At first I wasn’t shocked. Twenty-two deaths is no small thing, but skirmishes like this break out all the time in the Holy Land, right? Surely things will go back to normal soon. Within a day, I was disavowed of the notion that things would be going back to normal soon – or ever. Since the initial reports of twenty-two lives lost, the death toll has risen to around 3,000 or more, and it seems the war has only just begun. Over the past six days, I’ve seen horrifying footage of young people running for their lives at a music festival where Hamas terrorists slaughtered a hundred or so civilians, while transporting dozens more back to Gaza as hostages and human shields. I have also forced myself to watch the reports from the Israeli kibbutzim, quiet Jewish neighborhoods in southern Israel where Hamas operatives went door to door wiping out families – including women, children, and even babies. Some whose lives were spared were taken into Gaza as captives, where they remain to this day.Whether those who were taken captive remain alive is anyone’s guess, especially since the Israeli military launched a wholesale, retaliatory bombardment of Gaza a few days ago. While I’m sure these airstrikes are intended to target Hamas leaders and militants, Gaza is too densely populated to avoid massive civilian deaths. Even if those deaths could be somehow avoided, Hamas has consistently positioned hostages – as well as Palestinian women and children – as human shields. This NATO report from a few years back summarizes Hamas’ historical exploitation of human shields and expounds upon the sick strategy behind this evil practice: The strategic logic of human shields has two components. It is based on an awareness of Israel’s desire to minimise collateral damage, and of Western public opinion’s sensitivity towards civilian casualties. If the IDF uses lethal force and causes an increase in civilian casualties, Hamas can utilise that as a lawfare tool: it can accuse Israel of committing war crimes, which could result in the imposition of a wide array of sanctions. Alternatively, if the IDF limits its use of military force in Gaza to avoid collateral damage, Hamas will be less susceptible to Israeli attacks, and thereby able to protect its assets while continuing to fight.Some people have been quick to point out the apparent hypocrisy of Israel bemoaning the deaths of innocent civilians while its military carries out airstrikes that will certainly kill more innocent civilians. Hamas’ use of human shields, however, makes that sort of moral equivalency impossible. Intentionally targeting quiet neighborhoods for the purpose of terrorizing, slaughtering, and taking captive unsuspecting men, women, and children is not the same as unintentional wartime casualties caused – at least in part – by terrorists’ use of human shields. Both acts may be called evil, but they are not equal.Many have rightly pointed out that Israel’s hands are far from clean. As I said in this two-part episode of the Maybe God Podcast, the Zionist government’s relentless, unauthorized seizures of Palestinian lands have been well-documented and rightly condemned. In many of those instances over the years, Palestinian civilians were targeted and innocent lives – including children’s lives – were lost. Allow me to state for the record: a Palestinian child’s life is worth every bit as much as an Israeli child’s life, and may God have mercy on us if our hearts don’t break the same.When it comes to Hamas and the Zionist government, no one’s hands are clean. There are no clear distinctions between the good guys and the bad guys. We can lean one way or the other (and you’ve probably picked up on the fact that I lean Israel’s way, for theological and practical reasons that I will explain in next Friday’s email), but we must agree that no one can fully claim the moral high ground here. That hasn’t stopped people from trying. Supporters of Palestine appeal to the British-proposed partition of Palestine in 1948 – to support their grievances. And they may have a point: for many reasons that I don’t have time to explain here, Palestinian territories have dwindled considerably in the 75 years since the partition was proposed. Maps like these have made the rounds on social media in an attempt to illustrate the Palestinian dilemma.
Israel’s apologists, on the other hand, need look no further than the Holocaust and other examples of worldwide anti-Semitism to make their case for Zionist policies. They may also have a point, considering statements like this, taken from the preamble of Hamas’ founding covenant: “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”Without the establishment of a sovereign, safe Israeli state, why should anyone feel confident that the Jewish people in that region would be allowed to exist at all? To be clear, neither side’s many grievances could ever justify the evils that both governments have exacted over the years, which is what makes this crisis so frustrating and hopeless to so many people. So, how should we respond? I have two suggestions.First, as shocking as these events may seem, we should not be shaken by them. Jesus told us to expect this world to descend into madness, and he encouraged us to hold firm in our faith through it all.
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
Our posture as Christians should be no different today than it was a week ago. We should be no less confident – and no more afraid – than we were before we learned of these events. Nothing this world throws our way should hold any power over us, and nothing should ever deter or distract us from our simple mission to make disciples of all nations in Jesus’ name.And second, following Jesus at a time like this should evoke Christlike compassion in our hearts. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus looked at a huge crowd of people and felt compassion for them, “for they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). As Christians, it’s essential for us to distinguish between ordinary people and their corrupt leaders. If, for example, Hamas’ heinous acts have left you unable to feel compassion toward ordinary Palestinian men, women, and children, it’s time to check your heart. And the same goes for anyone who finds it difficult to feel sufficient compassion for ordinary, innocent Israelis due to the crimes committed by their government. The great majority of people in the world are like sheep without a shepherd until they are under the all-benevolent lordship of Jesus. Therefore, just as Jesus looked upon the people with compassion, we should resist every worldly urge toward contempt and look upon Palestinians and Israelis alike with tender, compassionate hearts.
