the ceasefire would still be on rivht at this moment had Hamas not broken it with the terrorist attack in Jerusalem and by repeatedly reneging on its agreement to release Israeli hostages.

Here's the thing that really broke me about the goyische left's response to the Hamas massacre: once again, the uncritical, antisemitic double standard for Israel and Jews versus literally anyone else has now expanded to assume that Jews do not deserve human rights or have lost them by virtue of being Israeli.

Let's say, for a moment, that you have been radicalized to really believe that the Hamas attack on civilians was a liberatory action, perhaps unfortunate that it targeted unarmed civilians, but what else were they supposed to do? Besides, Israel has visited similar and worse attacks on Palestine for years, so turnabout is fair play, especially in service of the struggle of liberation of a brutally oppressed group. [To be clear: I take issue with this and find it morally repugnant. But for the moment, let's accept arguendo this belief as a baseline.]

Do you really include rape, torture, killing children at all but especially in front of their parents, or killing parents in front of their children and taking hostages of the survivors, beheading infants, trapping and burning families hidden together alive, stripping and parading hostages naked through the street, mutilating and displaying the bodies of the dead proudly and celebrating their deaths, and doing all of this on a holy day where Jewish people the world over are supposed to be celebrating the end of the holiday season and the beginning of a new cycle of Torah learning. On a day that people will be resting, with their families, unarmed and in their holy spaces, and are explicitly commanded to be happy.

.......amongst the "unfortunate-but-necessary violent struggle?"

Like even if you believe in your heart of hearts that all Israelis should die or at least are acceptable casualties in the struggle, do you really believe that there is any excuse for the above atrocities? If you do, I need you to ask yourself some things:

Do you think there is any justification for the manner and cruelty of the deaths?

Do you really think that there is anything a person could do in order to deserve any of these actions as a sentence?

Was the cruel nature of this, designed to inflict the greatest amount of trauma on the survivors and the Jewish people at large, actually necessary to accomplishing the goal of liberation?

Would you accept any of these actions being done to any other group?

If you are a white American, do you think you personally deserve this yourself for everything the United States has done to the native population (never mind anyone else)?

Do you think that civilians can be held 100% accountable for their government's actions? Is that a standard you yourself would like to be judged by?

If context is important, how is the last 2000 years of brutal antisemitism from virtually every part of the world not also relevant context? How is the Holocaust not relevant? The Farhud?

Do you think refugees fleeing genocide should be able to live wherever they can and that other countries and peoples have a duty to step up and take them in? If so, would you call refugees of genocide colonists and settlers?

Do you think that children should have to answer for the crimes of adults? That it is ever okay to kill them in cold blood?

Do you think that non-combatant deaths should ever be celebrated?

Theoretically, if the only way Hamas could accomplish its goal (which we will assume arguendo is Palestinian liberation, despite the mounds of evidence against that) is to kill whatever Israelis they could get their hands on, don't you think that a valid liberation force would just kill people as efficiently as possible rather than take the time to brutalize and humiliate them first? Wouldn't that be the more morally understandable thing to do?

Do you think it's ever okay to mock or talk down to people grieving their dead, no matter who they were, especially if they were random citizens rather than, say, high-profile politicians?

These questions to me are unanswerable and the fact that they are even in question at all unjustifiable. The left has either actively participated in this or remained silent in the face of it. And too many friends who I thought were allies have failed to reach out to even ask if we're okay, let alone made even the weakest of condemnations of the brutality my people have experienced this week.

This tells me that you think my humanity, as a Jew, is conditional. That my right not to experience war crimes is up for debate.

How am I supposed to trust you ever again? Feel safe in your presence? Collaborate with you on other issues? Why should I?

For the people who are posting about the situation yet failed to condemn the torture and brutality against my people, please know that I will likely never fully believe you that you are for restorative justice, against the death penalty, against cruel and unusual punishment, against sexual violence, for children's rights and against the murder of children, against terrorism, against civilian casualties, for the rights and protection of refugees, for freedom of movement, support indigenous groups, and certainly certainly anyone claiming to be against antisemitism. There will forever and always be an asterisk next to your statements in favor of universal human rights which reads: *except Jews.

You actually believe that Israel will nuke Gaza? Like, for real? What drugs did your mom take while pregnant? What moonshine did she give you instead of formula? How many times were you dropped on your head?

A leader of the Isreali government made it a thought and option in people heads. It's a quote. This guy had called for one to wipe people out as a "last option." Such an option would wipe out and hurt more than just Palestinians. Figures you'd stay anon too. You're too afraid to catch a case. My mother, my schools, and people around me have told me genocide is bad for my whole life, but now that it's time to put thought to action you bitches want to pretend and hesitate.

This statement was made in November, and talks of it happening have spread quite far.

This shouldn't even have been made an option or brought up after seeing what it has done in previous wars. If we forget a threat that big, an option that dangerous with how casually it was thrown in, the big wigs in charge will do so without thinking twice about what would happen and who it will affect.

To anyone reading this:

I repost information I find to help spread awareness about what is going on. Please correct me if I make a mistake or if the information has been updated. I will gladly correct the mistake! But don't be a bitch in anons. the next time I find something like this I'm deleting the shit.

BUT YOU, dear Anon, im going to use you as an example.

The talk about the nuclear option made me angry, and I replied with what would happen if it stayed in consideration. I warned that it was something that we should make sure doesn't stay on the table, doesn't become reality because if it does, it will hurt us all. For that careless use of those specific words in that context, we should all keep a very, VERY close eye on the man that made that statement and the man that could put that statement into play.

This was my response and reaction to the post from 5 days ago about a headline that was written on such a topic. This is the only personal reblog addition I have done specifically about that, so this must be what you're talking about.

So, to answer your first question, Anonymous. Yes, I do believe that the people in power of isreal and their dangerous mentality would drop one on Gaza if they felt like it. They would do it, they would drop it on innocents and guilty alike with no regard for the health and safety of surrounding lands, peoples and quality of life.

Never trust people who bring it up as if they were flinging paper instead of a manmade sun. And I never will trust a government that keep them for 'just in case'. This includes isreals patreon, the United States of America, and others in close ties with them.

Anyways, stand for Palestinians. fuck anon, screw 'isreal' and chant the IOF's sins in their faces.

While I completely agree that Ao3 sucks it's a little funny to post like this on Tumblr. Who also has a zionist CEO. Who also allows antiblack/otherwise racist content and actively blazes it. Who suppresses the Palestine tag. Who banned NSFW content because they hosted so much CP the authorities got involved. I'd say the only difference between these two websites is the amount of people who vocally support the bad policies. I promise you someone could upload their slavery raceplay fanfic from Ao3 to Tumblr right now and not a thing would be done about it because it isn't against their TOS.

i can't believe you did this unironically and expect me to take you seriously

here's a question ik you can't answer. what website WOULDN'T it be funny to post? twitter? elon musk is an apartheid child encouraging hate speech. hell he was JUST in Israel. youtube? they've had years of taking down/suppressing videos that mention anything abt lgbt rights. youtube JUST took down a massive archive of israel human rights violations in palestine. racist white supremacist can have massive platforms on there and be PROTECTED if they're big enough. twitter alternatives? any of the ones that brag abt freedom of speech literally are overrun with racists/neo nazis. livejournal? half of us on tumblr were traumatized by fucked up fanfiction on there when we were 16. so, pray tell, what website would be good enough for you? hmmmmm it's almost like zionism is VERY pervasive and every platform is rife with fucked up shit 😳 which is why normal ppl tell you to STOP buying checkmarks and premium. ohhhhh but that's not good enough for you :( so tell me what website should we be posting complaints on? oh but even if there is a perfect website we're still in a fucked up society so i guess it would still be funny to you huh? like do you see how stupid you sound 😭😭😭😭

anyways now if i had 30 checkmarks you'd have a point but i don't so now we're all abt to make fun of you for being a fucking idiot. did you get the embarrassment? did you get the mockery? did you get the little rush of adrenaline when you hit send anon and when you refresh my blog every 20 minutes waiting for a response? is your heart pumping fast? do you feel special? do you feel smart?

A few things I will get off my chest:

I’ve only been reposting - not posting myself. I have my own life with my own issues going on. I have my own family worries (literally) keeping me up at night as I am on the other side of the world from Israel right now.

Additionally, I spend a lot of my day at work and school being asked a million questions about the conflict. I’m asked to debunk and disprove crap that could easily be done with a simple google search and some common sense.

The same people asking questions cause they “just wanna educate themselves” also say the most lowkey antisemitic crap to me. For example, my coworkers have taken to referring to my tichel as a shower curtain or a tablecloth (to our customers, no less). And even after I ask to be left alone at work, they say “sure, sure, but can you tell me about xyz?” Completely disregarding that I don’t want to talk about this emotionally exhausting subject 24/7.

That all being said:

This guy asked me to explain the history of the conflict, which I did willingly. Then he sent me links, asking me to debunk people in his asks. I didn’t respond cause I had my own crap going on. So he began messaging me daily (sometimes multiple times a day) asking why I wasn’t responding. I finally just blocked him - I don’t have the spoons to deal with you right now bud.

And this was his response to that.

If your ally-ship to Jewish people only exists as long as we are doing the work for you, you’re a pos. You are not an ally, actually. I skimmed what you sent me, saw it was obvious if you did 2 minutes of research, and decided not to respond. You took that like a crazy boyfriend and sent multiple messages trying to get me to do your research for you. And then got mad when I wasn’t responding, so I just blocked you. Then you made a new account just to message me that I’m rotten and should go fuck myself since I didn’t do what you wanted.

You are not an ally. You are not a good person.

Consider that Jews have a familial aspect to worry about in this conflict. We are worried about our friends, families, and community right now. We are also not walking encyclopedias available at your every whim to answer every question you have.

Have the day you deserve.

You say you wish Ronen (and presumably other Israeli Americans) showed the same outrage for the attacks on Gaza as they do for the attacks on Israel.

I’m curious, do you hold White Christian Americans do the same standard? When they remember the lives lost in 9/11, do you require them to mention the 70,000 civilian lives lost in the war in Afghanistan, which was started as a result of that attack? Does it put a ‘pit in your stomach’ when they don’t, or do you simply go about your day without thinking it worth mentioning?

Because as a Jew I’ve never supported Israel, but I’m starting to wonder why Israel is held to a far higher standard than any Western nation that retaliates against terrorism. The loss of innocent lives is terrible and should be condemned, but why is it worse than the innocent lives lost in Afghanistan? Is there something in particular about Israel that you and other left-wing Westeners don’t like?

As far as I can see, Ronen’s country was the victim of a terrorist attack. He reacted with sorrow and anger and supports his country as it seeks to punish those responsible and rescue those taken hostage. But why is he deserving of condemnation for an emotional response when Americans and Westeners can mourn and be angry about their citizens killed by terrorists without attracting any of the same vitriol? The West has done terrible things in the Middle East, and yet when the Middle East strikes back against its enemies only Israel and its people are not allowed to be angry.

Maybe you don’t have any answer, but if you do and are willing to respond I would like to know. What is the difference between an Israeli ‘coloniser’ responding to being a victim of terrorism and an American ‘coloniser’ responding to being the victim of terrorism? Why does one attract criticism and hatred and the other not?

I don't speak for anyone else but my personal answer to this question is yes. Unequivocally. I haven't been talking specifically about the Iraq/Afghanistan wars this week because that's not what's happening right now, but yes. People mourning/honouring victims of the 9/11 attacks should absolutely also be mourning the (by some estimates) nearly a million innocent people who died in the Middle East in the wars started as retaliation for that attack, in some cases in places like Iraq that had literally nothing to do with it at all. If someone feels sadness in their heart every day for the 9/11 victims and feels nothing for the innocent Muslim people who paid the price for something they had nothing to do with, I feel very comfortable saying that person has fallen prey to American imperialist propaganda campaigns or is just outright racist. The hoopla that followed 9/11 is almost beat-for-beat what is happening right now, all over again. We learned nothing. Once again our leaders are dehumanizing brown people, cheering on imperialism and violent colonial occupation, and using a terrorist attack to manufacture consent for war crimes. (Anyone wanting more info on how they do this should read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein.)

The loss of innocent Palestinians is not worse that the loss of innocent Afghans. They are the same. They are both being murdered as payback for something they didn't do and their deaths were/are both being cheered on by the Western war machine because it makes money for defense contractors and because it's politically convenient to see brown people as expendable pawns in the game of Risk world leaders are always playing. So yes, I absolutely do condemn both and mourn for both.

Additionally, I know you didn't ask for sympathy but I know how difficult this is. I know it's a lot more complicated than white online leftists like to make it seem, and I know a lot of Jewish people personally who are struggling right now, as they have before, with their complex feelings for the state of Israel. I hope you're taking care of yourself, as best you can in these awful circumstances.

Hi Chloé! I just wanted to ask you a question. I noticed you have been silent online when it comes to recent news about war and politics. Please know that there's no judgment in this, I firmly believe on the freedom of what we post in social media, and that being quiet about things online or in our niches doesn't and shouldn't imply indifference or neutrality or even silence offline, and that online presence is not the only way to speak up. I haven't even followed you for so long so I can't be sure about this. But I just wondered, as a writer that you are, were you ever afraid of being perceived as privileged or nonchalant about these things? How do you not give in to the pressure that artists have a responsibility by using their voices to speak up about these matters? There's been a lot of pressure online now with the Israel-Hamas war, people are either pro-Israel or pro-Palestine, and I don't even know which side I'm on other than that I'm pro-peace, and I don't even know if that's acceptable to say or if that's a correct thing to say because I don't even know what's correct anymore, and so I have been quiet about this. And I know this, my being quiet, should matter less than the actual events that have been terribly happening across the world, even those wars that are less talked about, but I'm pressured, and so, you being someone I look up to, I'm just wondering where you stand in these things, and how do you handle it well? Thank you for your advice!

This isn’t really the question you’re asking, but my answer to put it as simply as possible, I’m more concerned with facilitating conversation in my real life. Posting on social media in the past has given me a sense that I have checked something off a box, counted myself as “good” and not part of a problem, rather than having done any of the actual work to challenge my views or perceptions. As a result I’ve spread misinformed views because I didn’t understand fully what they were saying. As my knowledge and understanding develops on all topics I use that the best I can, sharing what I feel I myself can explain or talk about too. I know the power of words. when im forced to confront my own ignorance whether by misspeaking or simply not knowing something, real life allows me to do that with people who know my intentions and can properly point me to resources or ideas without causing as much hurt as I might if I were to do so online publicly for thousands of people. Learning to listen and to sit with that discomfort for what you didn’t/don’t know is important.

Jumu'ah Sohbet: 19 January 2024

Subhana'Allah (glory to the Divine) for another providential week at the macro-and-micro level of our worldly existence! Without further adieu, bismillah ...

#1. During our monthly Halaqa (spiritual gathering), where we murids get to practice Rabita (heartfelt connection) and share our insights. Our newly appointed Wakil (Senior trustee) is your Abbu, who was wisely enstated by Shaykha Muzeyyen, who convened this Halaqa. She has equally astutely identified fitting leaders as Khalifa. Shukran Ya Allah (Divine gratitude) for her apt and soulful leadership acumen.

Our Wakil, your Abbu, inadvertently answered my query at its onset, needing clarification as to why we, as Sufis, ought to avoid politics. He referred to how we ought to accept that a plurality of experiences and perspectives exists in the rope and light to Allah. Especially within a Tariqa! We ought to be like As-Shahid (the Witness) and look for the Manifestor in the manifested. Instead of wanting others to comply with our worldview, we must simply get our nafs out of the way so that our focus is automatically on Allah.

He powerfully added an undeniable truth that politics perpetuates power and greed of the nafs, where we are trying to be Allah! Similarly, we have to be wary whether we are trying to be Allah in our responses! Or are we submitting, without taking away the human experience, but where we keep seeking Allah's haq. So whatever is being done incorrectly, we will respond, because there is a Hadith (Prophetic saying) which says we must try to stop a bad action, but if we can't stop it then we should speak out about it and in the least, we must feel the pain in our hearts for its occurrence! That is the Prophetic injunction, but this must not be done in a way where it is hurting the soul of another human being because their essence is also purity and haq!

#2. After Inna's powerful testimony as to how she wrestles her conscience as an original Jewess, but later metamorphosised into a Muslim Sufi. She was led to delete Facebook like me but for different reasons, her out of dismay of the extreme and unapologetic reactions of her cousins, and me out of dismay of my ignorant pre-accident life that unwittingly only celebrated nafs! Your Wakil Abbu beautifully reflected that we continue holding onto the rope of Allah as a community and family. Despite our different perspectives, we choose to be a spiritual family of love, peace, and unity in goodness.

Thereafter, Iliona added a thought-provoking idea that this whole situation with Israel and Palestine has brought her to an existential realisation where every single one of us has in our genetics, the experience of genocide! Every single human is carrying that, and irrespective of the team that are identified as the culprits. The way it can be seen is that it can either inflame one's own genetic pain or it can be treated as a signal to meditate and get over it, if possible. That is because all of our ancestors have done something destructive, and the question becomes about how we put an end to this in our own energy field. That is why we are amongst a family of unity above all else!

Your Wakil Abbu finally reflected that this is a really difficult time for the world, but Shaykh Taner taught us that we are always after the truth. With what is happening around us, are we acting with nafs, or are we acting for truth? What we see around us is human beings' nafs (egos) multipled exponentially, and we're all reacting to the hurt and the pain! We can not shy away from either the pain inflicted by others or responding responsibly, but at the same time, we must constantly search for the Truth, as crafted in my recent poem about the current situation. Shukran Ya Allah, for the blessing of our marriage as a "good cheam," pronounced early on by our late and beloved Shaykh Taner.

#3. After attempting to counsel a distressed and dear Sudanese friend in the depth of worsening national uncertainty, with the following message:

I just want you to know that I observe the Monday and Thursday fast for Sudan and Palestine. I am confident that Allah will relieve the collective suffering at its divinely ordained time.

My father was a freedom fighter who won Bangladesh's liberation from Pakistan. We have lived in war-torn Iran vs. Iraq, we managed to escape economically declining Zimbabwe, and we have lived through numerous upheavals in South Africa!

Please hang in there!

I realised that the reason that I am naturally attuned to political happenings is because my family has been led to overcome numerous political turmoils! Subhana'Allah for the Divine merit of retrospection, where I learned the following:

- Facing political turmoil is taxing, yes, but they can also shape us into resilient beings.

- My respect for my developing country parents mushroomed for enduring the uncertainties of numerous contexts, Alhamdulillah! Even the inherent racism of Denmark where your Nana was after Iran and the racism that we contended with in post-apartheid South Africa.

- Especially that despite the personally arduous passage of time that we each embarked, we have been blessed to realise what we pray for in:

Ya Wadud Ya Salaam Ya Jami Ya Nafi (Allah's loving and peaceful unity in goodness)

#4. 16 January 2024 marked the third year of our worldly separation with the sweet soul of our spiritual brother Fazeel. I was inspired by Mevlana Rumi to reframe my sadness into something more apt and emancipatory. You see, he was a constant feature of my rehabilitation from our accident.

Just as our beloved Shaykh Taner was unexpectedly taken from us, brother Fazeel was equally unexpectedly taken a short time before that. Immediately after both their passings, I reflected with their other halves that I had wished Allah had taken me instead. However, they both compassionately urged me to trust Allah's hikmah (wisdom / rationale) in spite of their sorrow. This was my inspired ode to him:

Above: A beautiful family photo at their eldest's wedding.

Urs of our Fazeel

In Sufic terms, an urs literally refers to a wedding

A union of the lover with the Beloved

Even though our humble Fazeel is not a Sufi Saint

With his deeply caring heart and his family's subsequent resilience

They attest to our worldly parting with him being his Divine urs

Urs is a death anniversary that is commemorated at a dergah

It's not an occasion to lament but to rejoice

An idea taken from the Hadith:

“Sleep just like the bride.”

And the Angels say to the Pious in the grave, “Sleep with restfulness and comfort just like a bride.”

Beyond Fazeel's incredible heart that was thirsty and ever-ready to serve

Is his equally incredible wife who continued and continues growing

All their children were even inspired to take Divine allegiance

Maintaining a connection to their beloved Daddy

Above all to Al-Hay, as the undying, ever-living, and eternal

#5. Shaykh Anjum reflected on the definition of being considerate, which is "putting others first before ourselves." It was identified as a key requirement for all Sufis as we wrestle with several questions ...

- Will this action bring people together or be divisive?

- Will it be a source of gaining humility or a source of boastfulness?

- Will it clear any assumptions or perpetuate them?

- Will it make people aware or further their ignorance?

- Will it make people appreciative of their bounties or nurture selfishness?

I marvel that when I am least able-bodied and thus less able to be distracted, it is when I can be the most considerate of other's perspectives and experiences of life. Subhana'Allah to reaping the rewards of refining ourselves as Sufis and hence becoming considerate. Anything contrary to this indicates a lack of consideration, being self-centered, ignorant, and caught up in Nafs-al Ammara (at the mercy of one's commanding / impulsive / prompting lower-self).

In conclusion, deep gratitude that your Wakil Abbu reached the cyclone affected shores of Mauritius safely. Insha'Allah, our Mauritian spiritual family, remain safe there, and your Abbu returns to our hearts:

Ya Muhaymin Ya Hafiz

Ya Wadud Ya Salaam Ya Jami Ya Nafi

But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. - 1 Kings 21:25-27 KJV

In this follow-up to yesterday's Bible reading, God sent Elijah to Ahab to tell him the punishment he would suffer, because of his sins. When Ahab heard this, he humbled himself before the LORD God Almighty and God took back his punishment. It's not clear in the readings if Ahab was aware of Jezebel's maneuvering to kill Naboth, but he was guilty of all of the other sins of disobedience and rejection of the Law.

There are a few important lessons here for us to learn and keep in mind: The first is that God knows when we sin. There is nowhere we can go, and no place where we can hide from God. He knows when we sin and He knows when we do the right thing. The second lesson is that sins are always punished. Usually, the sin carries its own punishment. The liar and the thief cannot be trusted! Violence brings on violence, and it usually escalates. The third, is that God respects the one who confesses his or her sin, repents and does penance. We can't be sure if Ahab repented and did penance because he was actually sorry or if he was afraid of the punishment God proclaimed.

The same can be true for us - Do we repent, because we fear the punishment we deserve, or because we are truly sorry for our actions? It is our responsibility to truly think about this and ask God to help us examine our hearts when answering this question. Children don't like to get caught, because they don't want to be punished. But even as we age into adulthood, we should avoid sinning as best we can everyday and in every moment of our lives, not just because we know of the suffering and punishment walking in our sins can bring, but also because it's the right thing to do and pleases God. We can be like Ahab, or we can follow God and His Holy Word daily - including the commandments within it - and not put ourselves in Ahab's position. God wishes that all His creation and children know and serve Him and be saved, as well as to be happy during our time on this Earth. That means putting God first and doing the right thing in humble and faithful obedience to Him. He given us the Commandments and Jesus Christ's law of love throughout the Holy Bible to guide us. May we try to always do what is right and also know that when we fail, He is there to forgive us and strengthen us. May He help purge us from every sin and set us free to serve Him in humble and wholehearted sincerity, faith and truth.

Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for calling us to Him and to serve Him. May He equip us to do all that He has called us to do so that as He works through us, He may use us to produce fruit, to reach others, and to encourage all brothers and sisters in Christ. May He work all of these things in us and through us for His Kingdom and His glory. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all His creation, for His miraculous ways and for everything He does and has done for us! Keep the faith and keep moving forward in your walk with Jesus!

Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Word and for sending His Holy Spirit so that we might have His grace, not only to awaken us and transform our hearts in our spiritual rebirth and guarantee our eternity with Him, but to also call upon Him whenever we are in need. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all the reminders of His love and mercy and faithfulness within His Holy Word. He is bigger than any challenge or circumstance in our lives. Knowing this within our minds and our hearts, nothing can deter our faith in Him and His Truth. May we all accept Him and His eternal gift of salvation and ask that He would transform our hearts and lives according to His will and ways. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Spirit who saves, seals and leads us. May we always thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His almighty power and saving grace. For He is our strength, and He alone is able to save us, forgive our sins and gift us eternal salvation and entry into His Kingdom of Heaven.

May we make sure that we give our hearts and lives to God and take time to seek and praise Him and share His Truth with the world daily. May the LORD our God and Father in Heaven help us to stay diligent and obedient and help us to guard our hearts in Him and His Holy Word daily. May He help us to remain faithful and full of excitement to do our duty to Him and for His glorious return and our reunion in Heaven as well as all that awaits us there. May we never forget to thank the LORD our God and our Creator and Father in Heaven for all this and everything He does and has done for us! May we never forget who He is, nor forget who we are in Christ and that God is always with us! What a mighty God we serve! What a Savior this is! What a wonderful Lord, God, Savior and King we have in Jesus Christ! What a loving Father we have found in Almighty God! What a wonderful God we serve! His will be done!

Thanks and glory be to God! Blessed be the name of the LORD! Hallelujah and Amen!

What The Lord Requires Of Us

O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 It seemed that each time the Israelites found themselves in a bad spot, they immediately blamed God. In Micah 6, the Lord asked them to state their complaints. Listen to what the Lord is saying: “Stand up and state your case against me. Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints. Micah 6:1 God could have called the entire universe to take the witness stand. However, what He did for His chosen people, He did in the presence of the mountains and the hills. And since God had the mountains on the “witness stand,” He decided to level His complaint against His accusers. And now, O mountains, listen to the Lord’s complaint! He has a case against his people. He will bring charges against Israel. Micah 6:2 The Lord asked two questions, which He directed to His people, the Israelites. After asking them, He demanded an answer. O my people, what have I done to you? What have I done to make you tired of me? Answer me! Micah 6:3 Before they could answer Him, He listed some things He had done for them. - For I brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from slavery. - I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you. - Don’t you remember, my people, how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed? - And how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead? - Remember your journey from Acacia Grove to Gilgal. When I, the Lord, did everything I could to teach you about my faithfulness. Micah 6:4-5

The Faithfulness of God

What can Did you take notice of what the Lord said? He did everything He could to teach them about His faithfulness. In other words, He taught them all about Himself. The more we know about the Lord and His faithfulness, our relationship with Him will grow. And the better we know Him, the less we will try to do what the Israelites tried. Instead of building a relationship with their Lord, they thought they could win Him with their offerings. I guess they forgot that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. we bring to the Lord? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? And should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Micah 6:6-7 And then note how they thought they could make an atonement for their sins. They wanted to make a sacrifice that only God could make for them. Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? Micah 6:7 The Lord doesn’t want us to sacrifice our children, He requires us to dedicate them back to Him. God has entrusted parents with the responsibility to raise their kids to love and serve Him. God gave us our children as gifts. Make sure you appreciate them. The Apostle Paul clearly stated the sacrifice the Lord requires from us in the 12th chapter of Romans. And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Romans 12:1

Do What is Good

As we continue in Micah, let’s examine our verse for today. That verse says, “O people, the Lord has told you what is good.” Let’s get some clarification on the word “good.” When the Bible applies the word “good” to a person or being, it points us to God. Out of the many references to them found in the Bible, I have listed a few below. - The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. Nahum 1:7 - Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 107:1 - Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. Mark 10:18 The Bible says that every good and perfect gift comes from God. It also refers to things that we call good deeds. Some would try to differentiate worldly good from biblically good. Good deeds could range from picking up trash along a road to rushing an injured person to the hospital. We could involve ourselves in thousands and thousands of “good deeds.” Wow! How do we choose what to do? Are we supposed to draw a line between some good deeds and others? No. The Bible tells us that it will prepare and equip us to do every good work. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Three Things the Lord Requires from Us

Our verse for today also tells us what the Lord requires of us in three short sentences. First, it says, “Do what is right.” This focuses on our actions, which simply means doing what is right in God’s sight. Paul told Timothy he looked forward to getting a crown for his righteousness. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. 2 Timothy 4:8 Micah also reported the second thing our Lord requires of us. He said, “To love mercy.” This deals with how we treat others. In fact, we reap mercy when we sow mercy. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you. James 2:13 Finally, in this verse, we find the third thing the Lord requires from us. He said, “To walk humbly with your God.” This deals with maintaining a right relationship with God. And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. James 4:6,10 Do you understand what the Lord requires from you? To do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Now, take a moment to commit yourself to His requirements. Check out these other posts on what the Lord requires - Focus Your Life On The Requirements Of God - Love And Obedience, The Basic Requirements Of God Read the full article

12/16/2023 DAB Transcript pt2

Think about that for just a second. We could read it in the Bible and look at God talking to Israel and just kinda disassociate from it, but what if we personalized it. What if God were here saying, what have I done to you, why have I done to make you so tired of me? Answer me. I don't, I don’t even know what I would do. I can't even imagine, that is very disruptive to think about because I'm trying not to live like, right, and we’re all trying not to live like that. But we’re broken people, and we find ourselves in brokenness all the time. And for some reason, we seem addicted to certain kinds of brokenness that we just, what, for whatever reason has us. But as God is saying in Micah, like all these things that you turn too are made out of your own hands. They can’t breathe, they can’t smell, the can't hear you, they can't bless you, they can’t do anything for you, you're missing the point, you're wasting your life. What did I do to make you so tired of me? Man! We…we find ourselves asking God that question. What I do? Why are you so mad at me? We don't expect that kind of question from God. Like, God is asking what else He has to do be seen by us, to get our attention. What else He has to do to prove His love. That is, that…that's heartbreaking friends. It makes me want to cry. That's heartbreaking to think that we could cause our Heavenly Father those feelings. And then God listed all kinds of ways that He had been caring for His people, the ways that He had protected them, and that they still betrayed Him. And so, in response Micah muses about what…what can be done and speaks through the mouth of Israel. Like, what could they bring, like knowing this, now that God is here and we see who we are and we see what we've done, and there is no explanation, and there is no justification, and there is no redemption outside of God. What are we supposed to do now that God is here confronting us? Is it rituals, is it sacrifice, is it worship, is it singing, is it their repentance that they would scream and shout, is that what God wants from them? It's just that's not what God wants. When Israel muses what do You want, what can we do, what, do You want this, do You want that? We’ll do this, we’ll do that. God says no. He has told you mortals what is good in His sight. What else does the eternal ask of you, but to live justly and to love kindness, and to walk with your God in all humility. There it is. That is what God wants from us. And in this season, in this season especially, should we not give Him what He wants? He wants us to do what is right. He wants us to act justly, He wants us to love mercy, which is different than being merciful once in a while, He wants us to love mercy. He wants us to walk humbly with Him, to have our life and being in this world with the awareness of His presence, that it is He who is animating us, He is the source of life, and He is reviewing his love for Earth's people through our lives. That’s what He wants. But isn't that what we want too? Isn’t it just that we want to be the boss. We want Him to do what we say, when it doesn't work that way, we do what He says. I mean, Christmas is a busy time. I'm getting frazzled too. We’re busy, more busy than most times of the year. Rhythms are disrupted, running around doing this and that, and beneath all that, at least for me, I get the blues and existential questions come into my mind. And what is the purpose, and it's important to remember things like what God is spoken through Micah. It can kind of simplify things back down to the essential core, when we begin to realize that the mayhem of Christmas time may not be what God wants. It’s what we want and it's fun and He enjoys that. But He is interested in our lives that we might do what is right, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. Let’s go out and do that today.

Prayer:

And Father, we…we can’t do it without You. So, we become aware of Your presence here and now, knowing that Your presence will accompany us wherever we step, wherever we go. You see and hear it all, nothing is hidden from You. And we want to include You in all that we do and say. So, come Holy Spirit, and be involved in every word that we speak, every thought that we have, every action that we take today. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, that is the website. It’s where you can find out what’s happening, and we know it's Christmas time around here because it's Christmas time around everywhere. And Christmas time around The Daily Audio Bible this year is centered around the music of the Daily Audio Bible. I’ve been saying it for a couple weeks now. We pressed five different projects from the music of the Daily Audio Bible. The Sleep album, the Heart album, The Promised Land album, and then Family Christmas and Christmas Time, two holiday titles for this season. And they’re on commemorative, like it's a keepsake, limited-edition vinyl and colored vinyl. It's beautiful to have. And we are using these this year to sew into what comes next for us in the new year with new infrastructure and a brand-new app coming our way. So, thank you for your partnership on that. You can find these at dailyaudiobible.com or using the app, just go to the Shop and then you'll find the Christmas Section and it's in there. And so, thank you for your partnership.

And if you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here at the end of the year, thank you, humbly, humbly, there is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you're using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996 Springhill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, that's little red button up at the top, or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today, I'm Brian, I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Prayer and Encouragements:

This is Jodi from North Carolina. I am calling in for Delta Alpha Foxtrot and Blind Tony, as well as some other prayer requests that I ask the family to join me in praying tonight. Father, we lift up Delta Alpha Foxtrot and Blind Tony to You. Lord, I pray that You would bring joy to their grieving hearts, the loss of their loved ones and all those out there who have not called in, who have lost so many this past year. Just pray that You would heal our hearts and heal our grief. And help us to find the joy in You and know that You are in control. And our loved ones are with You. And we will see them again and they are in a better place. And Father, I pray for Tony, that You would provide for him and his sister a safe place for them to live, with warmth and water and all that they need. Pray that the damage to their home is not so great that they’re unable to live there. And I pray that insurance would cover all the damages and that they would not have any financial loss ahead of them because of this. Father, I pray that You would lift them up and encourage them in their struggles. Father, I pray in my life, and I ask the family to pray with me for my husband. I will be seeing him for the first time in over a month for a couple of days. He has one more month to decide if he’s going to continue to file for divorce. So, I pray that Lord, You work in his heart that You would stop the plans of the devil, stop the plans of Satan from ruining more marriages in our country. Just do a world of change in my husband’s heart. In Jesus name I pray. I pray for our time together, for all those that are struggling. In Christ name I pray. Amen.

Hello, my DAB family, this is Mark Street from Sydney, Australia today. Is Tuesday the 5th of December and I’m listening to the prayers, and I heard Blind Tony saying that he had a fire in his house and I just wanted to pray for him. Heavenly Father, we come to You humbly. Asking that You protect Tony and his family, Lord. Lord, You know how much he loves this community and how much he loves You, Lord. And Lord, restore the things that the enemy has taken away from him. Lord, all things are possible with You. We know, and Lord, look down upon Tony and his family and shower your blessings upon him in the way that You know is correct. In your name Lord. I love you Tony and I’m thinking of you as well. Love you family. Mark Street, Sydney, Australia. Bye.

Hey DAB family. This is In the Vine in Indiana again and I’m calling and just letting you know that it is possible. It is possible to get through what you’re going through. It is possible, even though that tunnel where the light seems so far away, it is possible. Where you fall off the track of the Bible. Where you fall off track with God. Where you fall off the track of life. It is possible, it is very possible. There was a moment in my life, which you guys know a little bit about. And I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to put myself out there too much. You know, as my dad would say. But it’s been, it has been hard. I was in a situation where I couldn’t be in school for like two weeks. And for whatever reason, you know, of course I fell away from God that time. But I have, this is just such an awesome app where I have been able to keep in touch with the Bible. Now, it’s still sad that I haven’t touched my paper Bible in quite a while but I’m learning to keep picking that up too. And not lean too much on this. But it’s the Bible and its commentary so I don’t know why it’s so bad in my head. But anyway, yeah, so it is possible to get to where you’re going through. Just keep pushing and looking at a small white, ever gentle voice at the end of the tunnel, telling you to come here. Telling you that you got this. Telling you to come on. You got this and man is there an audience just waiting for you. You know what I mean. Alright, bye, I love you and I’ll see you in a little bit. Bye.

Good morning DABers, this is John Opar. I can’t believe for a second day in a row I’ve had to call in as usual, I’m calling in from South Sudan. And we are enjoying our rainy season and humid weather. But anyway, just wanted to talk to a brother who called in and can’t remember his name, but he’s really beat up about his marriage. He’s been married for ten years, and he said that things are not looking good. This time and that he owned up to the fact that he has not been doing what he’s supposed to do as a child of God. You would think that at 35 years of marriage that I would have something to tell you that would help you. But the fact is, I do not. All I can tell you is that you are in a good place, that you recognize that God is the answer, and He is truly the answer. For me, over 35 years I’ve…I’ve gone through a lot. Maybe a lot more than you. But God has kept us up till now. And I know He will keep you and your wife. One thing that I have learned to do is Ephesians chapter 6 from verse 10, that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but principalities of darkness. May God help you, in Jesus name. Amen.

A Very Stressed American Jew here again,

Hi! Thank you for taking the time to respond to my ask and yes, I’m someone who loves hearing as many perspectives as possible so I’d love some sources from you. I also very much appreciate the fact you are being very careful to only reblog posts that are anti Israel, not antisemetic (which is frankly a breath of fresh air, the internet has been a bit exhaustingly full of both antisemitic & Islamaphobic content these past feel days as I bet you’ve seen)

I’ve also been to Israel on a Birthright trip. We met people who ( both Palestinian and Israeli) on various sides of the conflict and learned a ton about it, from both perspectives which I was lucky to have the opportunity to do. We even went a little into the Gaza Strip to talk to these people running a pro Palestine peace movement and it was so important to me hearing those stories.

I never said they were on equal footing militarily, they definitely are not, Israel definitely has that advantage. But you are incorrect about Israel always being the aggressor since 1948,they’ve defended themselves about as often as they’ve attacked. Isreal is a small country comparatively to the ones surrounding it, so it makes sense it defends itself heavily in case of an attack.

I 100% agree that there are too many people who are compliant with the mistreatment of many Palestinians! I’m not anti #freepalestine at all! I get why that is a thing. But I also stand with Israel( but that does not mean I condone every action they take. ) Overall I think the situation is extremely complicated and some sort of compromise should be reached.

It’s just been very frustrating to see so many people reblog things on a situation just bashing Israel because so many others are doing it. Especially when then don’t know what they are talking about or using big buzz words that they don’t know what they mean, or spreading misinformation. It’s been on both sides and has been very very draining. I just want peace and some sort of solution. It makes me extremely happy you know what you are talking about and can debate politely yet happily about it. The internet has been so ‘ either agree with me 100% or you a bad person’ about this so it’s refreshing to see you are not like that.

I’ve done a lot of research into it from as many perspectives as I can get my hands on.

Some extremest Israelis are hurting Palestinians

Some extremest Palestinians are hurting Israelis

Both sides are throwing rockets at each other and it’s terrifying.

Both sides claim the other side is brainwashed

There is so much biased propaganda out there on both ends it’s hard to know what is truly happening.

I know people living in Israel who have sent me videos they’ve taken of rockets flying over there heads and I’m so scared for them. I’m so scared for all the innocent people caught in the crossfire on both sides.

Thank you for a more nuanced response and I’d love some of your sources,

A Very Stressed American Jew

Hi anon, 

I wasn’t going to respond to this until after my math final tomorrow but I’ve spent the past two days thinking of your ask and the things I wish to articulate in my answer. 

I am going to start here: how can you say you support Israel but say you are also pro-free Palestine (as in, you said you are not anti free Palestine). In my opinion, these two ideas cannot coexist. Simply because, the entire establishment of Israel has been on violent, racist, colonial grounds. 

(Super long post under here guys)

You said you don’t support all Israel’s actions, and definitely, just because you support something doesn’t mean you can’t criticize it. However, in my opinion, if you do not support Israel’s actions against Palestinians there’s not much left to support? I admit this is a very biased view as I am Palestinian, but many things that people support about Israel have existed before its creation: as in, these are things and qualities that have existed in Judaism and are not due to “Israeli culture.” There is no Israeli culture. There’s Jewish culture--100%. But there is no Israeli culture, because Israel does not only steal Palestinian land, but Palestinian culture, too. Such as claiming Levant food is Israeli; hummus, ful, falafel, shawarma. I mentioned food from this article I know is culturally and traditionally of the Levant, and has been for centuries, it is not something that has come to culinary creation in the past 73 years. 

I do not think this is a complicated issue. I said that in the previous ask and I’ll say that again. Saying it is a complicated issue is trivializing the deaths of innocent Palestinians, the violent dispossession our ancestors endured, and the apartheid they live under. I hope if anything comes from this discussion it is you removing the “it’s a complicated issue” phrase from your vernacular. 

This is not complicated. A journalist reporting the death of martyrs only to discover that of them include two of his brothers is not complicated. The asymmetry of Israel vs Palestinian armed forces is not complicated, nor is the asymmetry in Israeli vs Palestinian suffering (which I will get to later). It is not complicated.  Destroying the graves of martyred Palestinians (or just in general, the graves of the dead) is not complicated. Little children being pulled from the rubble, children being forced to comfort one another as they are covered in the ashes of their decimated homes, attacking unarmed citizens in peaceful demonstrations (you can find videos before this attack where they were playing with kites and balloons), destroying an international media office and refusing to allow journalists to retrieve the work they are spending every waking hour documenting but claiming it was because it was a hide out for a “Hamas base,” fathers who are trying to cheer their frightened children up only to end up dead the next day, while many Israeli have the privilege and the option to go to hotel-like bomb shelters is not complicated. 

This brings me to my next point: the suffering of Palestinians cannot be compared to the inconvenience of Israeli’s. On one side, you have children who are happy to have saved their fish in the face of their homes and lives being decimated behind them to Israeli’s in Tel Aviv having to cut their beach day short to get to bomb shelters. You have mothers and fathers ready to set their lives down for their children to save them from bombs to Israeli’s enjoying their brunch only after making sure there are bomb shelters there. You have Palestinian children being murdered to blocking out the sound of sirens in the safety of your bomb shelters. (The first picture of the Palestinian child is not from footage of the recent problems). You have the baby lone survivor of a whole family recovered from rubble. His whole family, gone, before he ever had the chance to realize that he even exists, while Israeli’s decide to flee out of the country,(Translate the caption from Twitter, it checks out), or have to leave the shower due to sirens. Who is really suffering? 

I won’t sit here and pretend like the thought of rockets flying over my head, no matter which side I am on, is not terrifying. It is. It’s scary to just think about. But Israeli’s have protection beyond Palestinian’s, they have sirens to warn them (Israel does not always warn Palestinian building members that it is about to be bombed), they have the Iron Dome, they have simply the threat of nuclear power (which I am not saying Israel would use, but the simple fact they have it would make me feel a lot better if I were an Israeli citizen) and they have bomb shelters. What do Palestinians have? Hamas? That smuggles its weapons through the ocean? That only ever reacts to the action Israel instigates? And yet Gazans are branded terrorists and that it is their fault that they “elected” a terrorist organization that only was ever created due to no protection from any armed country? (There are so many links I want to add in this paragraph but it is simply impossible for me to add everything I want, a lot of what I’m referring to can either be found through a Google search, or you can stalk my Twitter account, all that I am posting now is about Palestine, and will include sources of things I cannot add in just this one post.) 

Look, I see myself in the genocide happening in Palestine right now. I see myself in this ten year-old girl. In this three year old girl. I see me and my family in videos of cars being attacked in Ramallah and Sheikh Jarrah (I cannot find the Ramallah video, should be somewhere on my Twitter), I see my father in the countless videos of fathers crying out for their children, of kissing the corpse of their loved ones (again, translate the Tweet, the man holding the body is saying “just one kiss”). I see my grandfather in videos like this (old footage). I see my younger brother, I see my grandmother, my mother, my aunts and uncles and cousins. I see myself and my life and my family were my father not lucky enough to get a scholarship to the UK and out of Palestine, were my maternal grandfather not been lucky enough to make it to a refugee camp and build a life in Jordan. I have an unbelievable amount of privilege to be born into the life I was born in to, in terms of I do not have the threat of bombs and violent dispossession around me, and I do not even live in the US. I have privilege and sheer luck that my parents were able to go to the US so that me and my brothers can be born, because now I have both the protection of the most powerful country in the world while at the same time being part of a people to have suffered so generously the past seventy-three years. 

On the other hand, you saying that Israel has “defended themselves about as often as they’ve attacked. Israel is a small country comparatively to the ones surrounding it, so it makes sense it defends itself heavily in case of an attack,” I offer you this question: why are they using military grade guns and stun grenades in mosques to “defend” themselves from rocks? And before you mention that Hamas hit Tel Aviv, I remind you that Hamas did that due to the violence in the Al-Aqsa mosque square and the attempted ethnic cleansing in Sheikh Jarrah. The violence didn’t begin with us; the violence was brought out of Palestinians in resistance to the generations of oppression we have endured and the attack on Palestinian Muslims during the holiest night of Ramadan. Hamas has since asked for a ceasefire multiple times and Israel is refusing. New reports say there is a possibility of a ceasefire in the coming days, but Israel could have decided this a long time ago and spared many lives. (Remember, no matter what resistance we make, Israel is the one in power).

Israel has been the aggressor since 1948. Just read up about the Nakba! 700k Palestinian families were dispossessed violently. The only reason Israel was established at all was because it simply declared it was now a country and the US and many other countries recognized it as such. (Of course, there are many other historical details here, like the British Mandate of Palestine, the Balfour Declaration, the Oslo Accords and many others. I am aware of them but these are for a different post all together). My paternal grandfather was a little younger than me when Israel as a state was created. The hostility that followed was due to this independent declaration being listened to over Palestinian voices. 

Here is a very, very simplified analogy, one that can also answer some people’s questions as to why Palestinians (not Arabs, we are Palestinian before we are Arab) did not like what happened in 1948 and why they refused a two-state solution (that Israel was never going to go through with anyway). (I am also aware other Arab nations got involved, and that is perhaps what you mean when you said they had to defend themselves, but my response to that would still be we didn't start it, that we only responded to it).

Let’s say you are a farmer. You have many fields of trees, ones you have taken shelter under from the sun since you were a child, or hid behind when you wanted to avoid your parents when you misbehaved. You have seen your trees grow from a seed, to a sprout, to a flower, to a large, beautiful tree with fruits the size of a fist. You pluck the fruits from one tree, and make a jam from it. I don’t know how to make jam but I know it takes a lot of energy. So, you make this jam and from it, produce a lovely, mouth-watering pie. Once it has cooled from the oven, you take it with you outside your balcony just so that you can admire the years, months, weeks and hours this one pie has taken to be created. Suddenly, a stranger walks past and yells to you, “That pie looks delicious, I want it!” And you, shocked at their boldness but ready to share, say, “I will give you a bite.” But the stranger says, “No! I do not want a bite or a slice or whatever you want to offer me, I want the pie!” And they grab it from you. You and the stranger start screaming at one another about who the pie is for, who is allowed to decide what happens to it, and who you can share it with. Then, another stranger comes by and says, “Why all the problems? Let’s cut the pie in half and the both of you can share it!” But why should you, who has spent years cultivating the fruit and grain inside this pie, share it? Why should you give up half of the 100% that you already owned? Of what you already had? So you disagree, and now a crowd has formed around you. “What’s the problem?” someone in the crowd calls. “They don’t want to share their pie!” another voice says. Then you become branded a selfish, mean bastard. Again, this is a super simplified analogy, so don’t take it too seriously, but I am trying to show you why Israel is the aggressor.

In addition, I do not know too much about the Birthright program, just that American Jewish people are sent to Israel, all expenses paid. I tried my best to find the Twitter thread but I read it so long ago, about an American Jewish person who went on their trip and they talked about the propaganda that they were exposed to on that trip. I can’t say for sure that it is true, because I haven’t been on it and never will, but that is the first thing I thought of when you mentioned your Birthright trip. Either way, I think it is still great you went and saw the country. However, I must ask you this: are the people you met ones you, yourself, sought out, or ones you were organized to meet?

Now, I haven’t been to Gaza, so I don’t know what you really saw or didn’t, but did you speak to Palestinians who lost their homes to airstrikes? Did you speak to siblings, parents or children of loved ones who had been lost beneath the rubble of buildings and towers? Outside of Gaza, did you speak to Palestinians that live in poor quarters? Ones who have been victims of an IDF soldier shooting them, or who have family members who have died from such attacks? Did they take you guys to Ramallah, to Nablus, to Beit-Imreen, to Jenin, to small villages in the West Bank, far away from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv? Did you speak to people there? Ask them their stories? Because if you did I have a very hard time believing you still think Israel is “defending” itself.

I’ve been to Jerusalem, many times, even Tel Aviv and Jaffa and Haifa. All the times I visited Dome of the Rock there were IDF soldiers with huge guns strapped to their person, standing menacingly outside the courtyard. For what? Genuinely, genuinely for what? It is nothing but an intimidation tactic. The same way we are not allowed in through the airport. If you could see the struggle some Palestinians actually go through just to get into Palestine, through the land border, you would be disgusted. I love Palestine, it is my ancestry land, it is my culture and tradition. But I always hated going to visit because I knew the way to getting there would be hell.

My father worked in Tel Aviv through the first Intifada. My maternal grandfather was forced out of his home in the Nakba and was forced to leave behind his belongings and the orange trees that have been in his family for generations. Hell, the town they lived in was destroyed! It doesn’t exist anymore except in the memories of my aunts and uncles, who never even saw it, but just heard of it from their father!

I’m not saying there aren’t Palestinians who are racist and anti-Semitic (though, tbh, I will direct you here for that) and who support Hamas in killing Israeli’s, but talking about how there are many “extremist” Palestinians who are hurting Israeli’s and in the next line say there are extremist Israeli’s who are hurting Palestinians is not correct. There are extremist Israeli’s killing, lynching, stealing the houses of Palestinians, and there are Palestinians who are fed up and fighting back. (I am not talking about Hamas vs the IDF here, I am talking about the citizens). I have not seen one reported death of an Israeli due to Palestinian violence (if you have, from a trusted source, send it to me), but I have seen countless of the other way around. I have seen images of charred little bodies, of a baby being dug out of the rubble, of a child’s body that had been so mutilated that you can literally see the insides of their body coming out. (I don’t know if it’s on my Twitter, I didn’t want to save that shit). If this was my country I would be absolutely ashamed of myself and my people and what they are doing in the name of my protection. So you have to forgive me, and forgive other Palestinians, who don’t give a fuck about Israeli’s having anxiety over rockets flying over their heads when we see these images. Where is the protection of our kids? Why does no one seem to mention them except when mentioning the poor, innocent ones in Israel? At least more than the majority of them have their parents to comfort and rock them. At least many of them will probably be saved of ever having to be beneath the rubble of a destroyed building, or digging in it, to hope to find the parts of their parents or siblings just so that they can bury them. Just the links from the start of my answer is enough to support what I am saying.

I have soooo much more I can say, like how Israel uses religion to distort the image of what’s going on (tbh, just check my Twitter for that: language is EVERYTHING), but you didn’t mention religion in any of this and so I won’t either. The only reason I decided to respond to you in such length was because you have been one of the few respectful anons in my inbox in the past few years of me being on here talking about Israel, so I appreciate that from you. 

As promised, some more sources: decolonizepalestine is a good place to start if you haven’t used it already, it has reading materials, myth busting, and more. Here is a map list of destroyed localities from pre-1948 until 2017, run by two anti-Zionist Israelis. Here and here are the articles I promised of a former IDF soldier-turned Palestinian activist, I read these two last year in June and remember coming out much more informed than before I read them. I suggest looking into the writer and his organization, which, if I remember correctly, collects accounts from previous IDF soldiers. I would suggest not to follow Israel and the IDF accounts on any platform, or any Israel times newspaper, simply because they will not tell you the truth. In fairness, you do not have to follow any Palestinian Authority accounts (which I am not even sure there are), but to follow on-ground Palestinians like Mohammed El-Kurd, who has been speaking out since he was 12 (he is now 22) and he is part of the families in Sheikh Jarrah. I have noticed that this and this account have been translating Arabic headlines and tweets for non-Arabic speakers, I have just started following this person but their bio says they are a Palestinian Jewish person so I am interested in their view of things. You can also follow Israeli’s on-ground and see their perspective on things, but I would also advise to compare the Palestinian and Israeli side of things from the people, and critically analyze the language used in each case. Also, this article references Jewish scholars opposed to the occupation (I have not looked into them myself but I plan to after my exams), and Norman Finklestein is another great Jewish scholar to look into if you haven’t. Twitter is better than Instagram and Facebook, so I would stick to getting live-info from there, Twitter does not censor Palestinian content as much as Insta and Facebook so you’re more likely to see things there.

I will end this by saying I personally do not see any other option for peace than to give Palestinians our land back. Whether we may be Muslim, Jewish or Christian, it has always been and will always be our land. I only hope to see it free in my lifetime. 

Free Palestine. 

Nazis to Mufti:’The Jews are yours’

The Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini,  called Adolph Eichmann ‘the Arabs’ best friend’ and wanted to replicate Hitler’s plans for European Jewry in the Middle East. Yet apologists, journalists and academics have spent decades denying  his association with the Nazis. Sean Durns digs up conclusive evidence for the Algemeiner:

Rare photo of the Mufti visiting the Trebbin  camp near Berlin

(Golda) Meir wanted Gideon Hausner, the Israeli Attorney General and prosecutor at Eichmann’s trial, to tie the infamous Nazi to Husseini, and thereby “link Israel’s Arab enemies to the Nazis.” Hausner had Avraham Zellinger, who did research for the trial, investigate the relationship between the two men. Zellinger found an entry in the Mufti’s diary which speaks of the “best of the Arab friends” with the name “Eichmann” written underneath it. But the court, Klagsbrun noted, “went no further than to recognize that Eichmann had met the Mufti once, with no evidence of a close relationship between them.”

It was against this backdrop that Amin al-Husseini held a March 4, 1961, press conference in Beirut. The Mufti, CIA cables reveal, “categorically denied any connection with the persecution of Jews in Germany during the Second World War.” He claimed that “all allegations in this respect were baseless and they were prompted by Zionists’ enmity toward him and the Palestinian national movement.”

The Mufti also distributed a statement in response to a recent book on Eichmann by the American journalist Quentin Reynolds, which alleged that Husseini had several contacts with the SS officer and had toured Nazi death camps. Husseini “said that he did not know Eichmann and that he had no connection whatsoever with him.” Further, “neither he nor any other Arab had plans in the past or at present to annihilate any race, Jews or others.” Husseini closed out the press conference by asserting that “what the Jews have done” in Israel “is similar to what the Nazis did to them in Germany” — a libel that is still echoed by antisemites today.

Husseini’s press conference was replete with lies.

Husseini was well aware of Hitler’s plans for European Jewry. Indeed, he hoped to replicate them in the Middle East.

In his own memoirs, the Mufti recorded a November 28, 1941, meeting with Hitler: “Our fundamental condition for cooperating with Germany was a free hand to eradicate every last Jew from Palestine and the Arab world. I asked Hitler for an explicit undertaking to allow us to solve the Jewish problem in a manner befitting our national and racial aspirations and according to the scientific methods innovated by Germany in the handling of its Jews.”

“The answer I got was: ‘The Jews are yours.’”

Many apologists, journalists, and academics spent decades denying that Husseini visited concentration camps, but in 2017, conclusive photographic evidence emerged showing Husseini touring the Trebbin camp near Berlin.

“The photographs,” the historian Wolfgang Schwanitz wrote in Tablet magazine, “provide irrefutable proof” that Husseini “had precise knowledge of the fate of Jews in Hitler’s Germany.” It is also possible that the Mufti visited other camps while in Poland.

Husseini’s claim about Eichmann was similarly a lie.

As Schwanitz and the late historian Barry Rubin detailed in “Nazis, Islamists and the Making of the Modern Middle East,” on December 4, 1941, Eichmann took Husseini “into the map room at the Reich Main Security Office’s Jewish Affairs division to explain how Germany would solve the Jewish question.” This, it should be noted, was before the Wannsee Conference, which officially determined the fate of European Jewry. Husseini even “asked Eichmann to send an expert — probably Dieter Wisliceny — to Jerusalem to be his own personal adviser for setting up death camps and gas chambers once Germany won the war and he was in power.”

Read article in full

More about the Mufti

(1/2) hi david! ok i have a quick thing abt women and the priesthood: its so frustrating to me, and it used to be 1/12 months we would study the priesthood and honestly they don't teach us anything really other than what kind of stuff they do (vaguely). i always try to bring up the talks about womens priesthood power (only if endowed lol) but they always get brushed off. when i said how unfair it was when i turned 12 that i couldn't get the priesthood my mom took me aside and talked to me about

(2/2) she said to think of it like a wheelchair for men, to help them to be able to do good and help others and give them motivation because if women had the priesthood they would want to help everyone (i cant even with that metaphor its so wrong) and honestly, why can't women hold the priesthood? has that ever been said? why? because we live in a man/father led society? im just really tired of all the barely hidden sexism in lessons + calling the guys 'the priesthood' i hate it so much. thanks!

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Yes, I remember those lessons. I thought for the young women and Relief Society the focus should be on how they can access the priesthood, why it matters there is priesthood and so on, not learning the young men can pass the sacrament (which btw, preparing or passing the sacrament doesn’t require the priesthood and we used to allow females to do this). 

And how come the people in priesthood quorums didn’t need to spend a month learning about women’s contributions, or motherhood, or a way to provide some equity for women having to put up with learning of the men’s roles for a month

Yes, I’ve heard the excuse that men need priesthood in order to train them to be as good as the women naturally are. I don’t buy it. If priesthood service boosts a person’s goodness, why would we not want women to participate?

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I feel like our Church doesn’t do a good job explaining it’s priesthood restrictions. That’s probably because there isn’t a good justification for them.

We had the disastrous ban of people of African descent not being eligible to hold the priesthood and also not allowed to receive temple blessings. Fortunately, in 1978 the temple blessings and allowing men of African descent to be part of the priesthood was restored. Now no one is banned based on race, ethnicity or national origin. 

In early church history, the revelations mention men and the priesthood. I think that’s the basis for the current ban on women. 

Was this absence of women intentional? 

Could this be a case of the word “man” being used to mean “mankind” and wasn���t supposed to exclude women? 

Maybe “men” is all the culture was able to accept at the time. Women didn’t have constitutional rights and weren’t allowed to vote, and were thought of as people who remain in the house while their husbands dealt with things in the broader world.

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For a long time, our church taught that women can “receive all the blessings of the priesthood” even if they don’t hold it themselves.

Today, President Nelson has indicated that something unique happens in the LDS temple ceremony — something that imparts priesthood power to women. In the temple, there are certain ordinances that women perform for other women, which indicates they have the priesthood even though they haven’t been formally ordained to the priesthood. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t very well defined. 

Do women who’ve been through the endowment ceremony hold priesthood power, even though they aren’t ordained, and are only authorized to use this priesthood in the temple? 

Could they be authorized to use this priesthood outside of the temple? 

Why are they only authorized to use their priesthood for other women and not men? 

Is this the Aaronic or Melchizedek priesthood, or is it some other branch of the priesthood? 

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I think it’s clear women can hold priesthood and wield its authority. There’s many examples from the Bible and early Church history. 

Judges 4-5 - Deborah was a judge of Israel, acting as a prophet and military leader at a time when women were treated like property and valued by the number of children they could bear.​ She didn’t follow the gender role expected of her, and showed God is willing to have women as leaders, women as prophetesses. Perhaps patriarchy isn’t God’s will but a cultural trait of the ancient Israelites which we now read in the Bible and think is of God.

Acts 2:17 - “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams”

Is priesthood required to prophesy?

Romans 16 - powerful scripture for equality and inclusion--so many names of women in positions of authority and influence listed. There’s not enough details to know the exact roles of the women. Is a “fellow servant” an apostle? Is a woman who travels & teaches as Paul does, an apostle? What about the women who are leaders together with their husband? Some women sound like heads of the congregation, are they equivalent to bishops and pastors?

There’s an address from Joseph Smith to the Relief Society on March 30, 1842 that many believe indicates he intended for women to hold the priesthood. “the Society should move according to the ancient Priesthood, hence there should be a select Society separate from all the evils of the world, choice, virtuou[s] and holy— Said he was going to make of this Society a kingdom of priests an in Enoch’s day— as in Paul’s day”

Healing by the laying on of hands was a practice that was common for Mormon women in the 19th century, although it was said to be done by faith, not priesthood. There’s even a famous example of Mary Fielding Smith blessing an ox to health on the trek west to Utah. This practice was stopped because it was too similar to the priesthood.

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What our church has allowed women to do has varied, and needing priesthood authority was often the excuse for why women couldn’t do these things.

Women were barred from praying in Sacrament meeting from 1967 until 1978. 

In 1984, a woman spoke in general conference for the first time since 1930. Since then, women have spoken in every general conference.

Women were once permitted to join in or stand as an observer at the blessing of her baby, but today it’s priesthood only

In 2013, the first time a woman prays at General Conference.

In 2013, the "sister training leader" position is created, a leadership position for women who are missionaries. 

In 2015, the church appointed women to its executive councils for the first time.

2021, positions for women were created at the Area level of leadership in Europe, they’ll participate in leadership councils, and train Relief Society, Young Women and Primary Leaders.

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Can women hold the priesthood? I think the evidence points to yes. I believe we’re in the same situation as the priesthood ban of Black men where it’s now our tradition and belief and will take a revelation to undo. The question is, are the apostles and prophet seeking such a revelation?

If we extended the priesthood to all worthy members regardless of gender, that would solve several issues. For example, we have areas with many more women as active members, and the men in those congregations must shoulder several callings that require the priesthood. Their burden would be much lighter if women could share in the responsibilities

The disparity that women see in their everyday lives would be eliminated. They may be in a position of authority at work, but then on Sundays, for the most part they’re limited to working with women & children, and excluded from top leadership positions. I wrote a thing where I switched gender roles at church and I think it makes clear the messages we are sending to our members, particularly our impressionable children and teensagers. 

Then there’s the case of trans & intersex people. Is priesthood for men given according to their spirit or to their body? How do we know what gender is the spirit of an intersex person? If everyone were eligible for the priesthood, it would save us from having to answer what is perhaps an unanswerable question about whether the body & spirit of trans people got mismatched.

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We currently are not accessing the talents and capabilities of 1/2 the population. You’d think a church that has Heavenly Mother as part of its theology would be anxious to recognize the contributions that women can make and let them have leadership roles at all levels of the Church. 

Well, you are wrong again, because you are either ignoring the history or you are supporting the historical anti semitism among the Arab population in the area. You need to read the history of the region in twentieth century and i suggest you look into the policies of Haj Amin the organizer of the fidayeens to terrorize the jewish population, about the Arab mob attacks in Jaffa and Petah Tikvah, the Hebron and Safed massacres by the Arabic population that killed hundreds and terrorized the Jewish community. The British who had mandate over that area during that time barely intervened against the Arab attacks which emboldened them and they continued to use riots and violence against the Jewish population as a means to threaten and expel them. And in your previous answer you didn't even answer any of my questions but just went tangentially about principles of debating (lol). That land was stolen and established over the blood of Jewish people who wanted to settle there peacefully but were subjected to harsh anti semitic policies of the Haj Amin el hussein. And this may surprise you, but someone can acknowledge the right of Jewish people for a homeland in that region and still oppose the bombing of schools and civilians.

the false dichotomy of “arab” vs “jewish” is ridiculous. jewish arabs are a thing. christian arabs are a thing. muslim arabs are a thing. religious conflicts existing doesn’t somehow justify a completely different population from europe coming into the country and forcefully expelling and harming the existing population. it’s very much possible to oppose anti-semitism without supporting colonialism, war crimes, and the displacing of a population. 

i actually did answer your questions lol. and this is you continuing to switch goalposts btw! here’s what you asked: 

Why are you opposed to Zionism though? Isn't that just a movement for a Jewish homeland?

and here is my answer:

i’m not opposed to zionism as in opposed to the idea of a jewish state nor opposed to a jewish homeland being created. i’m opposed to a certain form of zionism as it exists TODAY, which is not about estabilishing a homeland but rather stealing one from others. let me highlight in the current definition of zionism what exactly i oppose:

1.a movement for (originally) the re-establishment and (now) the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel. It was established as a political organization in 1897 under Theodor Herzl, and was later led by Chaim Weizmann.

i oppose the idea that because a population needs somewhere safe to be and a place where they are accepted, that it somehow means that what is necessary is to harm and oppress another population. there are countless parts of the world where there are hardly any inhabitants, and the establishment of a jewish state could’ve been done in numerous ways which do not involve invading a country [after its population did not agree to giving most of their land to a smaller foreign population from europe], nor does it necessitate stealing land, and killing the existing population. i oppose the zionist idea that because a jewish state would be good for jewish people, that it must be created by taking over palestine and that it should be done at the expense of palestinians. that’s what i oppose.

and your second question: 

Also, why aren't other middle eastern countries accepting and naturalizing Palestinian refugees who have been there for half a century or more?

with the answer:

they should not be doing this to begin with, full stop. they should not be stealing land and expelling people from their homes and pushing them out of their country. end of sentence, end of argument. the things you’ve brought up are justifying actions which you admit are wrong as well as calling for others to work around these actions, ie putting the responsibility on everyone else rather than the perpetrators. why do they need to steal land and push people out of their homes to begin with? why do they need to expel a population from their country? why did they need to take that particular land? why do they need to kill people and persecute them? why do you expect the rest of the middle east to work around that, instead of expecting the israeli government to stop doing such things?

i do not deny that antisemitism exists. i do not deny jewish people’s right to defend themselves, nor their right to speak up against the persecution they’ve faced, including in historical palestine. but i certainly don’t think any of that somehow justifies a different group of people in europe invading and colonising palestine and then persecuting the entirety of the palestinian population, both the ones with israeli passports and ones without. and considering countless palestinian jewish people have spoken about how they’ve also been harmed in the process and their opposition of the colonial government, i reckon they don’t think that justifies it either. 

you support the right for a jewish homeland (cool, so do many people who oppose zionism in its existing, modern form) and “still oppose the bombing of schools and civilians” yet.. you still support the very government doing the bombing, you still justify their act of bombing, you still support their reasoning behind their bombing, and their persecution of palestinians. you saying “its wrong” but then carrying on with reasons why it’s justifiable to you and placing the responsibility on neighbouring countries to work around the Wrong Acts You Still Oppose tells me you’re not actually opposed to it at all, acknowledging the absolute minimum of “killing civilians is wrong” isn’t the same as opposing it. 

anyways, if you want to keep switching goalposts and being intellectually dishonest, i probably will eventually get sick of it and end up blocking you, fyi.

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J.R. Miller

The Kingdom Divided

The golden age of Israel closed with the death of Solomon. His empire was great, extending over wide limits. His revenues were very large. Everything in his kingdom was on a grand scale. He "made silver and gold to be as stones in Jerusalem." The palaces and public buildings were magnificent in their splendor. Yet the seed of decay was in the heart of it all. The rabbis say that while Solomon walked about in splendor - a worm was eating at the heart of his empire. This is another way of saying that the elements of corruption were in Solomon's kingdom. There were reasons. His heart had been drawn away from God by his heathen wives. At the same time the magnificence of his kingdom and the extravagance of his reign made it necessary to extort oppressive taxes from the people. Many of them also were drafted for forced labor. No wonder that they grew restive under these hard conditions. When Solomon died they were ready for the outbreak which followed. If Rehoboam had been wise, there might not have been an immediate rending of the kingdom from him - but in his folly - he drove the people to the extreme of rebellion.

Solomon largely outlived his fame. His reign became excessively burdensome to the people by reason of the heavy taxes they had to pay. His character also lost much of its charm through his departure from God. His aims were not lofty - as they were at the beginning. He was called in his earlier years, the wisest of men - but his later life was characterized by folly. His kingdom was no longer as secure and strong as it was, when he received it. Indeed, it was ready for disruption, and Solomon himself was responsible for its corrupt condition. It was a pathetic ending of his record that, notwithstanding the glory of his reign and the great things he had done - no word of commendation of him is given. All that is said of the close of his life is that he "slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead."

Solomon did not leave behind him when he died - a sweet, fragrant memory in the hearts of his people. "When he was gone, the people came to Rehoboam, asking him to lighten their oppressive loads. Rehoboam promised them an answer in three days, and then sought advice.

First he sent for the older men, and they advised him to grant the request. Experience had made them gentle. "Show yourself their friend," they said. "Listen to their grievances. Take a kindly interest in them. Think of their good. Speak to them affectionately. Give them the relief they seek, and serve them in any way you can. If you do these things - you will win their love, and they will prove your faithful subjects."

This was good advice - but Rehoboam was not satisfied with it. The aged men were too slow for him. He turned to the young men of his own age, hot-headed fellows like himself, and sought advice of them.

When the people came to the king for his answer, Rehoboam, following the advice of the younger men, and replied to them roughly. His answer, indeed, was insolent and brutal. Such words as he spoke would have kindled the flame of rebellion, even if there had been no tinder dry and ready for the spark.

Rehoboam has many followers. We should learn the folly and wickedness of sharp, rude, and bitter words. Anyone sees how unworthy of a king, Rehoboam's speech was - but such words are unworthy of anyone's lips. They were insolent, contemptuous, haughty, unmanly, and cruel. We are all too apt, under provocation, to give rein to intemperate speech.

Destinies have been wrecked by following foolish counsel. Every young person needs a wise older friend to whom he may go with his life's serious questions. Happy is the young man or young woman who has such a counselor, and who will then accept the wisdom which comes of experience. But Rehoboam rejected the wise counsel of the aged men. He answered the people roughly: "My father was harsh on you, but I'll be even harsher! My father used whips on you, but I'll use scorpions!"

The consequence of Rehoboam's harsh words was the wrecking of his kingdom. The people turned away, saying, "What portion have we in David?" It took but a minute to give the reply which Rehoboam gave - but the harm done by it never could be undone! Burke said, "Rage and frenzy will pull down more in half an hour - than prudent deliberation and foresight can build up in a hundred years." We need not go far, nor seek long - to find other illustrations. Many people lose noble, helpful friends, lose them beyond regaining, by the petulant, ill-tempered words of a minute. Many lives with splendid possibilities become utter failures through uncontrolled tongues. When will men and women learn to put bridles in their mouths?

The matter of seeking advice is always a serious one. Some people too readily turn to others to ask them what they should do. We ought to learn to think for ourselves. Each man must bear his own burden. We never can get clear of the responsibility of choosing for ourselves. However, there are times when we may turn to others for advice. The young and inexperienced especially may receive valuable help from those who are older and more experienced. But in seeking advice we should make sure of the people to whom we turn. Bad advice has wrecked many a life.

Rehoboam had good advice from the older men - but rejected it. There are many who follow him in this regard - they receive good counsel from friends, from parents, from teachers, from godly men, from those who are wiser than themselves, and then ignore it. There are many who, like Rehoboam, reject the good advice - and take the bad. There was One Rehoboam seems to have missed altogether in seeking advice - he did not go to God for counsel. We should always ask God what He would have us do; He never advises unwisely. No life was ever wrecked by taking His counsel.

One lesson we get from Rehoboam's undisciplined course - is that those who would rule over others, must have achieved both self-control and patience in themselves. Rehoboam had achieved neither. He thought only of his own personal gain - the last element that should influence one in dealing with others. He lacked altogether that spirit of meekness, which Jesus said shall inherit the earth. We should keep SELF out of our work for God, out of all our work of love. Whenever SELF comes in - it mars everything. We should think only of our duty, not of the way our act may affect us. If Rehoboam had asked, "What course will be the best for the country and for the good of the kingdom?" he would not have acted so foolishly. He would have shown patience and kindliness, and would have lightened the heavy burdens under which the people were bending.

Those who rule over others, should love them and be ready to serve them. Rehoboam is an example of those who try to govern others by tyranny. If he had really loved the people and had been disposed to serve them, sympathizing with them in their burden-bearing and showing them kindness, they would have continued loyal to him. "Through love, be servants one to another" is the New Testament law.

We all need to guard ourselves at these points. We are apt to be unloving and harsh in our dealings with others, especially when our dignity seems to be hurt. Even parents need to keep a careful guard upon themselves in this matter, lest their consciousness of having authority should make them unjust to their children. Paul exhorts fathers not to provoke their children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Teachers have like temptation in enforcing authority. So have all who are placed over others.

It often happens that a man who has been very kind and brotherly as a fellow-workman, or as an equal among men, becomes tyrannical and intolerant when in a position of authority. We should remember that all power is of God, and we represent Him in whatever place of authority we occupy. We should rule, therefore, in God's name - as He would rule if He were in our place. In all our dealings with those over whom we are placed in the Providence of God - we should be gentle, sincere, loving - that we may look into God's face without shame.

Life has its turning points for all of us. This was the turning point in Rehoboam's career. He had before him the possibilities of a prosperous and successful reign. All hinged, however, on one word. Should he say yes - or no? If he had said yes, he would have won the people to himself and his kingdom would have been established. He said no, however, and he drove the people to anger and rebellion. Men are continually coming to turning points when all their future depends upon a single decision. Two paths lie before them. One leads to beauty, honor, blessing; the other leads to dishonor and sorrow. The decision of the moment, settles for us in which of these two paths we will walk. Many a man or woman by a careless word - throws away the hope of infinite blessing and good.

It is interesting to notice that while the kingdom of David had failed of its best through man's fault and sin, it was not altogether cast off. The vessel had not come out what the potter first intended it to be - it had been marred on the wheel - but he made it again, another vessel, not so fine as the first would have been - but still a good vessel. The kingdom had a second chance. From the seed of David came at length the Messiah. There is encouragement in this for all those who miss their first and best chance. They may try again, and their life may yet realize much honor and beauty. When we think of it, most of the worthy lives of godly men in the Bible - were second chances. They failed, and then God let them try again. David himself, and Jonah, and Peter, and Paul are illustrations.