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At the end of this week, Jews around the world will celebrate the holiday of Purim. The annual commemoration of the divine salvation from extermination has a special resonance this year.
Haman, the Purim story’s central villain, the Persian Empire’s grand vizier, descended from the Amalekite peoples, has traditionally served as a stand-in for contemporary villains like Hitler, Stalin (Russian Jews celebrate a Stalin’s Purim marking the Communist tyrant’s death before he could execute his own holocaust in the USSR) as well as Hamas and other Islamic Jihadists.
But the events of Purim taking place some 2,300 years ago are also intimately linked to the exodus from Egypt, 3,300 years ago, and the establishment of the first Jewish monarchy several hundred years later under King Saul followed by King David and his dynasty.
And the very different styles of the two rulers.
After the miraculous exodus from Egypt, Amalek had defied G-d by ambushing and attacking the Jews. In response, G-d had commanded an eternal war against the nomadic bandit rovers (Exodus 17) and (Deuteronomy 25:19) and tasked every Jewish king with waging that war.
When King Saul receives the divine command to destroy Amalek, he flinches from the mission and loses his right to the monarchy. It falls to the aged Prophet Samuel to finish the job, confronting King Agag of Amalek and telling him bluntly, “as thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women” (1 Samuel 15:33) before striking him down. The story of Purim describes Haman as an ‘Agagite’ descended from that very king.
But it is King David who faces a crisis similar to the one that Israel is still living through.
After Saul and his army falls to the Philistines, the kingdom is in disarray. David and his small band of men return to their town only to find that the Amalekites had overrun it, “burned it with fire” and “their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives”.
“David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep” (1 Samuel 30:4). “The people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters” but David turns to G-d in search of answers. And G-d tells him, “Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and shalt without fail recover all.” David and his men chase after the enemy. A third of them cannot go on, but the rest continue. The Amalekites are overtaken “eating and drinking and feasting” with their spoils and David surprising them, strikes at twilight, defeats them and rescues all the captives.
In sharp contrast to Saul, King David puts his absolute trust in G-d, commits totally to a course of action, the destruction of the enemy and the rescue of the hostages, and follows through as rapidly as possible with no hesitation and no other considerations. Where Saul is held back by his insecurities as a leader, David inspires men who were on the verge of stoning him by rallying them to fight with him. Saul is stymied by political considerations while David trusts in G-d.
That incident has important lessons for the present day as Israel, after going to war nearly a year and a half ago, has once again been reduced to trading terrorists for hostages or their bodies. The initial courageous statements of principle after Oct 7 gave way to political pressure from the Biden administration, the EU, the UN, and other global forces, and then to domestic pressure campaigns insisting that hostage releases take priority over the destruction of Hamas.
What started out as a Davidic war of principle and courage gave way to a Saulite political slog. And this is what Hamas and its backers in the Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar and others around the world had been counting on. The more Israel tried to demonstrate that it was fighting a ‘just’ war as gently as possible, the more accusations of genocide and war crimes were hurled at it.
And Israel was back in the same familiar no-win scenario of fighting Islamic terrorism.
Saul’s mercy on Amalek was not a sign of his compassion, but his weakness and insecurity. In his desperate efforts to avert the prophecy and prevent David from succeeding him, he would violently lash out at everyone from his own son to the priests who had provided his rival with bread. This led the sages to warn that “one who is compassionate to the cruel will ultimately be cruel to those to whom he should show compassion”. A commonplace liberal pattern today.
Israel could learn a good deal from King David’s determined approach to ‘hostage negotiations’. He does not parley with the enemy or even waste time on internal debates before turning to G-d to determine what to do. It’s not that he doesn’t feel the agony of the losses. We are told that he wept along with his men until they could all no longer cry. But after that period of sorrow was done, he acted as quickly as he could, determinedly pursuing the enemy until they were his.
Today anyone who argues that the priority must be to destroy Hamas and win the war is accused of not caring enough about the hostages. The cycle of recriminations over what happened on Oct 7 and the fate of the hostages has been cynically exploited by Qatar, which has embedded its corrupt operatives among some of the families of the hostages, by the media and the Left, to undermine and divide Israelis. King David refuses to engage in recriminations or to be subject to them. His purpose during Israel’s ancient hostage crisis is not to debate the past, but to act resolutely. He also refuses to divide the fate of the captives from that of the war. Instead, he pursues the unitary purpose of destroying the enemy and saving the captives.
That is only possible because King David acts boldly, rapidly and unpredictably, following the Amalekite raiders at a faster speed than they ever expected and ambushing them. He does not come to negotiate, but to slay them and save the captives, and putting his trust in G-d, he has no moral qualms about his mission. A problem that continues to trouble Israel even after Oct 7.
There is much that Israel could have learned and still can learn from King David’s approach to hostage negotiations. The first thing is to eliminate moral doubt about its rightness through faith. The second is to act quickly and debate later about the ‘endgame’ of the conflict. The third is to pursue the release of captives through the destruction of the enemy and by no other means. And finally to recognize that wars are only won when the debate ends and the battle begins.
Hamas tactics, aided by Qatar, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the media, has been to delay Israel’s response, to stir up moral doubt using a propaganda campaign of fake atrocities and war crimes, with false accusations of genocide and constant lies about every military operation, and by demonstrating that it would kill hostages rather than allow Israel to rescue them.
That slowed down Israel’s response at every turn of the Oct 7 war. And the more the battles slow down, the more debates set in. Victory is the best answer to any argument. Israel would need to worry less about the opinions of every pro-terrorist institution from the UN to Haaretz if it delivered consistent mission-focused victories by acting decisively, accepting the risks and rebounding from losses with new operations rather than wallowing in the futility of disproving every lie and arguing over what could have been done differently. Doubt, moral and operational, is corrosive. It corroded King Saul’s nerve until he went mad while King David refused to doubt.
The secret of King David’s decisiveness was the same moral conviction that began when as a boy he confronted Goliath and told the Philistine giant, “You come at me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin; and I come at you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.” That moral certainty is sadly lacking today.
King Saul did not lack courage in response to some outrage, such as when Nahash the Ammonite besieged Jabesh Gilead and refused to accept their surrender unless each man agreed to have an eye put out. It’s only when the way was not clear, doubt set in and the people no longer seemed to be behind him that Saul tended to become insecure and lose his clarity.
That is still Israel’s problem today. Its men are courageous when facing armed assaults, but arguments, smears and accusations rob them of their certainty and their momentum. Israel doesn’t lose wars, instead it loses image campaigns and peace negotiations. And unless it reclaims the certainty that it had on Oct 7 and that Americans had on 9/11, that will continue.
Purim marked the return of certainty as the Jews of Persia who had become all too comfortable, who stayed in Sushan instead of returning to Jerusalem, were faced with sudden annihilation. Some blamed the small minority of Jews who had returned from exile to resettle Israel, others Mordechai for refusing to bow to Haman, but that distant descendant of Saul did not doubt. He had become a Jew, a Man of Judah, not by descent, but through the moral certainty of a David.
And an exiled and downtrodden people suddenly found the strength to fight for their survival.
“The third is to pursue the release of captives through the destruction of the enemy and by no other means.” This is right now, and the method and intent is precisely correct.
One major problem from the onset was the lack of internally produced and readily available munitions and weapons systems, but munitions in particular. It was the same problem from back in the Second Lebanon War of 2006 which was prematurely stopped due to munitions withheld.
By March when Biden made the public announcement of munitions withheld, Israel was still asleep at the wheel. The help wanted ads in NBN and the JA were still calling for basket weavers and white collar professions. We should have been in a USA WWII panic production mode with displaced persons in the north suddenly finding unlimited employment while waiting to go back to their homes and businesses.
The IDF is now getting cleaned up, thank you Netanyahu and Levy. But we still have fleas and ticks in the Shin Bet https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/405348 Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and just like in the US the university presidents. https://www.jns.org/israeli-university-heads-accused-of-playing-politics-after-strike-threat-on-behalf-of-ag/. I wish they would not be just on strike but be gone along with boatloads of leftist teachers and professors.
Don’t forget most of the media keeping half the population brainwashed.
Back the main point: “The third is to pursue the release of captives through the destruction of the enemy and by no other means.” This is right now, and the method and intent is precisely correct.
Doing so will make cleaning up remaining problems much easier for Netanyahu and company.
Witkoff has got to go. I suggest the following: Hamas to free all remaining living hostages, Hamas gets to leave alive, Israel cancels Oslo annexes Gaza and our historic homeland Judea and Samaria, the Palestinians loose control of the land as they deserve no place to live. Israel calls for the evacuation of Rafah and goes into Rafah and any other area as needed to find the remaining hostages or bodies. Rafah like the rest of Gaza will basically not exist after this process. No reconstruction allowed by anyone except for basic water and sewage.*** The Palestinian people live in tents the rest of their lives or leave. They can eat baloney sandwiches and drink water the rest of their lives. After voting for Hamas and supporting Hamas ever more since October 7th the “Palestinians” do not deserve even that much. They deserve NOTHING. And again, Witkoff has got to go.
Time-frame, two weeks, then the dismantling of Hamas and Rafah City resumes.
Negotiations continue while the remainder of Hamas is being dismantled until they meet all conditions. That includes anyone else who wants to fight with them, like released prisoners. Oh, and released prisoners have to go also.
***Fellow contributor Connie said as follows: End the Fakestinian Occupation of Gaza now. Then do likewise for Judea and Samaria. Clear the rubble and rebuild much- needed good quality homes and communities for all citizens living in their mirher’s [sic?] den, basement, car, or charity shelter.
Connie’s idea is vital to our security. Yes, as I believe Daniel Greenfield said, we need to build and establish a permanent presence in order to control our historic homeland.
Have you seen the latest deal? One living American citizen and four American dead bodies for 60 more days of no fighting during which time Hamas strengths and, receives, aid, electricity, etc.
These dead bodies are Americans. Not only does Witcoff have to go. Trump needs a wake up. He so locked himself into his “no more wars” rhetoric that he allows killing and hostage taking of Americans. Is it because they are Jewish?
Not only should Israel act as you suggest. The US must act as well. And end Hamas and all Hamas supporters,
No other nation would consent to continue living along side a mortal enemy that proudly disseminates videos of its cruelty and promises to continue sadistic slaughter of innocents..
They need to be dispersed among their coreligionists.
Gaza, Rafah and Judea & Samaria need to be incorporated back into the land of Israel.
Nothing else will guarantee some measure of peace for Israel.
After Israel clears out the trash from Gaza, her first public project should be to rebuild the greenhouses……even bigger and better than before.
Thereafter, any and all press conferences held for the international [read: enemy] media should be held in an out-building at those greenhouses. …..mthe better to shame the media.
Such sites should have high CO2 levels the better to discomfort the climate cultists among the fake press.
Thanks Daniel, excellent information for those of us who don’t know the history.
Israel must force Qatar to tell them where the Hamas monsters are hiding in their so-called “Kingdom” and then send in Mossad to give them all flying lessons!
“ This led the sages to warn that “one who is compassionate to the cruel will ultimately be cruel to those to whom he should show compassion”. A commonplace liberal pattern today.”
Wisdom indeed.
Saul was woke. As a consequence Israel paid the price. David changed all that.
“However, in the end, God is sovereign over all of life, and He can take it whenever and however He sees fit. God alone can give life, and God alone has the right to take it. God is under no obligation to extend anyone’s life for even another day. How and when we die is completely up to Him. In the case of the Canaanites, their end came after a time of tolerance and patient grace. But Judgment Day finally comes to all, and it came to the Canaanites via the Hebrew people.” (https://www.gotquestions.org/Canaanites-extermination.html)
“God is sovereign over all of life, and He can take it whenever and however He sees fit. God alone can give life, and God alone has the right to take it.”
God is certainly omnipotent, but the question is, is how much is He exercising His omnipotence.
“God is under no obligation to extend anyone’s life for even another day.”
Perhaps not, but today since Acts ch. 9 the Lord has been dispensing grace to the whole world, which is unmerited favor. God has reconciled the world unto Himself based upon the cross work of His Son, 2 Cor. 5:19. Grace is His operating principle today.
“How and when we die is completely up to Him..”
Perhaps one day it was, such as under the Law. But the world today is under His grace. If it’s not due to something external, people, because of sin, will get old, get sick, hurt, and die. If they’ve trusted Christ as their Saviour, they’ll immediately be with Him.
The post this reply is to reads Calvinism. Calvinism is corrupt doctrine. Often, things just happen:
Luke 10:31 “And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.”
Philemon 1:15 “For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;”
David’s moral certainty came from the LORD, Who made him a man after God’s own heart, a messianic forebear.er and type. David received clear, spoken directions from God through the LORD’s faithful prophet Nathan. During David’s time, the Presence of the LORD had not yet departed (Ezekiel 10).
Moral certainty is absolutely necessary, but moral certainty comes from the LORD, Who alone kills and makes alive (1 Samuel 2:6), Who alone builds the house, without Whom, the builders labor in vain (Psalm 127). Israel has been a long time without her King or Prince (Hosea 3: 4 – 5).
May the LORD again bless Israel.
“Israel has been a long time without her King or Prince.”
Israel (the “little flock”) was going to get their King, the Lord Jesus Christ; that day wasn’t far off in Acts 7 when Stephen saw “Jesus standing on the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55. A critically important prophetic moment. See Psalm 110:1 and contrast Psalm 110:1 with Acts 2:34-35. Carefully note the difference. It’s “enemies” in Psalm 110:1 and “foes” in Acts 2:35. It is a very significant and serious upgrade of the situation in early Acts. All of that is coupled with Psalm 2.
But what happened? Nothing. Why? Because God unexpectedly paused the prophetic program, temporarily, and put in “the dispensation of the grace of God.”
“May the LORD again bless Israel.”
He will one day, Romans 11:25-27.
Garbage talk…
You’re so hung up on the “Paul is Savior” doctrines of the devil… you can’t see the Truth.
Your exegesis is excellent.
God’s dispensations have always been based upon grace. Like the saints prior to the Jews, we believe the LORD, and are thereby accounted righteous. Adam, Enoch, Noah (Genesis 6:8) and Abraham (Genesis 15:6) found grace before the law of the Covenant (Exodus 24:8).
Even though the Scripture has closed, silence does not mean the LORD is inactive or does not speak. God will never forget His people. Have you noticed that Jewish commenters in this forum often disagree on the definition of “Jew” (or, as some insist, “Hebrew”)? Christians believe resolution lies in Romans 2:28 and Galatians 3:28 without destroying Jewish ethnic or religious categories.
Salvation is OF the Jews, but Jewishness alone is not salvific (John 4:22). God still redeems, but it is through the blood of the new Covenant (Jeremiah 31:34), not with the blood of bulls and goats (Exodus 24: 8), but with the blood of our great High Priest, Redeemer and King (Luke 22:20).
Thanks. I absolutely think salvation was “of the Jews,” but in “time past,” not in “but now,” or today. Folks ought not read that wrong. It is definitely not an anti-Jewish or an anti-Israel statement.
However, I do think the Bible teaches that Israel fell in Acts 7 upon the stoning of Stephen. So then, at that time, the apostate part of the nation, and the rest of the world, was about to face the wrath of the Lamb. The Lord Jesus “standing” signified this. But God unexpectedly and temporarily interrupted that program and installed the dispensation of grace; a “secret” He revealed to Paul (Eph. 3). In this dispensation of grace, “the middle wall.of partition” is down. Today, salvation is not of the Jews. The ground at the foot of the cross.is level.
The New Covenant I think is still future, when God resumes the prophetic program, after the rapture, and the Lord returns and establishes His literal, physical, Davidic.kingdom here on the earth. But right now, God is accomplishing a different purpose; forming the body of Christ to govern the heavens.
I think Acts 7 is a retelling of Jewish history and explains Jewish problems with the LORD. God told Samuel the Jews were rejecting the LORD as their King (1 Samuel 8: 7).. It is a picture of the very best of humanity without Jesus.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman “Salvation is of the Jews” and identified Himself clearly as the promised Messiah (John 4: 21 – 26). Jesus will forever be “of the Jews.” He came through them, but He came FOR the world (John 3:16).
When Jesus ate the Passover with His apostles, He had recently prophesied the Temple’s destruction, which occurred 30 years later. At Christ’s death, the Temple’s veil tore from top to bottom, likely impressing the priests and Levites.
When He gave the apostles the Passover cup, He said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, poured out for you.” This statement was immediate, not prophetic.
The Epistle to the Hebrews was written just before the Temple’s destruction in 70 A.D., ending Mosaic Covenant. No more temple, priesthood (Jesus is the eternal High Priest), sacrifices, or offerings. The old covenant was destroyed, and all attempts to re-instate it were thwarted, even with supernatural events:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Temple
The Jews face powerful persecution when they become Christians, most especially from their own brethren. The Jews have a hostility to Jesus that is unique among other religions. While even muslims have reverence for Jesus, the Talmud teaches the LORD Jesus is boiling in feces in Hell.
Hebrews was written to and for the Jews. They need special confirmations and assurances. They received the laws, covenant, promises, ordinances, prophets, and oracles of God. Through them, the LORD was pleased to bring the Messiah. I think Hebrews 8: 13 speaks of the old covenant “about to vanish away” with the 2nd Temple because of the new covenant in Christ’s blood. Believing God is still accounted as righteousness. And the Son of God is for everyone – Jews and all the gentile nations. Praise God!
“and they created a desert and called it peace” is the best answer as always.
Listening to the concept of moral superiority is a nice treatment for sleeplessness. Its’ tyranny also provides cash for the useless of society.
Oman must also find that a few towers can fall more quickly than they are built.
I know PRESIDENT TRUMP said they should release ALL HOSTAGES – ALIVE and DEAD – or ALL HELL would break loose! We’re waiting! The few LIVING hostages released have reported being held by CIVILIAN families! THAT shows the involvement of “civilians”!
Israel should issue a warning “Release all Hostages NOW” give 24 hours to do so and then begin using the heavy bombs that PRESIDENT TRUMP has provided them! Move any “willing civilian” to the safe zones – fully SEARCHED for weapons – and begin removing the remainder of gaza! The pallies cry for “River to Sea” so make it CLEAR – except for the rubble – from River to Sea!!
This is a war than cannot be resolved diplomatically – period! When one side is a murderous ideology there can be no “negotiated” PEACE! It’s rather simple really! It’s not NICE, but neither is baking a LIVE BABY in front of it’s Mother!
Israel has been VERY MERCIFUL and if the WEAPONRY were REVERSED there would not be a single Israeli alive today!
If the jihadi bet is to win from the river to the sea, it is what they must pay when they lose.
Thanks for this comment. I 100% agree with you!!
as bitter as it is greenfield is correct analyzing the situation accurately. someone needed to tell the PM no negotiations with terrorists.
Thank you for this beautifully written article.
King David understood who he served and to whom he was ultimately accountable for his administration as king.
You sharing this is yet another call to those of our Jewish people who have erroneously believed in the seeming virtues of secularism and assimilation to come home to the G-d of Israel.
Regardless of the world’s opinions, we stood at Mt. Sinai and accepted G-d as our creator, sustainer and the source of all life in an eternal covenant, the roots of which go back to Abraham.
King David, in seeking out G-d, put himself at the source of both life and wisdom and then listened and acted.
While Israel has prided itself on valuing life, as we have again witnessed since October 7, that is selectively true. Unlike King David who understood that captives taken are a part of war and the best way to end their captivity is to destroy the enemy, Israel continues to elevate the lives of hostages over that of the soldiers and citizens by placating the enemy instead of absolutely destroying them. It is morally unconscionable for them to be asked to endure this while Israel plays the patsy.
G-d tells us again and again that our redemption lies in coming before Him, and King David did so repeatedly.
G-d makes clear that our relationship with Him is available and it is up to us to make Teshuvah (return). There is much in the secular belief system that leads our people to live in accordance with their desires. They call it freedom but is anchored in and against the established laws created by G-d. Doing so is destructive enough in the Diaspora but on our holy ground in Israel–a blasphemy to our G-d!
The wisdom, strength and humility King David evidenced and his willingness to be guided and directed gave him great power and vision to execute war and return our people triumphantly.
It is time for all of our people to stop seeking wisdom from the ridiculous, open the pages of our Tenach, bow toward Jerusalem in heartfelt repentance and allow G-d to guide us in defeating this enemy, returning our people and restoring our land.
Why is Israel, the only nation that is not allowed to kill the enemies civilians. Russians kill Ukrainian civilians. Ukraine kills Russian civilians. Hamas kills civilians. If the IDF says if you kill our civilians, we will kill yours. And they quit caring what anyone thinks. War is over.
Chag Purim Sameach!!
🕎🎶🎉🎈
Gabrielle
A freiliche purim
Why do use the word “God” with a hyphen? The use of “G-d” appears to be a version that Saul would appreciate. Where’s “the David” in you?
The use of the hyphen is to avoid taking the name of the Creator in vain in keeping with the third commandment
Thank you so much for the well written article. Out of respect for you, I will use G-d’s name with a hyphen but I feel like it is not using His name in vain when you are giving Him praise and glory. Another very well known and famous Jew thinks it’s alright to use G-d’s name casually, as in OMG—. I’m very troubled by that. He says that’s not what using His name in vain means. Thoughts?
I wouldn’t use that three letter exclamation, but I’m not telling him or you or anyone else what to do
Intent does matter a great deal
Also, i believe it has to do with the destruction of the written word. If you were to write a document using G-d with three letters, and then decide to destroy it, you would also be destroying His Name. I think this is not allowed, therefore the ‘o’ is ommitted to ensure it can’t happen, Same principle applies to digital communications.
indeed, that’s another factor. The internet is inherently destructible. Comments on here are going to disappear, for example.
For the believer, I agree the name of the Lord should not be said or written needlessly or recklessly, but I think it’s fine to spell God out. As far as the commandments, a preacher was asked if he thought believer’s should keep the ten commandments. He replied, “Yes. But, how are you doing with that?” A believer does not want to be under the Law, or.put themselves under the Law (Romans 7, Galatians).
I like reading the O.T a lot, the law of Moses, etc. However, it is taught by some, and I agree with the teaching, that Israel made a terrible.mistake when they contracted to be put under the.law in Exodus ch. 19. As one teacher described.it, God’s demeanor toward that decision became extremely serious.
YHVH is closer to the transliterated name of G-D
I have long admired the depth of Mr. Greenfield’s intellect. Now I also admire its scope.
Thank you so much, Frederick
The main difference being David didn’t have to deal with Washington.
There are so many areas in western civilization that could benefit from some King David resolve.
Indeed
Excellent article! The Israeli left is exploiting the issue of the hostages when it should be supporting the war against Hamas
There is a war in Heaven being waged here on earth.
“After the miraculous exodus from Egypt, Amalek had defied G-d by ambushing and attacking the Jews. In response, G-d had commanded an eternal war against the nomadic bandit rovers (Exodus 17) and (Deuteronomy 25:19) and tasked every Jewish king with waging that war.”
It’s blatantly obvious that us Hebrews and Israel fell into complacency as did the USA intel that did not share intel and did not act on the queues and allowed 9-11-2001 to happen.
And we still will not look at the prophesy of the ages: Genesis 16:12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
Scripture is clear. King Saul feared the people and did not fully obey and fear God. King David both feared God and obeyed God, despite many bad circumstances that God allowed to happen to David. The rescue of Kadish-Gilead was the result of the Spirit of God coming upon King Saul. Saul did not have had that victory acting on his own. He lost that anointing because of his disobediences of offering a sacrifice to stop troops from deserting him, and his failure to destroy the and possessions sheep of the Amalekites and King Agag, Saul did not fight Goliath himself and tried to offer a reward to anyone who would. David had the anointing of the Spirit, zealousness for God in the face of Goliath’s defiance, and confidence in God despite the circumstances. David could not have slain Goliath without God’s help.
Why do you put an underscore instead of the “o” in God?
The use of the hyphen is to avoid taking the name of the Creator in vain in keeping with the third commandment