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Vision NEM

Near East Ministry is involved in the ministry of reconciliation, recognising that reconciliation with God is the only way to achieve reconciliation among people. This has special significance for Israel and the Arab nations. According to the Bible, reconciliation in the Middle East will effect the whole world. Blessings will come from the heart of the earth!

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and the Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handwork, and Israel my inheritance."
Isaiah.19:23-25

Near East Ministry strives for this kind of reconciliation by serving Jews and Arabs in the Middle East.

The Highway of Peace

The word 'highway' was not invented for modern traffic. The word is used in the Bible 11 times (NIV) and refers to a raised road which in Biblical times enabled people to travel even during the rainy season. However, we find a special usage in Isaiah 19:23-25.

Here 'Highway' is used as a metaphor to indicate peace between the two major empires in Isaiah's time: Egypt and Assyria, with little Israel stuck in the middle.

This prophecy in Isaiah 19 has been an inspiration to NEM from the start, to serve Jews and Arabs with the hope of this coming peace, which will be established when they worship the Lord, the God of Israel, together.

Highway in the Bible

Serving on the King's Highway is NEM slogan for short and long-termers in the Middle East. The word 'highway' is found in the prophecy of Isaiah 19 verse 23. The Hebrew word is 'mesilla' in Hebrew, literally a raised road. The road-system in the Middle East consisted of dirt roads for the greater part. Often there was not just one single path, but there were several parallel paths, sometimes crossing or moving away from each other. Therefore Psalm 23:3 says: "He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." So it was not always easy to decide which track to follow, because people did not know where it would lead them. Often these roads were full of stones and people could easily hurt their feet against them (Ps. 91:12). Another disadvantage was, that it was not possible to travel these roads and paths all through the year. Particularly in the rainy season these roads could not be used, because of the heavy rains. That is why special roads were built that were raised, so that people could travel fast and safely from one town to the other, all through the year. Armies and merchants also used these roads. We could compare them with the motorways of our time! The highway in Isaiah 19 therefore looks forward to the day that people will be able to travel freely and safely from Egypt through Israel to Syria.