Shiites, Sunnis, Palestinians in the Same Room!
Posted by Tom Doyle on March 26, 2010
Tyre and Sidon are the Bible’s version of the Twin Cities. The spiritual history is rich here in the country of Lebanon. The two cities are almost always mentioned together, but over time Tyre became the lead city of the two. In fact in the Bible it is always mentioned first. King Hiram of Tyre played a major role in the building of Israel’s first Temple with King Solomon. Jesus healed a young girl here who was demonized after her mother pleaded with Him in a display of great faith. The Apostle Paul spent a week here with some disciples before he went to Jerusalem and was arrested for the last time.
But Tyre is most remembered for God’s judgment on the city that He pronounced in detail in Ezekiel 26. Through the ancient prophet, God predicted that Tyre would be leveled and the Island city would be scraped clean and good for nothing except for fishermen to dry their nets on it. This did happen exactly the way God said it would when Alexander the Great arrived here in 332 BC and destroyed the city. The Island city had massive 150 foot walls but soon they were leveled and at the same time so was the Phoenician culture. By the New Testament days Tyre was a mere shadow of the great city it once was and it was now situated on the coast since the Island was no longer inhabitable.
This week we were in this ancient coastal city and the Selah Team was blessed to minister to the women of Tyre. It is 20 miles from the border of Israel and because of that it is controlled by Shiite Muslims and specifically the Hezbollah terrorist group. We always say “the Middle East is unpredictable.” Well this place is off the chart! The Shiite Muslims hate the Sunni Muslims who also live here and of course the feeling is mutual. Along with that you have Palestinians in refugee camps and even some nominal Christians. You can feel the tension in the air.
But God broke through the religion, politics, and even the terrorism to bring all of these groups together at the Selah Women’s conference. There were Shiites, Sunnis, Palestinians, nominal Christians and in the midst of it….. Jesus was there. These women soaked it up as they worshipped, listened to powerful testimonies from the team, and had their feet washed with love and compassion. It was an incredible couple of days. We praise God for the women that made a commitment to Jesus Christ and for those that were strengthened in their faith.
One woman was especially touched. N was a Muslim until recently when she trusted Jesus as her savior. Her husband went into a violent rage over this and threatened her and her three children. So in the middle of the night she left and is living in a shelter now. She cried through the whole conference. There are so many more stories. In the next few days we’ll blog again and give you some more good news. But until then, thank you for your faithful intercession for us as we were on the front lines for Christ in a desperate and needy place. God answered your prayers and this ancient city has many women who are encouraged in their faith tonight. There are also some new believers that we are rejoicing with.
God is Amazing isn’t He?
Good night from Tyre, The Selah Team
