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 The
Bible and Bombs
Ron
Ross
BFP News
4th August 2006
Beth
Shean is quiet, not functioning with its usual vitality.
Its history is profound. In bible times, Beth Shean
controlled the pass between the Jordan Valley and the
valley of Jezreel
We
know from Joshua 17: 11 Beth-shan was allotted to the
tribe of Manasseh but he was unable to take it.
The
Philistines eventually took it and on its walls they
hung Saul's body in triumphant display. A sobering reminder,
violence is not a modern twist to the history here.
We
deliver food to a lady in Beth Shean. Her husband is
blind and they live by the love of friends and supporters.
God has not left Beth Shean.
Tiberius
is a Galilee ghost town. Tourists have cancelled. Resident
fled. The streets are empty. The shops are shuttered.
It is like a vacant movie lot. Cast and extras have
departed. Only memories remain.
No
cars honk horns on the streets. A few men wander the
pavements as if searching for a place to sit and chat
and drink coffee or play cards or something.
Tiberius
is a seaside playground. I've enjoyed its hospitality
several times and its restaurants and the Galilee. I
first explored St Peter's fish here. That was 1996.
Tiberius
was founded in 20A.D. by Herod Antipas and named for
the emperor of the same name. Boats crossed the lake
here even in Jesus' day (John 6.23). Sometimes the Galilee
is described as the "Sea of Tiberius" (John 6: 1; 21:
1)
Demons
are Active Today as we drive into its eerie vacuum,
the heart jumps as the missile warning breaks the silence.
It whines through a repetitive alarm.
Men
on the street corner wave at us and point to the sky.
The Hizbollah Katyushas are coming. They drone overhead
and thud into the mountainside. Dust, rocks and dirt
form a cloud and rise in protest to such an unexpected
intrusion.
Demonic
activity has the same motivation as always. It is stimulated
by pride, anger, hatred, envy and jealousy. It is everything
God is not. It has access to modern tools of murder
and destruction today but it still harks back to John
10: 10 "The Devil comes to steal, to kill, to maim and
to destroy…"
It
is a strange contrast to asses the devastation on the
mountain to the peaceful serenity of the Lake.
We
acknowledge Capernaum, Bethsaida and Chorazim as we
speed on towards Kiryat Shmona . We are now alert. We're
in the region under constant bombardment, on the border
with southern Lebanon.
The
US newsman Dan Rather this week called it "the border
with Iran", suggesting Hizbollah has occupied southern
Lebanon to be proxy militia for the Iranian hitman Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad. I think he's right!
We
drive furiously on a highway without cars. Military
and ambulance vehicles travel with us. Huge transports
labor up the mountains lugging massive tanks. We bob
and swerve watching to overtake. It's easy today.
In the towns traffic lights simply flash. They have
no traffic to order around.
Boom!
Boom!
We
visit three gas stations in search of fuel. Two are
closed. One survived a Katyusha the day before by a
whisker.
The unwelcome visitor left a gaping hole in the vacant
land next door. No one turned up for work today.
Our
host drives us into an army position not far outside
Kiryat Shmona. The commander welcomes us. (Our host
has clout!)
We
are escorted to the firing range. Tanks are positioned
in great numbers (not permitted to tell you how many).
They're firing into Lebanon.
We
see where a Katyusha landed nearby flattening two toilets.
Praise God no one was in them at the time.
We
marvel at the primitive conditions the soldiers have.
We can't get over their youth and their courage.
The
weather is very hot. The soldiers repeatedly bring us
icy cold water. (Wonderful gesture and greatly appreciated.)
My
mind wanders as we past the road-sign indicating Tel
Dan, the northernmost city in Israel. Ironically, it
was here Abraham attacked the four kings who captured
Lot (Genesis 14:14).
Now
Israel is unleashing great power against the enemy who
captured two of its soldiers. (Do you think God notices
the similarity?)
This
is one of my favorite spots in Israel. It was Laish
but it was taken by Dan and renamed (Joshua 19:47; Judges
18:29).
"From
Dan to Beersheba" is how the borders of Israel were
described. (Judges 20: 1; 1 Samuel 3:20).
The
Dan region is rich in bible history. Picture Moses standing
on the top of Mount Pisgah and gazing out over the Dan
(Deut 34: 1).
Today
with camera in hand we study the Dan and see the telltale
scorched evidence of a burning bush Moses could never
imagine.
There
is fire from heaven falling here, but it has no relationship
with the God, who is love.
We
have been invited to an army base close to the Syrian
border. There is genuine fellowship with the soldiers
here and we join them for lunch in their mess. It's
a delightful serving of chicken schnitzel, rice, humous
and salads with kaleshnikovs standing by.
This
is Not a Movie!
Our
host at lunch is the commanding officer. He learns that
two of his men fighting in Lebanon were killed at noon.
It is tragic and hit the company hard.
The
reality of war hurts all of us but for the soldiers
it digs deep into their innermost being. Again they
are so young. I think, they're too young to vote, but
old enough to die!!
The
world is screaming at them, "Don't defend your land.
Stop fighting. Stop killing."
These
heroic descendants of David cry out, "Stop killing us.
Give back our brothers. Ceasefire. Lay down your arms
and we can all go home."
I heard of a major in Lebanon last week who dived on
a bomb and died to save the lives of his men.
I
thought of Jesus who went to a cross and died so the
world could be filled with love and not hate.
I looked at a world who refused His sacrifice and chose
to kill each other in the most vicious ways.
I looked at the media and the diplomats of this world
who said, "Israel give in to their hatred and murderous
intent, and maybe they will just kill the Jews and leave
the rest of us alone."
I
looked at Jesus who said, 'As you do to any of the least
of these my brothers, you have done unto me."
I looked in my heart and I cried, "O God save us from
writing our own version of Christianity.
Help us My Lord to follow you and be rid of the virus
of hate which is devouring even Your land while we join
Pontius Pilate and wash our hands of our responsibility."
"God
help us!"
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I
have known Ron and his wife Yvonne for a number of years
now. We first met when he was the Australian National
Director of Bridges for Peace. 