The Disaster in Israel

Last winter I published a vlog, titled, “Israel is in Trouble.” The gist of the vlog was that the then recent election of a radical government in Israel was leading to proposals that would undermine the country’s democratic character, leading to economic collapse and violence. In August, I produced another vlog, titled, “Will this Be Another Tisha B’Av Event in Israel.” This vlog raised the question of whether the judgment of God leading to the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples, both occurring on Tisha B’Av (the 9th of the Hebrew month, Av), could happen again to the modern nation of Israel.  I quoted extensively from the Prophet Zechariah who declared that injustice in the land had led to the destruction of the 1st Commonwealth of Israel and the First Temple. Coincidentally, Israel’s current government enacted the first leg of the so-called judicial reform, leading to undermining the judiciary and its ability to protect individual rights, on the eve of Tisha B’Av.  Now we have a disaster on our hands.

Hear the Prophet Jeremiah following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians:

“Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets; my young men and young women have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered them without pity. As you summon to a feast day, so you summoned against me terrors on every side. In the day of the Lord’s anger no one escaped or survived; those I cared for and reared, my enemy has destroyed.”

Seems eerily familiar, right? I’m not saying what has happened to Israel is the judgment of God. However, the parallels are chilling. Who is responsible? Bibi Netanyahu and his government. On his watch, the greatest tragedy in Israel’s modern history has occurred. Years ago I was invited to a conference on the site of the famous 1973 Yom Kippur tank battle on the Golan Heights. The speaker that day was General Kohlahani, one of the tank commanders that miraculously beat back the overwhelming force of the invading Syrian army and turned the tide of the war. When talking about the Yom Kippur war, he said he believed the war was the judgment of God against the country because it had become smug and overly confident in its own abilities. And now exactly 50 years later we have a similar disaster. The smugness of this government to put in power a former terrorist and other extreme nationalists, to push through unjust changes to the country’s structure and character against the pleas of the country’s citizens, to intentionally divide the country when unity was needed and then to parade around the world as a peacemaker to the Arab world, while expanding more settlements into Palestinian territory, thereby further inflaming this marginalized community. Something was bound to give, and it did. This time Israel was unprepared, apparently lulled into complacency by its own prior successes and its superior technology.

Of course, this is not to excuse the murderous Hamas regime in Gaza any more than the aforementioned Babylonians, who themselves were overthrown only 50 years later. Hamas’ day will come, likely rather soon, but tragically many innocents on both sides of the conflict will perish.

What precipitated this invasion? It’s unclear. Likely, Hamas was trying to undermine the budding peace process between Israel and Saudi Arabia because it saw that Gaza and Palestinians in the West Bank were increasingly becoming an afterthought. As they see it, the more Israel is accepted by the Arab world, the less chance of any real change for Palestinians. The problem with their reasoning is that the wholesale slaughter of hundreds of civilians hardens the world’s sympathy to their plight and assuredly sidelines any Israeli interest in peace with them for the foreseeable future.

What comes next? A likely ground invasion into Gaza by Israeli forces to topple Hamas.  Tens of thousands of Israeli reservists have been called up for this likely protracted affair. This will be a bloody battle, involving intense urban warfare. Israel’s only viable solution at this point is to reoccupy Gaza, a very dangerous and undesirable option.

The elephant in the room question is Hezbollah in the north. Even more than Hamas, Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy and far more equipped with hundreds of thousands of rockets, many of which can reach to the farthest extent of Israel. If they attack, Israel will be involved in a two-front war with the potential of many casualties. This is a very dangerous time for the country, comparable to the risks of the 1973 Yom Kippur war. More than ever, Israel needs the Lord as protector. As the prophet Zechariah declared from the Lord:

“I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.”

Assuming the Lord Himself doesn’t return, what are the needed outcomes?

1. For Israel to prevail and for Hamas to be toppled.

2. For Hezbollah in the north to be restrained.

3. Following the war for the government to resign and call for new elections.

4. For a commission to form to investigate the colossal failures of intelligence and military preparedness.

5. For a unity government to form absent the current Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is most responsible for allowing this disaster to occur on his watch. As former US President Truman pointedly declared many years ago, “the buck stops here.”

How should we respond?

Psalm 127 says, “unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” I believe the Lord called into being the modern nation of Israel, but things have gone awry. There needs to be an awakening. Here are some prayer points:

1. Pray for wisdom for the political and military leaders as they prosecute this war.

2. Pray for a temporary unity government to be formed that includes leaders of other parties in order to bring unity to the country and to sideline the radicals.

3. Pray for the successful rescue of the potentially hundreds of hostages held by Hamas.

4. Pray for comfort for the hundreds of families who have lost loved ones.

5. Pray for a quick and decisive win over Hamas and for its leaders to be brought to justice.

6. Pray for Hezbollah to be restrained and to not enter the fray.

7. Pray for an international reckoning for Iran, which helped to finance and strategize the Hamas attack.

8. Pray for the salvation of Israel.

For those in the United States who want to assist financially, most regular synagogues and Messianic congregations and organizations have ways to donate to Israel. Please consider helping at this time of need.

Also, please don’t forget to order my new book, How Politics Has Distorted the Gospel, available on Amazon.

Finally, quoting from Ps. 122, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May those who love you be secure.”