In the Middle East

For a long time I have known I didn’t know everything about the wars going on in the Middle East. I knew I needed to pray for the people over there, but I didn’t want to support it any other way. I know the bible tells us to pray for and bless Israel. Twenty five or more years ago I had been to church meetings where I was told that Israel was so important and we were supposed to hold them up. I was part of groups that were planning to go. I was so excited, but when I asked God if I was supposed to go, He said no.

With God things don’t have to make sense. I just have to trust Him.

I wasn’t upset. I knew I had my own mission. I was a home missionary. People don’t talk a lot about them. We don’t get any hype but we have our role. God uses us. Plus, I had seen people come back from mission trips and they were not ok. Or at least they were very different, and not always in the right way. I prayed for them.

I was learning who to listen to and who to let go their own way. Not everything that sounds exciting or beautiful is beneficial.

I was feeling the same way about the Gaza war and I was getting words that led me to believe we were wrong to be supporting Israel with anything other than prayers. At first, I felt terrible for Israel on October 7, 2023. 1,195 people were killed, dozens of people were raped, 251 people were taken hostage, and 3,400 were wounded. But since then, at least 72,000 Palestinians have died and 172,000 have been wounded. At least 2,000 Israelis have been killed.

Israel says they will not stop fighting until Hamas is finished, yet studies indicate that women, children and elderly people make up over 56% of the violent deaths in this war. And 80% of the deaths in this war are civilians. 90% of the infrastructure that has been destroyed is civilian structures.

None of this makes sense. Hamas is based out of Iran.

Today I was doing my bible study I was reading in Judges chapter 19-21.

There is a story about Gibeah’s Crime. There was no king in Israel at the time. There was a man in Ephraim who had taken a concubine, the bible called her a wife or a concubine, interchangeably. She had become angry with him and had gone home to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. Once the man was tired of waiting for her to return, he went to bring her home.

On their way home, they stopped in Gibeah because it was night. A kind man took the man, his wife, his servant and his donkeys in for the night. The town knew because they had waited in the town square and people had seen. Soon a crowd of evil men came to the kind man’s house and demanded the man from Ephraim, with the intention of raping and terrorizing him. The kind man begged them to remember the law of hospitality, which is paramount in their culture. He offered his virgin daughter and the concubine.

In a rage, the man from Ephraim threw this concubine out the door and slammed it shut. The men gang raped her until she died.

The next day, the man from Ephraim put her on a donkey and took her home. When he got home, he cut her into 12 pieces and sent her to the 12 tribes of Israel.

Then he commanded the men whom he sent, saying, “Thus shall you say to all the Israelites: Has such a thing ever happened since the day that the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until this day? Consider it, take counsel, and speak out.” Judges 19:30

So all the tribes heard the man of Ephraim and decided to go up against Gibeah. But Gibeah would not give up the murderers and they were willing to fight. But the eleven other tribes followed God and were woefully successful against their kin and they won. (Judges 20)

Thankfully, not all Benjaminites, who lived in Gibeah were killed because it made all Israelites sad to think that one tribe would be lost. (Judges 21)

I have so many questions about this story:

• Why would these men in Gibeah want to randomly rape and terrorize this man?
• Why would it be ok for the kind man to offer his virgin daughter and the concubine instead?
• What kind of man would send his wife to satisfy the evil men outside?
• What kind of person can cut up his wife and send her body to 12 tribes and not just a letter?
• How different are the people in the Middle East from the rest of the world?

I have been walking with God for 45 years. I am very comfortable with not understanding everything. I have learned that faith is something God is a talented author of and I can always trust Him. He always gives the words in the moment. But I feel pretty confident that a person can be known, but the governments of the Middle East, not so much.

Besides what I have already mentioned, but considering what I have read about troubles we are having with cease fire talks for the Iran War, and the fact that we are having trouble paying our own bills, here in the United States, I am very comfortable with not funding any more of the fire arms for Israel. I do pray that God bless us all. Amen

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My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven. For anyone reading this that isn’t a Christian, unapologetically, I am a Jesus Follower, but I believe there is room for lots of beliefs and religions in the world. It is not my intent to offend people with different beliefs than I have and I would be open to open-minded conversations with no goals of changing anyone’s mind, but sharing information. If you are interested in becoming a Jesus Follower…Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

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