A large contingent of enemy soldiers had formed up inside the walls of Israel’s capital city of Samaria. Rather than being terrified, though, Israel’s King Joram couldn’t have been happier. How they had gotten there was a long, strange story that had been related to him by the prophet Elisha. There was something about this Aramean (or Syrian) army surrounding the town of Dothan, but God’s fiery army then surrounded the Arameans. When the enemy army began their attack, God struck them blind. In the midst of their sudden confusion, along came Elisha, who tricked these sightless soldiers into following him to Samaria and right through the front gates. Now here they stood. Upon hearing the news, Joram immediately called for his own army to surround the enemy. The king was certain that he would never forget the faces of the Aramean soldiers the moment that Elisha returned their sight and the first things they saw were the Israelite spears and arrows pointed directly at their faces. Oh, he was going to enjoy this.

Having a hard time suppressing his excitement, King Joram turned to Elisha the prophet and said, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” (2 Kings 6:21). Recent defeats had greatly diminished the Israelite army. Elisha said it was because of his idol worship and disobedience. The king thought it was just bad luck. But here was an opportunity for a great victory—a chance for a positive story to be included among all the negative songs that would be sung about his reign in the years to come.

When the prophet answered, all the king’s hopes collapsed. “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master” (2 Kings 6:22). The king was stunned. Instead of destroying the enemy, Elisha wanted to give them a meal. But being a man of little character and even less courage, there was no chance that Joram would defy the prophet. So a great feast was given for the Aramean army; then a disappointed King Joram sent them on their way in peace. But even though there might have been short-term frustration at not being able to destroy the enemy, there was a great long-term result—“And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel” (2 Kings 6:23).

Similar to the bad track record that the Israel of King Joram’s day had with the Arameans is the rocky and often-violent history between today’s Israel and the country of Lebanon—along with its internal terrorist partner, Hezbollah. This is why it was so encouraging to see Israel’s immediate offer of help when the port of Beirut was annihilated in the August 4 ammonium nitrate explosion. “We share the pain of the Lebanese people and sincerely reach out to offer our aid at this difficult time,” tweeted Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin.[1] That same day, the foreign ministry announced via Twitter, “At the direction of [Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi] and Defense [Minister Benny] Gantz, Israel via security and international channels has offered humanitarian medical assistance to the government of Lebanon.”[2]

While it is not difficult to imagine the elation that Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations would have experienced if the blast had taken place in Haifa or Tel Aviv, I am encouraged to see the response of not just Israel, but the United States and many other Western countries that might find their names on the “hit list” of many of Lebanon’s official and unofficial leaders. This is the way it should be. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called us to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). That’s a high standard of love, but it is one that the Lord holds himself to. Paul explains, “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7-8). When we were God’s enemies—trapped and helpless—rather than destroying us as he had every right to do, he laid out for us a great feast of love and salvation—a feast that came at the cost of his Son, Jesus Christ.

As of this writing, there has been no official Lebanese response to Israel’s offer. That is understandable. The book of Proverbs says, “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you” (Proverbs 25:21-22). You’ve got to be pretty desperate to accept a heap of burning coals on your head, particularly when there are so many other offers of help. However, the reward of the proverb is tied to the willingness to sacrifice, not whether the help is accepted. Kudos to all the nations who have looked past the fact that some of their assistance may end up helping those very people who are determined to destroy them. We are called to alleviate the suffering of those who are in desperate need, trusting that the God who knows all and sees all will work out the finer details.

—Joel

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[1] Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi), “We share the pain of the Lebanese people and sincerely reach out to offer our aid at this difficult time,” Twitter, August 4, 2020, 3:01 p.m., https://twitter.com/PresidentRuvi/status/1290739536209883145

[2] Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA), “At the direction of FM @Gabi_Ashkenazi and Defense Min. Gantz, Israel via security and international channels has offered humanitarian medical assistance to the government of Lebanon,” Twitter, August 4, 2020, 2:22 p.m., https://twitter.com/IsraelMFA/status/1290729737824931843