Getting Late

I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. Joel 3:2

Parting the land of the nation of Israel is the big news story this week, but the discussions have been ongoing for several years now. Supposedly this will appease the Palestinians; if the U.N. will only step in and create a separate state for them by redrawing the boundaries of Israel back to what they were when that country was founded back in 1948.

I’m not so sure.

After all, it was just a couple of years ago that Israel, under world pressure, conceded the Gaza strip. Within days (hours) rockets were raining down on southern villages in Israel from the newly released province. Ditto for the aftermath of concessions when Israel withdrew from Lebanon a few years earlier. Don’t tell me I’m wrong—I watch the evening news and read a lot more news reports than the average person. How can Israel concede further territory if the Palestinian leaders refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist in the first place?

Enter our President. Yesterday he gave a speech suggesting that Israel relinquish all territories gained as a result of the 6-day war back in 1967. For the government educated, Israel did not start that war—Egypt, Syria, and Jordan did so. They got their proverbial hats handed to them and Israel doubled in size; the territory gained proving to be a much-needed buffer zone for fending off future attacks. (1973) This territory included the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula, both of which are extremely strategic for Israel’s defense. Most of the Sinai has been returned anyway by this point, but losing the Golan means Israel will be utterly defenseless with the high-speed attack weaponry available today.

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. Psalms 137:5

Jerusalem is truly a stumbling block to any conceivable peace process in the Middle East. I was very young at the time, but I’ve watched the videos of General Moshe Dayan’s speech he gave as the 1967 war concluded with Israel gaining control of the Old City, in which he stated: “We have returned to our holy places... And we shall never leave them." Part of the comments by our President calling for Israel to give up the land gained in 1967 would include Jerusalem, and would include Holy places such as the Temple Mount and the Wailing Wall. In the words of a wise Senator following the President’s remarks, the plan is “mistaken and dangerous” and “Jerusalem must never be re-divided.”

“Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.” Ezekiel 16:26

Meanwhile, to complete the surreal picture painted by the President in his speech, one billion dollars in aid is going to be set aside for Egypt from our very own treasury, which—by the way—is broke. It’s empty, we are overdrawn, and we have none to give. Ah, but we will, of course. Why?

The whole world smiled as Egypt overthrew their government a few months back. The repressive regime of Hosni Mubarek, though friendly to the U.S., was destined to fall in what our western media likened as a western-style demand by the people of Egypt for freedom. The media pundits made sure to focus on leaders that were going to be the ‘new face’ of the ‘new Egypt’—specifically on a Google executive by the name of Wael Ghonim. He was educated, professional, and wanted the same freedoms we have known here in the U.S. from our birth. Once the revolution was over, the media quickly moved on to what was happening in Libya and now Syria, as more revolutions are taking place in the name of freedom from their own repressive regimes. But meanwhile, back in Egypt, Ghonim was barred from addressing the nation at a huge rally being held for their new spiritual leader Sheik Yusaf al-Qaradawi. Oh, by the way, the ‘spiritual leader’ is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and by note a hater of all things Israel.

That’s right, the media darling of the revolution for freedom has been swept aside, rebuffed, and rendered inconsequential. So what was the revolution all about? The answer lies in the Iranian warships now sailing comfortably through the Suez canal in Egypt, uncontested and unmolested—friendly even—as the new leaders in Egypt publicly question the validity of peace treaties signed between Egypt and Israel back in the late 1970’s. Yes, a billion dollars we do not have in the first place, for foreign aid to these guys, let’s do it!

What is going on here? While our country sleeps and dreams of American Idol winners, Glee, and all things Justin Bieber, things are beginning to quickly go awry on the world stage even as we slumber. We dream of 401k balances and ponder upon an economy that may or may not be on the road to recovery, while hoping that gasoline prices won’t get too high. It’s time to stop and think. It’s time to listen for that still, small voice. It’s time to remember:

But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. Habakkuk 2:20

It’s later than we think…