Did the Hamas massacre affect belief in God?

“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (Psalm 18:2).

Introducing Psalm 18, the Tanakh reads: “For the leader. Of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD after the LORD had saved him from the hands of all his enemies and from the clutches of Saul.” When reading the history of David, we see that he foreshadows the Messiah of Israel. He was severely persecuted by King Saul; his life was threatened, yet he was innocent of any wrongdoing relating to Saul. He cried out to God: “Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart” (Psalm 26:2). King Saul had to confess: “And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil” (1 Samuel 24:17).

Later, when Saul was again pursuing David mercilessly, David had the opportunity to take judgment in his own hands while Saul and his trusted soldiers were sleeping. David took the spear and a cruse of water from Saul, and during the daytime, proclaimed what he had done. Again, Saul praises David: “Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place” (1 Samuel 26:25).

David was tested to the limits of his physical existence on earth, all for a specific purpose: to foreshadow the suffering of the Messiah, as recorded in Psalm 22:16-18: “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”

Gaza War
Hamas’ murderous attack, its cold-blooded killing of civilians on 7 October 2023, cannot be compared to any other event in Jewish history but the Holocaust. They were killed because they were Jews. Yet, when one does a little research, we find that they have collectively contributed to the wellbeing of humanity more than any other people on earth.

According to JewishVirtualLibary.org, the global Jewish population stood at 16.2 million in 1939. Yet in 1945, estimates of the Jewish population range to under 11 million. Today, only 0.2% of the world’s population is Jewish, yet they comprise 22% of all Nobel Prizes that have ever been bestowed. 

Did the Hamas massacre affect belief in God? The Jerusalem Post reports:

According to a comprehensive survey conducted by Lazar Research for The Jerusalem Post, 33% of Israelis have reported a strengthened faith in God since the October 7 massacre by Hamas and the subsequent war.

The study, spearheaded by Dr. Menachem Lazar of Lazar Research in collaboration with Panel4All.co.il, an internet respondent panel, aimed to gauge the religious sentiments among Israelis in these turbulent times.

The practical expressions of the respondents’ strengthened religious faith were primarily prayers (63%), conversations with God (59%), and the recitation of Psalms (45%). The increase in prayers was especially characteristic of respondents aged 60+ (73%); conversations with God were reported at relatively high rates by secular respondents (64%), Sephardic respondents (65%), and respondents aged 45-60 (60%).

An absolute majority of respondents (75%) said that since October 7, they feel a greater connection to the State of Israel (69%) and the diverse Israeli society (68%). About half of the Israelis surveyed feel more connected to the Jewish people in the Diaspora (53%) and to Jewish tradition (49%).

-www.jpost.com, 9 February 2024

What is not recorded is the increase of Jews believing in Jesus, the Messiah of Israel.

One thing we know for sure is the prophetic Word uttered by Zacharias over 2,000 years ago: “That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham” (Luke 1:71-73).

Midnight Call - 04/2024