Beware of Dividers (Advent 18, 2023)

Have you noticed the young people, the unchurched of a young generation, falling in line with the “Free Palestine” crowd and their antisemitism? They flood social media with their thoughts, acting like experts. Their inexperience and ignorance of history keep them from realizing the gravity of what they’re doing. It’s beyond sad.

The Muslim nations surrounding Israel and the West Bank don’t want the Gaza refugees because they don’t want the trouble they bring. Behind closed doors, they don’t even agree there is a Palestine (except as it serves their purposes against Israel).

Hafez al-Assad, the father of current Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, once famously said,

“You do not represent Palestine as much as we do. Never forget this one point: There is no such thing as a Palestinian people, there is no Palestinian entity, there is only Syria. You are an integral part of the Syrian people, Palestine is an integral part of Syria. Therefore it is we, the Syrian authorities, who are the true representatives of the Palestinian people. [Addressing the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization Yasser Arafat]”

It’s impressive watching the social media machine of dividers. They’re powerful and effective. People picking away at the “Judeo-Christian” bond of everything from America’s system of justice to our understanding of civilized behavior to the world order brought under a common belief in the Ten Commandments and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The dividers are out there promoting a “sharia” system of justice that would happily turn on the most ignorant dividers once they’ve been fully exploited as useful idiots. What would the sharia-lovers do to useful idiots? Throw them from buildings. Burn them alive. Dress them in clothing once viewed as oppression. The young people mindlessly clamor “Give us more!” … until the horrible day when they realize they’ve been deceived and surrendered to what they don’t believe.

Beware of anyone who would seek to divide the Judeo-Christian bond like is being derided in this 2020 article in The Atlantic. “‘The “Judeo-Christian tradition” was one of 20th-century America’s greatest political inventions. An ecumenical marketing meme for combatting godless communism.’” The author treats it like nothing more than a marketing gimmick as “The concept was always an unstable foundation on which to build a common American identity.”

Another op-ed writer for ABC in 2019 pokes away claiming that “Anti-Judaism was, in a way, central to Christian self-understanding.” (That’s a lie.) Writing that Jews are “God killers” and the whole purpose of joining Christians and Jews originally was to exclude Muslims “For just as the term can be used as a way of including and binding people together, it can just as easily be used to exclude those who are deemed not to subscribe to Western values. In the later part of the twentieth century, this was applied particularly to Muslims ― despite the fact that Judaism, Christianity and Islam all share a common religious heritage and that all three religions have Middle Eastern origins. But more recently, this exclusionary use has also been arrayed against those associated with multiculturalism, “political correctness” and cosmopolitanism.”

Questions for further thought:

Why would these people want to create division? Just Judeo. Just Christian. Divide and conquer.

Who or what conquers?

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all trace a heritage back to Abraham, but it’s NOT a common religious heritage. Does Islam revere the Torah as authoritative Scripture? Nope. Do they worship the God of Abraham, AND Isaac, AND Jacob? Nope. Who did God say the Covenant is fulfilled through? (Genesis 17:19)

Is this blurring of the truth likely intentional to dupe the unchurched person raised to be culturally “Christian” and uneducated person ethnically Jewish, or is it just ignorance? Is the outcome of deception different based upon the deceiver’s sincerity or blindness?

Is the tide turning now that we see a rise of a faithless worldview or a sharia one that makes our common Judeo-Christian history in the God of the Hebrew Testament and the hyphen “gimmick” more understandable?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to see that You fulfilled the Law to perfection! You never declared it false, only fulfilled. Help us to understand the differences which unite our hearts with our Jewish brethren who look to Scripture’s fulfillment. Guard us against division and discouragement. Keep our eyes looking for Your return and may we be found faithful when You do. Amen.

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Acknowledging inquiries about an entire season’s devotionals for your study group’s planning purposes, Seminary Gal’s prior seasons’ Advent devotionals can be accessed via the archives to the right and are as follows:

“Awaken Remnant” was the devotional topic for 2022. It began November 27, 2022, and highlighted the remnant found throughout Scripture as evident in Jesus’ lineage.
The multi-faceted Interlude between the promise of a Deliverer and the birth of our Messiah and King was the theme of 2021’s devotional series. It is archived beginning November 28, 2021.
2020’s Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times. Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence. His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology. They began November 29, 2015.
Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols. You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives. They began November 30, 2014.
The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John. It began December 1, 2013.
The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story. It began December 1, 2012.