I wrote "The House" to highlight the complexity of a real life situation between two nations of people. one calls themselves Israel, the other Palestine. In our story, Jacob represents the ancient nation of Israel, as we see in the pages of scripture, removed from the land of promise (the house) as a slave in Egypt. The discovery of his father's trust fund represents God's grace upon Israel, rescuing them from slavery and bringing them into the land. But, as Israel's sin led to their removal from their homeland, Jacob's sin in our story caused him to loose his beloved house as well.
Arnie represents the Arabs. After the Jews were dispersed top the corners of the world, other people groups settled in the ancient land, finally in the seventh century, Arabs settled into the land.
The Jews faced persecution everywhere they went, but nowhere so severe as Nazi Germany (Dutch), which led to a mass migration of Jews to the land now known as Palestine. The more Jews came to Palestine, the more resentment grew between Jews and the Arabs who already lived in the land. Eventually, a large portion of the land was awarded to the Jews by the U.N. to form the state of Israel in 1948.
Just as Jude took over Arnie's house, Jews eventually came to occupy all the former land of the Palestinian Arabs. Paul, represents modern Palestinians, who live on a fraction of their former land under a military occupation that has lasted almost 50 years. Like Paul, they are seeking a way to gain back their lands and establish sovereignty there.
People harbor a lot of strong feelings about this land half way around the world, especially Christians. A recent Gallup poll shows that less than 40% of Americans feel any sympathies toward Palestinians, an all time low. Do the Palestinians deserve these feelings? Are they completely evil? Is their cause unjust? I believe that much of the strong sentiment is fueled my a few common misconceptions. Consider the following five facts about the Holy Land.
1. The Conquest is over. Most liberal Christians, and not a small number of evangelicals are uncomfortable with the Israelite conquest of Canaan. God clearly commanded the ancient Israelites to conquer, kill, and displace nations (Duet 20:17). God gave them the land of Israel in order to punish the sinfulness of the nations who had resided there (Duet 9:4). In a like manner, He would use Assyria and Babylon to punish and displace Israel when they fell into similar sin. But this mandate to conquest was not an open ended invitation or a blank check. By the time of King David we see conquered people living peacefully in Israel, serving Israel's God and falling under His protection. God was angry with David over his injustice to Uriah the Hittite, a faithful soldier for Israel (2 Sam 12:9).
God is a champion of the cause of the foreigner (Lev 19:34, Psalm 146:9). He did not ever intend for Israel to be in a perpetual state of war. He never intended for them to kill and conquer indefinitely. Rather, He ordained them to be a "light to the nations" (Isaiah 49:6). The conquest is over. Please do not misuse the Bible to justify the modern state of Israel in conquering and displacing other nations and denying the foreigners among them justice.
2. Arabs are a part of God's plan of redemption. There is a mistaken notion among some Christians that Arabs are a people cursed by God, that He does not really love or care for them, that they are somehow outside of his plan of redemption. This does not come from the Bible. Many Arabs played prominent roles in the history of redemption. Job, a shining example of righteousness was an Arab, as were Lemuel and Agur, two of the writers of Proverbs. Arab magi were the first to acknowledge the kingship of Jesus, and their faithfulness kept Jesus safe from the clutches of king Herod. Arabs were present at the day of Pentecost and became followers of Jesus (Acts 2:11). Today many Arabs follow Him, working to share His good news and bring His Kingdom rule to earth as it is in heaven. (for a detailed discussion of Arabs in the Bible, read Arabs in the Shadow of Israel by Tony Maalouf. Kregal Pub., 2003)
3. The ethnic lines are a lot blurrier than most people think. Politics usually requires people to self-identify as Arab or Jewish, but studies show both groups are largely descended from a common gene pool. Most Palestinian Arabs are a mixture of Arab, Jewish, and other ancestries. Nearly 20% of the citizens of Israel speak Arabic as a first language, Muslims, Christians, and Jews who have spoken Arabic for generations. The Arab/Israeli dichotomy leaves out a large number of people who live there, and creates an unnecessary "us" versus "them" mentality.
4. Palestine has lived in a state of national slavery since 1967. If there was ever a modern-day example of the slavery the ancient Hebrews suffered at the hands of the Egyptians, it would be Palestinians at the hand of Israel. Half of the people in lands controlled by Israel are not citizens and may not become citizens, even though their ancestors have lived in the land for hundreds of years. The Palestinian Authority has no real authority. Palestinians are severely restricted in travel, both into Israel proper and abroad. They also lack basic freedoms we take for granted, such as protection from unlawful search and seizure and unreasonable detention. Their condition keeps them from developing industry on their own lands. Many subsist by working for Israelis in largely menial and poorly-paid jobs.
5. Israel has repeatedly ignored the consensus of the world community in their treatment of Palestinians. Not that the international community is always right, but it should still pull some weight. The state of Israel occupied the territories of Gaza and the West Bank defending itself from invasion. But 45 years later, Israel still occupies the land. The people who lived there have not been incorporated into Israel or allowed to form their own state. Meanwhile Israeli settlers have seized large portions of the occupied territory from the original inhabitants. U.N. resolution 446 confirms Israel has no right to settle these occupied territories. The occupation also violates the Geneva Convention of 1949 (Which Israel is party to).
If you come out of this hating Israel and loving Palestine, I have failed. I am as deeply concerned for Israelis as for Palestinians. God loves and cares for them all. He also has a heart to see justice for all the oppressed (Psalm 103:6).
Living every day for Jesus means to live his mission. When Jesus unveiled his mission at his hometown of Nazareth he read this prophecy from Isaiah.
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke:4:18-19)
Who are the poor and the oppressed in the Holy Land today? Are we joining Jesus in his mission to bring freedom to the oppressed? Do our thoughts and feelings about them agree with God's? Do our prayers reflect His heart?
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