or be run over
  • 01:38 like a freight train.
  • 01:39 Take your pick, you know.
  • 01:40 I'd rather be on the winning edge.
  • 01:42 Kirsten: Well, it says that Saul killed the thousands,
  • 01:44 you know, the song, and David killed tens of thousands.
  • 01:46 That's a lot of people.
  • 01:48 I mean, he's--he must have been buff and strong and,
  • 01:52 interesting, he's so many things.
  • 01:53 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Well, I think there was more
  • 01:55 of a different kind of head and a different kind of heart
  • 01:57 at the end of the day.
  • 01:58 Whatever physical characteristics he had aside,
  • 02:03 but he was a man after God's own heart.
  • 02:05 He had verve, he had passion, he has energy.
  • 02:08 And if you have that, with God's anointing,
  • 02:10 it makes up for whatever you don't have.
  • 02:12 Kirsten: Hm, that's good.
  • 02:13 David: We go to our drama now,
  • 02:14 where David is fighting and is at war with the Philistines.
  • 02:17 Let's go there now.
  • 02:22 male: It was a surprise attack, and the night belonged to David.
  • 02:26 ♪♪♪
  • 02:38 male: In all the land of Israel, there was no one
  • 02:40 who could stand against God's anointed one.
  • 02:43 No sword or weapon devised by man could defeat us.
  • 02:49 And the Philistines fled the night.
  • 02:51 ♪♪♪
  • 03:01 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: News crews don't come here much anymore,
  • 03:03 but I got news for you.
  • 03:05 Years ago, this place was the talk of the town.
  • 03:07 Gotta be careful as I drive here now because we're reasonably
  • 03:11 high up and I don't wanna just look at the camera.
  • 03:13 I need to look at the road.
  • 03:15 Behind me is the Valley of Elah, a place where David sparked
  • 03:19 a revolution, if you will.
  • 03:21 For the longest, Israelites were oppressed, so pressed,
  • 03:26 repressed, depressed, and impressed with the need
  • 03:29 that something needed to change, and why was that?
  • 03:32 Because the Peleshtim were working havoc over here.
  • 03:36 And not just the Philistines here, but different-stines
  • 03:39 at different places, and people were afraid.
  • 03:42 They were ready for a change, if you will.
  • 03:44 Talk about we need change.
  • 03:46 Well, they really wanted it.
  • 03:48 They needed it. And the time was right.
  • 03:51 Someone needed to stand up with some faith
  • 03:52 and some biblical faith.
  • 03:55 A lot of people have a lot of ideas about what needs to happen
  • 03:57 in the world, but you know what?
  • 03:59 Finally, someone stood up with God's idea.
  • 04:02 And I love him for his so doing and, by virtue of his so doing,
  • 04:06 David left a mark on biblical literature, not only
  • 04:10 in his own day but extended for thousand years later.
  • 04:13 It all started here.
  • 04:15 What a fitting place to tell the story of the needing to content
  • 04:20 and war, if you will, for God's sake.
  • 04:22 For us, for the most part, the implications are spiritual,
  • 04:25 more than material, but we need to recover that radical edge.
  • 04:29 And I wanna talk to you about that edge, as we look
  • 04:32 at the Warrior King and we consider the need
  • 04:34 for David-like leadership in these Goliath-like times.
  • 04:38 ♪♪♪
  • 04:47 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Speaking of the cutting edge,
  • 04:52 reminded of a verse, a rather interesting verse,
  • 04:55 in Scripture that might seem offensive
  • 04:59 somewhat at face value in 1 Samuel chapter 17,
  • 05:02 verse 54, says in Hebrew: "[speaking in Hebrew]
  • 05:08 And David took the head of the Philistine,
  • 05:10 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 05:14 and he took the head to Jerusalem."
  • 05:16 Goes on to say then that he took Golyat's armor
  • 05:20 and he put it in his own tent.
  • 05:22 Seems to me that we're looking here at the Warrior King--
  • 05:25 well, he's not a warrior king at this juncture.
  • 05:27 He's a young man who opted to jump into the fray,
  • 05:29 who later became a king.
  • 05:31 Because culture was looking for a man of faith
  • 05:33 who was gonna stand up and lead, maybe risk a little bit
  • 05:37 in the process of so doing.
  • 05:38 Well, David certainly jumped into the fray.
  • 05:41 I'm sure it was unexpected, but all of a sudden,
  • 05:43 he just found himself where the troubles of the day
  • 05:47 afforded him an opportunity to rise
  • 05:49 and be what God had called him to be.
  • 05:52 I don't know about you but there's something
  • 05:54 about this imagery that really works for me.
  • 05:57 We live in a unisex world where gender boundaries are blurred.
  • 06:01 There are a number of things that are blurred
  • 06:02 in this upside down world of ours now.
  • 06:04 But I'm looking here at a male who wants to believe God
  • 06:09 and stand up and be counted and he wants to be heroic,
  • 06:13 if you will.
  • 06:15 I believe that we live in a world where heroism is
  • 06:17 in very high demand but very short supply.
  • 06:20 And when I look at David, I'm not only reminded of an image
  • 06:25 from his Philistine wars, I'm not only reminded of an image
  • 06:29 of what he was all about, but I see here an image
  • 06:33 of what we ought to be all about as men, particularly.
  • 06:37 And people of faith generally, that is, stand up.
  • 06:40 Don't just accept the taunts of the enemy.
  • 06:43 So many people are beaten into submission
  • 06:46 and they despair and they pray up.
  • 06:49 They send their prayers heavenward
  • 06:51 and I'm all for that and I do that on more than one occasion.
  • 06:54 But what about stand-up guys?
  • 06:57 I believe that we need this David-like leadership today.
  • 07:00 Men to stand up and be men, as men.
  • 07:02 Men to stand up and be men as husbands,
  • 07:06 and men to stand up and be men as fathers.
  • 07:10 Men to stand up and be men as pillars in their congregations.
  • 07:14 Men to be men and stand up for their city, for their county,
  • 07:18 for their state, and for their country.
  • 07:20 I believe that we need biblical leadership that wants to make
  • 07:23 the world better by virtue of their participating
  • 07:26 in the drama.
  • 07:28 David, as a leader, invested his energies
  • 07:31 with the net result that Israel was better
  • 07:33 because of his plying his skill sets within the culture.
  • 07:37 And would that today people caught that vision.
  • 07:40 They wanted to lead, they wanted to make the world
  • 07:43 a better place, their family a better place,
  • 07:45 their congregations a better place,
  • 07:46 and culture on the whole.
  • 07:48 We need to pray up and stand up, now more than ever.
  • 07:52 As we look at the world, let's look at it with biblical eyes
  • 07:55 and come to terms with the fact that we need David-like
  • 07:58 leadership for these Goliath-like times.
  • 08:04 Abiathar: The Amalekites had just attacked Southern Judah
  • 08:07 and destroyed Ziklag.
  • 08:09 All the worse, they had taken King David's wives as well
  • 08:13 as the families of those who served him faithfully.
  • 08:17 Only God knew if they were still alive.
  • 08:20 It was a troubling time for the king.
  • 08:24 His men were angry.
  • 08:26 They wanted revenge.
  • 08:28 They wanted the death of their king.
  • 08:31 Yet, David's strength remained in the Lord.
  • 08:34 ♪♪♪
  • 08:42 Abiathar: The king summoned me, asking for the ephod.
  • 08:47 David: [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 08:52 Abiathar: The ephod was a sacred linen garment
  • 08:54 that was worn by the priest on the most holy of occasions.
  • 08:59 On this troubling day, the king would call
  • 09:02 upon the Lord himself and directly appeal
  • 09:06 for divine intervention.
  • 09:11 He inquired of the Lord: "Shall I pursue the men who attacked?
  • 09:19 Shall I overtake them?"
  • 09:21 David: [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 09:26 Abiathar: And the Lord replied:
  • 09:28 "Pursue them, for thou shalt surely overtake them."
  • 09:33 ♪♪♪
  • 09:47 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Tour buses don't come here.
  • 09:50 Cars don't even get here.
  • 09:51 In fact, my 4x4, my off-road vehicle couldn't even get here.
  • 09:58 And where's the "here"?
  • 10:00 We're at a place that I wasn't planning on taking you to.
  • 10:03 I wasn't planning on being here myself.
  • 10:05 I didn't know about this place a week ago.
  • 10:08 Came here to Israel to shoot a series called "The Warrior King"
  • 10:11 on David.
  • 10:13 Little did I know that in conjunction with our arrival
  • 10:16 and filming, we would have one of the greatest
  • 10:19 modern discoveries in the history of biblical archeology.
  • 10:25 I know it sounds overstated, but it isn't.
  • 10:29 Articles are appearing in major Israeli periodicals,
  • 10:34 on the Internet, right here, the Northeastern hills of Elah
  • 10:40 in the ruins of Qeiyafa, we have a fortress
  • 10:43 that dates back 1000 BC.
  • 10:47 Now, what makes this find striking,
  • 10:50 and I'm coming to you from the middle of it.
  • 10:53 What makes it striking is the fact that, right here,
  • 10:58 very recently unearthed were the oldest Hebrew scripts found
  • 11:04 to date, predating the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
  • 11:09 by almost a millennia.
  • 11:12 And that's striking for a variety of reasons,
  • 11:15 and why is that?
  • 11:17 Because this was a fortress that dates back to the era of David.
  • 11:23 That's significant because we live in a world today
  • 11:25 where there are many revisionist sorts that are trying
  • 11:29 to rewrite history.
  • 11:31 Justice in America: "Oh, it wasn't really
  • 11:33 a Christian country originally."
  • 11:35 You know, they wanna rewrite history in order to foist
  • 11:38 their agenda on modernity.
  • 11:42 Similarly, in Israel, there are individuals that are looking
  • 11:45 for a disconnect from biblical heritage.
  • 11:48 "Well, there never was a King David," they say.
  • 11:50 Well, it was harder to say it when up North some years ago
  • 11:53 found was an inscription to the House of David, right there,
  • 11:57 Tel Dan, at the far North, and now here in a fortress
  • 12:01 that dates back to David's day, we find Hebrew script.
  • 12:06 And this is interesting in part because the fact that
  • 12:09 there would be a Hebrew fort here, it's an extension fort.
  • 12:12 Arguably, there was a strong kingdom in Jerusalem
  • 12:15 and this was an outpost here that was established,
  • 12:18 not far from where the biblical story played out
  • 12:21 once upon a time when David went against Golyat,
  • 12:25 Goliath.
  • 12:27 It's a great story.
  • 12:29 Biblical history is interesting and we find that modern
  • 12:31 archeology in various ways corroborates
  • 12:34 the biblical narrative, and what's happening here
  • 12:37 at this site argues to that effect.
  • 12:40 But my purpose here isn't to talk about biblical archeology,
  • 12:43 fascinating as it is.
  • 12:45 I wanna raise the story of David in part because we need
  • 12:49 to hear from him and learn from him today.
  • 12:53 I'd like you to turn in your Bibles please to 1 Samuel.
  • 12:56 There's an interesting story here when things
  • 12:59 weren't going David's way.
  • 13:01 It just so happens in life sometimes culture turns
  • 13:05 against us, circumstance turns against us,
  • 13:08 and we find ourselves being pushed back.
  • 13:10 David was so disconcerted when he discovered that his town was
  • 13:16 overrun, his family was taken captive, everything was taken,
  • 13:20 in fact, and people were so mad at him as a leader,
  • 13:23 they were ready to stone him.
  • 13:25 We're told in the Hebrew Bible, chapter 30, verse 6:
  • 13:28 "[speaking in Hebrew]
  • 13:30 And David was greatly distressed,"
  • 13:33 because of the defeats that he had experienced just then,
  • 13:37 and people, we're told, were ready to stone him.
  • 13:40 Leadership is very precarious, just like standing here
  • 13:43 is precarious, to tell you the God's honest truth.
  • 13:45 Sometimes, the winds blow for you,
  • 13:46 sometimes against you.
  • 13:48 David was on the downside of it all, but we're told here
  • 13:51 in the text: "[speaking in Hebrew]
  • 13:56 And David strengthened himself in the Lord his God."
  • 14:00 For those of us that wanna be good leaders,
  • 14:02 we have to fall back on our knees sometimes
  • 14:05 because the truth of the matter is,
  • 14:06 there are challenges and what happened?
  • 14:08 David strengthened himself.
  • 14:10 He called for the priest to bring garments.
  • 14:13 He wanted to consult the Lord, actually, and we're told just
  • 14:17 as we read down in verse 8, we're told,
  • 14:20 "[speaking in Hebrew] And David inquired of the Lord."
  • 14:25 He had questions.
  • 14:26 He didn't know how to respond, and you know, we live in a world
  • 14:30 today where we can be beset by circumstances that don't seem
  • 14:34 to be going our way.
  • 14:35 We need to seek the Lord as well.
  • 14:37 The good news, that if we do, if we seek him, we'll find him,
  • 14:40 and we'll find answers for vexing human dilemmas.
  • 14:47 male announcer: Our resource this week: The "Grafted-In"
  • 14:49 package which includes this series, "Called Together,"
  • 14:53 on two DVDs; a "Grafted-In" necklace;
  • 14:57 two "Stand with Israel" koozies; a "Grafted-In" decal;
  • 15:01 a "Grafted-In" pin; our "Things to Come" bookmark;
  • 15:06 and "The Prophesied Messiah" bookmark.
  • 15:09 Contact us and ask for the "Grafted-In" Package,
  • 15:14 and thank you for your support.
  • 15:18 David: If you only watch us on television,
  • 15:20 you're missing additional content available only
  • 15:22 on our social media sites: Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
  • 15:27 You can always visit our website which is home base
  • 15:30 for all of our ministry activities and information.
  • 15:34 There you can sign up for our free monthly newsletter,
  • 15:36 watch the TV program, or visit the online store.
  • 15:40 Join us as we tour Israel and Petra.
  • 15:43 Please contact us for more information.
  • 15:46 We would love to hear from you.
  • 15:50 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: In this program and series,
  • 15:52 we're celebrating David, the Warrior King.
  • 15:56 You can go into many towns in America and in the center
  • 16:00 of the town there's a statue, a general on a horse,
  • 16:04 and we remember those winners, those warrior kings,
  • 16:08 those leaders.
  • 16:10 But the truth be known, behind every one of those is a cadre
  • 16:14 of people that are not known to history but were known
  • 16:18 to that general, because it was those soldiers that gave
  • 16:22 those generals that victory.
  • 16:26 We don't lose sight of the fact of it here that you are
  • 16:30 the soldiers that give us the victory.
  • 16:35 We get to sit here and, in some sense, people might celebrate us
  • 16:39 and say, "Good job," but we don't have a job
  • 16:42 unless you give it to us.
  • 16:46 I wanna thank you, those unknown soldiers, known to heaven only,
  • 16:51 who invest in helping this army move forward to show the world
  • 16:56 the good news through the eyes of the Jews.
  • 16:59 Thank you for your giving.
  • 17:01 ♪♪♪
  • 17:08 male: The king would be gracious, we were told.
  • 17:11 He would hear our plea.
  • 17:15 And so it was that we were ushered into his golden chamber.
  • 17:19 We had marched in defiance against King David.
  • 17:22 Now here we were, fearing for our lives,
  • 17:26 three kings of neighboring nations, bowing before him.
  • 17:29 male: [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 17:37 male: We never thought it would come to this,
  • 17:39 but better we should appeal for peace and serve him
  • 17:42 than die before his sword.
  • 17:48 male: The king accepted our plea, giving credit to his God.
  • 17:51 David: [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 17:57 male: How mighty this God of Israel must be.
  • 18:03 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: There's lots of helicopters
  • 18:05 and jets flying around today, and I don't have enough clout
  • 18:08 to make them stop.
  • 18:10 We're 40 kilometers from the Gaza and that's probably some
  • 18:12 reason why they're busy out and about doing what they're doing.
  • 18:15 And here we are, doing what we're doing,
  • 18:17 visiting a famous site in antiquity,
  • 18:21 an outpost for David's forces right at the border
  • 18:26 with the Peleshtim, the Philistines,
  • 18:29 and it's interesting, by the way, that today there's problems
  • 18:32 with individuals that use the name "Palestinian"
  • 18:35 and so it is that overhead, individuals are
  • 18:38 maintaining vigilant in the skies,
  • 18:40 just that from where I'm standing, years ago,
  • 18:43 individuals maintained vigilance as well,
  • 18:46 to fight off the prevailing darkness.
  • 18:48 And fight, we must, by the way.
  • 18:50 And I mean that in the truest of senses and that is that not
  • 18:54 all of us bear arms in defense of home and hearth,
  • 18:59 but anyone who names the name of the Lord
  • 19:01 is called to arm up, if you will,
  • 19:03 to put on a helmet, a shield, get out the sword of the Spirit.
  • 19:07 We're vested with the responsibility to contend,
  • 19:10 to stand for principles.
  • 19:12 And in the course of fighting, we should know
  • 19:14 that it doesn't always go our way.
  • 19:17 Sometimes, as David learned on more than one occasion,
  • 19:19 we need to strengthen ourselves in the Lord and, by the way,
  • 19:23 I think this is that sort of time.
  • 19:27 I'm reminded, by the way, when I read 2 Samuel chapter 10,
  • 19:31 David was involved in a battle royal.
  • 19:34 The end result was that the individuals came
  • 19:37 and did subservience to him.
  • 19:39 He got the better of it, and the kings came and bowed down and,
  • 19:43 you know, peace at last.
  • 19:46 But before that, he had to contend and in chapter 10,
  • 19:51 verse 12, we have "[speaking in Hebrew]
  • 19:55 Be of good courage, and let us be strong."
  • 19:58 Now, friends, that's a word for today.
  • 20:00 He says, "Be that, [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 20:04 be strong for our people [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 20:09 and for the cities of our God."
  • 20:13 At 53 years of age now,
  • 20:16 I realize that I've lived a good part of my life.
  • 20:19 I'm not ready to stick myself in the grave, but I realize
  • 20:21 that the better part of it's in the rearview mirror.
  • 20:24 I plan to finish well.
  • 20:25 I feel in so many ways I'm not just fighting for myself
  • 20:28 as much as for my kids, as much as for future generations.
  • 20:33 I believe that God's people today, we need to be strong.
  • 20:36 We need to be serious.
  • 20:38 We need a revival.
  • 20:39 We need a renewal of energies and enthusiasms to do
  • 20:43 the Lord's bidding.
  • 20:45 It feels like the battle isn't going our way,
  • 20:48 and you know what?
  • 20:49 In ways, it isn't.
  • 20:51 But you know, I've seen enough football games to realize
  • 20:53 that the winning team is at a loss at halftime but it's not
  • 20:56 over until the bell rings at the end of the fourth quarter.
  • 20:59 I don't believe it's over for America, but I do believe
  • 21:02 that there are a number of challenges now.
  • 21:05 That said, when I read the Bible, I'm reminded of the fact
  • 21:08 that these guys always had struggles
  • 21:11 and that's the bad news.
  • 21:13 The good news is, again to hark back to Paul's word,
  • 21:15 "thanks be to God who leads us in triumph."
  • 21:19 I would like your faith to be built up.
  • 21:22 I know mine needs build up as well.
  • 21:24 And here, coming from a fort, an outpost of David's empire,
  • 21:30 3000 years ago, I want to encourage you in your faith.
  • 21:35 I believe that we need David-like leadership
  • 21:38 in Goliath-like times.
  • 21:41 Will you stand with me and be that man of God and that woman
  • 21:44 of God and help our culture return to its biblical moorings?
  • 21:51 Kirsten: We've lived in Missouri for the last 11 years
  • 21:54 and Missouri is known as the Show Me state.
  • 21:58 They want proof.
  • 22:00 And so many people talk about the Bible,
  • 22:02 "Well, prove that these people really lived," don't they?
  • 22:05 They want proof, and I think this is a little proof.
  • 22:08 David: What have you got there, quick?
  • 22:10 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yes, well, what I did is I robbed
  • 22:11 the museum in Israel so please, we've gotta get back soon
  • 22:14 before they notice it's missing.
  • 22:16 What we have here, actually, is a facsimile of--
  • 22:20 it's written in Aramaic from the 9th century.
  • 22:24 I don't know how good you are with your Aramaic these days,
  • 22:26 but right here there's reference to the House of David.
  • 22:32 Individuals have argued,
  • 22:33 "Well, the Bible's just full of mythic characters."
  • 22:37 No, it's full of mystery, but those people existed
  • 22:41 and God exists for those people that have faith in him.
  • 22:46 Case in point, David who's referenced here,
  • 22:50 even in a stone from the 9th century.
  • 22:53 Kirsten: Bible says if the people don't praise it,
  • 22:56 the rocks will cry out.
  • 22:57 But it's like these rocks are crying out the truth.
  • 23:00 They're showing the world through getting dust
  • 23:03 and dirt off of 'em, these were real people.
  • 23:06 This is a real story.
  • 23:08 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: You know, and I think it's great to go
  • 23:10 back to the land of the sticks and the bricks
  • 23:14 and the stones where it all happened.
  • 23:16 And that's the beauty, by the way.
  • 23:17 We don't just open up the Bible.
  • 23:19 We open up the biblical world through the cameras,
  • 23:22 and we take people to the places.
  • 23:24 They can see the spaces.
  • 23:26 There's reenactments of what happened there.
  • 23:28 It's a real story, and it was played out on the stage
  • 23:33 of the human drama.
  • 23:34 These were real characters.
  • 23:35 God worked on their behalf and he'll work
  • 23:37 on our behalf as well.
  • 23:39 David: We take you to museums on our tour and see artifacts
  • 23:43 like this right in front of us, and it's really just amazing.
  • 23:47 Fascinating to see these things.
  • 23:48 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yeah, and let me reiterate again,
  • 23:50 we didn't really rob the museum.
  • 23:52 Kirsten: I'm gonna get letters for that.
  • 23:53 No, I'm kidding.
  • 23:55 David: You're the policeman.
  • 23:56 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: No, no, no, we didn't rob anybody.
  • 23:57 But what this is, is this an exact replica
  • 23:59 of one of the most famous finds in biblical archeology.
  • 24:04 Kirsten: Not that long ago, either.
  • 24:05 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: No.
  • 24:07 David: Chaim Malespin is with us in this series.
  • 24:09 Right now, we take you to Masada and hear from him.
  • 24:13 ♪♪♪
  • 24:21 Chaim Malespin: Here at the magnificent World Heritage
  • 24:23 location, Masada, what history.
  • 24:25 What if we could take a time machine and go back to the times
  • 24:28 of the tragic fall of this Jewish fortress
  • 24:31 taken over by the Romans?
  • 24:32 Or go back in the time machine to the time of Joshua.
  • 24:35 You know what?
  • 24:36 We don't have to go back in time because we are living
  • 24:38 in the Bible.
  • 24:40 We are in fulfillment of the restoration promises
  • 24:43 that God prophesied hundreds, thousands of years ago.
  • 24:47 But to go back to this tragic moment is heart-wrenching
  • 24:51 but I wanna tell you how it was.
  • 24:53 The Romans said, "We wanna crush this Jewish rebellion.
  • 24:55 We want to wipe them off the face of the map.
  • 24:57 We wanna change the name of Israel to Philistinia,
  • 25:00 which the Hadrian did in 135 AD.
  • 25:03 What they did here, though, is they surrounded
  • 25:05 Vespasian's mighty legion.
  • 25:07 They were called Legion X, the Tenth Legion.
  • 25:09 They had fought in the Battle of Actium.
  • 25:10 They had fought all over.
  • 25:12 They had taken Britannia, they had come here and said,
  • 25:15 "We will crush the last remaining of the Jewish people."
  • 25:17 And they surrounded this place.
  • 25:19 Couldn't take it.
  • 25:20 For two years, almost, the Jewish people held out and they
  • 25:23 said, "We will live and we may die, but we will remain free."
  • 25:27 They ended up building a ramp behind and with battering rams,
  • 25:30 volleys of flaming arrows, even catapults with heavy
  • 25:33 stones--these are war machines that were never used before
  • 25:36 until now--broke through and the Jewish people said,
  • 25:39 "We will die a free people."
  • 25:40 And they ended up killing one another and the last person
  • 25:43 fell upon his own sword and died.
  • 25:45 But that wasn't the end of the Jewish people, was it?
  • 25:47 God's Word as he prophesied it all over the Prophets,
  • 25:51 said they would return from the North, the South, the East,
  • 25:54 and the West, the desert would bloom once again.
  • 25:56 We would plant our vineyards.
  • 25:57 And Aliyah is what I did and I do feel, as a soldier,
  • 26:01 as a master sergeant in the combat engineers, what we do is
  • 26:04 we actually march 90 kilometers and, to get our beret,
  • 26:09 to finish the grand finale of our training,
  • 26:12 we climb a mountain.
  • 26:13 Some units used to climb this mountain as well
  • 26:15 and get their beret, and defend the defenseless
  • 26:18 here in the land of Israel.
  • 26:19 Let's stand together for restoration.
  • 26:21 ♪♪♪
  • 26:31 ♪♪♪
  • 26:41 ♪♪♪
  • 27:10 David: It's been great having Chaim with us in this series.
  • 27:13 Dr. Seif, there's a word that has been resonating with me
  • 27:18 through this whole series so far,
  • 27:21 and it's the word "victory."
  • 27:24 Victory in our lives after we've dealt with war and I have
  • 27:27 a feeling that everybody watching here today
  • 27:29 has had some kind of war within your life.
  • 27:32 Victory, I love a good victory.
  • 27:34 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: That's right and God is the victory giver.
  • 27:39 Paul said, "Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph."
  • 27:45 David: Amen.
  • 27:46 Kirsten: And we saw a lot of that in David's life today.
  • 27:48 We have more next week to bring you.
  • 27:50 Come back.
  • 27:52 More on King David, "Warrior King."
  • 27:55 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: You're gonna love it but as you go now:
  • 27:57 Shaalu shalom Yerushalayim.
  • 28:00 Kirsten: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
  • 28:03 ♪♪♪
  • 28:13 ♪♪♪

Episodes in this series

  1. Facing Goliath
  2. The Lord’s Annointed
  3. Disobedient and Destracted
  4. Fighting for Israel
  5. Ascending the Throne
  6. Royal Lineage
  7. Poetry and Psalms
  8. The Ultimate Son

Guest organizations and links