“Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem;
He will protect and deliver it;
He will spare and rescue it.”
— Isaiah 31:5
When I read this verse, I can’t help but think about what we all saw in April of 2024 when Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, drones, and cruise missiles toward Israel. It was the largest direct attack ever carried out by a nation-state against Israel. On paper, that should have been catastrophic. Everyone expected mass casualties and major destruction.
But that’s not what happened.
Almost the entire attack simply vanished from the sky.
Missiles were intercepted.
Others fell harmlessly.
Very little damage was done.
Even the militaries involved admitted this level of success didn’t make sense. It was one of the most remarkable defensive events in modern history. And for many of us watching in real time, it felt like something more than technology was at work.
This is exactly the picture Isaiah gives: God protecting Jerusalem from above.
“Like birds hovering.”
In Isaiah’s day, this was a promise that God Himself would defend His city when the Assyrians came against it. But Isaiah’s language also fits perfectly with what we saw in 2024 — layers of missile defense moving through the sky, covering the land, and blocking incoming fire before it could reach Jerusalem.
Now, I’m not saying Isaiah 31:5 was fulfilled in 2024. But I do believe it was a clear foreshadowing and a reminder that God still watches over Israel. These kinds of moments show the pattern of how God intervenes when the nations rise up against His people.
This fits with everything else we see throughout Scripture:
- God warns when His people trust in human strength instead of Him.
- Enemies gather.
- Israel looks vulnerable.
- And then God steps in and shows that He is the one protecting them.
Exactly the same pattern appears in Ezekiel 38–39, Isaiah 29, Isaiah 30, Joel 3, Zechariah 12–14, and throughout Revelation.
The April 2024 attack wasn’t the final event. It wasn’t Armageddon. It wasn’t Gog-Magog. But it was another moment where God made it clear: Israel only stands because He upholds it.
When Isaiah says God will “protect and deliver… spare and rescue,” this is the kind of supernatural covering he’s describing. The kind that makes no sense on paper. The kind that the world can’t explain. The kind that points back to Him.
God still hovers over Jerusalem.
And what we saw that night was a small taste of what He will do again on a much larger scale in the days ahead.