Isaac and Ishmael are at it again, and it’s fierce and bloody and it’s real. I don’t have a clue what’s really going on in the Middle East today…and probably neither do a good portion of TBAP readers. I do though think we should try to understand so we can better pray for the peace and restoration of Israel.
Missionary Edgar Feghaly has written a short readeable, point-by-point summary of the Lebanese Crisis. It would be worth a few moments to consider.
The Lebanese Crisis Explained
What does the word Hesbollah mean? Hesbollah means the Party of God.
Who are they? Hebsollah started as a militia during the Lebanese war, which took place between 1975 and 1992. This sect is a Shiite Moslem militia.
Who are the Shiites? The Shiites are followers of Ali who claim that they alone are right in explaining the Koran. They believe that Ali was the rightful heir of Muhammad. Ali was assassinated by the governor of Damascus shortly after the death of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. They believe that Ali will appear at the end of time as the “Mahdi” (to be guided by Allah and to guide others).
Who comprises the Shiite? The Shiite are about 10% of the Moslem population and represent 40% of the Lebanese population.
Why is Hesbollah popular among the Shiite? While they were building a militia training their men and arming themselves in order to fight Israel, Hesbollah gained the minds and the hearts of the Shiite population of Lebanon by conducting charitable acts such as building schools, hospitals, providing aid to the poor families and helping the farmers plant their fields. They received most of their funds from Iran and from contributions by other Shiite. They therefore became the hand of Iran in the Middle East.
How did the problem begin between Israel and Hesbollah? Hesbollah resisted Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon and became more confident after Israel withdrew its forces from South Lebanon believing that they were instrumental in causing the withdrawal. When Israel withdrew, Hesbollah celebrated a victory and gained great popularity in Lebanon. They became more confident and began to arm themselves believing that they will be able to defeat Israel. Their militia was well trained and very well armed. Recently they began to bring long-range missiles from Iran in order to fight the battle and defeat Israel.
Was the battle inevitable? Yes, because Hesbollah continued to intimidate Israel and stretch its muscles. The smuggling of the long and short-range missiles alarmed Israel and the world. Hesbollah did not only intimidate Israel but they also intimidated the Sunis, Christians, and Druze in Lebanon who became weary of the strength of this militia and almost scared. Outside foreign powers began to use Hesbollah to affect regional (Middle Eastern) policies and internal Lebanese politics.
What caused the recent bombardment in Lebanon? Hesbollah going into Israel and kidnapping three Israeli soldiers gave Israel the legal right to enter Lebanon and do what she is doing now. The Israeli army and air force have destroyed many bridges and roads and cut Lebanon into segments and blockaded the shores of Lebanon in order to prevent Hosbollah from receiving new supplies and caches of rockets and weapons. It seems to me that the second stage will be to move in on ground and wipe out the militia.
How is this struggle affecting our ministry in Lebanon? This battle caught everybody by surprise. Since our church is 150 feet away from the Hesbollah stronghold in West Beirut, many of the church people had to flee the Haddath area. One of our church members lost his job because the factory where he works took a direct hit and was destroyed. Our church people have been calling me and asking me to ask the churches to pray for them and possibly send them some financial help to be able to buy food and gasoline.
Were the Lebanese upset by Israel’s move? Most of the Lebanese were glad that finally Israel moved in against Hesbollah. Many of them are hoping that this battle will lead the Lebanese army to be posted on the Israeli-Lebanese boarders and that this will be the last battle which will put an end to the struggle between Israel and Lebanon.
What about the human suffering? The suffering in Lebanon at the moment is unbelievable. The country is beginning to experience food and gasoline shortages. In many areas there are total electric blackouts. Yesterday I received a phone call from Lebanon begging me to send some money, especially to our churches in southern Lebanon and to the Bible Baptist church in Haddath, Beirut. These churches are very close to the fighting. Many of the Christians have no place to go. Any aid that will be sent to World Wide New Testament Baptist Missions, PO Box 225, Kings Mountain, NC 28086 designated to Lebanon will be sent to Lebanon immediately. A Christian Brother called me and told me that they have no place to go or to hide. All they can do is to trust in the Lord for their safety and provisions.
What can churches do to help? At the present time the Lebanese people are suffering. Many of them have no jobs and no place to hide. We need to send them aid for gasoline and food because most of the Lebanese live from hand to mouth due to the bad economy. Lebanon depends heavily on tourism during the summer season. This battle will further destroy the Lebanese economy. The destruction in Lebanon is estimated at 20 billion dollars. Any gifts for Lebanon will go to help and aid the believers there.
Is the situation in the Middle East getting worse? At the present time the situation is very dire. The school for Pastors, the Bible conferences, the Youth Rallies and Sunday school activities that we were planning for our churches in the Middle East this summer will be cancelled. I will be going to the Middle East but will not be taking with me any American ministers or Bible teachers. It is possible that the battle is just beginning and all the Middle East will be affected by what started in Lebanon. Air force will not be able to completely demolish Hesbollah. Either the world will interfere and peacefully disarm Hesbollah replacing it with the Lebanese army or the situation is going to get worse and a major battle will take place in southern Lebanon.
Positive signs: In spite of the bad and negative news coming from the Middle East there are certain positive and promising signs coming from this struggle.
Many Arab-Suni countries for the first time denounced Hesbollah and condemned what they did against Israel.
The Lebanese government declared to the world that they are unable to defeat and disarm Hesbollah and therefore they need help
Many Suni leaders in Iraq announced that they do not want America to leave Iraq and have asked America to protect them from the Shiite.
The moderate government in Palestine of Mr. Abas has declared opposition to what Hamas is doing in Gaza.
Iranians for the first time are expressing fear that their President may be drawing Iran to another war.
Most of the Lebanese for the first time believe that this battle is going to have positive effects on the overall picture and may effectively lead to some type of a settlement between the Arabs and the Jews.
Please pray:
a. For the safety of the children of God
b. That this conflict will come to a soon end so that the people will not continue to suffer
c. That the conflict will result in permanent peace between Lebanon and Israel so that the people will not continue to suffer and so that our churches will worship the Lord without fear
d. That the Lord will supply the needs of the people during this struggle
