The Valor and The Folly of War – 4 Aug 2014

0
779

Today were two terrorist attacks in Jerusalem, and there is a danger of other break-outs of violence in the wake of the terrorist war against Israel, and Israel’s response in defense.  If Israel is so powerful and its destructive force known, then shouldn’t Hamas consider the cost before drawing Israel into a war?  It’s like a featherweight boxer picking on a heavyweight, knowing that the heavyweight can not use all his strength to keep the annoying attacker to stop, lest he be accused of using lethal force on a smaller, weaker opponent.

With this in mind, Hamas is claiming a tako (tie), if not a victory, because it is neutralizing Israel from putting away the ‘messenger from Satan’ for good, as Hamas continues to fire rockets, even at times to Beer Sheva, despite all of Israel’s fire-power.  As I have written before, war is unfortunately necessary in this present evil world, but it can never solve the problem of sin, the father and mother of war. And, God has built in frustration and futility into the affairs of men — including those who are chosen by Him and who also believe in Him — so that all will need to acknowledge Him as God, and Yeshua/Jesus as the only Savior.  The horrors and despair of war should move us not only to have mercy and compassion on account of the human devastation, but also to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus to  be glorified.  The whole creation has been subjected to this futility, with hope.

Hamas is the elected government of Gazans, who, by and large, support Hamas’ agenda against the existence of Israel.  Gaza is defacto a state, with an elected government and an army.  As long as Israel tries to separate Hamas as a terror organization from the general population, it can never ‘win’.  And the ‘world’ will never let it win anyway:  Israel is expected to still supply food, electricity, and medicine to its perpetual enemy, even as that enemy seeks Israel’s demise.  Yet the Israelis have no desire to utterly destroy its neighbors.  And neither is it God’s time for Israel to ‘win’; and that will not be until the Isaeli Jewish people and nation return to YHVH their God through Yeshua His Son, blessing Him who alone comes in the name of the Father.  Then Gaza will be part of the Tribe of Judah’s inheritance.   War has a way to bring out heroics in otherwise ordinary people, and we are emotionally moved by those ‘heroes’ risking their lives to defend their homes and nation.  We thank God for them, and pray that they would come to know the Father in Heaven.

Sadly, this war has once again shown the raw divisions within the Body as a whole, meaning between the Jewish and Arab believers.  Our prayer meeting on July 13 to try to arise above that — given that Yeshua is in full authority, and He has told us that there will be wars till the end — in order that we may have a public voice to our people, is still just that:  a prayer meeting.  It is my opinion that we must do it again after this war comes to an end, despite pronouncements coming from some Jewish Messianic leaders, and from some Arab brothers and institutions.

Christians who liken Israel to Satan should at the least be careful in what they say and do, just as Gamliel admonished the Jews who were persecuting the Jewish believers to be careful in their attitudes, words, and actions, lest they find themselves fighting against God.  The Jewish leaders said that Jesus acted by the power of the devil.  There are many people who believe with good reason that Israel today is a work of God in keeping His covenant promises towards restoring His kingdom to Israel and on Earth.  Some of our Arab brothers are very loud and vocal when it comes to their outcry against the destruction and deaths in Gaza, and in their support of the ‘resistance against the occupation’, but are very quiet when it comes to all the atrocities being committed by Arabs against Arabs in Gaza and in the Arabic Muslim countries just across our borders and in North Africa and elsewhere.  Maybe God will allow an Islamic Palestinian state just to let them know what it is like, if that is really what they want.  We need to be very careful indeed.

Now some good news:  Anthony and Irene Chapman have composed a new song, “I Will Sing to You”, dedicated to the Israeli soldiers.  You can hear it here (in Hebrew):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIu4IWntT6w&feature=youtu.be

And earlier song written and sung by the Chapmans, “Prayer Under Fire”, during the first war in Gaza in December, 2008 – January, 2009, can be heard here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K5lpcLFO6g

Peace upon Israel, and upon all nations.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.