Sukkot, October 7, and a house of prayer in the Galilee: approaching the third anniversary
The Faithful Galileans: A House of Prayer and a Dwelling Place
Before I left home in October 2023, my father-in-law, Dean Bye, washed my feet. Our people prayed over me, anointed me with oil, and sounded a shofar. I kissed my wife and children goodbye. My children were crying. I was going to war, and I did not know whether I would come home. When I ask you to pray with us, that is one of the moments I carry in my heart.
Shalom. I am Chaim Malespin. I am a husband, a father, a Zionist, and a Sergeant Major in Yahalom, the combat engineering special missions unit. As a teenager, I came home to Israel with my family. My life has taken me from that first arrival at Ben Gurion Airport into military service, into the homes of people who need help, and into the work we are building here in the Galilee.
My name, Chaim, means life. The life I want to return to after this war is over includes vineyards, a shared meal, a Shabbat dinner. I want families to be able to live. I want my own children to grow up. And I want people who arrive in Israel with a suitcase and a promise to find someone who will welcome them. That is why The Faithful Galileans matters so deeply to me.
An Invitation to Pray, Stay, Learn, Serve
Pray, Stay, Learn, Serve. These words describe the community I am inviting you into. Pray with us at Vertical Galilee House of Prayer. Stay with us and share life here. Learn through the Ambassador Academy. Serve alongside us. I want you to understand how this calling connects to the Tabernacle, to the faithfulness of Elohim toward Israel, and to the experiences that have shaped me.
Sukkot and October 7
As we enter Sukkot, we are approaching three years since October 7, 2023. On the Hebrew calendar, that morning was Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, after the seven days of Sukkot. We had been celebrating in our temporary dwellings. Our community was gathered around the Torah. Then came the emergency call-up, the terrible news, and the realization that I had to leave. I remember how quickly the celebration stopped.
The prayer before I left did not remain in that room. On the way to the bus, I spoke with Dean about organizing prayer around the world. I called it “close prayer support.” Then I asked him to rally people through Isaiah 62 and through three-day fasts like Esther’s. I knew my assignment was taking me toward the fighting. At the same time, I knew we needed people who would carry the families and the nation before Elohim.
Our team was also preparing accommodation for displaced families. While some of us put on uniforms, others prepared rooms and called people to prayer. That is still the life I want to build with you: a place where we seek His face, share responsibility, and make room for people. The Faithful Galileans begins there for me.
Kumi Ori: Arise, Shine
קוּמִי אוֹרִי — Kumi ori: “Arise, shine.” Isaiah 60 speaks first to Zion. The Lord’s glory rises upon her while darkness covers the earth and deep darkness the peoples. Then the nations come toward her light, and sons and daughters return from far away. Glory, gathering, and the nations appear together. That is why this chapter belongs near the center of our calling as The Faithful Galileans.
Isaiah 60:1–4
ישעיהו ס:א–ד
We live among people who need light: truth where lies have spread, hope where grief has taken hold, and the knowledge of Elohim where fear governs the heart. Yeshua calls His disciples the light of the world and tells them to let their good works point people toward the Father. When we apply Isaiah’s vision to our service, we ask to reflect the light He gives and to honor His purposes for Zion.
Matthew 5:14–16; John 8:12; Isaiah 60:1–4
מתי ה:יד–טז; יוחנן ח:יב; ישעיהו ס:א–ד
Learning to Verify Before We Act
I learned how dangerous a mistaken perception can be on an operation in Lebanon in 2006. In the darkness I saw figures ahead and believed they were the enemy. I was waiting for the command to fire. My commander stopped us and checked their identity. Hands went up. They were Israeli soldiers. In my manuscript I wrote, “I literally almost just killed Israeli soldiers.” Since then, I have never treated that lesson lightly.
That experience happened on the battlefield, but the lesson I carry into learning is the need to pause, listen, and verify before acting on what I think I see. After all, a confident impression can be wrong. In the Ambassador Academy, I want us to bring that humility to the claims we repeat, the images we share, and the Scriptures we teach. Yeshua warns against deception; the Bereans examine the Scriptures; Paul tells believers to test what they hear.
That is why the Learn part of our calling is the Ambassador Academy. We open the Scriptures, study their setting, listen carefully, and learn to distinguish evidence from assumption. In this way, we prepare people to answer antisemitism, recognize distortion, and speak with conviction and humility. We want a person who leaves the Galilee to carry a clearer understanding and a steadier love.
Blessing Israel: The Covenant Promise
The covenant promise is also central. Elohim tells Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who dishonors you I will curse.” He immediately extends the horizon to blessing for all the families of the earth. Similarly, Numbers later echoes blessing and cursing in words spoken over Israel. These are serious words about the Lord’s faithfulness and the responsibility of those who encounter His people.
Genesis 12:2–3; Numbers 24:9
When we say, “Bless Israel,” we are responding to that covenant faithfulness. Moreover, Paul calls the nations to humility toward Israel and declares the gifts and calling of Elohim irrevocable. Our response is to pray, speak truth, oppose antisemitism, comfort the bereaved, welcome the returning immigrant, and act with mercy. The blessing promised through Abraham reaches the nations through Messiah, and it teaches us to become a blessing ourselves.
Romans 11:18, 29
The Faithful Galileans gives that response a daily form. Pray at Vertical. Stay and build relationships. Learn at the Ambassador Academy. Serve people whose names and needs become known to you. Standing with Israel becomes a faithful pattern of life, and the light becomes visible in deeds of love.
Psalm 27: Sheltered in the Day of Trouble
Listen to how Psalm 27 begins: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” The Hebrew is: יְהוָה אוֹרִי וְיִשְׁעִי — Adonai ori veyish‘i. David speaks about enemies, an encamped army, and war rising against him. Yet his deepest request is to dwell in the house of the Lord, to behold His beauty, and to seek Him. Clearly, the threat is real, and so is the desire for His presence.
Psalm 27:1–4
תהלים כז:א–ד
Then comes the sukkah: כִּי יִצְפְּנֵנִי בְּסֻכֹּה בְּיוֹם רָעָה — “For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble.” In verse 5, the word is related to sukkah, a shelter or booth. In verse 6, David answers with sacrifice, singing, and praise. Overall, the movement is striking: danger, seeking His face, shelter, worship.
Psalm 27:5–8
תהלים כז:ה–ח
Verse 12 speaks of false witnesses and people who breathe violence. The Hebrew word for violence is חָמָס, ḥamas. Hearing that word after October 7 carries a painful resonance for an Israeli. In the psalm it is the ordinary Hebrew word for violence and wrongdoing, not the name of a modern organization. Still, the combination of violence, false testimony, war, and shelter speaks powerfully into what we have lived.
Psalm 27:12; compare Genesis 6:11
תהלים כז:יב; השוו בראשית ו:יא
Bringing Our Fear Into the House of Prayer
When I read about an army encamped against David, I remember what fear feels like in my own body. I remember arriving at the base under rocket fire, standing outside as rain began, and trying to gather the equipment and team I needed. Later there were the damaged homes and the families who would never return to them. So when David asks to dwell with the Lord and behold His beauty, I hear a prayer I need. I need His presence in the middle of what I cannot put right.
We bring our fear before Him. We bring the bereaved, the wounded, the exhausted families, and those whose memories will not let them sleep. Together, we seek His face. We ask that a place of worship become a place where people encounter His welcome and find strength to take their next step.
The Lord Desires to Dwell Among His People
The foundation is in Exodus 25:8: וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם — Ve‘asu li mikdash, veshakhanti betokham. “Let them make Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them.” First, notice the last word: among them. The sanctuary belongs in the midst of a people whom Elohim has redeemed. His purpose reaches beyond the construction of a sacred building into covenant life with His people.
Exodus 25:8; 29:45–46
שמות כה:ח; כט:מה–מו
The Hebrew words help us keep the picture clear. A sukkah is a booth or shelter; Sukkot means booths. The mishkan is the dwelling, the wilderness Tabernacle. Mikdash means sanctuary, a holy place. Ohel mo‘ed means tent of meeting. These words are related through the theme of dwelling and meeting, but they name different things. Our festival booths remember Israel’s wilderness life; the mishkan was the sanctuary built according to the Lord’s instructions.
Leviticus 23:42–43; Exodus 25:8–9; 29:42–46
ויקרא כג:מב–מג; שמות כה:ח–ט; כט:מב–מו
Elohim brought Israel out of Egypt so that He might dwell among them. Indeed, Moses understood how essential that was. After the golden calf, he pleaded that the Lord’s presence should go with the people. Deliverance, journey, inheritance, and presence belong together. A destination without the Lord Himself could never satisfy Moses.
Exodus 29:46; 32:1–14; 33:12–17
שמות כט:מו; לב:א–יד; לג:יב–יז
Temporary Dwellings and the Joy of Sukkot
I know something about temporary dwellings. In those early wartime days, with the barracks full, we stayed in tents and the rain came down on us. We also slept in basketball courts as we moved between assignments. Sukkot brings dependence into view every year; those nights made it very immediate for me. I could train, prepare, and do my duty, and still I needed the One who neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Sukkot trains our memory. We step into a temporary dwelling and remember that our ancestors depended on the Lord in the wilderness. Furthermore, Deuteronomy makes the joy communal: children, servants, Levites, strangers, orphans, and widows are included. A table where vulnerable people are welcomed belongs naturally to the meaning of this feast.
Leviticus 23:39–43; Deuteronomy 16:13–15
ויקרא כג:לט–מג; דברים טז:יג–טו
This is why Stay belongs within The Faithful Galileans’ calling. Spend time here. Share a table. Let the people for whom you pray become people you know. When we prepare a guest room, a meal for someone alone, or a place for a prayer watch, we practice welcome. Our life together then opens naturally into service, including helping new immigrants establish a home.
The Pattern of the Tabernacle Points Forward
Moses was instructed to build according to the pattern shown to him. The courtyard contained the altar of burnt offering and the basin for washing. Within the sanctuary were the lampstand, the table with the bread of the Presence, and the altar of incense. Beyond the veil was the ark with its cover, where the Lord promised to meet with Moses. In this way, each part belonged to an ordered approach to the holy Elohim.
Exodus 25:10–40
The Tabernacle teaches us that nearness involves holiness, cleansing, sacrifice, and the Lord’s own provision for meeting Him. Furthermore, Hebrews explicitly calls the earthly sanctuary a copy and shadow of heavenly realities and directs us to Messiah’s priesthood. We should follow the connections Scripture itself makes: Messiah’s offering, His access to the heavenly sanctuary, and the way opened for us to draw near.
Hebrews 8:1–5; 9:11–14, 24; 10:19–22
עברים ח:א–ה; ט:יא–יד, כד; י:יט–כב
The incense also helps us understand prayer. David asks that his prayer rise like incense; Revelation shows golden bowls filled with incense identified as the prayers of the saints. In other words, prayer belongs before the throne. We can therefore give time, attention, and a physical place to prayer with a deep sense of purpose.
Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8; 8:3–4
תהלים קמא:ב; התגלות ה:ח; ח:ג–ד
The Glory Fills the Dwelling Place
When the wilderness work was completed, the cloud covered the tent and the glory of the Lord filled the mishkan. Later, at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple during the seventh-month festival, the glory again filled the house. Yet Solomon confessed that even the highest heavens could not contain Elohim. Therefore, we prepare according to His word; His presence remains His gracious gift.
Exodus 40:33–38; 2 Chronicles 5:3, 11–14; 7:1–10; 1 Kings 8:27
שמות מ:לג–לח; דברי הימים ב ה:ג, יא–יד; ז:א–י; מלכים א ח:כז
When I think about preparing a dwelling place now, I ask what I am bringing into it. The uniform comes off, but the pressure, memories, and habits do not disappear instantly. For this reason, I need to come before Elohim with honesty. The people serving beside me need that freedom too. A house of prayer must be somewhere we can confess, receive mercy, forgive, and learn to walk together in holiness. That is the kind of community I want The Faithful Galileans to become more deeply.
David Prepares a Tent and the Lord Promises Restoration
David brought the ark to Jerusalem and placed it in the tent he had prepared. He appointed Levites to minister, give thanks, and praise before the ark. First Chronicles describes an ongoing responsibility, carried out as each day required. As a result, worship was given a place in the life of the nation.
2 Samuel 6:17–19; 1 Chronicles 15:1; 16:1–6, 37
שמואל ב ו:יז–יט; דברי הימים א טו:א; טז:א–ו, לז
David’s story has followed me through my own training. When I received my Yahalom unit pin, the ceremony took place at the site associated with David’s encounter with Goliath. I remember the brook and the five stones. I had spent months learning endurance and how to work as part of a team. As a result, standing there connected my own responsibility to a story I had known from Scripture.
But the David I want to learn from also longs for the house of the Lord. He asks for one thing: to dwell there and behold His beauty. I carry both responsibilities into this message. I have served as a soldier, and I want to be a man who seeks Elohim. At Vertical, I want us to give that seeking a real place in our lives.
Psalm 27:4; Psalm 132:1–5
Vertical Galilee House of Prayer and the Tent of David
That history inspires us at Vertical Galilee House of Prayer, the Pray at the heart of The Faithful Galileans. We want to cultivate David’s desire for the Lord: a community that gives Him its attention and makes worship a continuing commitment. David’s example also carries reverence. His story teaches us to handle holy things according to the Lord’s instructions.
Amos then speaks a promise: the Lord will raise up the fallen sukkah of David, repair its breaches, and rebuild its ruins. The surrounding verses speak of Israel’s restoration, rebuilt cities, fruitful land, and peoples called by the Lord’s name. The promise concerns the restoration of David’s fallen house and the Lord’s rule; it reaches far beyond a particular worship schedule.
Amos 9:11–15
עמוס ט:יא–טו
In Acts 15, James brings this passage into the discussion about Gentiles turning to Elohim. In other words, the nations are being welcomed through Messiah. For our ministry, this gives worship a generous horizon: people from the nations standing with Israel, seeking the Lord together, and learning how to serve without pride.
Acts 15:13–19; Romans 11:17–20
מעשי השליחים טו:יג–יט; רומים יא:יז–כ
When we speak of participating in the restoration of David’s tent, this is our application: sustained worship, gratitude, a heart for Israel, and an open invitation to the nations under the authority of the Son of David. We want the character of the coming King to shape the people who gather here.
Luke 1:32–33; Ephesians 2:14–22; Psalm 145:8–13
לוקס א:לב–לג; אפסים ב:יד–כב; תהלים קמה:ח–יג
Why Our House of Prayer Keeps Watch Day and Night
Yeshua washed His disciples’ feet and told them to follow His example. That is the spirit I want in our prayer house: people willing to take responsibility for one another.
John 13:12–15
Isaiah 62 gives watchmen their assignment: keep calling upon the Lord until He establishes Jerusalem as a praise in the earth. Yeshua teaches His disciples to pray persistently and speaks of the elect crying out day and night. Finally, Revelation describes worship continuing before the heavenly throne. These passages give strong encouragement for a life and community of sustained prayer.
Isaiah 62:6–7; Luke 18:1–8; Revelation 4:8
Worship before the throne, prayer rising like incense, people taking their watches. This is how we prepare the way for the coming King of Glory. For me, that teaching connects to real people I have depended on while I was away from home. I want others to experience that faithful companionship through Vertical Galilee House of Prayer.
A prayer community is also sustained by ordinary work: cooking, cleaning, shared responsibilities, financial provision, and rest. Therefore, that work is valuable to us. A prayer house needs people who will take a watch, make a meal, care for the next person, and return faithfully. The community can continue praying while its individual members receive the rest they need.
Building a House of Prayer Day and Night
This is the direction of our commitment at Vertical: regular worship and prayer, week after week, strengthening the watches toward continuous, twenty-four-hour prayer. In 2026 we renewed our focus on this calling, increasing prayer shifts and planning work on the prayer house and the nearby Ambassador House. At The Faithful Galileans, prayer, accommodation, training, and shared service each help sustain the others. We need people who will help carry that commitment.
In my unit, a man can call out that his weapon has jammed, or say that he is missing something essential. He is admitting that he needs another person. We learn to answer and cover one another. I want that honesty among us as believers. Someone takes a three-hour watch. Another makes the meal or receives the arriving guest. Someone admits that they are exhausted and needs another person to take their place. Consequently, faithfulness grows through that shared responsibility.
We can receive that picture of a community gathered in obedience and prayer while keeping the Lord Himself at the center. His presence, His word, and His mercy give the house its meaning.
The Golden Dome of Protection
I want to explain a picture I have used: the golden dome of protection. It comes out of my own experience in the field. Looking through my night-vision equipment, I saw a greenish glow. In my mind, that rounded field of vision became a reminder of Elohim’s covering above me. In my manuscript I wrote, “It’s not actually gold, it’s got a greenish glow.” I explain that the dome is the picture in my mind. It was the way I pictured His protection while there were explosions and people crying out around me.
I was looking through equipment, and at the same time I was turning my heart toward Elohim. In short, that is the personal meaning of the image. When I speak about a celestial golden dome over Israel, or prayer rising like a shaft of light, I am expressing that dependence on Him. I am asking the Keeper of Israel to cover our families and communities with His care.
Isaiah says: כִּי עַל־כָּל־כָּבוֹד חֻפָּה — Ki ‘al kol kavod chuppah. “For over all the glory there will be a canopy.” Then he speaks of a sukkah providing shade and refuge from storm and rain. The vision belongs to a cleansed and holy Zion. Thus, His glory and His covering belong together with the renewal of His people.
Isaiah 4:2–6
ישעיהו ד:ב–ו
Sukkot Under Attack
In my October 2024 update, “Commanded to rejoice, even in time of war,” I returned to this chapter while discussing Sukkot under attack. A fragile booth reminds us how much we depend on the Lord. As we pray now, we ask for His protection over families and communities, and for the holiness and courage to live faithfully beneath His care.
A House of Prayer for Goshens in a Dark Time
Think of Goshen. During the plague of darkness, Egypt lay in darkness for three days, while the Israelites had light where they lived. Earlier, the text names Goshen as spared from the hail. In Joseph’s day, provision had been arranged for his family there during famine. These are distinct episodes, but together they give us a biblical picture of light, protection, and provision amid crisis.
Exodus 10:21–23; 9:26; Genesis 45:9–11; 47:11–12
שמות י:כא–כג; ט:כו; בראשית מה:ט–יא; מז:יא–יב
That is what I mean when I pray for “Goshens”: communities where people encounter light in a dark time, where there is food to share, a place to rest, and someone who will stand beside them. Isaiah 60’s call to arise and shine gives words to this longing. Through Pray, Stay, Learn, Serve, we ask Elohim to make our community a place of refuge, and we offer our rooms, our resources, and our time for His service.
I have also stood at funerals. After my first Lebanon operation, men from other units had died, and we attended their funerals. I hold that memory alongside my gratitude for protection. When I pray for a family now, I ask with confidence in Elohim’s mercy, and I make room for the person whose heart is broken. Our prayer house must welcome that person. Above all, we can entrust ourselves to Him and carry one another through suffering.
A House of Prayer With Room for Lament
Psalm 91 includes the Lord’s promise, “I will be with him in trouble.” We know that promise matters in the shelter, in the hospital, and at the grieving family’s table. For this reason, the prayer house must have room for lament as well as rejoicing. We trust the Keeper of Israel, and we keep showing up for one another.
Willing Hands Build the House of Prayer
The Tabernacle was built through willing offerings and skilled work. Women spun its materials. Moreover, craftsmen shaped its furnishings. Bezalel was filled with the Spirit for wisdom, understanding, and workmanship. Some people brought gifts; others brought skills. This is a beautiful picture for the people joining us today.
I learned to value willing hands in very ordinary ways. In the first days of the war, people stopped us to offer food and coffee. Civilians came to cook for us. I remember receiving their care while everything around us felt unsettled. And between shifts, as I wrote in my manuscript, “I’m cooking for my team.” You can be carrying a great responsibility and still need someone to put a meal in front of you.
In November 2024, while on a break in Tiberias near the home for lone soldiers, I met Justin, an Australian visitor who had come for Sukkot. He was decorating a bomb shelter. In that encounter we spoke about comfort, hope, and the beauty of the land, and I connected his work with Bezalel’s craftsmanship. A person had brought his artistic ability into a frightened community and used it to offer encouragement.
During that same Sukkot season, we spoke about gold donated and made into rings for Holocaust survivors through Restoration Gold. I see a connection to the willing offerings for the Tabernacle: people offering something precious for a purpose beyond themselves. Here the gift becomes a way to honor a survivor and say that their life matters to us.
Serving Through Fire and Rebuilding
In May 2025, I joined volunteer rescue efforts during the fires around Jerusalem, and we opened Aliyah Return Center to receive evacuees. In July, I stood near a damaged building in Ramat Gan and asked people to help with the long work of rebuilding. I had seen how quickly a home could be lost. I wanted our response to continue after the immediate shock had passed.
That is why I mean it when I say Serve. I have been the man who needed the food. I have been the man cooking between shifts. When you come to The Faithful Galileans, your practical skill has a place: preparing a meal, repairing a room, helping someone move, setting up for worship. Through our sister ministry, Aliyah Return Center, you can also help people who are beginning their lives here. In the end, praise and generosity belong together.
Israel and the Faithfulness of Elohim
There is a moment from Gaza that I want you to picture. After moving through the darkness, I reached the beach in daylight. I took out an Israeli flag that had come from women in Uganda who had prayed over it with tears. I found a branch of driftwood, stood it upright, and raised that flag over the sand. The women who had prayed were far away. Even so, their gift was there with me.
When I read about the nations coming toward Zion’s light, I think about people like those women. When I speak of blessing Israel, I think about their willingness to pray and act. Their participation reached a particular person in a particular place. That is what I want to invite through The Faithful Galileans: people from the nations who know the Scriptures, love the people, and become faithful partners.
This is a foundation of our teaching in the Ambassador Academy. Paul asks whether Elohim has rejected His people and answers emphatically. Furthermore, He warns believers from the nations against boasting over the natural branches. When I teach this, I am speaking about the faithfulness of the One who brought my own family home.
Genesis connects Abraham’s calling with blessing for the families of the earth. Jeremiah names the houses of Israel and Judah in the promise of the new covenant. Paul speaks of the gifts and calling of Elohim as irrevocable. These passages should produce gratitude, humility, and faithfulness in the nations, together with a living concern for the Jewish people.
Genesis 12:1–3; Jeremiah 31:31–37; Romans 11:1–2, 17–29
Standing With Israel Without Hatred
Standing with Israel therefore calls for truthfulness, opposition to antisemitism, and practical love. It also requires us to remember that people bear the image of Elohim. Spiritual warfare does not give us permission to hate whole peoples. Paul directs our struggle toward spiritual evil and equips us with truth, righteousness, faith, the word of Elohim, and prayer.
Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 6:10–18; Romans 12:17–21
בראשית א:כז; אפסים ו:י–יח; רומים יב:יז–כא
In June 2026, I said, “Standing for freedom does not mean hating anyone. It means defending life.” I want that conviction to shape the people we train. We can stand firmly for Israel’s protection and also pray for the day when our neighbors can live in peace.
Psalm 122:6–9; Isaiah 19:23–25
תהלים קכב:ו–ט; ישעיהו יט:כג–כה
Aliyah and a People Brought Home to His Presence
Long before I helped another family make Aliyah, I was the child asking my father when we would come home to Israel. We read the promises and sang them over our family. I remember waiting for the journey to become real. This was part of my family life before it became the work I do today.
At a meeting, a man named Zebulun spoke about a family that had been considering Aliyah. He described details that we recognized as our own. My father went forward, and we followed. The man asked him to hold out his hands and placed a satchel of gold coins in them. I remember his words connecting the gift to King Cyrus, the return to Israel, and the building of a prayer house. We received it as a remarkable provision from Elohim.
Then we sold what we had and left. It was my first flight. We landed at the old Ben Gurion Airport, and I remember people kissing the ground. In my manuscript I wrote, “It was at that moment I realised we weren’t just taking a trip.” I understood our journey as part of preparing the way of the Lord.
Willing Offerings and Open Hands
You can understand why offerings for the Tabernacle move me personally. I have watched a gift help a family take the next step. Exodus describes willing people bringing what they have for the dwelling. Similarly, Ezra records help for the return and the rebuilding of the house. When I invite you to give, I remember my father’s open hands. I want another family to receive the welcome that helps them move forward.
Exodus 35:21–29; Ezra 1:2–6
The prophets connect gathering with restoration. Isaiah speaks of sons and daughters being brought from far away. Likewise, Jeremiah speaks of the One who scattered Israel gathering and keeping him like a shepherd. Ezekiel joins return to the land with cleansing, a new heart, and the gift of the Spirit. The biblical horizon includes the restoration of relationship with Elohim.
Isaiah 43:5–7; Jeremiah 31:10–14; Ezekiel 36:24–28
ישעיהו מג:ה–ז; ירמיהו לא:י–יד; יחזקאל לו:כד–כח
Read Ezekiel 37 all the way to its promise of the sanctuary. The dry bones are identified as the whole house of Israel. The Lord promises gathering, unity, cleansing, one Davidic shepherd, a covenant of peace, and His dwelling among them. Thus, return and presence belong in the same prophetic story.
Ezekiel 37:11–14, 21–28
יחזקאל לז:יא–יד, כא–כח
Welcoming New Immigrants Home
I also know that arrival is the beginning of a new set of challenges. I was a teenage immigrant before I became a soldier. The red booklet tells of our family’s experience with language, work, housing, and finding our feet. So when someone joining The Faithful Galileans asks how to serve, I can point to needs I recognize. Through Aliyah Return Center there are opportunities to help with accommodation, household goods, Hebrew learning, education, work preparation, and support for young immigrants serving without family here.
One immigrant says of the people who welcomed them, “They have truly become my family.” That sentence helps explain why the prayer house, guest accommodation, and volunteer community belong together. We want people arriving in Israel to meet a community that has room for them.
“Comforting Zion is very much part of preparing the way of the Lord.” Isaiah 40 moves from the call to comfort the people to the preparation of the Lord’s way and the revelation of His glory. Clearly, comfort has a place in preparation. So does the person who arrives with a suitcase and needs someone to listen.
There is another text worth bringing into this conversation: Second Maccabees, chapter 2. It preserves an ancient Jewish tradition about Jeremiah concealing the tent, the ark, and the altar of incense. When people seek the place, the account directs attention to the time when Elohim gathers His people and shows them mercy, and to the glory and cloud associated with Moses and Solomon.
2 Maccabees 2:4–8, 17–18
מקבים ב ב:ד–ח, יז–יח
The Greatest Treasure in Any House of Prayer
That hope connects naturally with the prophetic passages we have been reading. For example, Ezekiel joins the gathering of Israel with the Lord’s sanctuary. Jeremiah even looks ahead to a time when the ark will no longer be the focus and Jerusalem will be called the throne of the Lord. Ultimately, the greatest treasure is the Lord Himself dwelling with His people.
Ezekiel 37:26–28; Jeremiah 3:16–17
יחזקאל לז:כו–כח; ירמיהו ג:טז–יז
Second Maccabees also describes the Temple’s rededication being celebrated for eight days in the manner of the Feast of Booths. The memory of disrupted worship becomes an occasion for renewed thanksgiving. We can hear that longing today: Lord, gather, cleanse, restore, and teach us to worship You again with joy.
2 Maccabees 10:5–8; Psalm 126:1–6
מקבים ב י:ה–ח; תהלים קכו:א–ו
I read that longing for gathering and glory as someone whose family came home with help from others. It brings me back to the question that guides this message: as people return, what kind of community are we preparing to receive them? Through The Faithful Galileans, I want us to prepare our hearts as well as our rooms, and to seek the presence of Elohim together.
Yeshua and the Living Water at Sukkot
John brings the dwelling theme directly to Yeshua: “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” The Greek verb carries the sense of dwelling or pitching a tent. Moreover, John speaks of beholding His glory. The Tabernacle theme becomes personal in the Messiah who comes among us.
John 1:14, KJV
יוחנן א:יד, תרגום קינג ג׳יימס
During Sukkot, Yeshua stands and calls the thirsty to come to Him and drink. John explains that He is speaking about the Spirit whom believers would receive. The invitation is wonderfully direct: come to Him. The source of life for a house of prayer is the Lord who gives the Spirit.
John 7:2, 37–39
יוחנן ז:ב, לז–לט
For me, hospitality has a very personal beginning. My parents wanted to show love. That is how I was raised. Even after years of military service, the life I long for still includes a Shabbat meal and people gathered around the table. Our Stay and Learn invitation gives that desire a practical home: come sit with us, bring your questions, open the Scriptures, and let us seek Mashiach together.
John 2:19–22; 7:37–39; Hebrews 9:11–14; 10:19–22
יוחנן ב:יט–כב; ז:לז–לט; עברים ט:יא–יד; י:יט–כב
We therefore prepare a dwelling place by receiving His mercy and yielding our lives to Him. For instance, Peter calls believers living stones being built into a spiritual house. Paul calls us to put away bitterness and malice, forgive one another, and live in love. These are the qualities that belong in a community asking to host the Lord’s presence.
1 Peter 2:4–5; Ephesians 4:30–5:2
פטרוס א ב:ד–ה; אפסים ד:ל–ה:ב
Three Days and the Hope of a New Beginning
As we approach three years since the war began, I find myself drawn to the repeated three-day passages in Scripture. They invite us to consider preparation, deliverance, and resurrection. They give language to our hope as we ask Elohim for renewal after years of suffering.
Exodus 19:10–11; Hosea 6:1–3; Luke 24:46–47
שמות יט:י–יא; הושע ו:א–ג; לוקס כד:מו–מז
At Sinai, the people prepare, wash their garments, and become ready for the third day, when the Lord will descend in their sight. In short, encounter calls for preparation. In the prayer house, we too should ask the Lord to cleanse our conduct, correct our hearts, and make us attentive to His voice.
Exodus 19:10–19; Psalm 24:3–6
שמות יט:י–יט; תהלים כד:ג–ו
Joshua tells the people to prepare provisions because within three days they will cross the Jordan. Likewise, Joshua 3 describes instructions given after three days, with the ark leading the way and the people called to consecrate themselves. Beside the Jordan here in the Galilee, that combination has particular meaning for us: seek the Lord, prepare, and be ready to move in obedience. I brought Joshua 1:11 into my “Courage” update in July 2024.
Joshua 1:10–11; 3:1–5
יהושע א:י–יא; ג:א–ה
Jonah spends three days and three nights in the great fish. From the depths he prays, and he is brought back to the task he had resisted. Later, Yeshua explicitly identifies Jonah’s experience as a sign pointing to His own death and resurrection. We follow that connection because Yeshua Himself makes it.
Jonah 1:17–2:10, English numbering; Matthew 12:39–41
יונה ב:א–יא, מספור עברי מותאם; מתי יב:לט–מא
Esther, Hosea, and the Third Day
Esther calls for a three-day fast before she approaches the king for her people. That passage already belonged to my life before I began preparing this message. On October 7, I asked Dean to help rally three-day fasts and prayer. I called those focused times “Esther Strikes.” I was asking believers to set aside time and stand with us before Elohim while our people were in danger. Now I bring that same seriousness to the watches at Vertical.
Esther 4:15–17; 5:1–2
אסתר ד:טו–יז; ה:א–ב
Hosea says: בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי יְקִמֵנוּ וְנִחְיֶה לְפָנָיו — “On the third day He will raise us up, and we will live before Him.” Hear the destination: life before His face. Read the whole chapter too. Elohim challenges fleeting devotion and calls for steadfast love and knowledge of Him. Our cry for renewal must carry a sincere return to the Lord.
Hosea 6:1–6
הושע ו:א–ו
At the center stands Yeshua, raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. He also says, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” speaking of His body. Resurrection and the dwelling of Elohim meet in the Messiah Himself. Therefore, our hope for new life rests in Him.
1 Corinthians 15:3–4; John 2:19–22
Even the Goshen account contains three days: three days of darkness, while Israel has light where they dwell. That connection gives us a powerful prayer as the third anniversary approaches: Father, sustain light among Your people and bring us into the renewal You desire.
Exodus 10:21–23; Psalm 36:9
שמות י:כא–כג; תהלים לו:י
Preparing for Something New
I believe it is time for us to prepare for something new: to deepen our prayer, strengthen our welcome, and build faithfully. These passages do not turn three years of war into a guaranteed prophetic deadline. Yeshua places the times and seasons in the Father’s authority and gives His followers their assignment as witnesses. Meanwhile, we can obey that assignment today.
Acts 1:6–8
Let this anniversary move us toward repentance, courage, generosity, and enduring faith. May the years of pain deepen our desire to see people restored. Let the testimony of resurrection keep us from surrendering our future to despair.
Your Invitation to the House of Prayer: Pray, Stay, Learn, Serve
Pray. Join us at Vertical Galilee House of Prayer. Give the Lord your attention in thanksgiving, intercession, lament, and the reading of His word. Carry Israel before Him, together with the families, communities, and nations affected by war. Take responsibility for a watch. Let the desire of Psalm 27 become your own: seek His face and learn to wait for Him.
Stay. Spend time with us. I know what it is to come back from the front still in uniform and feel grateful to be alive. In my manuscript I put it this way: “We all have another life, our real life.” For me that includes family, meals, and people who know you. I want our guesthouses and shared tables to give room for relationships like that. As you stay, the people you pray for become people you know, and your presence supports the wider work of welcome.
Learn. Come to the Ambassador Academy. I came to Israel carrying some very limited pictures of what Jewish life looked like. However, military service and life here challenged those assumptions. I want our students to have the humility to learn too: study the Scriptures in their Jewish setting, listen to people, check what you hear, and ask difficult questions honestly. We need ambassadors who recognize deception and can help others see clearly. Take that learning home to your own Kehilah and community.
Serve. Bring the abilities you have. Deliver food. Prepare accommodation. Help someone move. Cook. Repair. Support a worship gathering. The red booklet gives these as concrete ways to take part. As you serve, the person in front of you becomes more than a subject you have studied. You begin to share responsibility for their wellbeing.
Training Ambassadors of Reconciliation
This is how we want to train ambassadors: worshippers whose words and actions agree. In Second Corinthians, Paul describes his apostolic ministry as an embassy of reconciliation, appealing to people to be reconciled to Elohim. Our discipleship application is to represent Messiah faithfully, speaking truth with humility and carrying His reconciling love.
2 Corinthians 5:18–20
In Galilee, Yeshua sent His disciples to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe His commands. Consequently, that commission gives the work here its outward movement. We gather to seek Him and learn His ways, then carry His witness into the places where He sends us.
Matthew 28:16–20
Preparing a People for the King Who Is Coming
When we speak about preparing for the age of Messiah, we begin with the King. Yeshua inherits David’s throne, and His kingdom will have no end. John the Baptist’s assignment was to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. His call to repentance produced practical fruit: sharing clothing and food, rejecting extortion, and dealing honestly with others. Clearly, preparation has a moral shape.
Zechariah gives Sukkot an extraordinary future horizon. The Lord is King over all the earth, and survivors from the nations come to Jerusalem to worship Him and keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Even ordinary cooking pots bear the mark of holiness. In this way, worship reaches into everyday life.
Zechariah 14:9, 16–21; Luke 1:17, 32–33; 3:10–14
זכריה יד:ט, טז–כא; לוקס א:יז, לב–לג; ג:י–יד
Stand With Us and Help Build the House of Prayer
So I am asking you personally to stand with The Faithful Galileans.
Visit faithfulgalileans.com. Come worship and pray with us at Vertical Galilee House of Prayer. Stay with us. Learn with us. Serve with us. Join the Ambassador Academy and prepare to carry what you learn into your own community. Let a visit become a relationship and a continuing commitment.
Commit to a three-hour prayer watch. If you can come to the Galilee, arrange your watch with our team and help strengthen the local rhythm of prayer. If you are joining from abroad, go to altarofprayer.com, where the online watches are organized in three-hour shifts. Bring another person with you. Help carry a regular watch as we work toward sustained prayer day and night.
Support The Faithful Galileans through faithfulgalileans.com. Help sustain Vertical Galilee House of Prayer, the Ambassador Academy, and the hospitality that makes this shared life possible. Help with the rooms, the practical work, and the people who serve. Give willingly and responsibly, according to what you have. Paul teaches generosity with a willing heart, and he honors partnership that meets real needs.
A Closing Prayer From the House of Prayer
Father, let there be light where people feel surrounded by darkness. Guard us from deception, and teach us to walk in truth. Let there be shelter, provision, and friendship for those who need them. Gather Your people, and teach us to welcome them with love. Make The Faithful Galileans a community of prayer, hospitality, learning, and service. Strengthen the worship at Vertical Galilee House of Prayer. Raise up ambassadors who speak truth, bless Israel, and carry reconciliation into the nations.
Restore the joy of those who have suffered. Keep us faithful through the watches of the night and the responsibilities of the day. Prepare a people for Yourself, and let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
Continue this Sukkot series with Sukkot and the Nations: Israel’s Calling to Bless the World, and explore more teachings on our Resources page.
