Happy Tuesday. Hope all you dads out there enjoyed Father’s Day. My littles each called me to talk for a few minutes but I spent most of the day figuring out how to string guy wires and outdoor lights for the first time, which I did successfully, then cut the lawn.
The fight between Israel and Iran is concerning because of its potential to draw in other nations in the region and potentially lead to a broader, global conflict. However, I support Israel’s operation against Iran.
Iran has made it clear over the last 45 years that they have two major enemies: Israel (the “Little Satan”) and the United States (the “Great Satan”). They’re also one of the leading state sponsors of terrorism and proxy armies. Both Hamas in the Gaza Strip to the southwest of Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon to the north of Israel are funded by Iran.
Iran has been working for decades to develop a nuclear bomb, with which they could threaten and destroy Israel, not to mention other non-nuclear Arab states in the region. They could also target the United States if they developed a nuclear capability; maybe not with an intercontinental missile, but with a more clandestine delivery system like a suitcase left in a hotel in a large city.
Iran’s mullahs are also driven by the belief in the coming of the Twelfth Imam, which is deeply ingrained in Iranian Shia theology and has a considerable influence on its religious, social, and political turnings. The Twelfth Imam is currenty hidden but certain conflicts or uprisings may be signs preceding his emergence like, say, the destruction of Israel.
I also believe that the Iranian people, far from supporting the theocracy under the mullahs, are oppressed and want to be free. They had an opportunity in 2022 after Mahsa Amini died in police custody after being arrested for not wearing a hijab, but the U.S. under Biden’s “presidency” failed to support the uprising, which was crushed by the mullahs.
So, politically, I support Israel, the only caveat being that I do not want the U.S. to be directly involved in the conflict. I’m fine with selling Israel the weapons they need to collapse the Iranian regime and free the people. Defensive support is also permissable (sharing real-time data or intel). The only way I’d support our direct involvement, ie boots on the ground or planes in the air, is if Iran attacked us directly.
I follow Doug Wilson’s position here:
A more sensible sort of retort comes from some who ask what I think about Israel being armed to the teeth with American weaponry. Provided they were purchased, I actually have no problem with them having such arms. Otherwise, my position on every form of foreign aid, to every nation, is that we should be doing whatever we can to get it as close to zero as we can. Every nation, in order to function as a nation, needs to be able to defend itself. We ought not to be picking up a significant portion of anybody else’s defense budget through arms donations, and this would include Israel. That would be my position, but nobody listens to me.
But this is not an indiscriminate and mercenary warbucks approach to arms sales either. We should be willing to sell to friends and allies, and not to foes and enemies. So I think we can take sides, meaning that I would be happy to sell arms to Israel, and not to Iran. That should be enough to send some folks back to the first paragraph, hunting for colorful and very deep reasons for my alleged allegiance to the Mossad.
I also support Israel theologically, meaning that the Jewish people have had a special place in God’s redemptive plan. They were, at one time, God’s chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:6). Jesus and his disciples were Jews. Israel, as an entity, rejected Jesus as their Messiah but even Paul, the great Jewish evangelist to the Gentiles, deeply longed for the salvation of his people.
For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. — Romans 9:3-5
So pray for the two countries, especially Israel, as they continue their effort to gain safety for their people and, by extension, safety for the broader region.