On our recent trip to Israel, Jonathan took note of a hilarious oddity we saw as we emerged from the shopping bazaars of Jerusalem’s Old City.

Fastened overhead was a sign that one might hardly take notice of in, say, Mobile, Alabama. The nod to Dixie is something we are familiar with, those of us who live in the South.

Yet anomalies like this—numerous in our world—pale in comparison to the state of Israel itself. For many, this “resurrection” of an ancient people, the Jews, is a coincidence (as I’ve read in a popular study Bible).

It certainly is not a coincidence, but it is an oddity. Israel is an anomaly in our world, and our suffering world can actually find a ray of hope if they look to the Jewish state, which, by historical standards, should not exist.

But the prophets spoke of a return. There is never going to be a return of Babylon. Or the Aztecs.

This anomaly on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean is at the end of the day a marvelous display of God’s power and provision, directly through the fulfillment of predictive prophecy.

Think about that.