ISRAEL UPDATESeptember 12, 2004 - In the Shakespearean play Hamlet, there is a very famous quote, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
By comparison, Potiphar's wife cried foul about sexual indiscretion, Daniel's critic questioned his loyalty to the King, and Hanan convinced the King that the Jews were a threat to their society as a whole.
Today, the critics of the modern Jewish state are no different, as we watch nations such Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the others challenge Israel's integrity on human rights issues
Of course, the European Union, United Nations, and the World Council of Churches are just as vocal in their condemnation of Israel… to the point of sanctions, boycotts, and even attempts to remove their sovereignty as a nation, in order to correct the ills as they see them.
Joseph kept his portion of the world from starving, four kings benefited from Daniel's wisdom, Mordecai’s interest in the King spared his life, and his kingdom continued to flourish.
In spite of all the veiled and physical attacks in the tiny nation of Israel, she still sends medical teams to earthquake riddled nations, and offers anti-terrorist advice to many other countries, including Greece, who happens to be one of her biggest critics.
While there are many “ladies” protesting too much in regards to Israel, we must remember the old adage, "Those that holler the loudest are usually the guiltiest.” Israel's critics prove this hypocrisy to the fullest extent. . .
September 12, 2004 - Lamentations Chapter 3 is full of adverse adjectives that do not give much hope to those who read it – until you near the end of the chapter.
Words such as affliction, wrath, and statements such as he is turned against me, broken my bones, set me in dark places, and compassed me with gall and travail…
He hath hedged me about, shutteth out my prayer, he hath made my paths crooked, he was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places…
The author feels turned aside, stating “I was a derision to all my people… he hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.”
Reading this deep lament, one cannot help but ask why this had to happen, when all they had to do was repent? One could not read the first part of this chapter without thinking what kind of G-d could allow these things to happen to those He supposedly loved.
Yet as we continue to read the same chapter, we find, “It is of the L-RD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22,23
We are reminded that G-d's mercy and compassion can and will be manifested to those that repent and serve him faithfully.
Fortunately, those of us that know G-d can take hope that His grace can be called upon in our time of need. Thus, the hope of America lies not in Arab oil, bullish stock markets, or a booming economy, but in G-d and our faith. Like Israel of old, He has the ability to restore our nation and bring it back from the abyss.
To be continued…