ENHANCE - 2nd Quarter 2023

Christian Friends of Israel
United Kingdom
Editorial
Run with
perseverance
About us
CFI UK seeks to bless Israel through
practical and moral support, and serve
the Church in teaching about God’s
purposes for Israel and the Hebrew
heritage of our faith.
CFI UK also produce a monthly prayer
letter, a weekly audio Middle East report
and distribute Haverim teaching.
Please contact us for full details of
projects in Israel and the teaching
resources available.
As an educational charity, we carry a
variety of resources relevant to our
purpose. We do not necessarily endorse
every view expressed by our guest
writers or authors.
Encouraging understanding in the
Church of Israel in context of the
Bible, history and today.
Challenging prejudice against Israel
and antisemitism alongside the Jewish
community in the UK.
Assisting cross-culturally in Israel
with charitable projects - medical,
educational and social.
What’s in a name?
ENHANCE means to increase, or further
improve the quality, value, or extent
of, in our instance, Christian friendship
of Israel. It also emphasises that when
God’s faithfulness to Israel is included
and understood by the wider Church, it
truly is ‘faith enhancing.’
ENHANCE Magazine
Published by:
CFI Charitable Trust, PO Box 2687
Eastbourne BN22 7LZ
Tel: 01323 410 810
Email: info@cfi.org.uk
www.cfi.org.uk
Registered Charity, No. 1101899
Registered Office c/o
Caladine, Chantry House, 22 Upperton Road
Eastbourne, BN21 1BF
Company No: 04984515
VAT Registration No: GB678780275
Front cover photo:
Tel Aviv Towers, Israel
Jacob Vince
When reading the books
of the Bible in the
Jewish sequence, we
might notice extra connections.
Take for example the books of
Judges and Samuel (the Book of
Ruth being located with the Psalms).
As the Book of Judges draws to a
close, the last judge focused on is
Samson. In the Book of Samuel, the
next two judges are Eli and Samuel.
So, we see that both Samson and
Samuel are judges. In many ways
they are similar in that they arise
out of barren wombs in answer
to prayer, they are both Nazarite,
neither cutting their hair, and
they both challenge the Philistines
in their day. They are both also
involved in physical warfare with
their enemies, Samson on a much
greater scale, though Samuel, as
a result of King Saul’s failure to
do so, carried out the judgement
on King Agag of the Amalekites.
Later in the Bible, as we come to
the Apostles’ teaching, we find they
both feature amongst those who
exercised faith, towards the end of
a long list found in the Letter to the
Hebrews. Gideon, Barak, Samson
and Jephthah feature from the Book
of Judges. Then the list goes on to
David and Samuel.
Clearly there are also significant
differences between them. Samuel
perhaps better exemplifies the
qualities of a judge; yet struggles
with bringing up his own children,
in a similar way to Eli and indeed
Samson’s parents – who specifically
asked for God’s help in that. Yet,
despite their failings, God uses
them both to further his purposes,
with Samuel anointing David as
Israel’s king, who unites the north
and south of Israel as one nation,
eventually bringing the Ark of the
Covenant to Jerusalem.
Shortly after the list of the judges
and King David, followed by the
prophets in general, we find it said
that they, ‘through faith conquered
kingdoms, administered justice and
gained what was promised’ (Hebrews
11:33) – presumably, at this stage,
the ‘promised land’, as mentioned
earlier where ‘Abraham made his home
… like a stranger in a foreign country;
he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob,
who were heirs of the same promise’
(Hebrews 11:9).
Despite this there remained some
unfinished outworking of the
second part of the two-part covenant
promise made to Abraham, this
time not the promised land, but the
hereditary line, which eventually
continues through to Israel’s
Messiah, and Saviour of the world,
Jesus.
Hence the writer continues, ‘these
were all commended for their faith, yet
none of them received what had been
promised. God had planned something
better for us so that only together
with us would they be made perfect’
(Hebrews 11:39-40).
Notice first, the word ‘together’. But
how can this be that God ‘planned
something better for us so that only
together with us would they be made
perfect’? Most, if not all, despite
being ‘commended for their faith’ in
the ‘hall of faith’, were far from
perfect. But then neither are we.
Even after professing faith in Jesus
as God’s son, we cannot claim to
be without sin, hence provision is
made for its ongoing confession (see
1 John 1:8-9).
The next chapter begins, ‘Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a
great cloud of witnesses’ (Hebrews
12:1), with ‘therefore’, there for a
reason. Here we find an analogy of
2 ENHANCE • 2 nd Quarter 2023
facebook.com/cfiuk twitter.com/cfi_uk youtube.com/cfiuk