An Old Feud that Won’t be Resolved Anytime Soon . . .

As one reads the Old Testament, it is shocking to read of the warring factions that opposed the Jewish people, fueled by jealousy and hatred of the nation of Israel.  However, pick up the newspaper—pretty much any day—and you can read of the same thing all these years later.

I read this morning of threats being issued by Iran concerning Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying that Iran was strengthening its foothold in Syria and that Israel would “do whatever it takes” to protect its security.

Tensions have increased this year between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel, which have avoided a major conflict since 2006.

This week, the Israeli military said it attacked a Syrian anti-aircraft battery that had fired at its planes over Lebanon. But the Syrian army said it hit an Israeli warplane after it breached its airspace at the Syria-Lebanon border.

The weapons are more sophisticated and lethal today . . . but the hatred is the same. It is certain this battle will continue until the promised day when ‘the lion and lamb will lie together.’

Do you know that modern-day Iran is the Persia (the 127 Provinces that stretched from India to Cush) in the story of Queen Esther?

I don’t know how one can comprehend such long-term hatred and perpetual ignorance over thousands of years . . . except to view it as the people of God being opposed by the enemy of God . . . and his using and energizing ignorant people in his quest.

One interesting twist in it all is that the Persians have never been kin to or particularly close to the Arabs, yet come alongside them in their shared hatred of and opposition to Israel . . . just as is the case of Iran and Syria today.

Psalms 122:6 instructs, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may those who love you be secure.” Of course, this is not ‘a prosper’ in the sense of material gain, but in the sense of rest and peace of the prayer’s soul . . . which is the rest and peace for which the holy city of Jerusalem yearns to experience.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.