Israel: Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

Jews. Arabs. Israel. Palestine. What should a Christian living in America think or do about this mess in the Middle East? The current state of Israel has existed since 1948 amidst a sea of enemies, surrounding on all sides by Muslims who are committed to their destruction. But what should we think? Whose side should we be on? Should we just stay out of the whole situation?

We could spend a long time on this, but I will keep to a couple points to consider:

Isaiah 40:1-2 "Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. Speak kindly to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." (NASB) -The thought here is that comfort will come for Israel, in the form of the Savior, Jesus Christ. And as members of His church here in this world, representing Him to the nations, our call is to reach out to a world in need with His comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." (NASB) -As Christians we are the only ones in the world who can offer any true comfort beyond the temporal. Why should we direct this comfort toward Israel, specifically? Other than the implied command of Isaiah 40:1, I will close with 2 more verses:

Genesis 12:3 "And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you [Abram, Father of the nation of Israel] all the families of the earth will be blessed." (NASB)

Romans 15:26-27 "For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things." (NASB)

In closing, we have to remember that while Israel today is largely secular, they are still God's chosen people. God in his infinite grace has also chosen us (Christians) to follow Him; Gentiles share in the spiritual blessing once given to Israel through the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and we can give materially to help them as well. Here is one ministry, Exodus Limited, that our church works with in Israel.

Iran, the Tragedy

What should America do about the Iranian Presidential elections? A very tough question to answer. I believe we will end up doing nothing, given our foreign policy toward Islamic countries to date in this administration; to interfere would be inconsistent with the "apology tour" we saw earlier this year by the President during his visits there.

But what should be done? Iran is an "Islamic Republic," which is laughable but allegedly democratic, at least in the sense that the position of President is gained by a general election. True power is held (and has been since 1989) by the Ayatollah Khamenei, who is the Supreme Leader and appoints most governmental officials. Here is a good article if you are interested in their form of government:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Leader_of_Iran

The voter turnout is said to have hit 85% for this election, and that is remarkable. Current President Ahmadinejad is said to have won by a 62/34 margin, which would be a landslide victory. What really happened? Can we trust these results? Based on past behavior, I would say no. For your consideration:

-Several hostages from the 1980 Iranian hostage crisis remember Ahmadinejad specifically being one of their captors.
-Ahmadinejad has publicly called the Holocaust a "myth."
-He has publicly called for the elimination of the Jewish state of Israel.
-He has persisted in the Iran nuclear development program despite repeated UN demands that he stop.
-He is very close, and has publicly sworn allegiance to, Ayatollah Khamenei (by kissing his ring). Khamenei had also stated, previous to the elections, that he saw Ahmadinejad being President for several more years.
-He has consistently sought closer ties to Russia and other Muslim states instead of the West, and Russia has already welcomed him - since the election - as the President of Iran, recognizing the election results as valid before the recount is completed.

Based on the body of his work, I don't see democracy in action. I see the same type of Oligarchy (where a few elite rule the rest) that is developing here in America. Interestingly, Ahmadinejad has already put in place rules to ration gasoline and he limits the interest rates and fees that banks can charge... sound familiar? There, as it will be here, those rules lead to greater centralized control under the guise of responsible government.

And so what should we do? I agree with taking no action in this situation. Iran is a mess that is unlikely to improve, the basic problem being the impossibility of having both Islam and democracy as the twin pillars of any society. I pray for those few Christians living there. I pray that when the time comes, the US stands with Israel against the Muslim world. I believe Ahmadinejad will remain as their 'President,' and I believe the attacks on Israel will increase, not decrease.

The action I would urge America to take is to stand fast with Israel. The stronger we stand with them, and the quicker we come to their aid in an attack (either terrorist or an act of war), the more stable the region will be. The stance we currently have, which seems to be not taking sides and encouraging reasonable dialogue, will not work. You cannot expect unreasonable and selfish people to suddenly act in a manner both reasonable and unselfish, no matter how flowery the words of your speeches.