Insanity in Palestine!

From Magic City Morning Star

R.P. BenDedek
Insanity in Palestine!
By R.P. BenDedek
Mar 4, 2006 - 4:48:00 AM

I often get organisations sending me their material, and 'Visionary Advancement Strategies' from Director Robert Ricciardelli is one of them. Such material is usually unsolicited in any way whatsoever, and while I would not usually bother to read the material, preferring to just block it, over the winter vacation I got slack, and just deleted these types of material.

Today however, with a little time on my hands, and not wanting to rest, I decided to read this Christian fundamentalist (and I think Pentecostal) material. Within it I read something that grabbed my attention, and I want to share it with you.

While I do not in any way endorse this magazine, its' religious theology or associations I am not the sort of person who simply cannot learn anything unless it is presented to me via a person, an association or within a philosophy that preens my feathers, flatters my ego, or supports my own self delusions. I'm always ready to listen and learn (or argue as the case may be).

For the anti-religious, or non Christian, non evangelical, or non Jewish, read it anyway so that you will understand my comments after it.

The article is entitled Responding to Prophetic Delay by David Orton; and I presume that it will appear on that site shortly.

In point fashion, I will present some statements from the article. It concerns King David, and the promise of God that he will be King. King David of course had to wait some time, during which king Saul tried to kill him.

The Principle of Prophetic Delay

Joseph received his vision as a 17-year-old youth, only to enjoy its fulfillment some 13 years later when finally at the age of 30, after being proven through many trials and disappointments, he was raised up to the saving of nations.
Now, here is the rub. During the delay the dream tests and refines us. So, the question right now is: how do we respond to the dilemma of delayed fulfillment?
At first, we see David in a "knee-jerk" survival response but in time finding God in such a way that he was changed and therefore readied for prophetic fulfillment.
David was a man engaged in a process with God.
Wow! What a sorry tale of human survival and cunning. David in confusion and panic rather than trusting the Lord resorted to human intrigue, lies, and manipulation to survive.
The one thing that robbed Saul of the kingdom was his inner-life.
His refusal to deal with uncrucified self, manifested in self-will, self-preservation, and self-promotion ultimately lost him the throne and it passed to a better man (1 Sam 15:28 ).
But how could David be the "better man"?
Surely he committed murder and adultery! Now, Saul never stooped to that but still lost the kingdom! Why?
In our view adultery and murder pretty well top the list while self-will or self-preservation would be close to the bottom.
While admittedly, David had significant lapses in character, when his self-life was confronted he broke in repentance coming through the other side having processed deep inner-change (Psa 51). This, Saul refused to do.
God has allowed it (troubles with Saul) to bring his servant to a place of complete weakness and inability.
At last, this is it! This is where God wanted him!
It is the number one lesson of the cave, of prophetic delay - the lesson of brokenness.
This one lesson deals a deathblow to the two greatest temptations during a prophetic delay: survival and self-fulfillment.
He cries out, ".I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me" (v.6).
He is over his head.
The enemy is too powerful.
He is completely surrounded. So, unless the Lord shows up to deliver him and bring to pass the prophetic word he is dead
But finally, he cries : "When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way"

Removing the Religious Connotations

I've listen to Evangelical Christians rubbish the Roman Catholic ritual of the Confessional, but when I was studying Counseling with a predominantly Evangelical Class of Students, something that the Lecturer said about 'guilt', prompted me to test his mettle.

I posited that if in order to rid oneself of the overwhelming burden of guilt, and its' exponentially exaggerated seriousness, it is necessary to 'talk' to someone about that guilt, then wouldn't the Roman Catholic process of Confession be more cathartic than the protestant form of 'secretly confessing sins' to God alone?

This Baptist Minister with a Masters Degree in Psychology replied: 'Yes!'

My Point is that just because what is written above comes from a religion with which we may disagree, does not mean we can't learn from it.

What to learn from this message about David?

What I saw in this article, was the benefit that comes from:

'humility';
from being prepared to admit to fault and weakness;
from realising that you don't have all the answers that you need;
Realising that you can't always succeed on your own;
Knowing that you do need help;
And finally the benefit that comes from Being realistically self-aware (weaknesses and all), as the first step toward becoming someone worthy of being in an exalted position

We can also see in relation to Saul

That even if no one can find any dirt on you, it doesn't mean you are a worthy leader
That seeking power for power's sake is self destructive
That constantly feeling threatened will cut you off from those who are no threat
That Pride goes before the fall

I'm not providing a moralistic lesson here. I write this, because I have just finished writing about the latest situation between Israel and the Palestinian leadership under Hamas. The articles are entitled:

AS I have pondered the situation, I can't help but think that the leadership in both countries are completely insane.

Hamas says that if Israel will agree to give back the lands the Palestinians lost when they tried to destroy Israel, Hamas will provide Israel with a 10 to 15 year period of relative peace, subsequent to which, in accordance with their charter and the recent explicit statements of Hamas, Israel will be destroyed.

On the other hand, the leadership of Israel seems to be saying, "we are more than willing to see Israel as a Jewish country completely removed from the map, quite content in the knowledge that if we become a minority people in the State of Palestine, you will treat us well".

The only other possible explanation for the strategy of the Israeli Leadership, is that they truly want to commit suicide, either because they are insane, or else that they have some heretofore undeclared 'orthodox religious' belief, that if they push Israel to the edge of utter destruction, Messiah will come/return.

These men, these alleged leaders, actually care nothing for their people, nor for their God's will. They care only for their own power and arrogance. Their actions have caused tremendous and unnecessary hardship, casualties and deaths on both sides.

On the one hand, the Palestinian leadership which could have had its' own state in 1948; which would never have lost territory had the Muslim world not declared war on Israel (and been defeated); which could have had 95% of their lands returned under proposed Israeli agreements years ago, are now inherently saying that for years, their people have suffered for no reason at all.

On the other hand, the Israeli government which has been engaging in its' own form of terrorism of its' own people, has been bending over backwards to appease a people who have blatantly declared that Israel must be exterminated. Utter Madness!

Where are the men with broken and contrite hearts?

Where are the leaders whose will is not bound to their own lust for power?
Where are the people whose hearts desire peace and not war?
Where are the statesman who can admit to wrongdoing, ask for forgiveness, and then get on with the business of governance?
Where are the men of humility?
Where are the men who can recognise that they can't do it their own way?
Where are the men who are prepared to admit to weakness?
Where are the men of fortitude prepared to atone for their sins?
Where are the men whose love for the people and the will of God comes before self gratification?
Where are the men of spirit?
Where are the men with a conscience?
Where are the men with gentleness in their hearts?
Where are the men whose strength comes from faith and not force of arms?

To once again quote the above mentioned article

Therefore, let us cry with David, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me"; for "the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart." (Psalm 51:10, 17).

R.P.BenDedek
Email: rpbendedek@hotmail.com

Between writing and publication I came across this article, regarding interviews with Christians in Palestine, which makes both heartening and worrisome reading: Christians under Cover By Lauren Gelfond Feldinger

R.P.BenDedek is the pseudonym of the Author of 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran' (www.kingscalendar.com), and is a guest columnist at Magic City Morning Star News. An Australian, he currently teaches Conversational English in China.

Articles on the Middle East

The King's Calendar' is a computer generated mathematical synchronous chronological presentation of the history of Ancient Israel, as principally recorded in the Biblical books of Kings and Chronicles, and sets forth Apologetics for and the results of R.P.BenDedek's discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Books of the Bible, Josephus,the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah. www.kingscalendar.com.