Disgrace and slander

A friend of Israel wrote: "If anti-Semitism is a crime, why is it spreading like wildfire?" Another question then comes to mind: how, after the massacre of unprecedented savagery perpetrated on October 7, 2023, could antisemitism spread around the world at such speed? And one might ask: why does the world give more credit to Hamas, or terrorist organizations in general, than to Israel?

Without excusing human reactions in any way, fed by media disinformation, political rhetoric or sometimes mere jealousy toward the Jewish people, the Bible gives us a key to understanding: the nations oppose Israel because the Jewish people have been chosen by God. "Prophesy over the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn.'"

This passage is found at Ezekiel 36:6-7. God asks the prophet to speak not only to the people, but directly to the land of Israel: "to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys." This land has been invaded, devastated and derided by the neighboring nations, especially by Edom. From a prophetic reading of Ezekiel 35 and 36, Edom may also represent the nations that covet the land given by God to Israel and seek to seize it. Even today, Israel is the target of Islamist powers, whether Shia, like the mullahs' regime in Iran, or Sunni, like Erdogan in Turkey.

"Because you said, 'These two nations and countries will be ours and we will take possession of them,' even though the Lord was there, therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will treat you in accordance with the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them" (Ezekiel 35:10-11).

At that time, the "two nations" referred to Judah and the northern kingdom, Israel or Ephraim: in other words, all Israel. We find today a similar rhetoric in the slogan: "Palestine, from the Jordan to the sea". Behind this slogan lies the claim to the entire land of Israel, but without the Jews. Let us not forget that this land is the inheritance that God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is not merely a "territory"—it is also presented as a "bride": "No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah (My Delight Is in Her), and your land Beulah (Married); for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married" (Isaiah 62:4).

Let us realize the importance of this land! Let us grasp what it means to walk upon the land of God, given as an inheritance to His people. Israel is not a nation like any other: it is the people who bear the name of G-d. And Jerusalem is the city of the great King who is coming soon! "You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come. For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity" (Psalm 102:13-14). Friends, do we also love the dust of Jerusalem?...

"I speak in my jealousy," says the Lord. Divine jealousy is not a petty passion. The Hebrew word qin'ah - קִנְאָה - expresses an ardent and exclusive love, which does not tolerate the desecration of the Covenant. God is jealous of His people, of His land that the nations want to appropriate, and especially of His own Name, which is dishonored among the peoples.

As believers attached to the Word of God, let us dare to ask these questions:

• Are we also jealous of God's land and do we love His people?

• Do we prophesy, as the God of Israel commands the prophet, over "its mountains, its hills, its ravines, and its valleys"?

To Israel, God said: "I will no longer permit you to hear the taunts of the nations, nor will you suffer the reproach of the peoples any longer" (Ezekiel 36:15). Today more than ever, we must understand the prophetic significance of these words and pray accordingly, in order to oppose the ignominy of the nations, the reproach and the slander to which Israel is subjected.