The Cup of Israel

In one paragraph

On October 7, 2024, the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, Tribe gathered at the TMC for a conversation-style service. Pastor Brian walked the congregation through Zechariah 12, reading the whole chapter together and working out what it means for the moment we are living in. The thread running through everything was the image of Jerusalem as both an intoxicating drink and an...

Read together

1. Zechariah 12 primary text read aloud and discussed throughout the entire sermon
2. Joel 2 quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost to explain what the crowd was witnessing
3. Acts 2 Peter standing up at Pentecost and quoting Joel to explain the scene
4. Jeremiah 30-31 referenced as the source of the phrase 'time of Jacob's trouble'
5. Luke 21 referenced alongside Matthew 24 as the Gentile Christian understanding of the tribulation
6. Matthew 24 referenced as describing the time of tribulation alongside Luke 21
7. Daniel 7 referenced for the man of lawlessness making a seven-year covenant with Israel and breaking it halfway through
8. Ezekiel 38-39 referenced as a possible mention of ships from Tarshish coming against the man of lawlessness
9. John 18 soldiers coming to arrest Jesus in the garden, Jesus saying I am he and them falling down

What was said

• Show up barefoot to the one-year anniversary gathering on the Town Square at 5 PM Monday to stand in solidarity with hostages still held in Gaza.
• If you have never been baptized, or your childhood baptism meant nothing to you at the time, talk to Brian after service about getting baptized on October 13 at the South Park Boat Ramp.
• Come camping for Sukkot starting October 16 up Little Granite Creek, even if only for an evening to share dinner and sit around the fire with the tribe family.
• Read Zechariah chapter 12 on your own this week and notice how many times the phrase 'on that day' appears, letting it reorient your thinking about what is unfolding in Israel right now.
• If you have never been to Israel, start seriously considering joining the Tribe trip planned for 2025, and watch for details rolling out in January.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about how God responded to Israel's immediate need for encouragement by having Zechariah speak about something far in the future. Has there been a time when you brought a pressing need to God and felt like he directed your attention somewhere completely different? What happened?
2. Brian described biblical prophecy as having multiple layers of fulfillment, past, present, and future, and warned against anyone who says a passage has already been fulfilled and is no longer relevant. How do you personally approach a passage when you are not sure whether it has already been fulfilled or is still unfolding?
3. Several people in the room connected Zechariah 12 verse 3, Jerusalem as an immovable rock that injures those who try to move it, to what they have watched happen to Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran over the past year. Where do you see that connection holding up, and where do you think it needs more careful handling?
4. Jacob shared that being physically present in Israel brought on emotions he did not expect, including some negative ones toward Israel itself, and that the spiritual heaviness there was unlike anything he had felt before. What does that tell us about how seriously we should take the spiritual dimension of what is happening in that region?
5. Brian closed by saying the goal of the whole conversation was to fill our hearts with hope, and that whatever practical pressure we are under right now, we can bring it to God and listen to what is on his heart. What would it actually look like for you this week to do that, rather than just staying focused on the immediate problem in front of you?