Let Me Die The Death Of The Upright!

“Who can count the dust of Jacob.

or number the fourth part of Israel?

Let me die the death of the upright,

and let my end be like his!” [1]

King Frederick the Great of Prussia is reported to have once asked his physician to provide proof for the existence of God. The physician is said to have replied to the monarch’s query, “Your Majesty, the continued existence of the Jews.” Without question, the Jewish people have been horribly persecuted throughout history. And God’s Chosen People continue to be persecuted relentlessly today, both by those who are avowed enemies and by those who present themselves as friends of Israel. The whole of history testifies to continued attempts to destroy the people we know as Jews.

Undoubtedly, an argument could be advanced for the persecution of Christians as evidence of God’s existence; but in my estimate, no other group has been persecuted to the extent of the Jewish people throughout history. And yet, the Jewish people miraculously survive. As much as leftists despise Christians, hatred for Israel seems greater still in the minds of the peoples of this world. Squad members in the United States Congress may deviate briefly from one pet concept or another, but they are consistent in their hatred for Israel and for the disparaging remarks directed toward Jews.

News items exposing hatred of Jews—not hatred toward Israel, but hatred of Jewish people—pop up with disturbing regularity. One example of such news accounts is an article entitled, “Jew-hatred is poisoning America’s campuses,” [2] that appeared in my news read in September just as I was beginning my holiday time. The article documents the requirement at one of America’s most prestigious universities for students to read a libelous tome which promotes vicious blood libels against Jews. The book goes so far as to accuse the Israeli military of harvesting Palestinians’ organs and accuses Israel of adopting an official policy of deliberate maiming of Palestinians. The article reports an astonishingly high percentage or Jewish students facing antisemitism directed against them personally. Hatred of Jews did not stop with the defeat or Nazi Germany; in some respects, such hatred seems more intense in Canada and the United States today than it did in Germany in 1935.

Of course, the vile events carried out by terrorists on October 7th can be seen as nothing less than hatred of Jews. When Iranian mullahs and their Shia acolytes, especially in Gaza and now in Lebanon, say, “From the river to the sea,” it is a statement calling for utter destruction of all Jews. The ayatollahs speak of America as “the great Satan,” and they identify Israel as “the little Satan.” They hate Israel, and they hate Jews. That was made clear in the rabid brutality displayed when Hamas slaughtered over 1400 Jews, including mothers and children, pregnant women, elderly women and men, and little babies in their cribs.

And the subsequent demonstrations on university campuses and in the great cities of the west are likewise examples of bitter hatred of the people God delivered from bondage to be His Chosen People. Anti-Zionism is nothing less than hatred of Jews, and ultimately hatred of God Who called them out of slavery.

Hatred of Israel is not some new phenomenon discovered only in the last century. Almost immediately after Israel had been delivered from Egyptian bondage, the people were led through the wilderness as they followed the LORD’s leadership toward the land that He had promised, arriving in the territory occupied by Moab. In Scripture, we read, “The people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel” [NUMBERS 22:1-3].

Take note of the fact that Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. You know very well that fear can be a potent motivator, but you also know that fear can blind us to the ability to think rationally. Motivated by fear, we can act irrationally rather than acting with wisdom and forethought.

Canadians witnessed the power of fear recently. Governments in North America, in Australia, throughout Europe, and throughout much of Asia used fear of an unseen virus to coerce people into acting irrationally. Powerful people used fear to compel people to restrict social interactions, including shutting down churches and closing beaches. Those same powerful interests instituted mask mandates and compelled people to participate in an experimental drug program, or risk losing their livelihoods. Fear motivated nations to act against reason to institute rules and regulations that were irrational and worse than useless. Fear became the basis for Canadians and Americans to surrender freedoms. Apparently, we forgot the stern words penned by Benjamin Franklin, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” And our government still attempts to use fear to compel people to accept a new jab which will supposedly protect against new variants of the covid virus.