Israel At War – Day 80

No Goodwill To Men

A Familiar Verse

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:14, KJV)

I’m sure you’ve heard this verse around this time of year and it obviously fits since this is Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus. We talked in the last video about no peace on earth and now we’ll talk about the goodwill part. A casual perusal of current activity and speeches from the terrorists points to little if any goodwill coming from them. Hostages talked about their feelings towards their captors at the beginning and how they felt there were no bad people, but after they were released they realized that any good done for them was not fueled by goodness, but for their value as negotiating pieces. One young woman actually said this:

Agam described one incident in which the family was staying at a school where “a nice woman welcomed us and offered us water and arranged a place for us to sleep,” and “I turned to my mother and said ‘There are good people in the world.'”

“And five minutes later, they shot a barrage of rockets from the school [into Israel] and everyone was shouting ‘Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar’ and I told her, ‘Forget what I said, they’re all the same.'”

She added that before the attack, “We believed that there are no bad people — only people who have it bad. But there are bad people.”

At some point forgiving Hamas for what they did to her family would seem to be a goal, but Agam isn’t there yet and even has a message for those who think peace is possible:

“We will never forgive and we will never show any kind of empathy towards these people,” Agam said. “If we previously believed that there was a chance for peace, we’ve lost all faith in these people, especially after we were there and among the population.”

Any apparent goodwill towards them was only self-serving.

Some Pushback

I did get some pushback in some comments on a video recently, and it pointed out that the offensive from the Israel Defense Force (IDF) was a genocidal one against Hamas who is totally outmatched. This person obviously comes from a different mindset and probably sees Hamas’s actions as one of a people who are oppressed, occupied and who finally snapped. It would be fine of that were true, but that isn’t what happened. Gaza was given to Palestinians, lock, stock and barrel for them to live and become a place where they could prosper and grow. There was not one Israeli living there and Israel left them with a thriving agricultural business that they could build upon. They were supplied with free electricity and water and then given all they needed to develop their own supply of both. Humanitarian aid was also sent freely. All these people wanted, they were given. Except one: They wanted all the land Israel had and they wanted all Jews to die. You can sugar coat things all you want, but they have said that over and over again. And they still say it. And how their actions on October 7th are not of peaceful people who only want goodwill. If the IDF is using force it is because they no longer want to see such atrocities happen to them or anyone else.

Hamas Rejects Latest Proposal

Discussions in Egypt didn’t produce the hoped ending of the fighting as Hamas and The Palestinian Islamic Jihad aren’t willing to talk until hostilities end and they are not willing to give up control of Gaza to a coalition of factions. The plan, which would happen in three stages would eventually release all current hostages but also release dangerous prisoners being held in Israeli prisons. No numbers of how many prisoners would be released, though. Some signs of agreement from Israel’s side to parts of the deal are thought to have been seen, but the war cabinet is meeting to discuss it. Those families who still have members held hostage are not willing to wait, but Prime Minister Netanyahu told them that the fighting must continue if Hamas is to be defeated. The impasse also includes dividing up the land of Israel, something Israel is done with now. This, along with a growing divide inside of Israel’s government that aren’t willing to give more terrorists freedom is proving to make goodwill efforts almost impossible.

The Peace Of Israel Is Hard To See Happening

Peace on earth, particularly in Israel and goodwill towards anyone is not on the horizon. Only intense prayer and intercession by Christians will see it happen if only for a time. Now that we see how each piece of this puzzle needs our prayerful attention we can get to the hard work of fighting in the heavenlies. I would ask that you allow Holy Spirit to guide you and give you the words to pray for whatever pieces He leads you to attack. And when no words come, pray in the Spirit. I totally believe that we can make a difference and that peace will come to Israel, if only for a time. And such a period of peace is actually prophesied in the Bible just before the war of Gog and Magog so we know it will happen. How and when are not given to us, however that situation is needed. So roll up your intercession sleeves and fight the way you can. The peace of Jerusalem depends on it.