Blog, Six Million Reasons: For Israel’s Right To Exist

Blog, Six Million Reasons: For Israel’s Right To Exist
By Dr. Wesley G. Shaw
John V. Whitbeck’s article in the Christian Scientists Monitor was titled, “What Israel’s right to exist means to Palestinians.” Summarizing his thinking he says, “There is an enormous difference between recognizing Israel’s existence and recognizing Israel’s right to exist. For Palestinians to acknowledge occurrence of the Nakba (the expulsion of the great majority of the Palestinians) is one thing, but ask them to concede that it was right, is like asking a Jew to acknowledge that the Holocaust happened and asking him to concede it was morally right.”
The content of Mr. Whitback’s article is at the same time erroneous and ludicrous. Declaring their nationhood after an internationally sanctioned mandate, Israel was immediately attacked by six surrounding Arab neighbors. Most of the Palestinians fled for fear of the impending war and destruction. Not allowed to take safe haven with the surrounding Arab brethren, they were forced to live in refuge camps as pawns in a propaganda war with Israel. In reality, these camps have now been overtaken by militant Islamic Jehadists. In response to Mr. Whitback’s summary statements, regarding Arabs leaving Israel, under condition of war, does not in any way equate with the loss of six million Jewish lives in the Holocaust.
From a humanitarian standpoint, one could say that Israel has six million reasons for its existence. This insane, unthinkable, demonic, destruction of six million beautiful souls is sufficient reason to allow the Jewish people to have their own home land. However, just as the Nazis used their lies about the Jewish people in a propaganda war to support their destruction, many Jew haters in the Arab world are now declaring the propaganda that the Holocaust never existed. Never mind the documented evidence of the death camps, films, and eye witnesses. As the Nazis head of propaganda, Joseph Gobbels, once stated, “If you tell the lie long enough, people will eventually believe it.”
As great a reason as the Holocaust is, there is an even greater reason for Israel’s existence. It is found in the pages of God’s word, the Bible. In Genesis 13:15 the Lord speaking to Abraham (the first Jew) says, “For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.” In Genesis 15:18, the Bible defines the boundary of the promised land saying, “In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.”
Accordingly, Israel not only has exceeding humanitarian and internationally sanctioned rights of existence, but more over a divinely mandated Biblical covenant with the creator Himself, to an even greater boundary of land than is presently held that one day Israel will possess.

Christian Science Monitor, “What Israel’s right to exist means to Palestinians,” by John V. Whitbeck, February 2,
By Dr. Wesley G. Shaw

Information asymmetry:a tool of advantage

It is common for one party in a transaction to have better information than another party . In the parlance (language idiom)of the economist,such a case is known as information asymmetry.Websters dicyionary defines symmetry as ,balance and harmony in form,size,and position of parts;asymmetry would be the lack thereof.It is an expected phenomenon of our society that someone (usually an expert)knows more than someone else(usually a consumer)Consumers are consequently placed at a disadvantage,because of their limited knowledge.Prize winning rogue economist,Steven D Levitt,in his book,Freakonomics,explores the hidden side of information asymmetry phenomenon.Inhis chapter on the ku klux klan,and real estate agents,he writes how each group lost their powerful advantage and financial edge with people when the informational playing field was leveled.After world war II,the inner workings ,activities,and financial dealings of the klan were exposed on national radio by announcer Drew Pearson.the daily flow of information caused a rapid and permanent decline in klan membership.recently because of the internet,real estate agents,stock brokers ,insurance sales people,car dealers,and a host of other businesses,have lost their virtual monopoly on information ,leveling the playing field for the consuming public.A prime example is in the area of life insurance.In 1996 ,Quotesmith.com became the first of several websites that enabled a customer to compare . within seconds ,the price of term life insurance sold by dozens of companies.The result was a dramatic reduction in the prices of term life insurance.Information has shown itself to be the currency of the internet,and while it has not totally abated information asymmetry,it has mitigated its impact to a high degree.While this asymmetry has provided the basis for chicanery on many levels ,in almost every aspect of business,it has been a part of religious activety,especially during the dark ages With the latin only venue only ,and the prohibition to print the bible in laymans language by church authorities ,a monstrous form of assymetry had developed in regard to biblical information.Through the courageous efforts of martyrs like William Tyndale,the bible was translated into english and put in the hands of the common man.However ,almost two centuries of tradition and incorrect doctrinehad provided fertile ground for bigotry and hatred such as anti semitism.Had there been symmetry of information teaching the jewish roots of christianity ,conveying the inseparable ties between the church and Israel(Rom ch11 olive tree metaphor) perhaps the holocaust may not have happened.Perhaps Joseph Goebbels,(the head of nazi propaganda under Hitler) would not have been so effective in promoting the lies about the jewish people.Perhaps the true church will now stand up and support our beloved Israel during this time of resurgant anti semitism.Wemust commit our hearts to never allow something so diabolical as the holocaust to ever happen again.

Gold…mans obsession…G-ds possesion

“Dollar takes a drubbing, gold soars,” states a recent headline in USA Today news. With monetary expansion through the current economic stimulus, fears of inflation and resulting devaluation of the dollar have driven the price of gold to over one thousand dollars per ounce. Over time, gold has served as a store of value by hedging or protecting against the ravages of inflation.Historically, the first medium of exchange of “money” was figured out in bushels of barley. As business grew complicated, and merchants traded from country to country bars of gold and silver were substituted for the barley. The metal ingots got smaller and smaller and finally coins were minted. Gold’s durability, density, glow, and scarcity, made it a natural choice as a store of wealth and with it came an obsession and quest to possess it.There are over 400 references of gold in the bible. Job stated, “If I had made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, thou art my confidence; if I rejoice because my hand had gotten much, this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge; for I should have denied the God that is above.” (Job 31:24) Unlike Job, the children of Israel, instead of receiving the Ten Commandments, fell into an obsessive delirium worshipping the golden calf, an icon worshipped by their former slave masters in Egypt.This obsession of gold has continued throughout the centuries. While on his first voyage to America, Columbus commented, “Oh most excellent gold, who has gold has a treasure that even helps souls to paradise.” The economist, John Stuart Mill, in 1848 commented, “Gold thou mayest safely touch; but if it stick unto thy hands, it woundeth to the quick.” While the passion and quest for gold has played itself out historically in immeasurable pain, suffering, and destruction between nations and peoples, our Lord tells us that this gold belongs to him. (Haggai 2:8)In fact, it was Jehovah’s first choice to decorate His tabernacle. “Thou shalt over lay it with pure gold,” He instructed Moses on Mount Sinai, “Within and without shalt thou overlay it and shall make upon it a crown of gold round about.”Master goldsmiths purify and try gold by fire, raising the temperature until gold becomes molten and pliable. It is then that the impurities rise to the top and with one swipe of the master’s ladle; the impurities are removed leaving it pure. The pure gold that Jehovah decorated his first tabernacle is a type of our faith being purified in the fire of life’s trials. Within and without it decorates the lives of believers becoming a witness and living epistle known and read of all men.The last biblical mention of gold’s resting place states, “the street of the city (Heaven) was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” (Rev. 21:21) That substance that brought such destruction with its obsessive greed and worship will be placed under the feet of the people of God, the ones who have by faith chosen to forever worship the one true and living God in spirit and in truth.

Crosby, 1997 p.71 citing journals and other documents on the life and voyages of Christopher Columbus, Samuel Eliot Morrison trans. New York Heritage Press, l963 p.883

Bernstein, “The Power of Gold,” John Wiley and Sons, New York,

P.2 (John Stuart Mill quotation)

have a bag with holes…consider your ways

Title: Money Bag with Holes? Consider Your Ways.

Author: Rev. Wesley Shaw, PhD.

The prophet Haggai declared, “He that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; consider your ways.” (Haggai 1:6-7)

The prophet uses the metaphor of the bag with holes to illustrate those whose provisional money always seems to fall short of being adequate. He instructs us to consider our ways. The Hebrew word for way is “derek,” a road, course of life, mode of action, custom, journey or manner. The Hebrew word describing the hole is “naqab,” whose multi faceted meaning is to puncture, to perforate with violence, to curse, or libel.

We gain a deeper sense of meaning in verse nine, which says, “Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.”

This violent curse, perforation, or puncture in our provisional bag is a result of our default in supporting the house of God. It is as if when we know and profess the word of God and His way that we choose our own selfish way, a libelous way, a way of curses and not blessings.

The old aphorism states that a person’s heart is where his money is and money will follow his interest. If we love the Lord and His house, our money will follow our interest. We will become kingdom minded, walking in obedience to His word, and entering into the covenantal blessings that are inherent in his promises. As we pay our tithe, He will honor His word and open the windows of heaven pouring out blessings that we cannot contain.

However, in order to pay the tithe there must be a radical plan of discipline wherein we set aside ten per cent for God and live on only ninety percent. The Majority of Americans have shown that they are incapable of doing this. The American Payroll Association’s finding indicates that sixty five percent of Americans need their next pay check just to meet their living expenses. Author Curt Anderson in his new book, “Reset: How This Crisis Can Restore Our Values and Renew America,” presents a manifesto of American renewal.This manifesto would substitute the factory floor for the gambling hall, resetting ourselves to the old fashioned values of hard work and savings. Even as this book is being released, the savings in America in April, May, and June of 2009 reached a ten year high of five percent. For those who do not have the discipline to tithe, save, or invest, Susan Kaplan, a financial planner in Massachusetts says, “Take self discipline out of the equation by participating in automatic enrollment plans.”However, Jesus said, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” (John 8:31) When following his word, we must strive to be steadfast and disciplined in all areas of our life. The desire of Kurt Anderson to reset ourselves and return to old fashioned values of hard work and saving is commendable. One old fashioned value found in an ancient paradigm of the Jewish people is the ten-ten-eighty formula. This includes ten per cent to God, ten per cent to savings and investments, and eighty per cent to live on.This disciplined lifestyle and other similar models have been instrumental in helping the Jewish people to become successful where ever they have gone. It is the will of God that we would have provisional bags without holes, bags that are blessed and not cursed. The greatest reset for the people of God, however, will be when we move into the ultimate arena of financial blessings which He has promised when we become the head and not the tail, the lender and not the borrower. (Deut. 28:12-13)

Anderson, Kurt, “Reset, How This Crisis Can Restore Our Values and Renew America”

Random House, New York

in a valley…consider the lily

In A Valley…..Consider the Lily

The present economic conditions have been labeled by top financial analysts as the worst recession since the great depression. Foreclosures are at an all time high, with unemployment hovering at ten per cent and continued massive personal and corporate bankruptcies.Although there are varying opinions among the economists, the consensus is that based on leading indicators, such as, increased home sales and reduction in new applications for unemployment benefits that the economy is probably bottoming out. Most do not believe that recovery will be short and robust but gradual, possibly over several years.Many of us are struggling and worried about providing just the bare essentials. In Matt. 6:28-30 Jesus says, “why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”The purpose of this metaphor is to strengthen our faith. Lilies are tenacious meaning to hold firm, be stubborn, and persistent, to tough it out. They have the incredible ability to survive wherever they are planted. Tenacity is effective also in the commercial world as well as God’s Kingdom.A poignant example occurred in the life of Thomas Edison. After twelve hundred unsuccessful experiments to create the light bulb, his assistants encouraged him to give up. He stated that they were twelve hundred successful ways of how not to create a light bulb. With tenacity he continued and was successful after approximately three hundred more experiments.Spiritually, Hebrews chapter eleven, describes great men and women of God, who walked in faith as they tenaciously believed God despite not receiving the promise. Secondly, lilies also have healing qualities. Some lesser known members of the lily family are onions, leaks, garlic, asparagus and aloe. These are some of the most therapeutic plants in agriculture. Garlic is known the world over as a premier health tonic, and aloe has been used for centuries as a healing balm for cuts and burns.God has placed in us similar healing qualities. Jesus said, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” (Matt 5:13) Salt is a cleaner, healer, and preserver. As His disciples, we have the capability of ministering healing to the lives of individuals we interact with, those that may be walking in a valley of despair. Lastly, lilies are beautiful.Lilies possess an outward beauty that sets them apart from all of the plants. In the same respect, God wants us to be set apart for Him keeping ourselves pure and holy in the beauty of holiness. Jesus said, “That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (lilies) (Matt:6:29) While Solomon may have begun his life in holiness, faithful to God, the changing circumstances and his own deception in marrying hundreds of heathen wives, and worshipping their false and idolatrous gods changed him.Unlike the lily, Solomon did not remain true to who he was and how he was created by God. On the outside, he was rich, but inwardly his true beauty was destroyed. As we face changing circumstances and uncertain economic times, let our prayer be Lord help us to be steadfast and tenacious like the lily, with a strong determination to thrive wherever you have planted us. Strengthen us to be salt and light, bringing healing to our world and guide us on a path of holiness as we follow you.If we happen to fall into the valley of despair, we can look to Jesus who is the lily of the valley and the bright and morning star. He will sustain us in the valley in this present world and carry us into a bright new morning with Him forever.