Is Israel Repeating the Mistakes of the Past?
Life and death hung in a precipitous balance. Leaders were self-serving. The military ignored basic security measures. Warnings went unheeded that day. We had grown accustomed to the enemy’s violence. Terror attacks were simply part of our way of life. We were gaslit into accepting violence and instability as our price for living upon our ancestral land. Then, they tore down our wall. They breached our defenses. Our children, our sons and daughters, our future were brutally murdered. Our sons and daughters were stolen, carried away by another people. We looked forward to their return. With longing and failing eyes we sought for our hostages to return…yet our might and our voice was impotent. They were dying in captivity. Would any live to return?
Now, a nation from afar was gathering its forces once more. They had not regarded the young, nor shown favor to the young. Their brutality knew no limits, not even the cattle of our fields were spared. Each day, our lives seemed to hang in doubt before us. We were but a leaf shaken and blown in the wind. Life offered no assurance. Neither day nor night offered protection. Yet, in the face of this disaster, we feasted boldly, claiming our resistance and historical right to this land. We were entitled based solely on our heritage.
Amid our calamity, trusted allies, friends upon whom we could historically rely, began to disavow. They broke their word, their bond, and their alliance. They were now collaborating with the enemy. Who would save us? Was disaster certain? Although our military was strong, we were increasingly isolated. Why should we repent of anything? We were the victims in this conflict. We have Divine Right.
Eight years had passed since Jechoniah’s deportation to Babylon. Our hostages were not coming back. While our resolve was strong, public sentiment among the nations considered us the source of instability. Defending our own lives impeded progress. Babylon had already infiltrated and conquered the surrounding states. Yet, public morale within Israel was strong. We had many valiant leaders who gave us cause to hope. We had the latest technology (Isa 41:15), we had one of the strongest armies. And, we had God on our side, “Behold, all they that are incensed against you shall be ashamed and confounded” (Isa 11:11). All our pundits echoed this chorus. Many proclaimed that in 2 years the enemy would be no more (Jer 28:3).
There was one lone, irritating voice. The troublemaker Jeremiah. He kept talking about how our nation had departed from the Divine Plan (Jer 11:8), leading to our loss of God’s protection. We had no inherent right to the land, unless we obeyed God’s plan. He accused us of departing from God’s way, favoring immorality. Anything for a party. Love triumphed over Law. He charged our judges with partiality before the law. The naysayer always talked of conspiracy among the elite (Jer 11:9). He also accused us of ignoring the God who gave us our land. He said we took the land but ignored its conditions. He claimed we had returned to our forefather’s iniquities (Jer 11:10). We offered God nothing but the show of song and prayer, mixed with platitudes. Were we really still bound to that old covenant?
I suddenly bolted awake from this dream with a much keener dread. The past was now my new reality. Do we replay the past? Does history continue to repeat? As I looked around, I saw college campuses again calling for the extermination of my homeland and my people. Our people are being discriminated against, denied service in other nations. People among the nations are again shouting in glee at our misadventure. Rockets destroyed agriculture, turning our land into brass. A handful of terrorists chased three thousand party goers. Ten terrorists had chased thousands of Israelis from a kibbutz. Our hostages were not coming home. Everyone had lost a family or friend. Our leaders are relying solely on the power of their military might. Is all this a script?
As I surveyed the facts, I had to wonder about the age-old question that has plagued both Judaism and Christianity: are we still bound to the old covenant? Can we pick the aspects of the Divine Law we will obey? Am I better to choose than God? Is it out of date? Has our modern society progressed beyond this ancient moral document? Does God exist? What does it matter if we party with a Buddha upon a DJ stand?
Prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah told us we rebelled soon after immigrating to the Promised Land. We pride ourselves in being a secular state. Have the past 70 years only been the repeat of our ancestor’s cycle? Does our right to exist upon this land still hinge upon our obedience? Has God changed? Will our blindness in the noonday ever see, peace still hinges upon our obedience to the original Divine Plan?
~Written on behalf of an Israeli friend
Jodell Onstott is the author of YHWH Exists and the soon to be released title, Does Jesus Exist?
Is Israel’s access to the Promised Land guaranteed? https://shorturl.at/uojfK