| (Copyright 09-25-2024) by Dwight Fleming (Oroville, California) |
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| The Two-State Solution is being promoted by Kamala Harris and the Biden Administration as the solution for peace in the Middle East. But that solution has been rejected by the Palestinians time after time. They only want one Arab state to occupy the land of Canaan and for the Jewish state to disappear. Consequently, the ancient struggle between Jacob and Esau over birthright promises continues to this day without any viable solutions being presented for consideration. Until now. David Friedman, former Ambassador to Israel under President Trump, has presented the only possible solution for Israel until Christ returns. It too will be rejected by any Palestinian leadership. But Ambassador Friedman makes good sense with his proposal that would eventually bless Israel as well as the Palestinian people. Of course, if Friedman’s proposal is eventually adopted, it would not end the deep-seated hatred of certain nation-states, such as, Iran. That is because Iran and others are controlled by an evil spiritual entity that wishes to destroy anyone or anything that supports the plan of the true God, the God of Israel. It will take the return of Christ to completely deal with God’s arch enemy, Satan the Devil. In the meantime, Ambassador Friedman’s one Jewish state proposal presented in his new book, “One Jewish State,” is worth considering and working toward. I have just ordered his new book to learn specific details. Some of the details are covered in a recent interview, linked below, with the Ambassador. Friedman explains what he thinks Donald Trump’s response will be if Trump should return to the White House. I urge you to watch this interview. What Ambassador Friedman is proposing is based on Biblical principles. The Bible says, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him” (Romans 12:20). Jesus said, “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two” (Matthew 5:41). This is where we get the phrase, “go the extra mile.” This is where the “Two-Steak Solution” comes into play. Don’t just feed your enemy one steak but give him two. By the time he is done eating that second steak, he will be so full, he will only want to take a nap rather than sharpen his sword (or make bombs). If it were only that simple. Yet any efforts to turn an enemy into an ally are worth trying. Remember the time when Jacob came back to the land of Canaan (Genesis 32). Jacob had left 20 years prior to escape his brother Esau’s revenge on Jacob for stealing Esau’s blessing. What did Jacob do upon his return to soften or lessen his brother’s anger toward him? He did the “Two-Steak Solution.” Jacob sent multiple gifts for Esau on ahead before actually meeting his brother. The night before, Jacob wrestled with an angel who was God Himself. The Jewish people today are going through a major “wrestling.” We too must “wrestle” with spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). Yet Jacob prevailed with God, as we must also do. God blessed Jacob by changing his name to Israel. Jacob learned a hard lesson. What happened when Jacob met his brother? See Genesis 33. We can’t “trick” or “deceive” our way into God’s kingdom. Rather, it is through much “tribulation” or “wrestling” that we enter God’s kingdom (Acts 14:22). This doesn’t mean that we don’t pursue peace with others and lessen the likelihood of trouble coming our way. Even when we are doing what is pleasing to God, there are those who will hate us for it. A personal example of the “Two-Steak Solution” happened with me many years ago in 1976. I was training a gentleman who had escaped from South Vietnam before the communists took over. One day after work, Peter wanted me to stop by his house to show his appreciation for my efforts in helping him learn his new job in America. He also wanted to make new friends. He offered me a beer which I accepted to be polite. I’m not a drinker so I seldom have more than one drink. I was enjoying my visit with Peter and decided to have a second beer. Peter became ecstatic when I accepted the second beer. He knew the first beer was for politeness. But the second beer told him that I really wanted to be a friend. The next day he was telling everyone at work, “Dwight had two beers with me.” I guess this was actually the “Two-Beer Solution” to making friends. With the hard lesson learned from Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, there is no way that Israel will allow another Palestinian state to occur on their land to become a platform for Israel’s destruction. So, it appears that the way forward is being prepared for Israel to someday annex the West Bank area which is land that God gave to Abraham and the descendants of Jacob. The Bible says to feed your enemy but not to give your inheritance or birthright away as did Esau. “Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many. See to it that no one is a fornicator, or a profane person like Esau, who for one [steak not two] morsel of meat sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He could find no place for repentance, though he sought the blessing with tears” (Hebrews 12:14-17). Jews today (as well as Christians) must be willing to give Two Steaks not one to prevent engendering hatred toward them. The hard heartedness of their fathers toward their fellow man was the spiritual nakedness that Jesus exposed time and time again. The modern State of Israel is faced with the problem of survival as a nation that desires to live at peace with its neighbors who want its destruction. The fighting won’t completely end until Christ returns. What happens with Jerusalem in the days and years ahead will provide signs that we need to watch and discern. As things continue to develop in the Middle East, we need to carefully and diligently be overcoming our own sins and weaknesses that hinder us from fully serving God and growing in Christ (Hebrews 12:1-2). Here is the video link to Ambassador Friedman’s interview. You can skip to minute 10:45 to see the interview if you don’t want to watch the entire 25-minute video: Friedman, “One Jewish State”: https://youtu.be/4wtpnPogZCE?si=jB0qNm2iUDjM_7o0 ———————————————————————————————————- See Dwight Fleming’s other articles at: Fleming, Dwight – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org) ———————————————————————————————————- |
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