ENHANCE - 2nd Quarter 2023
The second quarter 2023 edition of our ‘Enhance’ magazine has articles on perseverance, Innovation: Africa, King Charles III, and bagels; as well as reports on our strategic prayer conference, a Jerusalem forum and the political crisis in Israel; and a Hebrew word study on ‘Emunah’ (faith).
The second quarter 2023 edition of our ‘Enhance’ magazine has articles on perseverance, Innovation: Africa, King Charles III, and bagels; as well as reports on our strategic prayer conference, a Jerusalem forum and the political crisis in Israel; and a Hebrew word study on ‘Emunah’ (faith).
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Christian Friends of Israel<br />
United Kingdom<br />
Editorial<br />
Run with<br />
perseverance<br />
About us<br />
CFI UK seeks to bless Israel through<br />
practical and moral support, and serve<br />
the Church in teaching about God’s<br />
purposes for Israel and the Hebrew<br />
heritage of our faith.<br />
CFI UK also produce a monthly prayer<br />
letter, a weekly audio Middle East report<br />
and distribute Haverim teaching.<br />
Please contact us for full details of<br />
projects in Israel and the teaching<br />
resources available.<br />
As an educational charity, we carry a<br />
variety of resources relevant to our<br />
purpose. We do not necessarily endorse<br />
every view expressed by our guest<br />
writers or authors.<br />
Encouraging understanding in the<br />
Church of Israel in context of the<br />
Bible, history and today.<br />
Challenging prejudice against Israel<br />
and antisemitism alongside the Jewish<br />
community in the UK.<br />
Assisting cross-culturally in Israel<br />
with charitable projects - medical,<br />
educational and social.<br />
What’s in a name?<br />
<strong>ENHANCE</strong> means to increase, or further<br />
improve the quality, value, or extent<br />
of, in our instance, Christian friendship<br />
of Israel. It also emphasises that when<br />
God’s faithfulness to Israel is included<br />
and understood by the wider Church, it<br />
truly is ‘faith enhancing.’<br />
<strong>ENHANCE</strong> Magazine<br />
Published by:<br />
CFI Charitable Trust, PO Box 2687<br />
Eastbourne BN22 7LZ<br />
Tel: 01323 410 810<br />
Email: info@cfi.org.uk<br />
www.cfi.org.uk<br />
Registered Charity, No. 1101899<br />
Registered Office c/o<br />
Caladine, Chantry House, 22 Upperton Road<br />
Eastbourne, BN21 1BF<br />
Company No: 04984515<br />
VAT Registration No: GB678780275<br />
Front cover photo:<br />
Tel Aviv Towers, Israel<br />
Jacob Vince<br />
When reading the books<br />
of the Bible in the<br />
Jewish sequence, we<br />
might notice extra connections.<br />
Take for example the books of<br />
Judges and Samuel (the Book of<br />
Ruth being located with the Psalms).<br />
As the Book of Judges draws to a<br />
close, the last judge focused on is<br />
Samson. In the Book of Samuel, the<br />
next two judges are Eli and Samuel.<br />
So, we see that both Samson and<br />
Samuel are judges. In many ways<br />
they are similar in that they arise<br />
out of barren wombs in answer<br />
to prayer, they are both Nazarite,<br />
neither cutting their hair, and<br />
they both challenge the Philistines<br />
in their day. They are both also<br />
involved in physical warfare with<br />
their enemies, Samson on a much<br />
greater scale, though Samuel, as<br />
a result of King Saul’s failure to<br />
do so, carried out the judgement<br />
on King Agag of the Amalekites.<br />
Later in the Bible, as we come to<br />
the Apostles’ teaching, we find they<br />
both feature amongst those who<br />
exercised faith, towards the end of<br />
a long list found in the Letter to the<br />
Hebrews. Gideon, Barak, Samson<br />
and Jephthah feature from the Book<br />
of Judges. Then the list goes on to<br />
David and Samuel.<br />
Clearly there are also significant<br />
differences between them. Samuel<br />
perhaps better exemplifies the<br />
qualities of a judge; yet struggles<br />
with bringing up his own children,<br />
in a similar way to Eli and indeed<br />
Samson’s parents – who specifically<br />
asked for God’s help in that. Yet,<br />
despite their failings, God uses<br />
them both to further his purposes,<br />
with Samuel anointing David as<br />
Israel’s king, who unites the north<br />
and south of Israel as one nation,<br />
eventually bringing the Ark of the<br />
Covenant to Jerusalem.<br />
Shortly after the list of the judges<br />
and King David, followed by the<br />
prophets in general, we find it said<br />
that they, ‘through faith conquered<br />
kingdoms, administered justice and<br />
gained what was promised’ (Hebrews<br />
11:33) – presumably, at this stage,<br />
the ‘promised land’, as mentioned<br />
earlier where ‘Abraham made his home<br />
… like a stranger in a foreign country;<br />
he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob,<br />
who were heirs of the same promise’<br />
(Hebrews 11:9).<br />
Despite this there remained some<br />
unfinished outworking of the<br />
second part of the two-part covenant<br />
promise made to Abraham, this<br />
time not the promised land, but the<br />
hereditary line, which eventually<br />
continues through to Israel’s<br />
Messiah, and Saviour of the world,<br />
Jesus.<br />
Hence the writer continues, ‘these<br />
were all commended for their faith, yet<br />
none of them received what had been<br />
promised. God had planned something<br />
better for us so that only together<br />
with us would they be made perfect’<br />
(Hebrews 11:39-40).<br />
Notice first, the word ‘together’. But<br />
how can this be that God ‘planned<br />
something better for us so that only<br />
together with us would they be made<br />
perfect’? Most, if not all, despite<br />
being ‘commended for their faith’ in<br />
the ‘hall of faith’, were far from<br />
perfect. But then neither are we.<br />
Even after professing faith in Jesus<br />
as God’s son, we cannot claim to<br />
be without sin, hence provision is<br />
made for its ongoing confession (see<br />
1 John 1:8-9).<br />
The next chapter begins, ‘Therefore,<br />
since we are surrounded by such a<br />
great cloud of witnesses’ (Hebrews<br />
12:1), with ‘therefore’, there for a<br />
reason. Here we find an analogy of<br />
2 <strong>ENHANCE</strong> • 2 nd <strong>Quarter</strong> <strong>2023</strong><br />
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