Restraint in Lebanon

Remember the conflict that took place in Lebanon awhile back between the Israeli IDF and the forces of Hizbullah? Israel had invaded southern Lebanon in an effort to stop the terrorist organization from constantly firing rockets into the neighboring Israeli towns and subsequently killing civilians, damaging buildings and etc. After inflicting some damage, the IDF pulled back into Israeli territory leaving Hizbullah another opportunity to recover and grow strong again. Of course Israel pulled back! This is what the international community demands that it do - every time! BTW, the rockets are still coming.

So, it was with interest that I read a JPost article that addressed the possibility of future penetration into Lebanese territory whenever it was decided that Hizbullah had, once again, gone too far. The article was entitled We exercised restraint in Lebanon war.
The article is dated Aug. 19th. Here are some quotes:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sent a stern warning to Beirut on Tuesday, pledging that Israel would not restrain itself if Lebanon sanctioned a new Hizbullah offensive. “ In the Second Lebanon War we had much greater means and capabilities, which we avoided using since [during that war] we fought against a terror organization and not a country,” Olmert said. “In this context, if Lebanon, turns into a Hizbullah state, we won’t restrain our response.”

The article goes on to state, in so many terms, that, yes indeed, the Lebanese parliament has already given Hizbullah official status as part of the Lebanese state. The meaning is plain and not at all concealed. Olmert is saying that Israel will no longer consider Hizbullah as merely a terrorist organization, but rather, in the future, it will be considered as an integral part of the Lebanese state, and thus, any retaliation that would be generated toward terrorist activities that are being perpetrated against Israel will be directed against the government and territory of Lebanon itself. This is potentially explosive, and it could be biblical in its proportions!

Does Olmert have it in him to so-respond? It doesn’t matter. This is a thought process that is obviously subject-matter to many people who are high up in the Israeli society. Would Netanyahu so-respond? Would anyone respond this way if conditions get any more bizarre in the Middle East? One of these days the answer will be yes and then, it will happen. What, then, will be Russia’s response? They are politically in bed with Syria and Iran - the sponsors of Hizbullah.

Honestly, do you believe that anybody can stop this insanity? I don’t think so. As Christians, however, we need to be a little bit more intense with our walk, don’t you think? Let the dead bury their dead. Let us get more intense in our serving. We can start by getting back to those passages in Ezek. 36 thru 39.

China - Wow!

I watched most of the opening ceremonies at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing last night. Did you? Wow! What a display of technology, pomp, and human achievement! Is there anything that Mankind cannot do? It seems as though only a lack of monetary resources can prevent us from doing anything that we want. One wonders what form the 21st century Tower of Babel will soon take.

Two thoughts immediately came to my mind last night. The first was the thought of just how the world is constantly being inoculated against the reality of evil in our collective society. How many more proclamations of peace and human reconciliation will be uttered forth every two years (summer and winter games) before we understand that it isn’t going to happen? It must have been a little embarrassing to the commentators when they were forced to recognize the wonderful peace efforts of the Russian army currently unfolding in the contiguous neighboring country of Georgia. When a country paraded before the cameras, one wondered whether they were forced to admit to previous mass-murders and genocide by that same country, or whether they wanted to say even more but were prevented by the enormity of the moment.

The second thought followed from the above observations. My thoughts sent me back to 1984 when the Winter Games were being held in Sarajevo. Same thing; different time. To those of you who recall those games, you may remember how the same utterances of peace, unity and human interaction were being proclaimed. How we marveled and celebrated the interaction of the athletes from different countries. The barriers were down; we simply needed to follow the liberating affections of those athletes. We will follow their examples and supersede the limitations and barriers that political entities set up to cause division. Just look at these athletes and the good will of the countries being represented. We can reason with each other. We can reason with Islam, Jihadism, Russian expansionism, racists, international intrigue, nationalism, anti-Semitism, etc. etc.
Why just look at the athletes. Peace is so simple.

Now why did my mind go to Sarajevo? Never has it been otherwise. At every Olympic event the same platitudes of peace and human cooperation are uttered. Again, why Sarajevo? Well, for those of you who do recall those games, you may also recall that within one decade of those same games, there was invented a term known as “ethnic cleansing”. Mass murder and butchery smothered that town and the surrounding areas. So, if peace is so simple, why isn't it happening?

Here’s a thought: The two most populated countries in the world are China and India. Are you aware that both are growing economically and technologically at a phenomenal rate and that they both are expanding their military might at an accelerated rate as well? How many times, embedded in those opening ceremonies, did China, the host country, imply a new spirit of cooperation with the other countries of the world? Did you believe this?

I’m not sure how to conclude this. Let me simply say that Rev. 16:12 came to my mind. Let’s continue to observe world conditions as they unfold - but with a little more skepticism, - please?