The Word of the LORD says in Jeremiah 31
“Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you….Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel!… Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The planters shall plant and shall enjoy their fruit.”
And in Ezekiel 36 we read that the LORD says to the mountains of Israel that they will shoot forth their branches and yield their fruit to His people Israel that will soon return. According to famous Jewish commentators like Rabbi Abba (who lived 150 years after Yeshua) and Rashi, this phenomenon is a sure sign of the soon coming of the Messiah.
After abundant rain, this past winter in Israel, the harvest on the mountains promised to be PLENTIFUL! The mountains were literally dripping with the juice from the abundant grapes growing on the mountains as declared in Amos 9:13.
Through the prophet Isaiah, the LORD declares in chapter 61:5 that foreigners (those from the Nations) will be ploughmen and vinedressers in Israel. Through the menial, simple task of harvesting grapes on the mountains of Samaria, Almighty God has opened a way for Christians to join in this glorious work of restoring the Land by physically fulfilling 3000-year-old prophecies, thereby confirming His Word and glorifying His NAME. Through an organisation called HaYovel, Christians from over 28 countries have been able to join this prophetic grape harvest on the mountains of Judea and Samaria for the past 14 years.
Because of the coronavirus and all the worldwide restrictions, the possibility of Christians from the Nations going to Israel to harvest these grapes seemed like an impossibility in mid-2020. With Israel’s borders fairly closed to tourism and flights severely restricted, there was great concern for the harvest being lost this year. Australia too has closed its borders, making leaving the country nearly impossible.
BUT we know that the Hand of the LORD is not short to save. We know that He is Faithful and is restoring the people and the Land. He said that vineyards will be planted on the mountains of Samaria, that the mountains will drip with wine and that He has called the Nations to participate in this glorious work through being the vinedressers. His Word will stand. His NAME will be glorified in all the earth. HalleluYAH!
We know that He is Faithful and is restoring the people and the Land.
For HaYovel and all those who stand on the promises of the LORD to restore His Land, 2020 will certainly go down in the books as the most miraculous season for harvesting these prophetic grapes.
Israel miraculously granted HaYovel permission in late August to bring in a group of 70 volunteer harvesters from the nations. Miraculously these specially selected group of volunteers from 5 different nations decided on short notice (many within 24 hours) to accept the invitation to go up to Israel for three months to bring in the harvest. Miraculously, our family representing Australia too decided within 24 hours to heed the call even though we had no finances to accomplish this call.
Miraculously other believers from Australia were moved to support us to be their hands and feet on the mountains. Miraculously our family was granted permission by the Australian Border Force to leave the country to participate in this essential work. Miraculously the grapes on the mountains of Israel ripened a month late (this has never happened before), on the day the volunteers from the nations came out of quarantine, enabling them to be on time for the harvest. Miraculously they harvest 20 tons of grapes on the first day! Miraculously no one got sick on the harvest trip, not even a runny nose.
During this harvest season of 2020, the volunteers (and those they represent from their nations) have partnered with the LORD in restoring the Land by:
- putting in over 11,000-man-hours of volunteer service
- harvested over 350 tonnes of prophetic grapes (about 251,400 bottles of wine)
- saving farmers at least $80,000 AUD
- and harvested approximately 2.3 tonnes of olives for an Aussie born Jewish farmer.
In the greening Israel program that HaYovel started this year, the volunteers also commenced the planting of a new forest on the mountains of Ephraim that will consist of 21 different species of trees. During this trip, 2,279 trees were planted in this new forest!
We have experienced the LORD’s Faithfulness to fulfil His Word during this year’s grape harvest, in the midst of the disrupting Coronavirus crisis and other world events. The LORD in His mercy has given us His Word that reveals His heart and purposes for us to have a strong foundation in truth and to give us a clear purpose and focus for the future. His heart is zealous for Zion.
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