The On-Going Conflict

Posted by Larry Miller on May 31, 2010 under How | Be the First to Comment

This weekend news broke about a skirmish between Israeli commandos and a supposedly unarmed ship carrying humanitarian supplies to the Gaza strip. There are conflicting reports, but the one that gets the most play in the formerly mainstream media is that the ship was attacked for no reason and those killed were simply well meaning, innocents trying to deliver supplies to the poor downtrodden people of Gaza.

This fits the media template that Israel is just a bully pushing around anyone they jolly well please, completely disregarding the numerous times rockets have been smuggled into the area, later to fall into populated areas of the country. A look at a map, which is something most are unwilling to do, will show a country surrounded people who hate  the Jews and their state more than they love their own children. Many consider it their holy duty to eradicate this country from the face of the earth.

Unfortunately there are those in our own country that feel the same way. Many in the current administration see the existence of Israel as the primary obstacle to peace in the middle east. Most Christians have a grasp of our spiritual kinship to the Jewish people and special place these people and their land have in God’s economy. Others have, to their detriment, rejected the reliability of the scriptures and have substituted the humanistic thinking propagated by academia, the media and our own government. Many of the mainline denominations… the ones losing members year after year, are the primary culprits here, but they are not alone. Some, who call themselves evangelical, want to spiritualize much of prophecy, in addition to adding the thinking that since Israel rejected His Messiah, God has forever rejected the Jewish people.

This thinking, even though cloaked in religious sounding terms and tones… arrogant ones even, as it makes the assumption that the church has completely replaced God’s chosen people. Romans 11:17-21 tells us:

If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

Sure it says that some branches were broken off… but it does not tell us a new tree was selected. It tells us that the Gentiles were grafted in because of belief and that we should not become arrogant and take our position for granted. The original tree is the one he is concerned with. II Timothy 3 tells us that in the last days there will be those that will be “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof“. What does it tell us to do with them? “From such turn away”, we are told.

Of course, the land of Israel is not perfect. It is run by people with basic human frailties. So mistakes will be made. However we must be careful we don’t get sucked in by the world that wants to destroy the small nation and accept their accounts, condemning the evil Israel for attacking the poor, innocent do-gooders on their way to Gaza. Even now, the facts to bear this out.

Israel makes no secret of the blockade of shipping into the region. They have a port and a route to get goods into the territory, so it would not be difficult to get the materials into the people, if they were needed… which they aren’t. Knowing that the Israeli military is always on guard because of their hostile neighbors who have the nasty habit of lobbing rockets across the border periodically, it is the height of foolishness to attempt to run this blockade – unless, of course, an incident like this one was desired.

My Bible still say to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” This is good, but we need to put feet to our prayers… and we can’t do that if we are following along with all those who want to push the small nation into the sea. The incident needs to be investigated, but not with the forgone conclusion that Israel was unreasonably at fault.