Charles Schulz was not just a great cartoonist; he was, indeed, one of the most astute students of human behavior. His little cartoon people, whom he called “Peanuts,” taught whole generations about how to be kind, or not; how to appreciate others, or not; how to be patient, or not. Mostly, the “or not” was manifested in the character of one Lucy VanPelt. This Peanut took mischievous to a whole new level – not quite to evil, but maybe to something bordering on it, and, at least, to a new level of irritating, especially for Peanut Charlie Brown, Schulz’s alter ego.
An ongoing life lesson took place between Lucy VanPelt and Charlie Brown. On myriad occasions, Lucy would promise to hold a football for Charlie Brown to kick. Just as he would get to it, Lucy would grab the football away, Charlie would kick air and fall flat on his backside. The next time, Lucy would sweet-talk Charlie Brown, promising him that this time would be different. While the reader was saying, “Don’t do it, Charlie Brown,” of course, he would acquiesce, take a run, kick air, and land on his back. Charlie Brown never learned that some people just are not trustworthy. Bless his little cartoon heart, he always had hope that Lucy would change.
On reading through the Bible again (I am currently in 2 Chronicles), I came to the story of Amaziah, King of Judah. In the successive stories of the kings of Judah and Israel, the chronicler liked to establish early on whether a king was “with God” or not, using these words, “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD …” or contrarily, “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD …” But for Amaziah, this sentence reads, “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly.” With the last three words, we just know that something is going to pull Amaziah away from the LORD, Most High.
Amaziah was only 25 when he became king. He had some learning to do, but he trusted the officials around him and put together a solid army for the Kingdom of Judah. He also hired 100,000 fighting men from the Kingdom of Israel. A prophet told Amaziah that he ought not march with the men of Israel, for the LORD God wasn’t with Israel. The man of God (the prophet) told Amaziah to trust the LORD for the strength he would need in battle. Amazingly, Amaziah listened to the prophet, marshaled and led his army without the Samarian troops, to the Valley of Salt, where he killed 10 thousand men of Seir. The army of Judah also captured alive 10 thousand men, marched them to the top of a cliff, and threw them down.
When I read passages like this, my heart is assaulted, but then I remember that the very existence of little Judah was at stake. Not much has changed in 2,500 years. In today’s world, the very existence of little Israel is in danger of being wiped out by the descendants of those ancient enemies.
It is the next passage that holds the crux of this article: 2 Chronicles 25:14-15. We read that when Amaziah returned to Judah from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. Did he destroy them? No! The Bible says, “He [Amaziah] set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them, and burned sacrifices to them.”
Say WHAAAAT?
This last passage needed to be read again, for I thought something must have been missed. No, I did not miss a thing. This king of Judah, who, at the first of his reign, did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, though NOT wholeheartedly … and perhaps that is a huge clue as to why Amaziah could have acted so wickedly in the eyes of the LORD, by worshiping his enemies’ idols.
Next, we are told, “The anger of the LORD burned against Amaziah [d’ya think?], and He sent a prophet to him who said, ‘Why do you consult this people’s gods which could not save their own people from your hand?” Right? The LORD God Almighty had shown His strength to Judah, time and time and time again. Amaziah had to know that the gods of the people of Seir were just idols, deaf, dumb, and blind wooden or silver or gold statues, with not a scintilla of life in them. Meanwhile, the living God of the Universe had been on Amaziah’s side. What was the man thinking? Do you see this spirit alive in the world today, as I do? It is as though whole groups of people have gone blind, deaf, and dumb, like the idols of old.
Throughout the Old Testament, God’s people do this kind of thing, over and over and over again. The LORD God saves them from extinction, then they prosper for a few years, and the next thing you know, they are worshiping idols. They fall into trouble again and beg the LORD’s help, and because He loves His people, He takes them back, forgives their sin, and they prosper once more until they develop hubris once again, and AGAIN turn from God Almighty. It is like a mighty and never-ending insanity.
It’s enough to make you want to tear your hair out – until you realize that, on a personal level, this is the same pattern of the lives of many, many, many of us. We are Lucy, promising God that this time will be different. Now, settle down, I am not equating Charlie Brown to our patient, beneficent Creator/Redeemer God. All I’m saying is that our LORD always gives us one more chance to prove ourselves trustworthy. But then He knows from before time who will be His for all eternity. And He knows that everyone is His, forever, who repents and believes in the free gift of Salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Messiah on the cross.
Now, in the world today, we see this Lucy and the Football scenario being played out once again in the land God gave the Jews. More than once, during the war since October 2023, Israel has had several chances to vanquish its enemies. More than once, the tiny nation has been poised for victory. So, what has happened? The government is listening to other nations that think they know better how Israel should proceed, rather than listening to and trusting in their Sovereign LORD God.
It’s time for Israel, both people and government, to trust, implicitly and completely, the God Who gave them their land in the first place, just as the great leaders of old did. For He has already demonstrated miracle after miracle in Israel during the last two years.
When Iran sent thousands upon thousands of killer drones to Israel, it literally looked as though the stars were falling from the sky, yet only one person was killed, and that man turned out to be a Palestinian, according to news sources. “If God is with us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
In the 1967 Six-Day War, tiny Israel was up against the Arab coalition of primarily Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Look at a map and see how geographically tiny Israel is compared to these nations. But God was on their side, and Israel, in six short days, acquired the territories of Gaza, Judea and Samaria, some of the most historically significant Jewish land. How could this be possible when the armies against Israel were huge in comparison?
God was with Israel again in the 1973 war, and every skirmish and campaign since. Currently, the leaders of Israel seem to have lost sight of what God has done in the past for them and of what He is capable of doing now, just as Amaziah did because he didn’t trust in the LORD “wholeheartedly.”
After two long years of bloody fighting, Israel is poised to rout three of the most heinous enemies it has ever faced in its history: Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen. Just an aside: Isn’t it interesting that the names of the worst enemies Israel ever had all begin with an “H,” including Haman in ancient Persia (Iran, today) and “you-know-who” from Germany.
Finally, after this long, dragged-out war, made longer by the micro-managing of so many other nations as well as the United Nations, Israel is poised to vanquish its foes. But — not so fast there, Israel. There is a peace deal in the making that would bring eternal peace to the region, and you must not do anything to upset that, now, must you? If the leaders of the so-called free world had to live in the Mid-East, they might come to understand that what is happening is not solvable with money and real estate deals. They might finally come to understand that this is a spiritual war and always has been.
As such, we who believe in and follow God’s own Son, Jesus Messiah, ought to be on Israel’s side. Because we are grafted onto the Judaic vine, it is our war, too. How often do we have to say it: Jesus was a Jew. Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, was born into a Jewish family, grew up in Israel, and ministered throughout that land. He was betrayed by some of His own people and killed by the Romans. But that, of course, was not the end. He rose again three days later and now waits in heaven, at His Father’s will, until it is time for Him to reappear on Earth. According to Scripture, that time is coming fast!
Real, lasting “eternal” peace will only come when Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) returns to Earth to reign over the whole world from David’s throne in Jerusalem. Until then, the nations of planet Earth can promise Israel the moon, but when push comes to shove, the nations will ultimately always follow their own interests. They will follow the money and “too bad for Israel.” Real, true, lasting peace will only come with Messiah.
But all will be made right with one Word from the lips of the King of kings and LORD of lords. The people of Israel have the most glorious future ahead, no matter who is moving the “football” or how many times it is moved. Dear reader, read the Books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, and see for yourself. And if Israel has such a glorious future, we who are grafted into the Divine Vine do also. Our future is with the One Who loves us more than we can ever understand or know.
Until that day, let’s all pray that people everywhere will open their eyes to what is really going on in this old world and will follow God’s directions, not some enticing direction from a source that will always fail us.
God bless and MARANATHA
Lynda Janzen