Three years after the horrors of October 7, 2023, the nation of Israel is still in shock and trauma. Is there any antidote to the poison? Any balm that can bring healing? In His grace, God has given three Sukkot miracles, one each year since the attack, that have enabled us to rejoice at the Feast again.
Antidote #1: Poetic justice and a sigh of relief in Sukkot 2024
As we approached the first anniversary of that terrible day back in 2024, it felt like the whole nation of Israel was dreading the holiday of Sukkot. It was on Shemini Atzeret, the last (and supposedly happiest) day of the Feast of Tabernacles, that the October 7 massacre wreaked destruction and death on Israel on a scale not known since the Holocaust. As the tabernacles started popping up all over Israel many felt conflicted. How could we rejoice at this time? But then on the very first day of the feast, news started spreading that Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind October 7, had been eliminated. The sense of extreme relief was palpable everywhere.
There was so much poetic justice in the end of Sinwar. A new soldier just nine months into his army service, shot him dead in an operation to take out what they thought were just random terrorists. It was only later that the IDF discovered it was actually the notorious Hamas chief. The events reminded people of the “accidental” death of king Ahab in the Bible, who died despite his attempts to hide and disguise himself. God decided his time was up.
“But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor…” (1 Kings 22:34).
Finally, Sinwar could trouble Israel no longer. The timing was remarkable, and against all expectations, the people of Israel were actually able to rejoice at Sukkot, as God commanded.
Antidote #2: All the hostages were released in Sukkot 2025
It was Shemini Atzeret, on the morning of the last day of the feast of Sukkot, that Hamas burst through the borders to rape, butcher and mutilate over a thousand people, taking 251 hostage. The entire nation felt they were held captive every day hostages were imprisoned underground by terrorists just a short distance away. Yet it seemed almost impossible to get them out. Deals saw the release of some in painful exchanges where thousands of Palestinian prisoners with the blood of many Israelis on their hands were set free, but still so many hostages remained.
But then, on the last day of Sukkot 2025, the miracle came.
They had been captured on the morning of Shemini Atzeret 2023 and astoundingly, it was on the eve of Shemini Atzeret two years later that the remaining 48 hostages were finally released, on the exact anniversary in the Jewish calendar.
Many shared this fitting verse from Nehemiah 8:
The whole company that had returned from captivity built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Jeshua son of Nun until that [this!] day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great. (Nehemiah 8:17)
It was a miracle of God. We witnessed the harvest of millions of prayers, and all the hostages came home.
Antidote #3: Another 9/11 miraculously averted in Sukkot 2026
Before the West woke up on the third day of Sukkot, 2026, Israelis had heard about three different accounts of what had happened to flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv. There were 174 people on board, the majority of whom were Israeli. Was it a hijacking, reminiscent of Entebbe in 1976? Was it a fist fight between Russian and Ukrainian pilots who had a disagreement? No, it was far worse. The plane emitted an emergency signal and simply dropped off the radar.
A newly trained pilot from Oman had taken an axe from the cockpit for emergencies and stabbed his copilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, multiple times before plunging the plane into such a dramatic nosedive that it disappeared from view. It dropped 14,000 feet in 30 seconds. The Indian captain with 13 years of experience heroically managed to open the cockpit door before collapsing from his wounds, enabling Israeli passengers to force their way in. They subdued the attacker and rescued Machchhar before taking the plane out of the perilous nosedive.
In yet another Sukkot miracle, there just happened to be two off-duty pilots on board who were able to land the plane safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where medical experts were able to care for the pilot and passengers.
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Reports called it a “stroke of luck” that an extra crew happened to be on the plane, and praised the courage and quick thinking of Captain Machchhar and the three Israelis who rescued him. But we see the hand of God at work. It could have become another 9/11 with the Omani terrorist able to take not only 174 lives of those on board but potentially crash into Israel and take thousands more. When they realized they had been saved, the Israelis burst into song, declaring “Our Father lives! The people of Israel live!” clapping joyfully while singing “Am Israel Chai!”
The ultimate antidote: Peace between Abraham’s sons, dwelling together in unity
God’s grace has given us reasons to rejoice each time at this painful time of year, but the real antidote to the poison of October 7 lies in the reconciliation between Jews and Arabs, the sons of Abraham.
The opposite of the hatred that drove Sinwar, the hate that filled the Hamas terrorists who cruelly murdered and kidnapped Israelis, and that makes people want to terrorize and kill Jewish people is love.
Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, is a time when we think about the fragility of life, and the way God came to tabernacle in our midst, to dwell among us. Whether it was the desert tabernacle pitched up in the camp of the twelve tribes, or God made flesh and dwelling among us as man, love wants to draw close in relationship.
It is only God who can change the hearts of those who hate us, and it is only God who can soften the hearts of Israel to embrace their enemies. For this we need Jesus. The Gospel is the true antidote and the only hope to dissolve the destructive hatred between us.
But the good news is that it is happening. God can transform hearts full of hatred to abound with love. He has the power to heal the deep wounds and trauma in the Middle East, bringing peace and joy instead. It is the healing balm. It is the precious oil of blessing.
Join us as we proclaim the life giving truth of Jesus, the One with the power to heal, restore, and do miracles that take our breath away.
Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.
(Psalm 133)
Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash
