"PEACE" DEAL OR WAR?

 

Today, Sunday 24 May, 2026, we stand on the edge of a precipice, not just Israel but the whole world. We are waiting for President Trump and the Iranian regime (whoever they might be right now) to make a decision. War or a Deal? I read this morning Psalm 60 and it felt intensely relevant to our current situation. David in this Psalm cried out to God, saying,

¹You have rejected us, God, and burst upon us;
    you have been angry—now restore us!

 ²You have shaken the land and torn it open;
    mend its fractures, for it is quaking.

 ³You have shown your people desperate times;
    you have given us wine that makes us stagger.

On the 7 October, 2023, God lifted his hand of protection over Israel for a moment, permitting the massacre of over 1000 people and the capture of 251 by Hamas. He was angry with the people of Israel because of our many sins against him, and he ‘rejected us’ or ‘abandoned us’ for a moment. God rejects or abandons us it is not so much a punishment as it is a warning and a call to repentance given in love (see Leviticus 26: 14ff).

God’s anger against the people of Israel at this time is justified. We as a people have rebelled against him.  We are divided between the political ‘left’ and ‘right’, religious and secular, those who serve in the army and those who refuse to enlist, and as a nation we are being torn apart because we do not seek the true God of the Bible, the God of Israel, YHVH.

Many turn to New Age and Occult practices and in so doing often worship pagan idols or even demons, forbidden by God (see Leviticus 20:6). We cheat in the marketplace, we commit theft and adultery, practice widespread fornication and we even kill our unborn babies. Next week, June 4, the holy city Jerusalem will permit the Gay Pride Parade to pass through its streets, a detestable thing before the LORD (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13, Romans 1:26-27). The so-called ‘secular’ are obsessed with consumerism and hedonism, and the so-called ‘religious’ are blinded by their study of the Talmud, arguing over every ‘jot and tittle’, but failing to study the Tenach (Old Testament) and finding Truth. They reject Jesus as their Messiah and teach others to do the same.

As a people we have rejected the only one who can unite us, bring us true peace and salvation, our longed-for Messiah, and God’s only begotten son, Jesus. The land has certainly been shaken and our society torn apart by dissension, extremism and our lack of love for one another.

Why would God not be angry with us?

But God’s rejection of Israel is never final nor total.

For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life

Psalm 30:5

The prophet Jeremiah also said this,

For no one is cast off
    by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
    so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction
    or grief to anyone.

Lamentations 3:31-33

Even during the 2 ½ years of war we have so far endured, we have suffered and truly been shaken, but we have seen over and over again God’s divine protection even in the midst of enemy attacks from 7 fronts. Many in Israel have died, been injured or displaced, but without God’s divine intervention it would haven been very much worse. The nation of Israel would probably have been destroyed.

David understood that God’s rejection is never final and therefore he had the boldness to call out to God for restoration in his time. He asked God to mend the fractures. He knew that his only hope was in the LORD.

Nothing has changed. As we stand at this crossroads of history today, our only hope is in the LORD. David goes on to say,

⁴You have given a banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah
⁵ That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and hear me.

Verse 4 would perhaps be better translated as “You have given to those who fear you a banner to brandish before the bow, Selah”.

נָ֘תַ֤תָּה לִּירֵאֶ֣יךָ נֵּ֭ס לְהִתְנוֹסֵ֑ס מִ֝פְּנֵ֗י קֹ֣שֶׁט סֶֽלָה׃

In other words, we who fear God, have been given a banner proclaiming the Name of God, with which we can overcome and conquer the weapons brought against us. We need, at this time, to stand up, proclaim God and His Messiah, and appeal to His grace and mercy. This is the only weapon needed to defeat the foe. Selah – pause and meditate on this truth.

When God consecrated the Temple, he said to Solomon,

...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

The current war, in its essence, is a spiritual war, a war between God’s people, Israel and all those who stand with her, and Satan’s minions, the Iranian Ayatollah regime and its proxies. All the guns, missiles and drones aimed against us will have no power over us if we repent and call upon the name of our God.

What is more, if God’s name is lifted up and is shown to be more powerful than the god of Islam, many will turn away from their bankrupt and evil religion and find salvation in Jesus. This is already happening to some degree, so let’s pray that more and more people in the Middle East will find Truth in the God of Israel. Only then will there be peace in this war-torn part of the world.

David, in Psalm 60, continued and called upon the LORD for mercy and help and he recorded God’s reply:

⁶God has spoken from his sanctuary:
    “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem
    and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.
⁷ Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet,
    Judah is my scepter.
⁸ Moab is my washbasin,
    on Edom I toss my sandal;
    over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

God has already conquered Israel’s enemies. The final victory is the LORD’s. We just have to claim that victory and walk in faith until it takes form and substance.

David continued,

⁹Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
¹⁰ Is it not you, God, you who have now rejected us
    and no longer go out with our armies?
¹¹ Give us aid against the enemy,
    for human help is worthless.

 

David acknowledges that human help is worthless. Today too we cannot trust or depend upon human help, whether it comes in the form of President Trump or any other ally. Only God can save us at this time, but

¹²With God we will gain the victory,
    and he will trample down our enemies.

So what will it be Deal or War? It seems that both options have potentially horrendous consequences. It’s not surprising then that the voices we are hearing are confused and even self-contradictory. All I can say is, “May God’s will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”, as Jesus taught us to pray.

Our hope then is this – that God will again have mercy and compassion upon Israel and will hear our prayers, as he has done so many times in the past and has promised for the future also. God spoke to the prophet Zechariah, prior to the Babylonian exile, and said,

“I will strengthen Judah
    and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
    because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though
    I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
    and I will answer them”.

Zechariah 10:6

Amen, may it be so today also.