What I sense God is speaking concerning the war between Israel and Hamas — Tod McDowell
As I have been praying about what God is speaking concerning the terror attacks by Hamas in Israel and now the war, the Lord spoke to me from Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” I believe these three principles are key in this situation: Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.
Doing justice is important.
As Psalm 97:2 declares: “Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.” Doing what is right and just is the foundation of God’s authority and His ways as expressed through this description of His throne. Because of this, I believe we need to support the Israeli army and governmental leaders as they seek to bring these terrorists to justice. For those of us who are mercy-oriented, we must not be offended by this pursuit of justice. I will talk about the importance of mercy next. Without justice, evil will spread and conquer. Governments, armies, and police forces are crucial to keeping societies safe and strong. They provide the foundation for people to live in freedom, to thrive, and to be fruitful. Executing justice is not easy. It is often painful and difficult. Lives will be lost. It is often messy. Mistakes will be made. But it is the first thing that must be done to stop the evil, demonic, and ruthless behavior exhibited by the Hamas terrorists.
However, we are called to love mercy.
This means that our hearts should be broken towards the individual terrorists who have been deceived through demonic ideologies, lies, and deception to partner with Satan himself to “steal, kill, and destroy” innocent lives. We need to have God’s heart of love for the Palestinians. They are not the enemy. As Paul says in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” While governmental leaders in Israel and those in the army and police force have the duty and calling to bring justice, we as believers have a “priestly calling.” 1 Peter 2:5 says, “…you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.” A priest’s role is to bring mercy and not judgment to others. This is the calling of all believers. Our hearts should be merciful, loving, and gracious towards all—the Jewish people and Arabs—while at the same time standing against the satanic ideology manifested through Islam. This demonic anti-Christ spirit brings unfathomable, irrational, and diabolical acts toward God’s chosen people and land. The last time this spirit was on full display in such boldness and barbarism towards the Jewish people was during the Holocaust.
We need to walk humbly with our God.
It is so easy when there are major world conflicts to quickly become self-appointed critics, judges, and experts. We succumb to this pride by giving our own personal opinions and views through emotional responses on social media and other communication platforms. We need to fear the Lord more than ever. We need to be humble and tremble at His word. We can’t afford to communicate from our souls, based on feelings and thoughts that come from our perspective based on the circumstances. We must be rooted and grounded in God‘s word. This posture of humility is the only way that we are going to come together in biblical unity. The standard of unity that we are to walk in is “oneness.” As Jesus said in John 17:23, “…that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.”
Unity in the global body of Christ is the spiritual battle that I believe is at stake right now.
Satan tries to divide. He knows that a house divided cannot stand (Mark 3:25). Many Christians have been divided for decades concerning the Israel and Palestinian conflict. I believe unity is crucial. This oneness between Jewish believers and Arab believers is at the center of what God is doing in our day. I am deeply invested in walking with Jewish and Arab believers as God brings all believers from all nations to become “perfectly one.” When Jews and Arabs walk in oneness together, it is catalytic. The expression of love, family, and unity is indescribable. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Now is the time for us to stand together. We as Gentile believers in many nations around the world need to embrace our brothers and sisters that are in the center of this conflict.