Never Forget, Never Again

Let the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.  Psalm 19:14

Following the holocaust in WWII, the words “never again” became a theme for remembrance and preparedness to never again let the evil, like the acts committed by Hitler’s minions, come against the Jewish people. On October 7, 2023, barbaric and horrific atrocities were committed against our Jewish brethren. I never, ever thought we would witness an event comparable to the holocaust in our lifetime. Yet here we are.

The behavior of the Hamas terrorists has been likened to that of animals.  This analogy falls short because animals are instinctive. They do what God designed them to do. Animals are not premeditative, nor do they act with evil intent. The terrorists’ actions represent a much more sinister and dark influence by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), that has relentlessly pursued the Jewish people since ancient Biblical times. What we are seeing is evil unleashed.

Those who live in the Middle East are no strangers to such barbarism. Israeli Jews have been defending themselves since the rebirth of their nation; an event that was prophetically declared to happen in one day (Isaiah 66:8). That day was May 14, 1948. For decades, stabbings, ramming with vehicles, rockets and the like are almost daily occurrences experienced among Jewish Israelis. Scrambling to bomb shelters is a way of life. Can you imagine?!  How can it be explained that droves of Jewish people from the dispersion continue to make Aliyah (immigration of Jews to Israel)? This goes against all common sense and reason as it is literally running into the fire.

That answer is God. The Bible tells us that God will return the Jewish people to the land HE gave them (Ezekiel 11:17; 36:24; Isaiah 11:12) and He is. Isaiah 11:11 indicates there would be a day when God would raise his hand ‘a second time’ to gather the children of Israel to their land. The first return was predicted by Jeremiah to take place after Israel had been in Babylonian captivity for 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10) and according to Ezra 1:1 happened with 100% accuracy. Dispersed again, this time by Rome in 70 AD as prophesied by Jesus (Matthew 24:1-2; Mark 13: 1-2; Luke 21:5-6; ), they had been out of their homeland for 2000 years.

No other people group has managed to survive two exiles and return to reestablish as a nation (along with a resurrected language). Our God is a God of resurrection. The dry bones prophesied by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:1-14) have come together…the nation of Israel has been reborn. This second return which we have been privileged to witness is occurring from every nation where Jewish people had been scattered (Jeremiah 23:3, 7-8; 29:14; 31:7-8).  As also prophesied (Isaiah 43:5-6), the return of the Jewish people to Israel has been in spiritual unbelief.  The gathered bones have no breath, they are spiritually dead (Ezekiel 37:8). But the breath of life will come into the remnant at their time of reconciliation to God, at the second coming of Jesus the Messiah. 

Since that prophetic and historic day in May of 1948, Israel has repeatedly warned the world about the genocidal intent of its neighbors. The world has consistently turned a deaf ear, foolishly thinking that a two-state solution is the fix. They are fighting against God in all such attempts (Joel 3:2).  Israel is a primary defense against a malevolent initiative that will not stop with the Jewish people. Left unchecked, radical Islam, will spread globally. Their ultimate objective is not just to annihilate the Jewish people (aka, push them to the Mediterranean), but global domination through Islam and Sharia law. My understanding of the outcome of the Ezekiel war is that radical Islam will no longer be a formidable force. The amount of carnage that may be unbridled before it is stopped; however, is unknown.

Earlier, the words ‘ancient Biblical’ were used with intention to distinguish history from current times. Biblical events are not limited to what occurred in the Bible.  Events prophesied in the Word of God that have not yet taken place are also Biblical events, therefore, it seems evident that we are living in Biblical times. Since the outbreak of the war following the October massacre of over 1400 Jewish people, there has been great speculation of what end time event is taking place.  Is this the war of Psalm 83? The Gog and Magog of Ezekiel’s war? On almost a daily basis, news reports on developing global alignments seem to jump right out off of pages of Scripture. We must remain in the Word and be vigilant, like watchmen on the wall, but should also execute extreme caution from jumping on board any prophecy train that gets ahead of Yahweh, our God. 

Yes, our God, the one true God of the Universe, Creator of all that is seen and unseen, has a name and His name Yah or Yahweh (Jehovah).  Religious Jews will not use God’s name, they often use YHWH, a tetragrammaton consisting of the sequence of consonants of God’s name, Yahweh:  Yod, Hey, Waw, Hey. As followers of Jesus, we are reconciled to the Father and can call the great ‘I Am’, by name. “What is His name and what is His son’s name, if you know?” (Proverbs 30:4) His name is Yahweh, and his Son’s name is Jesus, Yeshua, our salvation.  Isn’t that spectacular? Yahweh, the uncontainable, indescribable, unmatchable God is a loving and personal God who expresses His attributes through His creation, His Word, and the Word made flesh (John 1:14).

What is the name of the god of Islam? Perhaps you are hearing ‘Allahu Akbar’ (meaning ‘god is greater’) being shouted by some radical about to commit an ungodly act. Allah means god. It is a title, not a name and is in no way the same god as our triune Abba Father.  No matter how convincing people of high religious positions and influence try to blend the two, we do not worship the same god of any other religious movement or people group. Submission to anyone other than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to anyone other than God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is sacrilege. Such blasphemy should sound the alarm to take a firm stand (James 4:7).

Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).  The gate is unapologetically narrow (Matthew 7:13-14), therefore, we cannot allow the world to guilt us into compromising the Gospel (Galatians 1:9). Such resilience comes from staying in God’s Word, attending Bible-teaching churches, testing everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and praying to be kept from being tempted or deceived (Matthew 6:13). Deception is ramping up at an unprecedented rate. Jesus warned us that this would happen (Luke 21:8). We must not be deceived (1 John 3:7; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Galatians 6:7; James 1:16-18).

October 7^th, 2023, is a day that will be commemorated.  In Israel on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, an air-raid siren wails for 2-minutes and during that time, everything comes to a halt. Traffic stops, work stops, and people stand together in silence. I wonder if October 7^th will be remembered in a similar way?  The atrocities against the Jewish people are heartbreaking examples of how easily manipulated people can be. We are all just one decision away from doing something unimaginably dreadful; from being used as chess pawns of Satan.

We also can choose to be instruments of another power, a higher power that is holy and righteous. Miraculously good deeds, heroic even, are birthed from such submission. Numerous reports shine light into this otherwise very dark war. Let’s embrace the hope that is ours through Christ Jesus and be blessed by the inspiring stories that remind us that the light will never be overcome by darkness.   

Yahweh, is all-knowing, all-present and all-powerful. It may be tempting to cast blame or ask questions.  How can a good God allow this to happen?  Where was God? These and similar questions have been asked by many Jewish people affected by the Holocaust. My husband, son and I heard these questions directly from a sweet elderly Jewish woman who worked at the American History museum in D.C. Her pain was palpable, but her blame misplaced. There can be no doubt that the Father was there, watching over the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8). Nor has God been absent in recent events.  

Reports in the aftermath of the invasion have determined that there were enough Hamas terrorists, accompanied by Gazan civilians, with the magnitude of weaponry and ammunition to murder at least 10,000 people.  The loss of life of over 1400 people is unthinkable, yet there was an intervention that prevented the tragedy from being far worse.  Do miracles still happen?  Absolutely.

Reports also relate that this attack had been planned out for at least a year. What many may not realize is that this terrorist assault was intended to be a well-coordinated, multi-fronted attack on Israel, orchestrated by Iran through numerous proxies.  All fronts were supposed to be launched simultaneously.  Yet, something led Hamas to act early, thereby betraying Iran. This changed the course of what was to be an annihilation of a severely divided and distracted Jewish nation, into a once more strong and unified people group that will likely turn October 7^th on their enemies’ heads.  These events remind me of the many accounts in the Old Testament where God confused Israel’s enemies (Exodus 14:24-25; 2 Chronicles 20:22-23; Joshua 10:10; Judges 7:22).  In more recent times, miraculous reports poured out of the Six-Day (1967) and Yom Kippur (1973) wars, as well as other conflicts. Let’s save these for another post. God works in big events, but also in very personal ways. Yair, Camille, Ben and Rachel, I believe, are great examples.

Mentioned above was how the Hamas mishap of launching the massacre prematurely resulted in unifying the severely divided people they sought to destroy.  Yair Golan is a retired Israeli Defense Force (IDF) general and former member of the Knesset.  Considered to be on the far-left end of the political spectrum, he frequently criticized and protested against the conservative leadership. Yet General Golan jumped into action when news of the Hamas invasion reached his home. He put on his old uniform, armed himself, recruited other fighters and drove to the epicenter of the attack in the Kibbutz where the all night dance party was held, rescuing dozens of people (https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-idf-deputy-chief-of-staff-yair-golan-wins-plaudits-for-saving-partygoers).  Yair stripped away his political opposition in exchange for a unified Israel. Does Yair believe in God? Nothing I read provided that answer. Presumably, he is not a follower of Jesus as only a minute fraction of Israeli Jews embrace Yeshua as Messiah. Nonetheless, I believe God used him as an instrument to do His will.

And then there is Camille, a live-in care giver from the Philippines who tends to Nitza, a 95-year old Jewish woman.  Hamas terrorists, broke into Nitza’s home on October 7^th. Camille had been saving money to send to her family in the Philippines. Without hesitation, she gave the money to the terrorists, begging them to take it and leave (https://www.jns.org/filipino-caretaker-31-saves-95-year-old-from-hamas-terrorist-with-bribe/). Miraculously, they took the money and left.  For the next two hours, Camille held Nitza in her bed until they were rescued by the IDF. Camille was quoted as saying: “I feel that I cannot leave her, I feel that she is my best friend.” She related that Nitza didn’t really understand what was happening that terrible day.  You know, at age 95, Nitza would have been a teenager during the time of the Holocaust. I can’t help but wonder what she may have witnessed and/or endured back then.  Do these sweet women have the transcending peace that can only come through our Lord?  From statements made, it appears that Camille may; I pray Nitza does as well.

Then there is Ben Binyamin Shimoni. Ben was at the infamous dance party near the Gaza border in Kibbutz Re’im when the massacre started.  Somehow, he got to his vehicle, fit in four people trying to escape, and drove them to safety.  He was safe himself, yet he decided to go back to the Kibbutz and crammed eight more people in is car and drove them to safety.  As heroes do, he drove back into the slaughter-zone, found three more people trying to escape but did not get out in time. Ben and his passengers were cut down in cold blood (https://www.newsrael.com/posts/d7q8cgwiv1i).  What compelled Ben to repeatedly put himself in harm’s way to help others?  Perhaps the same higher power that brings Jewish people back to the land itself.

Finally, among the many stories poured through over the last 20+ days, one of my favorites is about Rachel Edri, a Jewish grandmother.  When five Hamas terrorists invaded her home with intent to kill her and her husband, she used her gift of hospitality.  Savta Rachel (Savta is Hebrew for grandmother) provided cookies, coffee, conversation and music for 20 hours. This calmed down the terrorists (many of whom were amped up on a synthetic amphetamine-like drug) and bought her and her husband critical time.  Their son, a police officer, informed the police who stormed the home, killed the terrorists, and rescued Rachel and her husband (https://www.israel21c.org/brave-grandma-stalls-terrorists-with-chat-and-cookies/). This account has become embraced to the point that some Israelis are getting tattoos of Savta Rachel’s face….a face of resilience.  Her actions give a whole new meaning to ‘kill ‘em with kindness!’ I don’t think I will be able to make another batch of cookies without thinking about Savta Rachel.

There is no doubt that there will be more and more accounts of inexplainable feats of noble heroism, hope and unconditional love as this war ensues.  The immediate support around the world for Israel is heartwarming. I’ve gathered numerous pictures to make a collage of the support for Israel as a remembrance. History informs us; however, of the fickle nature of individuals who are easily deceived. It is no surprise how quickly Israel has become villainized in this conflict. In less than 3 weeks, we have seen protests, acts of violence, threats, “No Jews allowed” signs, and attempts to control the Israeli response to the Hamas terrorists as well as to other threats from the north.

The Bible tells us that a time is coming when all will turn against Israel. At that time, God, through Jesus will act in such a mighty and powerful way that no one will be able to deny who He is and what He has done (Joel 3:9-17). He will judge the nations for how they have mistreated His people.

May our resolve as followers of Messiah Jesus not let us fall into temptation or deception.  May we continue to pray for, support, and love the Jewish people.  God loves them, so should we. Through Jewish lineage (Matthew 1:1-17) a child was born and is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Through primarily Jewish hands, the Holy-Spirit inspired Word of God was written.  The current spiritual blindness of the Jewish people (dry bones with no breath) should be a burden on our hearts; so should the hardened hearts of God’s enemies. God’s heart is for all to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). This should be our heart’s desire as well.