Ariel Sharon: A Postscript

This past weekend the nation of Israel lost one of its great heroes from the past.  Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon passed away at the age of 85 after being in a comatose state since suffering a serious stroke in 2006.  As Israelis will tell you, Sharon was a leader.  He was among those who fought so brilliantly during the 1948 War of Independence and later was responsible for leadership during the days of the 1956 Suez Canal crisis and then both the 1967 Six-Day War  and later the 1973 Yom Kippur War, winning a decisive tank battle destroying 150 of the 250 Egyptian tanks that his unit faced.  He was seen as a war hero. 

In 1982 Sharon led the Israeli forces as they invaded into Lebanon to stop the attacks from Lebanon upon northern Israeli city-centers.  Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon until 2000.  It was during this time that assaults upon two Lebanese refugee centers - Sabra and Shatila occurred in 1982.  These attacks were carried out by Lebanese Christian militia, known as the Phalanges, in reprisal for the assassination of Prime Minister Bashir Gemayel whom Sharon had overseen into power.  Sharon was accused of not taking action to prevent these massacres from happening, although historical records have shown that he was not involved in any way with their happening.  Somehow, Sabra and Shatila became associated with Sharon.  Even in his passing those two names were present among those who still protested their happening 32 years previously.

On September 28, 2000, Ariel Sharon aroused hostile feelings when he went to the Temple Mount.  The aftermath of that visit is known as the Second Intifadah, a bloody reign of terror that lasted until 2004, during which scores of Jews and Palestinians died. 

But, Sharon the war-hawk became Sharon the dove as he began to endorse a plan, led by President Bush's "Road Map to Peace," to view the creation of a separate Palestinian state.  He was Prime Minister during the time of the fracturing of the Palestinian government and the creation of the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip.  In order to advance the peace process, Sharon ordered the complete disengagement of Jews from the Gaza Strip in 2005.  Anguish ensued among those who were, in many cases, forcefully evicted from Gaza.  As one looks back one wonders if that disengagement added anything to the peace process.  The answer appears to be a resounding "no."  Hamas became emboldened.  More rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel creating fear and panic.  And, in spite of several strong Israeli attempts through military invasion and action, the threats from Hamas and Gaza continue. 

It was shortly after this disengagement process was completed that Ariel Sharon had his massive stroke that left him in a vegetative state for nearly 8 years. 

How will history view Ariel Sharon?  Will he be remembered as the war hero that he was?  Will he be remembered as being one of the final pioneers to lead Israel?  (President Shimon Peres is, I believe, the last of that generation to still have some leadership authority).  Will he be remembered as the "butcher of Sabra and Shatila?"  Will he be remembered as the one who ordered the eviction of all Jews from the Gaza Strip?  Yes, he will probably be remembered for all of the above.  But, as the dust of history begins to settle, I wonder which Ariel Sharon will rise to the top. 

Now I know you are saying to yourself, "Why should I care about the death of Ariel Sharon?"  Well, you should because he was a great leader in our time.  But here is something that I have just learned that gives more cause for reflection.  Let me quote from an article that can be found at: www.wnd.com/2014/01/prophetic-twist-to-sharons-death.  "When Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was still in office, vibrant and in command of his faculties, a venerated rabbi who claimed he had met the Messiah, predicted He would not come until after Sharon's death.  Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri died shortly after the stroke Sharon suffered put him in a coma in 2006.  But before the beloved Kaduri died, he wrote a cryptic note on which he named the Messiah with whom he claimed to have had a mystical encounter.  On the 108-year-old rabbi's instruction, the note would be released a year after his death.  When the sealed note was opened a year later, it was posted on Kaduri's website.  Kaduri had revealed the Messiah's name as Yehoshua, or the formal Hebrew pronunciation of Yeshua or Jesus." 

Now I find that interesting.  One can debate the legitimacy of this "prophecy" by Rabbi Kaduri.  But it is interesting that within two months of speaking these words Ariel Sharon suffered his massive stroke and Rabbi Kaduri died.  Coincidence?  One can only wonder.  Is there any validity to what was said?  Again, one can only wonder. 

And, it still gets more interesting.  This past week, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon used the following words to describe the United States peace plan and especially Secretary of State John Kerry: "messianic" and "obsessive."  It was that term "messianic" that grabbed my attention.  That term has reference to someone who comes to deliver, to save.  Is America the great deliverer of Israel?  Is that how we view ourselves?  Do we have the right to dictate to the Israeli people what they can and cannot do?  Defense Minister Yaalon has been called on the carpet because of the words that he used, but I wonder if he did not, in fact, use the right words. 

Let's see if we can connect the dots.  Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has died.  An old Messianic rabbi, who claims to have had a vision and conversation with the Messiah named Yehoshua, said that the Messiah would not come until after the death of Ariel Sharon.  And the present Israeli Defense Minister has stated that he believes John Kerry has come to Israel with an attitude described as "messianic."  We know that the United States is not Israel's Messiah - that title belongs to Jesus Christ.  Perhaps the times are getting shorter than we imagined.  Definitely not a time to entrench, but to engage the enemy.  May we put on that armor of God (Ephesians 6) and sharpen that sword of the Spirit (get more deeply into the Word of God) and become involved in the spiritual warfare around us, knowing that the lives of many depend upon our engagement.