The Gaza Strip and Peace - An Infidel's Thoughts

 

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other,” Mother Theresa

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid,” Jesus of Nazareth

Listen! The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouth spews corruption. No one cares about being fair and honest…They conceive evil deeds and then give birth to sin…All their activity is filled with sin, and violence is their trademark. Their feet run to do evil, and they rush to commit murder. They think only about sinning. Misery and destruction always follow them. They don’t know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace…For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are. We know we have rebelled and have denied the LORD. We have turned our backs on our God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies. Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed. Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The LORD looked and was displeased to find there was no justice. He was amazed to see that no one intervened or interceded  to help the oppressed… 

(Isaiah 59 selected verses)

Of course, as you read this, you know full well the violence and hostility which is occurring in the Middle East. Some are, of course, overreacting and spouting apocalyptic rhetoric. “It is a sign of the end times!” 

It is, without a doubt, a sign…but one we don’t want to see. 

It is a sign of the state of humanity. It is a sign of the self-centeredness which pollutes the whole world. It is a sign of sin. It is a sign of evil. It is a sign that peace still evades most of the world.

To quote one of my favorite authors (and human beings) “Peace is such a precious jewel, that I would give anything for it but truth,” Matthew Henry. 

Peace is the one thing we need in the Middle East. The only problem is that the peace we want is the absence of conflict. The lack of war. The end of human suffering.

But, that is called a utopia…and as far as we know that does not exist, at least not yet.

And the Gaza Strip is clear evidence of that. A small and narrow 25-mile stretch of land pressed against the Mediterranean Sea, Gaza lies between Israel and Egypt. Going back over half a century when Israel was established in 1948, many Palestinian refugees were forced to move to the tiny strip of Gaza. Some years later, in 1967, Israel gained control of Gaza after its victory in the Six-Day War against Egypt, Syria and Jordan.

Fast forward to the Palestinian uprising in 2000 and a new and brutal wave of hostilities and violence erupted between the Israelis and Palestinians. In 2005, Israel officially decided to leave Gaza. It withdrew its forces and removed the Jewish settlers living there. 

Over the years since then, pockets of protests, random acts of violence, and brutal and painful words have been exchanged between two peoples - both communities created in the image of God …both marred by sin…both in need of the mercy and grace of God. Both needing peace.

In Isaiah’s verses today, from chapter 59, all of the calamity, tragedy and terrible things happening to the Jews were all a direct result of their sins. And sin? It leads to these harsh and unforgiving words in verse 8: They don’t know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace. 

The world, social media, the news, everyone has something to say about the events unfolding between Israel and Palestine…but as Solomon once said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” 

Is it prophecy being fulfilled? Who knows? 

Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Who’s to blame? Who shot first? Why didn’t one side see the other side coming? How bad will it get? What are the real numbers? 

To some questions there is no answer.

But, to one question - the most important question - the question of Why there is an answer.

Sin. 

And there is only one answer to sin.

Grace.

The Middle East needs grace. He needs grace. She needs grace. They need grace. You need grace. 

We all need grace.

And God has sent grace into the world. God sent it to all the world. And grace has a Name : Jesus.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but will have everlasting life. For, God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved,” John 3:16-17.

So, do you really need to go to the internet, turn on the tv or radio and find the answers? The answers they want you to know? 

Or, will you spend just a few minutes and read Isaiah 59 again…and then maybe move over to Psalm 51…and understand the real answer to what is happening in the Gaza Strip - and what is happening in our hearts. There is sin. But, there is also grace. And grace is greater than all of our sin…and that grace will bring peace.

Lord, have mercy on us.