Read Time: 4 min 37 sec | Reading Level: 8th Grade

WORLD NEWS

Israel and Hezbollah

It’s been almost a year, and Israel is still at war with Hamas in Gaza to the south. Then, this week, the conflict escalated with their enemy to the north, Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is a group based in Lebanon that the U.S. designates a “terrorist organization.” Like Hamas, Iran funds Hezbollah. They have been firing missiles at Israel since the war with Hamas began because they support Hamas. Many Israelites who live in the north have left their homes for safety.

The conflict reached a new level last week. Hezbollah's pagers and walkie-talkies—handheld devices used for untrackable communication—all exploded within a couple of days. It turns out Israel secretly manufactured the electronics with explosives. Then, they sold them to Hezbollah and waited. When they detonated, at least 20 people died, and thousands were wounded.

Then, on Monday, Israel targeted weapons that Hezbollah was hiding in homes in Lebanon. Israel's missiles killed hundreds of people, including many who weren’t terrorists. Israel said they did it because the hidden weapons were intended to kill their people and because Israel wants Hezbollah to stop shooting rockets at the north so Israelis can go home safely. 

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RADIATE HOPE
While mourning with victims and praying for our enemies, Christians have hope in the face of a violent world. God’s servant Jesus did no violence. But he suffered on our behalf so that we can live in his peaceful presence forever. 

“Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.”
Isaiah 53:4-5 (CSB) (read full passage)

What gospel lesson can be taught through this story?
The more complicated conflict becomes in the Middle East, the farther off peace seems.

The chaos and ugliness of war are a reflection of what’s going on in sinful hearts apart from Christ—including our own hearts before we walked with him. That darkness can be a reminder of how much we need God’s saving. Without him, we are “dead” and “children under wrath” (Ephesians 2:1, 3 CSB).

The gospel removes the separation between us and God—a chasm much deeper and wider than the disagreement between Hezbollah and Israel. Faith in Jesus brings supernatural peace, grace, joy, hope, and glory (Romans 5:1-5). In the face of overwhelming conflict, give thanks for the miracle of peace with God.

How can I model putting my hope and trust in Christ when discussing this story?
You can pray.

It’s easy to feel helpless when there is such intense suffering happening so far away. But the Bible promises that prayer is powerful and effective, that it causes things to happen that would not have happened otherwise. James tells believers to pray for one another because “the prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect” (5:16 CSB).

Taking the time to pray about wars around the world shows that we trust God to hear us and intervene. We can say that we trust God, but until we give him all our worries in prayer, it’s just words.

• Get visual: Look at a blank map of the Middle East and see how many countries you can identify. Then, check out this timeline to learn more about the history of conflict in the region.

• Memorize Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (CSB).

• Pray for each country by name—and governments, Christians, terrorists, innocent people—to experience Christ’s supernatural peace.

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Theology doesn’t have to be stale and irrelevant.

Curiously, Kaitlyn is a weekly podcast on a mission to make theology fun, clear, and deeply impactful. Each week, author and theologian Kaitlyn Schiess airs an inquisitive kid’s question about the faith, bringing on a theologian to explore it in a way that doesn’t need decoding.

Theology is for the whole Church. Tune in to rediscover the joy of learning with Curiously, Kaitlyn. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, or head over to holypost.com/decaf to learn more about the show.

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