"Enough is enough!" This was
the declaration of the United Nations[1] amidst a deadly attack between
Israel and Hamas Militants [2] on U.N. school in Gaza which
serves as a refuge for the Palestinians.
U.N. Deputy
Secretary-General Jan Eliasson says that these 1.8 million people dwelling in
Mediterranean enclave have nowhere to go from this strife that has killed of approximately
1,200 Palestinians, in spite of the regular warning to the resident by phone
calls, text messages, leaflets and dud missiles launched on their roof to
vacate the place on a major consideration that there are few places to go in
Gaza which borders Israel and Egypt.
The Israeli artillery attack
on U.N. school (where more than 200,000 are taken care of by the United
Nations) at dawn on Wednesday killed 16 people and wounded a hundred although
this location had been communicated to Israeli military authorities 17 times on
Tuesday before the attack.
Senior U.N. aid official
John Ging told that this was the fifth U.N. school sheltering civilians that
had been struck during the 23-day conflict. It was reported that 15 people were
killed on Thursday when another U.N. school was struck.
It’s been exhausting to
learn that this country which is overly privileged for being close to the Heart of Jesus seems does not want to grow and learn from the past
because of continued war.
In the Scripture, Israel was
so blessed. God did so because of its reverence and obedience towards Him which
has been altered on latter generations because of violent perspective of leadership.
Genesis 33:20 He set up a
memorial stone there and invoked "El, the God of Israel."
Genesis 33:27 The man then said, "Let
me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go
until you bless me."
Genesis 33:29 Then the man said, "You shall
no longer be spoken of as Jacob, but as Israel, because you have contended with
divine and human beings and have prevailed."
Genesis 35:10-11 God said to him: "You whose
name is Jacob shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your
name." Thus he was named Israel. God also said to him: "I am God
Almighty; be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed an assembly of nations,
shall stem from you, and kings shall issue from your loins.
God Himself fought for them when they were
enslaved by the Egyptians brought by the latter’s fear of its domination because
of its continuing multiplication in population.
Exodus 1:6-13 Now Joseph and all his brothers and
that whole generation died. But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific. They
became so numerous and strong that the land was filled with them. Then a new
king, who knew nothing of Joseph , came to power in Egypt. He said to his
subjects, "Look how numerous and powerful the Israelite people are
growing, more so than we ourselves! Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to
stop their increase; otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies to
fight against us, and so leave our country." Accordingly, taskmasters were
set over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. Thus they had to
build for Pharaoh the supply cities of Pithom and Raamses. Yet the more they
were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread. The Egyptians, then,
dreaded the Israelites and reduced them to cruel slavery,
Exodus 12:13 But the blood will mark the houses
where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the
land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you.
Exodus 12:23-27 For the LORD will go by,
striking down the Egyptians. Seeing the blood on the lintel and the two
doorposts, the LORD will pass over that door and not let the destroyer come
into your houses to strike you down. "You shall observe this as a
perpetual ordinance for yourselves and your descendants. Thus, you must also
observe this rite when you have entered the land which the LORD will give you
as he promised. When your children ask you, 'What does this rite of yours
mean?' you shall reply, 'This is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed
over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt; when he struck down the Egyptians,
he spared our houses.'" Then the people bowed down in worship,
Deuteronomy 9:1 "Hear, O Israel! You are now
about to cross the Jordan to enter in and dispossess nations greater and
stronger than yourselves, having large cities fortified to the sky,
What has been happening in Israel is tantamount
to an atheist belief that can be mirrored in this passage which says,
Deuteronomy 13:7-12 "If your own full
brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or your intimate
friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers
have not known, gods of any other nations, near at hand or far away, from one
end of the earth to the other: do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look
with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, but kill him. Your hand shall be
the first raised to slay him; the rest of the people shall join in with you.
You shall stone him to death, because he sought to lead you astray from the
LORD, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of
slavery. And all Israel, hearing of it, shall fear and never again do such evil
as this in your midst.
By choice, they’re evidently taking this horrible
ideal than the sixth commandment which condemns killing.
Does God really teach a murderous concept of
principle? If so, then God must be
opposing His own precept.[3]
If taken literally, the effect would be that.
However, we should be reminded that there are Scriptural analyses that are
dependent on the early 17th century using an ancient form of modern English
which changed significantly in the last 400 years, which word meaning changes.
Like English, Hebrew as the predominant language of
the Old Testament uses different words for intentional vs. unintentional
killing. The verse translated "Thou shall not kill"
Accidental killing was not punishable during the
Hebrew law. Accordingly, cities of refuge were designated where an
unintentional killer could take flight from vengeance. In this case, the Hebrew
word used here for “kill” is nakah but not ratsach referring to a premeditated
or unintentional killing, depending upon the context. Other Hebrew words also
can refer to
The Scripture has a stipulation that God has
killed people directly which can be read in the “FLOOD”[4]
account and indirectly (ordered peoples to be killed).
God would only be guilty of murder if ordered or
participated in the killing of “innocent” people, if we’ll try to figure it out
on a “human perspective” although God’s can never be equaled with that of ours.
But if we’ll look at it, the flood account for
instance, God killed every human except Noah together with his family. During
those times, exclusive of Noah and his family, all people had been corrupted
and recurrently schemed evil (Genesis 6:11-12).
Is it a realistic account that an entire society
can become evil? World Wars I and II speak about it. Wars in Israel may be a version
of it if they’ll continuously be blinded by violence and false anger management than good
morals.
On the other hand, there is also an account where
God instructed Joshua and his people to kill every man, woman and child in
Canaan (Joshua 10:40). In your personal perception, what transgression could be
so huge for a city to be subject of annihilation?
Could you imagine how inhumane are these people
during these times for the sake of their deities? They were burning their own
sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods. (Deuteronomy 12:29-31).
Further, other argument may fall on the children
who are perceived as innocents.
There is the tendency for people to speculate
that children are innocent although the roots are crooked. For example,
Palestinian Muslim children are officially educated in grammar school to dislike[5]
their Jewish neighbors and well trained that some of them renounce their
lives[6]
in suicide bombings as children.
Speculation may not desist by telling like, “Certainly
there must have been guiltless adults who were wiped out with the depraved.
Could you still remember when Abraham implored God
not to destroy Sodom Gomorrah? This was actually a very inspiring part because
could you imagine that a neighbor would pray for the sake of his
countrymen. God was enormously
kindhearted in fact on his pleading.
Genesis 18:23-32 Then Abraham drew nearer to him
and said: "Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty? Suppose there
were fifty innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the place, rather
than spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it? Far be it
from you to do such a thing, to make the innocent die with the guilty, so that
the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike! Should not the judge of all
the world act with justice?" The LORD replied, "If I find fifty
innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their
sake." Abraham spoke up again: "See how I am presuming to speak to my
Lord, though I am but dust and ashes! What if there are five less than fifty innocent people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?"
"I will not destroy it," he answered, "if I find forty-five
there." But Abraham persisted, saying, "What if only forty are found
there?" He replied, "I will forebear doing it for the sake of the
forty." Then he said, "Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on.
What if only thirty are found there?" He replied, "I will forebear
doing it if I can find but thirty there." Still he went on, "Since I
have thus dared to speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than
twenty?" "I will not destroy it," he answered, "for the
sake of the twenty." But he still persisted: "Please, let not my Lord
grow angry if I speak up this last time. What if there are at least ten
there?" "For the sake of those ten," he replied, "I will
not destroy it."
To leave an encouraging word than judgment, if I’m
exhausted to be hearing about war news where in fact I’m not directly exposed
into it, what more the people who are experiencing it repeatedly. War in Israel
may have different faces of rootedness which may range from land ownership dispute, political
motivation, or impure desires of the few, or irreligious teachings. Whatever the reason behind this, the act of
resolving the strife should be for the common good without the aid of violence
but openness and diplomacy, with the heart that looks at the beauty of constant
existence of life than hatred, and with a conscience that patches up the taint
of the past than a mind that rationalizes misgivings, and consciousness that
looks up at God again and again for the “second chances” of thriving here on
earth as His most precious creation...This we ask in the mighty name of Jesus
who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and
ever, Amen!
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