Bella Davidov

The 20 Points of President Trump’s Peace Plan

October 13, 2025 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors (out of the two Gaza neighbors, Egypt and Israel.
Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.
If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.
Within 72 hours of Israel publicly acceptation this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.
Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th 2023, including all women and children. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.
Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.
Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the January 19, 2025 agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure, such as water, electricity, sewage, rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads.
Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties (Israel and Hamas) through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party.
Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional government of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day to day running of public services and municipalities for the people of Gaza. This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the “Board of Peace,” which will be headed and chaired by President Donald J. Trump, with other members and heads of States to be announced, including Former Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such a time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform, as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump’s peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi-French proposal, and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza. This body will call on best international standards to create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conductive to attracting investment.
A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East. Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by will-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza.
A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.
No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who want to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.
Hamas and other factions agree not to have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision if independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of demilitarization of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration program all verified by the independent monitors. New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors (Israel and Egypt).
A guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas and other factions (terror organizations) comply with their obligations and that New Gaza posses no threat to its neighbors (Israel) or its own people.
The US will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF)to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to a vetted Palestinian police force in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field. This force will be the long-term internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces. It is critical to prevent supply of ammunition from entering Gaza and to facilitate the rapid and secure flow of goods to rebuild and revitalize Gaza. A deconfliction mechanism will be agreed upon by the parties.
Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. As the ISF establishes control and stability, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the Unites States, with the objective of a secure Gaza that no longer poses a threat to Israel, Egypt, or its citizens. Practically, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.
In the event Hamas delays or rejects this proposal, the above, including the scaled-up aid operation, will proceed in the terror-free areas handed over from the IDF to the ISF.
An interfaith dialogue process will be established based on the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence to try and change mindsets and narratives of Palestinians and Israelis by emphasizing the benefits that can be derived from peace.
While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.
The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.

Israel and Hamas agreed to halt fighting. This initial ceasefire went into effect on Friday after Israel’s cabinet formally approved the agreement the day before. Trump’s peace plan sketches this out as “all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen.”

Image from Aliaksei Lepik, Unsplash

Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement

October 1, 2025 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Simcha blowing the Shofar. [Click pic for video.]

At sundown, on Wednesday, October 1, begins the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

Leviticus 23 indicates that Yom Kippur is also to be considered a special Sabbath when no work is allowed.

The Hebrew word translated as atonement is כִּפֻּר [kip·pür] which means, to cover, purge, make atonement, and make reconciliation. Atonement restores the relationship between man and God that was broken because of sin.

Therefore, Yom Kippur is the most important holy day on Israel’s calendar.

Leviticus 23:26-32
“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.”

From sundown to sundown the next day, the entire country of Israel shuts down. Even the roads are closed to all but emergency vehicles. Bicycles are allowed; therefore, many children ride their bikes on the empty streets. Religious, and even non-religious Jews spend most of the day in the synagogue, taking breaks to go for a walk. There is a sense of peace and serenity in the quiet of the day throughout the country.

In biblical times, in the Holy Temple, Yom Kippur was the only day of the year that the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies. There he made atonement for the entire nation of Israel by putting the blood of the sacrificial goat on the mercy seat.

God gave very specific instructions.

The High Priest

Leviticus 16:2
”…and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.”

The High Priest bathed several times, wore special garments, and offered multiple sacrifices. However, the blood of animals could never take away the sin of the people and God provided a better sacrifice.

Two Identical Goats

The second unique feature of this holy day is the sacrifice; two identical goats were required. The High Priest would symbolically transfer the sins onto the heads of the goats.

Leviticus 16:7-10
“He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. But, the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.”

One goat was sacrificed and its blood taken into the Holy of Holies. The other was sent into the wilderness and left to die. The first goat bore the sins of the people while the second goat carried them away and into the wilderness.

Leviticus 16:20-22
“And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.”

Real Atonement

The word translated as “bear” comes from the Hebrew root נָשָׂא nasa which means to lift or to carry off. It is also used in Isaiah 53:4 which is part of the most clear description of the atoning sacrifice of Messiah Yeshua.

Isaiah 53:4
“Surely He has born our sicknesses, and suffered our pains.”

The word translated as “BORN” comes from the Hebrew root נָשָׂא “Nasah” and the word translated as “carried” comes from the Hebrew root סָבַל Saval which means to bear a heavy load or to drag oneself along.

Yeshua lifted our sins from us and dragged the heavy load Himself to the cross.
When the Day of Atonement ends at sundown, many Jews are uncertain if God has forgiven their sins. One rabbi said, “We can’t be sure – we hope so; we just act as though He has. God is merciful. However, God said that there was only one way there could be atonement:

Leviticus 17:11
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

But the blood of animals could only provide temporary covering of sin.

Yom Teruah

The first day of Tishrei is Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets, Leviticus 23:24.) There are ten days from Yom Teruah to Yom Kippur. They mark the final 10 days of Teshuvah, repentance, or coming back to God. These 10 days are traditionally referred to as the “10 Days of Awe.” However, in Hebrew they are called, “the Ten Terrible Days.” These are the most intense days of praying, and repenting, leading up to the climax of return, which is Yom Kippur.

Isaiah 55:6 “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near;”

When We Had the Temple and Jewish Tradition

In biblical times, the High Priest (HaCohen HaGadol) would enter into the Holy of Holies in the Holy Temple only once a year on Yom Kippur. He would sprinkle blood on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant, as an atonement for the entire nation of Israel.

According to Jewish tradition, on Yom Teruah (known in Judaism as Rosh HaShana or the head of the year,) God’s Books are opened. They are the Book of Life and the Book of Death. The names of those who have lived righteous lives during the past year are inscribed in the Book of Life. However, the names of those who lived sinful lives are inscribed in the Book of Death.

During these ten terrible days, all are prepared to stand before God for judgment, as the books are opened. According to Jewish tradition, God makes His judgment at this time.

Once Yom Kippur ends at sunset, the books are closed for another year. It was during Yom Kippur that men would traditionally tear their outer coats as an outward sign of repentance and mourning and place ashes on their heads, begging God for forgiveness.

Some would beat their chests in a show of repentance and pain, hoping that God would hear their cries of repentance, forgive their sins and inscribe their names in the Book of Life. A common greeting in Israel in those ten days of awe, and especially on Yom Kippur: “May your name be inscribed in the Book of Life.”

What Does the Bible Say?

Although this tradition is not Biblical, the truth is that God does have a Book of Life – for eternal life or eternal punishment.

Revelation 20: 11-15:
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

God sees the heart of men and desires true repentance, as He says through the prophet Joel:

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster.” (Joel 2:12-13)

God called His people to come before Him with weeping and fasting.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God…Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:7-8)

As believers, we know that the throne of God is always accessible to us through Yeshua. He is our High Priest, we can approach anytime to obtain mercy. Yet, we too can use this time to search our hearts, evaluate our achievements and consider where we may have gone astray. It is a time we can ask God to cleanse us of resentments, bitterness and bad attitudes.

We can take this time to sincerely seek OUT where there is need of repentance of sins against others and against God, asking for His mercy as we extend mercy to those who have sinned against us. We thank God that we have His Son Yeshua’s blood to atone for our sins.

Sin and Believers

However, we still sin against Him when we allow our flesh to take control of our spirit man. So, even as believers, according to I John 1:8-9,

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:8–9) and according to Yeshua’s teaching we can pray, “and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)

By debts, Yeshua means sins.
The ultimate goal of repentance is salvation which Yeshua provided for us through His sacrificial death.

What Shall We Do?

On this Holy Day, it is a good time to draw closer to God and prepare for a new beginning through greater dedication to Him and His word, as well as through contemplation of His manifold mercies.

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

“Return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey His voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul.”(Deuteronomy 30:2)

Now, while Jews and Israelis are more than ever opening their hearts to God, seeking His mercy and forgiveness, we pray fervently to the God of Israel to touch hearts and open eyes to see there is forgiveness only through the Blood of the Lamb of God, Yeshua the Messiah, Who takes away the sins of the world.

How Shall We Pray?

Pray for the Peace (Shalom) of Jerusalem, and for Israel to fulfill her destiny.
Pray that Israel and the Jewish people recognize Messiah Yeshua, as they seek God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Pray for the fear of the Lord to fall on Israel at this time, and for the nation of Israel to humble herself before the God of Israel.
Pray that Israelis and Jews acknowledge and confess personal and national sins, and repent of their sins.

Although the nations do not practice a formal Day of Repentance, pray these things for your nation as well.

The Name of Jesus

September 21, 2025 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

What’s in a Name?

Jesus’s original name was not Jesus. Jesus is derived from a German transliteration of the Latin name that itself was transliterated from a Greek transliteration of His original Hebrew name, Yeshua, that became Jesus in English.

Jesus and his first followers were all Jews whose Hebrew names (with meanings only in Hebrew) were all transliterated into other languages. Yohanan became John in English, Matityahu became Matthew and Yehuda Ish-Krayot became Judas Iscariot etc . Even the angels are called by Hebrew names like Gavriel (Gebriel) and Michael, all having meaning only in Hebrew. Gavriel means God is mighty, and Michael means Who is like God (a rhetorical question.) The letter “J” in Jesus doesn’t exist in Hebrew, the language which Yeshua and His disciples spoke. Neither does “J” exist in Aramaic, another language that Jesus and His disciples sometimes spoke.

Greek and Latin

The New Testament was originally written in Greek, which uses an entirely different alphabet than Hebrew and English. There is no “sh” sound in Greek as in the Hebrew name Ye-sh-ua, so in Greek the letter “s” replaced the “sh.” Furthermore, Greek names ending in the sound “a” as Yeshu-a ends are usually feminine. Hence, the “a” at the end of the name Yeshua became “s” to make it masculine. So, Yeshua became Yaysoos. When the bible was translated into Latin from the original Greek His name became “Yesus” since there is no J in Latin either.

As the Latin-speaking Catholic church grew, the Latin Name, Yesus, spread throughout Europe. Even the original English King James translation of the bible used the name “Yesus,” until it evolved into the name “Jesus. “

Swiss German

There are speculations as to the origin of the name Jesus, which is being used today by Anglophone believers. Some say it originated in Swiss German where “J” resembles the English Y.

When Catholic Mary the 1st became Queen of England in 1553, many English Protestant scholars fled the country and settled in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1560, they composed the English edition of the Geneva bible and used the name, Jesus. which became very popular among Anglophones even with Shakespeare.

America

Eventually the Geneva bible came to the New World with the Mayflower. By 1769, most English translations of the Bible used the name “Jesus.”

Many Jews know Him by the name Jesus which sounds nothing like His Hebrew original name, Yeshua. The name Yeshua was known and used in Jewish history in the bible – (1 Chronicles 24:11, 2 Chronicles 31:15, Ezra 2:2,6,36). It’s a version of Yehoshua (Joshua,) which means “God is salvation”.

The Jewish People

To Jews, the person and name Jesus mean nothing. To them Jesus is the former Jew who created “Christianity,” a new religion where gentiles worship Him as their God and savior and Christ.

Most Jews never read the Gospels nor the New Testament writings that contain many quotes from the Old Testament. However, Yeshua never created a new religion. As a matter of fact, He was against man-made religion and the traditions of man.

During the time He walked on earth, Yeshua wasn’t Jesus. Neither was His mother the Catholic “Holy Mary,” nor Yohanan John the Baptist, nor Simon-Kaipha St. Peter.

They were all Jewish followers of Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah and all had Hebrew names. In Hebrew they were called Notzrim, which means from Natzereth (the Jewish city of Nazareth in the Galilee, where Yeshua grew up.)

Today, Jews use the name “Yeshu” instead of His real name “Yeshua.”

Israeli Misunderstanding

The Rabbis, however, out of contempt, omitted (and still do) the last letter, A, to form the name “Yeshu” which is also a derogatory acronym for “Y’mach Sh’mo V’Zichrono” (“May his name and memory be blotted out”.) Sadly, today most Hebrew-speaking Jewish Israelis call Him “YESHU”, totally unaware of the negative connotation, thinking it is His real name, which means nothing, while Yeshu-a means Salvation.

Each letter in the Hebrew alphabet has a name. The letter A, pronounced “ah,” (ע in Hebrew,) is named Ayin, which also means “eye”.

When the last letter “Ayin” was removed and with it the true meaning of His name, Salvation, the “eye ” as it were, was removed as well, thereby spiritually blinding Jewish people from seeing His true nature, the Savior.

When Israel rejected Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah, Salvation went out to the rest of the world and the transliteration of His Name became known to every nation in their own language.

Many non-believers who know Him as Jesus Christ think that “Christ” is His last name, like the family name, “Smith,” John Smith.

Even here in Israel, most don’t know that “Christ” is the Greek word for Messiah, and that “Jesus Christ” really means “Yeshua the Messiah.”

The Truth of His Name

When The Angel of the Lord appeared to Yoseph (Joseph) and told him not to fear taking pregnant Miriam (Mary) as his wife because the baby was of the Holy Spirit, He actually spoke Hebrew and told Joseph to call His name “YESHUA”- “Ki hu YOSHIA et amo mehatotehem.” (“and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21, as written in Psalm 130:8: “and He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”)

Only in Hebrew does the Name and the reason for it have meaning; “YESHUA is the noun for Salvation and YOSHIA is the verb, will save, both stemming from the root letters YESHA ( ישע ). In English, SAVE is not a verb derived from the word JESUS.

We don’t expect our English-speaking friends to stop calling Him Jesus but rather to understand the origin of His name.

However, here in Israel, His original Name is important as we witness to Israelis about “Yeshua/Salvation,” declaring He is our Jewish Messiah Who saves them from their sins and leads them to Our Father in heaven.

We want to bring back the “eye,” the letter Ayin ע to the One called Yeshu, that He is not “ישו”” but “ישו–ע” Salvation.

He is not a foreign personality of a non-Jewish religion but our Jewish Savior, Who was prophesied in our own Hebrew Bible. He is One of us, an Israeli, born and reared in Israel. He never left the land of Israel, except when He rose to heaven after His resurrection from the dead.

One day all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26.) and will look upon Him Whom they pierced (Zechariah 12:10.) They will know Him by His real name, YESHU-A, when the “A” or “eye” is restored. Then they will recognize Him as their Jewish Messiah.

For now, He is still Yeshu to them, a foreign gentile figure, as depicted in many museums worldwide.

However, one day He will reveal Himself to Jews and Israelis as their brother, from the tribe of Yehuda (Judah) and say to them, “It is I, Yeshua your brother.”

Much like when Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt for food, they met an Egyptian monarch, dressed and speaking like an Egyptian (he spoke to them through an interpreter.)

Never in a million years would they have known him as their Hebrew brother, Joseph, who appeared so foreign.

They were shocked when he revealed himself to them and said in Hebrew:

“I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

(Genesis 45:4-5)

Please pray that the eyes of understanding of Israel will be opened to recognize and receive Messiah Yeshua as their Jewish savior. In Yeshua’s Name we pray! AMEN! AMEN AND AMEN!

Image from christianforums website

10 Killed, Including Two Children, in Overnight Iranian Missile Strikes

June 15, 2025 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

הֶן עָם כְּלָבִיא יָקוּם וְכַאֲרִי יִתְנַשָּׂא

A Nation rises like a lion; the people rouse themselves like a lion…Numbers 23:24

Israel continues to recover from one of the deadliest escalations in its ongoing conflict with Iran after an unprecedented overnight missile barrage left at least 10 people dead, including two children, and hundreds wounded.

Rescue operations remain underway, with emergency services still searching for survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings. The heaviest damage occurred in Bat Yam, just south of Tel Aviv, where a residential building suffered a direct hit from an Iranian missile carrying heavy explosives.

Six people, including two children, were killed instantly. In the immediate aftermath, at least seven people were reported missing. However, emergency services have since located four of the missing individuals alive and receiving treatment in hospitals, reducing the number of missing persons to three.

Rescue teams from the Home Front Command continue complex operations at the Bat Yam site, where portions of the building remain dangerously unstable. Large sections of the structure are partially suspended, threatening the safety of both those trapped and the rescuers. According to authorities, the projectile that struck Bat Yam was not a new model but part of a salvo of known long-range heavy munitions, each containing hundreds of kilograms of explosives.

The building that was hit also housed a command center and shelter on the ground floor, though most of those located on the upper floors managed to escape unharmed. Victims were primarily found in unprotected areas of the structure.

(Pictured Left: Israeli rescue workers at the scene where a ballistic missile fired from Iran caused damage in Bat Yam on June 15, 2025. Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

In a separate strike in northern Israel, an Iranian missile hit a home in Tamra, killing four members of the same family and injuring 20 others. The attacks mark one of the most devastating nights in Israel since the beginning of the war.

Meanwhile, further south, Home Front Command rescue teams managed to pull a Holocaust survivor from the rubble of a damaged building in Rehovot. His son, present at the scene, embraced the rescue teams and thanked them for saving his father’s life. Nearby, the Weizmann Institute also sustained damage, with fires breaking out in some laboratories following another missile strike.

The Iranian barrage, launched in response to Israeli airstrikes on Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure, included not only missiles but also reports of drone activity and launches from additional regional actors, including Yemen. Israel continues to face simultaneous threats across multiple fronts.

As the situation remains volatile, Israeli defense forces remain on high alert for further escalation while search and rescue teams continue their dangerous work in hopes of locating the remaining missing individuals.

Please pray for the protection of all of Israel at this volatile time, and as the Holy Spirit leads.

“Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumbers nor sleeps.”

The Veil and Israel [Part 1]

March 19, 2025 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Moses, the great prophet with whom the God of Israel spoke face-to-face:

“And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the pillar of cloud descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses”. Exodus 33:9

So the Lord spoke with Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And Moses returned to the camp. .. Exodus 33:11a

“I speak with him (Moses) face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?” Numbers 12:8

Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. Deuteronomy 34:10

The Glory of the Lord

Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Isaiah 60:1

In the above scripture, the Glory of the Lord is promised to shine upon Israel and God’s people, which includes us. Now that Yeshua is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, He has received back His Glory as He prayed to the Father in John 17:5:

“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the Glory which I had with You before the world was…And the Glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one…“Father, I desire that they also, whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

Mt. Horeb/Sinai

Mt. Horeb, the Mountain of God, known also as Mt. Sinai, is where God first appeared to Moses and spoke to Him from the burning bush. There, Godcommanded Moses to lead the people of Israel out of slavery from Egypt into the Promised Land. Hence, Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt, through the Sinai desert, and into the promised land.

After the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea and wandering in the desert, the people of Israel cried for water. God led them to Mount Horeb (Mt. Sinai) and instructed Moses to miraculously get water from the rock.

Exodus 17:6, “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”

Later, God met Moses once again at Mount Sinai/Horeb with an awesomedisplay of power: thunder and lightning, a dark cloud, fire and smoke, the blast of a trumpet, and quaking of the earth (Exodus 19:18). This was to warn the people not to approach or touch God’s holy mountain as God is so Holy that anyone doing so would die.

Then, God thundered out His commands, frightening all the Israelites. They asked God to speak only to Moses and let Moses be the intermediary between themselves and God (Exodus 20:19. By the way, Jews often say that they don’tneed an intermediary to talk to God when it comes to Yeshua.)

The Covenant Through Moses

And God called Moses on the mountain to receive the commandments for Israel.

“And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘”All the words which the Lord has said we will do.’” They made burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words” (their promise.) Exodus 24:3b, 5-8

Now the Glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered the Mountain of God for six days. And on the seventh day, God called Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” (vs. 13, 16-18)

There on the mountain, Moses received the plans for the Tabernacle and the tablets of stone on which God had written His commandments with His own finger.

However, at the bottom of the mountain, the Israelites had grown impatient waiting for Moses all that time, not knowing what had happened to him.
They asked Aaron to make them a god in the form of a golden calf. Overjoyed and excited, the people sacrificed to the golden calf, celebrated, and worshiped their new god in a frenzy.

However, at the top of the mountain, God told Moses what was happening in the camp below.

When Moses descended the mountain and saw everyone worshiping the golden calf, he became enraged and smashed to bits the stone tablets on which Godhad written His commandments with His own finger. Moses reproved Israel for its terrible sin against the one true God after promising to serve Him and keep His commandments. (including not making any images for worship) (Exodus 32.)

After dealing with the sin issue (including the death of many of the idol worshipers (Exodus 32:28) Moses burned the golden calf with fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it (verse 20.)

Then, the Lord said to Moses,

“Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the Words that were on the first tablets which you broke.”

Facing God on the top of the mountain, Moses begged God to forgive the children of Israel, His people. God listened to Moses, forgave them, and renewed the covenant with Israel. He once again wrote His Commandments on new stone tablets (Exodus 34:1–27.)

The Veil on Moses’s Face

Moses spent another 40 days and nights in the presence of God on Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God, not eating or drinking, and God allowed Moses to see His glory. God’s glorious presence sustained him.

When Moses came down the mountain after spending this extended time in the presence of the Lord, Moses was unaware that his face shone powerfully, reflecting God’s Glory. Because everyone feared to approach him, Moses covered his face with a veil, hiding the bright light of the Glory that was unbearable to the people in their sinful condition, so they would not be frightened. (Exodus 34:1–29)

Moses went up to speak to the Lord several times and brought Israel the Torah he had received from the Lord for them.

“But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out; and he would come back and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.” (Exodus 34:34-35)

The Prophet Elijah on Mt. Horeb

When the prophet Elijah ran away from Queen Jezebel who wanted to kill him, he stopped to rest in the desert. There, an angel of the Lord fed him, and

“strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb (Mt. Sini,) the mountain of God.” (1 Kings 19:8)

Elijah stayed in a cave at Horeb/Sinai, where he met the Lord Who spoke to him with “a still small voice.” (1 Kings 19:12)

It is interesting that both Moses and Elijah, who were prophets of God, were on the same Mountain of God, sustained by God for 40 days and nights; both met with God there and heard His audible voice.

Yeshua with Moses and Elijah

It is also interesting that when Yeshua was on the Mount of Transfiguration, out of all the people of God, He met with the prophets Moses and Elijah.

While on earth, Yeshua’s divine glory was veiled by His humanity, except for this event when His human appearance was changed and His face shone like the sun and His clothes turned blazing.

In an audible voice, the Lord spoke from a bright cloud saying:

“This is my Son, Whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)

This happened in the presence of Peter, James, and John, the brother of James who

“beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

From Glory to Glory

Ephesians 2:6-7
“And God (the Father) raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Messiah Yeshua, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Messiah Yeshua.”

In the Spirit realm, we are seated with Messiah in the heavenlies. God has taken us from Glory to Glory, just as Yeshua prayed before He ascended to the right hand of the Father.

And just as John, Peter, and James beheld His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration, we too behold His glory.

God’s light shines through us a witness for all to see as we reflect His glory.

As believers in Messiah Yeshua, Who fulfilled the Torah, we also reflect the Glory of the Torah revealed to Moses.

Yet, the Glory of the Torah that shone so brightly on Moses’ face and required a veil covering, faded when Israel broke the Old Covenant.

The Torah, written with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18,) is the same Torah that Messiah Yeshua came to fulfill; it is the eternal and glorious Word of God.

Now, by our faith in Yeshua, we receive glory through the New Covenant that is spiritual, eternal, and doesn’t fade for it is written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit of God.

(Jeremiah 31:33: “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts…”)

By this, we are transformed from the Glory of Moses to the Glory of Yeshua, from the Glory of the Old Covenant to the Glory of the New Covenant, which far surpasses the Old.

The Torah given to Moses was written on earthly stone, a substance doomed to disintegrate and perish.

God’s Holy, good, and righteous Torah was given to sinners to make them holy as the giver of the Torah is holy. But they had to obey all Torah’s laws.

In fact, the Torah was merely a temporary guardian (Galatians 3:23–25) until something better appeared.

The better thing is the New Covenant that absolves us of all sin and gives us everlasting life (John 6:63).

Hence, our obedience to God stems from within us. As true believers, we desire to obey Him and love Him with all our hearts and souls, and not out of legality or fear of punishment.

No longer is it an uncaring, animal-blood covenant of rigid rules, written on cold stone tablets but rather a covenant of Messiah’s own blood, written by the Holy Spirit on the tablets of our warm hearts of flesh.

We, His people, no longer need an earthly tabernacle or a mountaintop to meet with God’s Holy Presence. Rather, the Father, and Messiah Yeshua, and the Holy Spirit dwell within us and tabernacle with us in our born-again inner New Man, in loving intimacy, teaching us all things. (John 14:23; 16:13)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“For God, Who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His Light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s Glory displayed in the face of Messiah Yeshua.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

As we move from Glory to Glory, the Holy Spirit transforms us into the image of God’s own beloved Son, Messiah Yeshua. (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:28–30; Philippians 3:20–21)

When we believe Yeshua is Lord and Savior, receive Him into our hearts by faith, and accept His atonement for our sins, He opens our spiritual eyes and transforms us even in this life to bring us “from Glory to Glory.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

[Watch for the next installment of this article soon]

Image by Chil Vera from Pixabay