Esther and the son of my right hand

What is puzzling is how anybody could find fault with Israel’s concern about a neighboring country’s  desire to exterminate their people. Who with a straight face could side with Iran? Unfortunately there are many, thus a needed visit to the U.S. by a man with a steely resolve, similar to the mettle of Golda Meir, to sound the warning bell of an impending crisis.

Israel’s prime minister, Mr. Benjamin  Netanyahu,  appeared before a joint session of Congress on March 3, 2015, and pretty much pleaded with the United States to recognize the seriousness of Iran’s hopes to finish what Queen Esther prevented: the eradication of the Jewish people.

That’s right, the true Israeli statesman invoked the history of the Persians to prove that some things never change. For those who may not know,  Esther’s (Hadassah) cousin Mordecai, of the tribe of Benjamin by the way,  sent this word to Esther when he found out of Haman’s  wicked plot:

Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.  For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.

And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Mordecai was a wise man, and told her that she too was not safe, and this good woman who heeded his counsel with humility, discernment and foresight, was singularly responsible for stopping the wiles of Haman. Indeed, she was raised ‘for such a time as this.’

There he was, with simple notes on 8 x 10 paper, calling upon an audience to remember what should simply be obvious. Even in his restraint, Mr. Netanyahu was ten times better than most, in his oratory.

The prime minister comes to America and cites ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,’ (brilliant by the way) as a related truth for Israels right to exist. He referenced 4,000 years of history, and how for the first time in a hundred generations, Israel is once more able to defend itself, to which he added: ‘Whether any body stands with Israel, Israel will stand.’

David stood alone before Goliath of Gath and reminded him that he was defying the living God, and Benjamin (son of my right hand) Netanyahu while knowing this, kept this secret, lest the truth of God be mocked. He is a wise leader. Listen to what he said, that which the U.S. will not say:

Iran’s regime is as radical as ever. Its cries of Death to America, the same nation it calls the Great Satan, are as loud as ever. This shouldn’t be surprising…Iran’s ideology is rooted in militant Islam. That’s why this regime will always be an enemy of America.

The Great Satan. Militant Islam. Have you heard THAT recently? Me neither. Netanyahu praised the United States for support since Truman, and even mentioned the help of the current Potus, and singled out Elie Wiesel as a reminder that ‘never again’ would Israel be left without a defense.

Mr. Netanyahu spoke of  Robert Frost and the road less taken, with a view that while the narrow path may be unpopular, it is a good road because it is the right road. He stressed Iran’s forked tongue of diplomacy and tact, while at the same time noting that the desire to ‘send Israel to the sea,’ is a threat not to be taken lightly. The right road is critical to Israel’s survival.

Benjamin Netanyahu called upon the memory of Moses that the future Jews would be ‘strong and resolute’ in the face of  clear and present dangers such as a nuclear Iran. After an apparently well received exhortation, the prime minister closed with: ‘God bless Israel, and God bless the United States of America.’

There was a monstrous applause that seemed genuine, unlike the cardboard and predictable clapping when the left or the right read from predictable scripts. Makes sense, for never was there more at stake for this tiny country, which sits as the epicenter of controversy, and which by the way, is the apple of God’s eye.

The ‘son of my right hand’ is a good man bringing a good word; hopefully it fell on good soil. I would only add: Remember Hadassah and the ‘Iron lady’  Ms. Meir.

 

Ps.  Some will say that the support of Israel is a thing of the past and irrelevant to America. To this I ask: Is there not a God in heaven? Is his promise to ‘bless them that bless thee’ weakened in the least by Israel’s plight? Do believers not have the faith of Abraham? Well then what’s the problem. The Lord Himself said ‘salvation is of the Jews.’

Supporting Israel is simply agreeing with God in any age.

 

For a follow up post, see this:

Esther follow up