We live in a dangerous world.There is the constant threat of Islamic terrorism in the West. The present stand-off between North and South Korea could lead to a major war. Pakistan's government is in danger: its failure could give radical Islam access to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.
Hezbollah has 40,000 missiles lined up against Israel. Hamas is still firing rockets into Israel from Gaza.
Just a short time ago, the greatest threat to Israel was from Iran, who had threatened to wipe Israel off the map and was just a short time away from acquiring nuclear weapons. No one outside Israel appeared able or willing to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions, which meant Israel would need to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities to ensure Israel's continued survival, with the possibility of terrible retaliation.
But then there were rumours of mysterious explosions at an Iranian nuclear facility. There was the assassination of a leading Iranian nuclear scientist and the near assassination of another. A powerful computer virus named Stuxnet infected more than 30,000 Iranian computers and brought the Iranians' enrichment of uranium almost to a standstill.
Meir Dagan, who has just retired as head of Mossad, Israel's external intelligence agency, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee that a series of events had put Iran's nuclear weapons programme back by several years. He did not think that Iran would now have a nuclear bomb before 2015 - and Israel has still not had to bomb Iran.
But the net around Israel is tightening. The Palestinians are now talking about declaring a sovereign, Jew-free Palestinian state in the summer of 2011 without Israel's agreement.
Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Turkey have spoken of their intention of recognising such a state. French and Spanish foreign ministers are talking about recognition, and are urging the European Union to recognise such a state also.
Caroline Glick, of the Jerusalem Post, says a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Jerusalem would leave Israel without defensible borders. Since no Palestinian leadership will accept Israel's right to exist, this would invite a war that Israel would be hard-pressed to survive.
"The 'two-state solution' policy paradigm is delusional," she says. "It is not a policy paradigm. It is a fantasy. A debate about the two-state solution is not a policy debate, but a debate about the attractiveness of a pipe dream."
Meanwhile, the Israeli armed forces have announced the formation of a military battalion to deal with a non-conventional attack. The unit has been trained to respond to a potential nuclear, biological or chemical missile assault.
Bible believers need to be concerned about what is happening to Israel. For a variety of reasons, what affects Israel affects us all.
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee" (Psa 122:6).
