Be'er Sheva

Written by Emma Freeman and Diane Chamberlain-Butt

Emma:
We arranged to meet up with, a local pastor because whenever we go for an assignment, we seek to connect with what God is already doing in the area. We always want to honour local believers because these are the ones God has called to have authority there, so we want to be a blessing to them.

Diane:
The 1917 battle at Beersheba was the gate to Israel and the beginning of freedom for the Jews to re-establish their homeland, which in turn gave way to the Balfour declaration. A gate can only be opened by the power of God and the horses involved in that battle were of strong sturdy stock. The victory by the Anzacs is remembered as the last great cavalry charge in history, the horses leapt 3 metre trenches filled with machine gunners and riflemen, which the infantry could not pass, bravely securing territory back from the occupying forces. Again, the power to break through at the gate can only be supernatural.

Water
Apparently, the battle at Beersheba was about getting to the water supplies. Our first assignment here was at “Abraham’s well”. It was in Abraham’s time that the Arab nation was birthed. Now in the park where we worshiped stood an ancient well (Abraham’s well?) and a minaret directly opposite. This surely was the essence of the battle; the significance profound. Hagar’s 2nd encounter with God came when she was put out by Sarai and it was then that Ishmael was saved from death when God provided water at Beersheba and then promised to make him a great nation (Genesis21 v 17). Here stood the well of Abraham, the living water of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob releasing the power to defeat false religion and war over disputes of inheritance. But central to the message of the Kingdom and all the contention in Israel today is this story-The battle of the true faith of Abraham and the battle to establish God’s sovereign plan. Isaac was born by the Holy Spirit – the child of promise and Ishmael the natural was a slave. As the battle against religious spirits emanate from this point in history it was with the release of life from the wells of salvation we could dance and intercede for what seemed like the whole of the world. We stood against religious pride in Israel and the Church and proclaimed over Islam by declaring that the blood of Yeshua was enough.

Blood
The word for that day was ‘honour the blood. ‘The blood of Yeshua speaks a better word than the blood of Abel’. It does not require revenge but has the power to redeem history and resolve conflict. Upon returning to the cemetery, we continued to celebrate the blood of the Lamb by breaking bread and drinking wine, followed by pouring the wine into the ground remembering those who gave their lives to liberate Israel. Within our narrative Isaac is offered as a sacrifice but is saved by a lamb in the thicket. Is the Lord showing us that we are to be willing to ‘love not our lives unto death’ too? To follow Him may mean the ultimate price but with joy we can continue to drink from the well of salvation forever.