Kiryat Shmona

Kiryat Shmona

The city we are praying for this week is Israel’s northernmost city, a place of great contention in recent history, but also of immense promise in the Word of God. Kiryat Shmona is a city in the Northern District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley near the Lebanese border by the Golan Heights. The town is made up of mostly people who are historically of Moroccan Jewish descent.

The translation of the name of the town is “Town of the eight” named after 8 Jewish militiamen and women killed during the Franco Syrian war in the 1920’s who defended the nearby town which was at the time called Tel Hai. To this day, as it is the closest major town by the Lebanon border it is always one of the first and most concentrated areas of rocket attacks from Hamas just across the border in Lebanon.

The leader of the 6 men and 2 women who died in the conflict, Captain Trumpeldor was severely wounded and died after several hours. He is traditionally credited with having said before dying “No matter, it is good to die (tov lamut) for our country” (“אין דבר, טוב למות בעד ארצנו”) words which in Zionist and Israeli collective memory remain closely associated with the names “Trumpeldor” and “Tel Hai”.

The city is located above the Dead Sea Transform fault, and as a result, is one of the cities in Israel most at risk to earthquakes (along with Safed, Beit She’an, Tiberias, and Eilat), characteristic of its natural state of defensiveness.

Of the 12 tribes of Israel, Kiryat Shmona would have been in the land of Naphtali of which Moses prophesied over saying, “Naphtali is a hind let loose; he giveth beautiful words” (Gen. 49:21).

Since the latter part of the verse speaks of the “beautiful words” to be spoken by Naphtali, many interpreters see its fulfillment in the beautiful “Song of Deborah and Barak” recorded in Judges 5:1-31. There the heroic deeds of some tribes during the battle with Jabin’s Canaanite forces are celebrated. It is interesting to note that Barak was from the tribe of Naphtali (Jud. 4:6), and the tribe is singled out in the song because of its special bravery. “Zebulun and Naphtali were a people who jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field” (Jud. 5:18).

Another application of this interesting prophecy may also be possible. When Yeshua began His ministry in Galilee, Matthew 4:13-15 states that He called His disciples in the region of the tribe of Naphtali. Most of His disciples were from the same area that was allotted to Naphtali. Is it possible that these early disciples carried the “beautiful words” of the Gospel swiftly as a hind that was “let loose”?

The feet of the hind are swift. The book of Romans speaks about two different types of feet. Romans 3:15 condemns the feet that “are swift to shed blood.” On the other hand, Romans 10:15 commends those who preach the Gospel in these words: “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” What a contrast, and what a lesson to us who are followers of Yeshua. Are our feet as swift to tell someone about the Gospel as they are swift to share some damaging gossip?

As we pray for the salvation and protection of the people of Kiryat Shmona we remember its history and great promise in Scripture as part of the territory where many of the disciples of Yeshua carried the good news of the Gospel of peace, and that it may once again be re-activated and re-ignited as a center of the Gospel going forth into all of Israel once more for the glory of Adonai. We pray that instead of a place of contention, it will be a place of peace and shalom where conflicts are settled instead of hashed out known once more for the miracles signs and wonders that the sons and daughters of God bring swiftly in the mighty name of Yeshua. Adonai bless you and keep you!