Neither was it the Israel Air Force that defeated this week’s Iranian attack.
Like most of the world this past Saturday evening, I was glued to my television and cell phone as I watched in real time as Iran attacked Israel by firing a combination of over 300 missiles and drones toward Israel. Almost from the moment the missiles were fired and the drones took off, the entire world knew of the size and the scope of the attack and we began to pray for everyone living in Israel.
After all, this wave of aerial weapons was a combination of one-way drones, low-altitude missiles, and ballistic missiles, which, if successful, could have wreaked havoc upon the major cities they were directed towards by the Iranian government.
The Iranian government was so confident in the success of this overwhelming attack that before the first drone or missile crossed into Israeli airspace, they announced that their attack against Israel was concluded as long as Israel didn’t counterattack or respond militarily. Just think about that. Iran was so confident in the death and destruction their attack would level upon Israel that before the first missile arrived they proclaimed victory.
However, as we watched and listened, the Israeli, US, British, French, and Jordanian militaries shot down or destroyed nearly all of the drones and missiles that had actually taken off towards Israel, while nearly half of the Iranian ballistic missiles “failed” on takeoff.
Instead of an overwhelming show of destructive force towards Israel by Iran, the world watched as Israel and her allies once again beat the odds and kept 99% of these weapons from ever entering Israel.
Some watched as Israel and those fighting alongside her downed missiles and drones one after another, marveling at the skills being displayed by the pilots and missile defense systems. But, not me. That is not to say that I wasn’t impressed with the joint military response to the attack, but when I see a miracle take place, I don’t credit the natural; I give praise to the One who performs the miraculous.
As I watched the air battle take place, my mind went back to the time when David the shepherd stood in front of the Philistine giant Goliath and said what we read in 1 Samuel 17:45:
“Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You are coming to me with a sword, a spear and a javelin, but I am coming to you in the Name of Adonai-Tzva’ot, God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’”
Just as in the days of David, Israel’s adversarial Goliath, Iran, attacked with sword, spear, and javelin, while Israel stood upon the covenant promises of Adonai-Tzva’ot (The L-RD of Armies) with David’s Sling.
As we rejoice in Israel’s decisive defensive victory, we need to always remember that while it is true that David approached Goliath with his sling loaded with a rock, it wasn’t the rock that defeated Goliath. It was Adonai-Tzva’ot. The truth is that David could have loaded a marshmallow into his sling and Goliath would have been just as dead.
So, as we speak of the miraculous defense that took out hundreds of missiles and drones that were sent to destroy the Land of Israel, we must always remember that while Iran was Goliath and Israel was David and the coalition of military’s were the sling and stones, the victory belongs to Adonai-Tzav’ot.
Some may choose to believe that all those Iranian missiles just failed and that the US, British, French, Jordanian, and Israeli air defenses are just that amazing. But, I’m going to believe that this week one more time we witnessed the G-D who miraculously delivered Israel from Egypt by His strong right arm do it again, and He did it again as we prepare to celebrate Him doing it for our forefathers. Happy Passover.