.
Were I a Jew, I would not want the world to remind me of the way my
people were treated in the middle of last century because it's such a national
embarrassment.
It's a matter of historical record that Nazi death camps were populated not
only with Jews; but also with Poles, Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet
prisoners of war, the disabled, homosexual men, and political and religious
opposition. Yes, Jews were there, but they don't own it. In point of fact,
Jewish prisoners amounted to barely half.
But one has to ask: How is it that Yhvh's people were caught up in it at all?
Where was God during the Holocaust? Why didn't He step in and do
something for His chosen people? The answer to that question is actually
very simple and it's on public display for all the world to see at Lev 26:14
38, Deut 27:15-26, and Deut 28:15-69. In other words: it was God's wishes
that His people undergo mistreatment during the middle of the last century.
Surprised? Well; you're not alone. The prophet Habakkuk couldn't believe his
ears when God told him of a pending invasion by the fierce Chaldeans that
God himself would expedite.
†. Hab 1:12 . . Are You not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die. O Lord, You have ordained them for judgment, and, O
Mighty God, You have established them for correction.
It made sense to Habakkuk that God would come down on the Chaldeans;
but no sense to him at all that God would come down on His own chosen
people. But anybody who has read the Old Testament can attest that God
came down on His own people quite often; and just as often quite cruelly.
Why? Because according to the covenant that God agreed upon with Yhvh's
people as per Deut 19:9-15, He is morally obligated to both cause, and to
allow, bad things to happen to them. There are numerous blessings that
He's morally obligated to fulfill too; so the covenant isn't all one-sided; viz:
obedience accrues blessings; while disobedience accrues curses.
A covenant is essentially a contract. Well; if God were to fail to fulfill His end
of the agreement; then He would be in breach of contract; which is not only
unethical, but also uncivil. God is, after all, very jealous of His integrity. So
He pretty much has no choice but to cause, and to allow, bad things to
happen to His people from time to time if only to protect His reputation.
Ironically, it's very possible that the generation taken by the Holocaust
wasn't the one responsible for their treatment due to Yhvh's statement
below:
†. Ex 34:6-7 . . Then Yhvh passed by in front of Moses and proclaimed:
Yhvh, Yhvh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding
in loving-kindness and truth; who keeps loving-kindness for thousands, who
forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the
guilty unpunished: visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the
grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.
In other words: the plight of the Jews who perished in German death camps
could very well have been due to the impiety of Jews who lived several
generations prior to Hitler's time. What I'm talking about here isn't
unprecedented.
Take for example the Flood. No doubt quite a few innocent children drowned
in that event due to their parents' wickedness.
Ham's son Canaan was cursed because of his father's indiscretion in the
matter of Noah's nakedness.
How many innocent children perished in Sodom and Gomorrah?
During Moses' confrontation with Pharaoh, God moved against everything
that pertained to the man; including, but not limited to, his economy, his
land, his livestock, his citizens, his citizens' children, and his own children.
It's a very disturbing biblical fact of life that sometimes God gets back at the
parents by going after things that pertain to them.
God took the life of David's innocent little baby boy to get back at his father
for committing the capital crimes of premeditated murder and adultery.
Another example is located in the 16th chapter of Numbers where not just
the rebels were punished; but their entire families and all their belongings
were swallowed by a fissure that God opened in the ground beneath their
feet.
A close call is recorded in the book of Jonah. Had not the adults in Ninevah
changed their ways, something like 120,000 little children would have
perished; not to mention all the cattle. According to Jonah 4:11, taking out
children and dumb animals is not something that God enjoys. But there is a
mysterious element to absolute justice that apparently compels Him to do it.
The Flood, Ham's son Canaan, Sodom and Gomorrah, Pharaoh, David,
Korah, and Ninevah lead me to suspect that God's chosen people caught up
in the Holocaust weren't caught up as retribution for their own sins; but
rather; as retribution for the sins of past generations.
You know; the status of God's chosen people has its advantages; but also its
disadvantages; viz: the status of God's chosen people is not something to be
proud of; but rather, something to be afraid of because the covenant's God
is not the kind of judge influenced by favoritism. No; if anything, Yhvh's
people run the risk of being judged even more severely than Gentiles
because of their privileged position.
†. Amos 3:1-2 . . Hear this word that Yhvh has spoken against you, O
children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land
of Egypt, saying: You only have I known of all the families of the earth:
therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
Buen Camino
/
Were I a Jew, I would not want the world to remind me of the way my
people were treated in the middle of last century because it's such a national
embarrassment.
It's a matter of historical record that Nazi death camps were populated not
only with Jews; but also with Poles, Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet
prisoners of war, the disabled, homosexual men, and political and religious
opposition. Yes, Jews were there, but they don't own it. In point of fact,
Jewish prisoners amounted to barely half.
But one has to ask: How is it that Yhvh's people were caught up in it at all?
Where was God during the Holocaust? Why didn't He step in and do
something for His chosen people? The answer to that question is actually
very simple and it's on public display for all the world to see at Lev 26:14
38, Deut 27:15-26, and Deut 28:15-69. In other words: it was God's wishes
that His people undergo mistreatment during the middle of the last century.
Surprised? Well; you're not alone. The prophet Habakkuk couldn't believe his
ears when God told him of a pending invasion by the fierce Chaldeans that
God himself would expedite.
†. Hab 1:12 . . Are You not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die. O Lord, You have ordained them for judgment, and, O
Mighty God, You have established them for correction.
It made sense to Habakkuk that God would come down on the Chaldeans;
but no sense to him at all that God would come down on His own chosen
people. But anybody who has read the Old Testament can attest that God
came down on His own people quite often; and just as often quite cruelly.
Why? Because according to the covenant that God agreed upon with Yhvh's
people as per Deut 19:9-15, He is morally obligated to both cause, and to
allow, bad things to happen to them. There are numerous blessings that
He's morally obligated to fulfill too; so the covenant isn't all one-sided; viz:
obedience accrues blessings; while disobedience accrues curses.
A covenant is essentially a contract. Well; if God were to fail to fulfill His end
of the agreement; then He would be in breach of contract; which is not only
unethical, but also uncivil. God is, after all, very jealous of His integrity. So
He pretty much has no choice but to cause, and to allow, bad things to
happen to His people from time to time if only to protect His reputation.
Ironically, it's very possible that the generation taken by the Holocaust
wasn't the one responsible for their treatment due to Yhvh's statement
below:
†. Ex 34:6-7 . . Then Yhvh passed by in front of Moses and proclaimed:
Yhvh, Yhvh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding
in loving-kindness and truth; who keeps loving-kindness for thousands, who
forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the
guilty unpunished: visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the
grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.
In other words: the plight of the Jews who perished in German death camps
could very well have been due to the impiety of Jews who lived several
generations prior to Hitler's time. What I'm talking about here isn't
unprecedented.
Take for example the Flood. No doubt quite a few innocent children drowned
in that event due to their parents' wickedness.
Ham's son Canaan was cursed because of his father's indiscretion in the
matter of Noah's nakedness.
How many innocent children perished in Sodom and Gomorrah?
During Moses' confrontation with Pharaoh, God moved against everything
that pertained to the man; including, but not limited to, his economy, his
land, his livestock, his citizens, his citizens' children, and his own children.
It's a very disturbing biblical fact of life that sometimes God gets back at the
parents by going after things that pertain to them.
God took the life of David's innocent little baby boy to get back at his father
for committing the capital crimes of premeditated murder and adultery.
Another example is located in the 16th chapter of Numbers where not just
the rebels were punished; but their entire families and all their belongings
were swallowed by a fissure that God opened in the ground beneath their
feet.
A close call is recorded in the book of Jonah. Had not the adults in Ninevah
changed their ways, something like 120,000 little children would have
perished; not to mention all the cattle. According to Jonah 4:11, taking out
children and dumb animals is not something that God enjoys. But there is a
mysterious element to absolute justice that apparently compels Him to do it.
The Flood, Ham's son Canaan, Sodom and Gomorrah, Pharaoh, David,
Korah, and Ninevah lead me to suspect that God's chosen people caught up
in the Holocaust weren't caught up as retribution for their own sins; but
rather; as retribution for the sins of past generations.
You know; the status of God's chosen people has its advantages; but also its
disadvantages; viz: the status of God's chosen people is not something to be
proud of; but rather, something to be afraid of because the covenant's God
is not the kind of judge influenced by favoritism. No; if anything, Yhvh's
people run the risk of being judged even more severely than Gentiles
because of their privileged position.
†. Amos 3:1-2 . . Hear this word that Yhvh has spoken against you, O
children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land
of Egypt, saying: You only have I known of all the families of the earth:
therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
Buen Camino
/
