Isaiah Chapter 40 begins with those words so dear to the hearts of those who love Zion:
“Comfort and keep comforting my people,” says your God.
This begins the first of 26 ‘consolations’ to be found in Isaiah. Each consolation prophesies the return from exile, Zion’s restoration and ultimately the Messianic Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
Verse 3 is a trumpet call from the Almighty:
“Clear a road through the desert for ADONAI!
Level a highway in the ‘Aravah for our God!”
Again in chapter 57 verse 14:
“Keep building! Keep building! Clear the way!
Remove everything blocking my people’s path!”
Through the Adoption of a Survivor Program AHI seeks to fulfill this Scriptural mandate.
The Survivors are a people robbed and spoiled. The God of Israel, their Abba, seeks to comfort them. He is seeking out those who will hear the trumpet call to bring that comfort to them.
The highway is filled with great boulders of hate, prejudice, anti-Semitism, despicable cruelty and abandonment carried out by the nations and all too often by those of the Christian church following false theology. Anti-Semitism is from the pit. It must be recognized that Replacement Theology is a carrier of the same virus. It emanates from the evil one, the enemy of our soul.
It is time for these huge hindrances to be recognized for what they are, who put them there and for them to be removed. Those of us in the nations who declare ourselves to be of the household of faith are those to whom God is proclaiming, shouting out the clarion call to clear the highway. The work of AHI is like a plough slowly but surely removing the boulders from before the Survivors. The plough is fuelled by the zeal and passion of Adonai for the deeply wounded of Israel and manifests through prayer, proclamations of truth and unconditional acts of love and kindness.
Chapter 40 verses 6-8 go on to proclaim that there is a season for acts of kindness. While Adonai gives breath to our bodies we must work. It is a season, which will pass.
Each one reading this can play a part. ‘Adopting’ a Survivor is one way of strengthening the plough of AHI so that, with hate filled obstacles removed, hearts can be warmed, eyes opened and broken cords restored. The way is opened, the highway of Adonai.
Please adopt a Holocaust Survivor today
by Jan Slater, Adoption Director
Jan is currently at Beit Shalom managing and supervising visits to Survivors. If you visit between now and October 22 you can talk with her in person about adopting a Survivor.
