My personal experience living in Israel - Cornelia

It is with a heart full of emotions that I attempt to put in writing my personal experience of living in Israel. I do believe that it is not possible for anyone to fully put into words what changes one have to go through while living in Israel.

I believe that God brought us as a family to Israel for a reason and a season. We came to Israel on 21 October 1997, without knowing either the length of the season and without any knowledge of the reason. We thought we knew. With in a month it will be five years since we came and we know now that the season was for five years and God is taking us to a higher calling.

For the reason . . . . . we are still discovering on a daily basis why God brought as to His land and His people.

Prior to October 1997, we knew little, if not anything, about Israel and the Hebrews. Fortunately I grew up in a family where not much was said about the Hebrews. I thank God that my knowledge and upbringing was without anti-Semitism. I was open to learn about the land and the people without having to overcome negative thoughts and ideas. I actually came to learn about the word "anti-Semitism" and what it means, here in Israel.

Before 1996 I read the Word of God and thought that Hebrew was an ancient language and not spoken anymore. As for the Hebrews, I knew that there are people living in Israel, but I never sat down and thought about the connection between the Hebrews of the Bible and the Hebrews of today. I had a lot to learn when we came to Israel.

The most important truth that I had to deal with, was the fact that Jesus was a Hebrew and I had to accept that, after learning to know the Hebrews of today. I had the "head knowledge" for years, but only living in the Lord's land brought the "knowing" of Him being a Hebrew and that is definitely something to deal with after getting to know the Hebrews.

There is not much difference between the Hebrews of old and the Hebrews of today. We knew that the Word said, "I will bless those that bless you." It was words that I read, but I never had the full meaning of what God said, until living here amongst the Hebrew people. The Word of God came alive and we started to understand the Word as never before.

Genesis 12
:2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.
:3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Seeing the place where historical events took place brings a revelation of the greatness of such an event. Standing on Mount Carmel overlooking the Yisreal valley and reading the event that took place between Elijah and the Baal priests, we can now begin to understand the awesomeness of what had happened when the fire of God came down that day.

Walking through the old city of Jerusalem, though the Arab market towards Damascus gate to the place where Jesus was crucified, seeing people buying and selling while we walk the road that our Lord walked, nobody even aware of our existence. Then there are those that yell at us to try to sell their goods to us, we realized that it was a day such as any other day, when Jesus walked through the streets of Jerusalem with people all around. Some noticed and others went about their business, not even knowing that Jesus existed.

Yes, we have changed during these five years. No one can come to Israel without changing. No one. Everybody change, doesn't matter if you want to or not. If you allow the love of God to flow through you to His people, He will soften your heart and you will be changed forever in a way that you will never be able to be separated from His people. If you do not allow God to change you in this way, you will harden your heart towards His people and you will be separated from them and move over to the side of the enemies of Israel and hate Israel and the Hebrews.

But I want to warn everybody who reads this today, if you are not willing to allow God to change you and become part of His end time plan for Israel - stay away from Israel. You can not come to Israel and stay the same as whom and what you were before you came. You will be changed with or without your consent so rather stay away from Israel than to be changed for the worse.

During these five years we went though many "stages". Our first six months we had to learn to survive as strangers in a very "hard" land. Life in Israel is very hard in many ways. There is a spiritual oppression that one does not really experience anywhere else in the world. There is verbal abuse, as we never had experienced in our lives before in any other country that we have been before.

Just to clarify, God's people went through so much since the beginning, and much of what had happened to them, happened under the "sign of the cross". Such as with the crusaders. Even today there are "christians" that are against God's people. They do not easily trust Christians, and are always suspicious at the beginning. Therefore they would have "hard words" towards people they see around them, always in fear, not knowing what the "christians" are going to do. Unfortunately there are many Christians that visit Israel and think that in their one or two weeks in Israel, they are going to "save" the Hebrews and turn Israel upside down with their "big revelations and anointings".

It is very expensive and everything will be quoted in US dollars, but when it comes to making the payment, it will be in New Israeli Shekels and you are absorbing the loss of the exchange rates. It is truly "the land of milk and honey", but that milk and honey is very expensive. Not knowing Hebrew makes life even harder.

The next six months we recovered from our financial loses and thereafter we were able to explore the land. We bought a car and we went into a stage of being "tourists". We visited places and went over most of the country and had the most exiting times, learning about all the places where Jesus ministered and as I said already, where great events took place.

Then another "stage" was unavoidable. The reality set in. Daily living amongst the Hebrews becomes something we had to deal with. I can say many things about the Hebrews, but I prefer to use the Word of God to describe His people. As I already said, there is not much difference between the Hebrews of old and the Hebrews of today. They know that they are the chosen people and they have to do what it takes to keep what God gave them in a hostile world that always want to "wipe them out"

We learned to allow God to love them through us, without God it will not be possible. We love the land and this people and with great sorrow we are preparing to leave Israel and to move on. With greater joy we know that God is in this all and He is the one who had brought us to Israel for a season and is taking us from here.

We will never be the same again. God touched us and His people touched our hearts and with so much emotions we want to ask every one of you, whom God brought to this page to read what I said about Israel and the people of God, to pray for Israel and the Hebrew nation. Our prayer for them is Daniel 9. We have to remember that those that did not receive mercy, can not give mercy, neither can they receive mercy from men if not from God first. The Hebrews need Jesus and His mercy.

First of all I will quote the Word of God that describes the character of the Hebrews in the best way which we experienced during the last five years and then I will close with the prayer which can change everything in Israel. For us to really pray for Israel and the Hebrews, we have to "become" part of them and pray a prayer of repentance on their behalf.

Romans 10
:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.
:2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

Daniel 9
:3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
:4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,
:5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
:6 Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.
:7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day--to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.
:8 "O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
:9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.
:10 We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.
:11 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.
:12 And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.
:13 "As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.
:14 Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice.
:15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day--we have sinned, we have done wickedly!
:16 "O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us.
:17 Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.
:18 O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.
:19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name."
Amen.

Note: As I study the Word of God, I do not find the word "Jew" to be Scriptural. There are many "mistakes" because of translation and human error.
Jews - Where does the name Jews come from? Let us look at what the Bible calls the people of God.
Hebrews or Israelite:
The term Israelite comes from the name Israel, which was conferred upon Jacob, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 12 Tribes, after his struggle with the angel.
From a historical perspective, the name "Hebrew" has been in use since the time of Abraham, and "Israelites" followed when the sons of Jacob developed into a nation.
Conversely, "Jew" (Yehudi) was popularized in the era of the Persian exile - at which point the Israelites not under Judean rule had become steeped in idolatry and exiled forever - and all the remaining Israelites (even those not from the Tribe of Judah) were known as Jews.
It is only in recent years that the word "Jew" surpassed the word "Israelite" and "Hebrew" as the preferred English designation for members of the people of God.

Paul called himself a Hebrew.
Philippians 3:5 - circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law, a Pharisee
Paul called his people Israelites.
Romans 9:3-5
:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,
:4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises;
:5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
2 Corinthians 11:22 - Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.