A side trail into current events. It always amazes me how quickly people forget the past and shift to hate. I don't wish to argue with replacement theologians here, my Muslim friends and neighbors, or anyone who espouses the current cultural and media trends that try to make antisemitism seem okay or even cool. I would like to run over a few questions though.
- Who was it that parachuted into a crowd of festival goers, murdered some, took others captive, paraded their bodies?
- Who was it that then hid in Palestine, the land of Edom, and then shot rockets at Israel?
- Who was it that after starting this wanted the UN to tell Israel not to protect herself?
- Who is it that hides behind women and children?
- Who is it that launches missiles from inside schools, hospitals and mosques?
This reminds me of some stories in the ancient texts, one of which was when men from a city in the tribal lands of Benjamin raped a woman to death. She was the concubine of a man that the city inhabitants had wanted to rape. The men of the city took her in his place, and raped her to death. In the morning he found her dead body, cut it into twelve pieces and sent it to the twelve tribes. He wanted justice; he wanted this thing addressed. Though this was a tribe in Israel and Israel is God's chosen people, God still does not accept their sin. He is a righteous judge and punishes sin.
25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.
26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.
27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.
28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.
29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.
30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds. Judges 19 KJV
This was during the time of the Judges when there was no king and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. The rest of the tribes had never seen anything like this and so consulted one another and then went up to Benjamin and asked for the guilty to be handed over. Benjamin did not, they stubbornly sided with their wicked kin.
13 Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel.
14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.
15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss. Judges 20: 13-16
The price of justice was high on both sides, but each time Israel was directed to seek it, which almost wiped out the tribe of Benjamin from all of Israel.
The other story is in 2 Samuel. Joab is chasing down a man who had opposed King David, and the man sought refuge in a city called Abel. The king's army, led by Joab, set up around the city to lay siege, but there was a wise woman in the city who called out to Joab looking for a peaceful resolution.
15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.
16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.
17 And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.
18 Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter.
19 I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?
20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
21 The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king. 2 Samuel 20: 15-22
To my Palestinian friends, to all those who hate terrorism, remove the wicked from your midst. Quit letting your women and children stand as shields between justice and Hamas. Take Hamas and turn them over to those seeking justice for the atrocities Hamas has committed. Israel has given good employment to Palestinians, has protected Palestinian refugees from Hamas, and they have given warning in respect to human life. Hamas doesn't care about your children. Those who call out for Israel not to retaliate are asking them to go against what government was designed to do, which is to protect it's people. Those who chant, "from the river to the sea", are calling for the Jews to be eradicated from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. It is sad to see antisemitism back by popular demand, it is like the days of Mordecai in Persia, like the hatred of Pharaoh towards the Jews in Egypt, the Nazis of Hitler's time, a thing which many of these Hamas terrorists even deny, that there was a holocaust. It is now popular with both the neo Nazis and the far left to hate the Jews again. It is an old hatred as far back as Jacob and Esau, Isaac and Ishmael, and everyone spouts off about how complicated it is, but the questions I started out with are not. Men should not hide behind or prey on women and children. They should protect them. Nations must not turn a blind eye to terrorism, but protect their people.
13Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority, 14or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. 15For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.… 1 Peter 2: 13-15
…2I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” 4So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.… Genesis 12: 2-4
To my Jewish, Muslim, Christian and atheist friends and neighbors, above all this God has provided only One Way to be right with Him, and that is through the Lamb that He provides, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Who fulfilled all righteousness in order to make up for the life I did not live. He also died as our Passover Lamb to save those who believe in Him from the just, Holy and infinite wrath of God. We all share the same parentage in Adam and Eve, are all fallen with them and prove it by seeking our own way, and the Bible makes it clear that God is righteous and we are not, that the wages of sin is death, and that all have sinned. Come to the Way that God has provided, come to Jesus.
…9Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.… Psalm 51: 9-11
…25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. 26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.… Ezekiel 36: 25-27
25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob. 27And this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins.”… Romans 11: 25-27
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