I don’t often write about current events on these pages, but today is different. While wars and rumors of wars have always been with us, the current battle in Israel and Palestine is different.
In some ways, it’s the same old story of kings, nations, and dictators seeking to erase the Jewish people. We read in the Bible of Egypt’s Pharoh pursuing his former slaves to the edge of the Red Sea. The capture of Israel and Judah by Babylonian and Persian kings (modern-day Iraq and Iran). The plot of Haman is recounted in Esther. History tells of Jerusalem’s fall at the hands of the Romans and the centuries of migration that followed. And more recently, in the sweep of time, the “Final Solution” was attempted by Nazi Germany as they executed millions simply because they were Jewish.
We also need to be frank concerning the history of the church and the Jewish people. It hasn’t been pretty. In some of the instances above, the Christian church gave moral permission for the persecution. Several of the leaders of the Reformation were anti-Semitic in their rhetoric.
When I think about these things, I consider a brighter light. Shortly after the fall of Holland to the Nazis, an older woman was walking the streets of Haarlem with her aged father. “One day as Father and I were returning from our walk we found the Grote Markt cordoned off by a double ring of police and soldiers. A truck was parked in front of the fish mart; into the back were climbing men, women, and children, all wearing the yellow star. . . . (Jews were forced by the Nazis to wear a yellow 6-pointed star arm band to mark their heritage.)
“Father! Those poor people!” I cried. . . .
“Those poor people,” Father echoed. But to my surprise, I saw that he was looking at the soldiers forming into ranks to march away. “I pity the poor Germans, Corrie. They have touched the apple of God’s eye.”
If you’re not familiar with the story of Corrie Ten Boom, check out a book called “The Hiding Place.”
I know that, in some ways, the Jews are enemies of Christianity. Most of the book of Romans was written to explore that relationship. Consider, “I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this?” (Romans 11:1–2a, NLT). And later, “Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Romans 11:28, NLT) Much more needs to be said here that time does not allow.
I know that, at some levels, this is complicated. All I’m asking is that you pray about it. Over and over again, modern Israel has extended a hand of peace. Over and over again, they have been attacked by suicide bombers, rockets, and terror. This is not to say that they are sinless (no one is), but they have a history of leaning towards peaceful coexistence with the Palestinian people and their Arab neighbors. But those are political calculations; my calculation is more spiritual in nature.
God revealed His truths to the Jews first. Jesus Christ was born a Jew in the tribe of Judah. The early believers in Christ were overwhelmingly Jewish. Since the powers are pushing the world towards a choice between Hamas (et. Al) and Israel – I will always land on the side of Israel. Not that they are perfect or even perfectly follow God’s Word, but because they are the apple of God’s eye.
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