"...and I did not speak out..."

Today is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. What should a follower of Jesus' response be on this day?

Since ancient times, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have been relentlessly persecuted by their Gentile neighbors. Haman’s decree to destroy the Jews of Persia was the precursor to the pogroms of Europe, the Jew-condemning edicts of Rome, the Final Solution of Nazi Germany, and the BDS/anti-Zionism Movement of the 21^st century.

Sadly, very few Christians defended those whom Christ called His “brethren”. In fact, when studying anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism—two sides of the same coin— both past and present, it is discovered that professing Christians are often the most virulent opponents to God’s Chosen People, usually due to apathy.

It is my conviction that anti-Semitism, which includes anti-Zionism, is not only unbiblical, it is diametrically contrary to the teachings of Scripture. In His Word, God makes it clear that believers are not only to refrain from anti-Semitic actions themselves, they are mandated to protect Jewry from the anti-Semitism of others.

Israel from God’s Perspective

Whether you are reading through a book on world history or glancing at this morning’s headlines, it is obvious what the world thinks of God’s Chosen People. They are maligned, harassed, persecuted, and often killed on a daily basis. Anti-Semitism lurks just below the surface of the world system.

As Christians, however, our concern is not with the world’s view of Israel, but with God’s view. God does not conceal His love for His Chosen People. On the contrary, if the Bible is a “love letter” to anyone, it is to the Jewish nation.

Let’s examine how God views Israel.

God Loves Israel Eternally and Unconditionally

Throughout Scripture, God makes clear that He loves Israel and always will, regardless of her disobedience. In Hosea, God speaks as a heartbroken father who is reminiscing about the early days of caring for his now-backslidden child: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son…I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by their arms…I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love…I stooped and fed them” (11:1, 2a, 3a, 4a,c).

In this same chapter, despite His grief and anger at her disobedience, God declares, “How can I give up Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred” (11:8).

In Jeremiah 31:35-37, God makes a very strong statement about His love for Israel. He says that if the sun, the moon, and the stars stop shining, and if the waves of the seas can be stopped, and if heaven and earth can be measured, then He will “cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done”.

Even during their worst times of disobedience towards God, He has love and sympathy for His Chosen People.

God Has a Future Plan for Israel

“For I know the thoughts I think towards you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). While this verse is often misapplied by Christians to themselves, it is really God’s declaration to Israel that, despite their waywardness, He has plans for them.

Jeremiah the prophet also records that God will give Israel a future. In chapter 31, God promises that a “new covenant” will be made “with the house of Judah”. This new covenant will not be according to the law, but will be written on “their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Jer. 31:33).

The Apostle Paul, a Jewish man himself, writes, “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew” (Rom. 11:1-2a).

Later in the same chapter, Paul speaks of the New Covenant spoken of by Jeremiah centuries before: “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins’” (Rom. 11:26-27).

The Christian’s Response:  Imitating God

Throughout Scripture, God makes it clear that His desire for those who follow Him is that they would reflect His character. For example, we are to be holy as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:16); forgive as He forgives (Col. 3:13); live in the light as He is in the light (1 Jn. 1:7). Our lives—who we are, what we do, say, and think—are to conform to Him (Rom. 8:29).

Seeing that God loves Israel with an unconditional, everlasting love; and that He has a future plan for them, especially concerning salvation; and understanding that we are to become like Him, it is imperative, then, that we love what God loves and hates what God hates.

There are benefits to obeying this command, and consequences for disobeying this in relation to Israel. In Genesis 12, God calls and makes several prophetic promises to the progenitor of the Jewish people, Abraham. After listing those things that would be directly applied to Abraham and his descendants, God makes a significant promise that has implications not only for Israel, but particularly for the Gentile world. He says, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you…” (v.3).

One great example of this promise being played out in the real world involves an unlikely character. Joshua 2-6 records the famous account of a Gentile prostitute, Rahab, who intervened on behalf of the Jewish people. She hid the two Jewish spies from Jericho’s angry king, which saved their lives and made possible the taking of the city, and the eventual conquering of the land of Canaan.

She lied in order to save the lives of these men, and God blessed her for it. Rahab is in the genealogy of Christ (Matt. 1:5), and is listed as one of the faithful in Hebrews 11).

This promise of reciprocal treatment is God’s plan for world history in capsule form. Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Rome, Great Britain—the world empires that have persecuted the Jewish people have either been destroyed or are a shell of what they once were, demonstrating that God takes His word seriously.

As believers, it ought to be our desire to please God. It is His desire that we bless Israel, resulting in reciprocal blessing. Understanding that out of our hearts should come a desire to please Him by obedience, it is imperative that we love the Jewish people as He does.

The Christian’s Response: Refusing Indifference

Famed author, professor, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once said, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference”. Perhaps the greatest crime of the church during the Holocaust was not that they hated the Jews; most Christians did not. Their crime was that they were apathetic towards their Jewish neighbors. They would not speak up.

The Christian’s response to anti-Semitism can never be the silence of indifference. Throughout Scripture, God implores men and women to defend the defenseless. “Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy” (Prov. 31:8-9).

In Psalm 82:3, God says, “Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy”. The victims of the Holocaust were the poor, the downtrodden, and the orphans.

The Christian’s Response: Obeying God

Perhaps the greatest response to anti-Semitism and persecution is to obey God. In Matthew 25:40b, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, My brethren, you did it to Me”.

We often use this verse in relation to the poor, the unborn, the elderly, etc. Certainly, these are not improper applications of the verse; but Jesus is talking, here, specifically about the treatment of the Jewish people during the Tribulation (Matt. 24:29). He says that to feed, house, clothe, and care for one of His Jewish brothers is doing those things for the King Himself. Should we not do these things for His Chosen People during the tribulations prior to the final one?

In addition, God tells us that we are to obey the government, regardless of whether or not we agree with their policies, unless what they are commanding we do violates God’s commands.

"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities...Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves..." (Rom. 13:1a, 2). "We ought to obey God rather than men..." (Acts 5:29).

We are to be obedient to the government God has put in place unless doing so requires us to disobey God. To refuse to intervene for the Jewish people would be sin; therefore, civil disobedience in this case is not only acceptable, but mandatory.

Conclusion

When the flames of the world’s anti-Semitism are burning with white heat, it is tempting for the Christian, like the majority in Europe in the 1930s and ‘40s, to remain silent. It has been proven, however, that Christians not only ought to defend the Jewish people, they have a biblical mandate to do so.

To choose silence and inaction is to reap God’s cursing, to reject divine blessing, to accept indifference, and to disobey the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

What Should We Do?

The Holocaust was awful. Christians were partly at fault for the genocide. We know that Christians must work to prevent it from happening again; but how?

Here are 5 ways Christians can ensure people never forget the Holocaust, preventing it from happening again:

1.   Be Educated and Educate—Many in the Jewish community often cite education as the number one preventive measure against people forgetting the Holocaust. If men and women of the world read books, watch video clips, and hear testimonies of the Holocaust, they are much more likely to remember the horrors. As Christians, we must educate ourselves on these matters, so we can share them with others.

2.   Talk to a Survivor—Secondhand information about the Holocaust is often how we learn about it. However, if possible, talking to a survivor of the Holocaust is a potent, memory-ingraining experience. To be able to say that your friend survived Hitler’s war on the Jews is not something you are soon to forget.

3.   Use Your Influence—Most Christians have some realm of influence. Whether we teach Sunday School, host a Bible study, or help out at AWANA, we influence other Christians in one way or another. We need to use our influence to ensure that others do not forget the Holocaust. This could mean having your Sunday School class learn about God’s plan for Israel and Satan’s opposition to it. It could also come as a practical way for your Bible study or AWANA group to support the Jewish people in your community. If they learned what the Holocaust was all about, then honored survivors or other members of the Jewish community on Holocaust Remembrance Day, the memory would stick.

4.   Learn About the Resistors—Christians are often inspired by the stories of how God used missionaries in far flung parts of the earth. But how often do we take the time to read about fellow believers who risked their lives for the sake of God’s Chosen People? Reading about the faith of people, like Corrie Ten Boom, not only causes people to ask what they would do if they were in the same situation, but also strengthens their faith in the Lord.

5.   Use Social Media for Good—We’ve all heard about how terrible social media is. “It’s causing us to be an anti-social society!” “We spend all our time looking down at our gadgets, and never enjoy the beauty around us!” But what if we use this tool for good? Social media has proven to be a great way to spread news—good and bad. As Christians, we should be harnessing this tool, sharing status updates and pictures on major Holocaust anniversaries, as well as showing our support for the modern state of Israel. More often than not, those seemingly insignificant “shares”, “likes”, and comments generate dialog both on and offline.

On this Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah), I implore my fellow believers in Jesus the Messiah to open your eyes, your ears, and your hearts to your Jewish neighbors. Never forget that the God you worship, the Messiah you love has a special love for His Chosen People.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— 

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— 

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

~Pastor Martin Niemoller, Holocaust Survivor

For Such a Time as This

In just a few weeks, we will see Jewish people of all ages dressed up in costumes, throwing festive parties, and sending baskets of food to friends. No, the date for Halloween has not been changed--it’s the celebration of the Jewish holiday Purim (pronounced “Poor-eem”).

Purim is the celebration of God’s deliverance of the Jewish people from the Persian anti-Semite Haman. The account Purim celebrates is found in the Book of Esther. A series of providential events leads to the banishment of Persian Queen Vashti, and the exaltation of the young Jewess, Esther, to the throne.

Haman, King Ahasuerus’ right-hand man, became angered at Esther’s uncle Mordecai, who would not pay homage to him. Haman’s cronies told him that the reason Mordecai would not pay homage was that he was Jewish. Haman became enraged, and sought to kill not only Mordecai, but all the Jewish people of Persia.

Mordecai tells his niece of the impending holocaust, and urges her to use her position of power to save her people. In one of the most compelling parts of Esther, Mordecai says to Esther, “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Est. 4:13-14).

Esther gives the command for the Jews of Shushan to fast for her for three days. The brave young queen decides to go before the king without his sending for her, an action that could very well cost her her life, according to Persian law. Despite her fears, she goes to the king saying, “If I perish, I perish!”

In the end, Esther informs King Ahasuerus of Haman’s plan for holocaust, which results in Haman being hanged on the very gallows he constructed to hang Mordecai on. Because Persian law is irrevocable, even by the king, Ahasuerus is unable to take legal action against the planned slaughter of the Jewish people; but he does allow the Jews of Persia “to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them…”

The book closes with the exaltation of Mordecai to Haman’s former position, and a celebration for the Jews’ victory over their enemies. “…the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants” (Est. 9:27-28).

Although God’s name is not mentioned once in the Book of Esther, the movement of His hand “behind the curtain” is very evident. He raised up a young woman to defend her people against anti-Semites, and proved His faithfulness to His word, that the seed of Abraham would never depart from before Him (Jer. 31).

While we would hope that the world would have learned its lesson about touching the apple of God’s eye, it has been proven that they have not. The Holocaust of the 1930s and ‘40s resulted in the destruction of more than 6 million Jewish lives.

The anti-Semitism of Esther’s day and that of 1930s Germany has never fully gone away. It has always lurked just beneath the surface, ready to rear its ugly head whenever a conspiracy or scapegoat is sought out by the world for calamitous events.

Now, the anti-Semitism that has been brewing for over 70 years is coming to a rapid boil. Take France, for example. According to one report, “In 2014, the number of anti-Semitic acts recorded on French territory has doubled. It is 851 against 423 in 2013. This represents an increase of 101%. 51% of racist acts in France in 2014 were directed against the Jews. The Jews are a little less than 1% of the French population. Less than 1% of the citizens of the country is the target of half of racist acts in France.”  Jews are fleeing France en masse—about 7,000 in 2014 alone.

What will the Church do about this?

During the Holocaust of the 20th century, the world was silent. As horrible as that is, however, the worst thing is that true Christians, the Church, were largely silent. Sure, there were some, like the Ten Boom family, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, of which I am proud to be associated, who stood up. But there was no unified outcry from the Church.

Today, many of those who claim to be followers of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus, are anything but supportive of His Chosen People and their right to the Land God gave them in Genesis 12. In June 2014, for example, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to divest from three corporations that are reported to do business in Israel.  Although PCUSA leadership denies that their actions are anti-Jewish, the Jewish community thinks otherwise.

Renowned pastor and author John Piper, in a message entitled “Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East”, stated, “… the secular state of Israel today may not claim a present divine right to the Land, but they and we should seek a peaceful settlement not based on present divine rights, but on international principles of justice, mercy, and practical feasibility.”

The apostle Paul, a very learned Jewish man, warned against such statements in Romans 11: 18, “…do not boast against the branches [the Jewish people]. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you”.

Today, perhaps more than ever before, believers in Jesus the Messiah of Israel must stand with the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.

"But doesn't God love Arab people?" Absolutely, He does. "Is God happy with everything the modern State of Israel has done?" Of course not. But the fact remains the same: God has stated that Israel will never cease from being a nation before Him (Jer. 31:35-36); and that “he who touches [Israel] touches the apple of His eye”.

Christians, as our Jewish friends prepare to celebrate God’s faithfulness to them, and as the age old curse of Jew-hatred marches on, perhaps the Body of Christ as a whole should reconsider how we view and treat them. And may the words of God to Abram, found in Genesis 12:3, be forever etched in our minds, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you…”

" For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place...Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 

--Esther 4:14

She's Headed for South Africa...And YOU Can Help Get Her There!

Have you ever met one of those “memorable people”? You know, they’re the ones who cross your path for a brief moment, but who leave an indelible imprint on your life?

I have.

I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Rachel. We met on our ORIGINS trip to Israel a couple years ago. Rachel loves the Lord and wants to serve Him with her life.

Photo credit: twr.org

She has an amazing opportunity to travel to South Africa with Trans World Radio (TWR) to work with their women's ministry, and she could use your support!

Rachel is an incredibly talented and likeable person. I’m excited to see what the Lord has planned for her in South Africa.

The following is a brief biography of Rachel and explains what she’ll be doing in South Africa. If you are able, please consider making a contribution to her fundraising campaign by clicking on this link.

Rachel is an incredibly talented and likeable person. I’m excited to see what the Lord has planned for her in South Africa.

Rachel grew up in Erial, New Jersey with three brothers, managing to survive as the only girl. She first learned about TWR during her freshman year at John Brown University but it wasn’t until her junior year that she applied to be an intern the following summer. When summer came, Rachel served as a journalism intern with TWR Americas in Cary, North Carolina. As the summer came to a close, Rachel discovered that she didn’t want to leave and filled out an application her senior year of college.

Rachel is now planning on moving to South Africa to work as the Project Hannah Africa Regional Coordinator Assistant where she will aid in mentoring, coordinating the monthly prayer calendar, visiting and encouraging teams in Africa, advocating for the plight of women, praying daily, updating the PH Africa website, researching on issues facing women in Africa, writing reports and articles as well as editing and proofreading PH publications.

Her whole life nothing has ever gone quite as she planned and Rachel has taken on the motto “Always expect the unexpected.” In her spare time, Rachel enjoys laughing, movies, singing, theater and never turning down a good meal, especially if there are cookies.

This video tells a little more about my friend, Rachel.    

        

For more information, you can contact Rachel at  rpearson@twr.org.

My Favorite Marine

As the biting winter wind hurls the falling snow across the fields outside, there is nothing but warmth inside the little house that overlooks the village below. The ticking of an old clock, the purring of a contented cat, and the familiar smell of homemade soup fill the living room.

It’s another world inside the Esau home. Books—old books—line the shelves by the fireplace. Handmade quilts are thrown over the backs of plush chairs. Letters from around the country lie open on the end table, awaiting the thoughtful reply they always receive. It is in the midst of this homey setting that the jovial chuckle of the town’s patriarch, Jack, drowns out the howl of the wind outside.

This was a typical winter afternoon at the home of Jack Esau, my favorite Marine.

I first met Jack when I was a little boy. Each week, Mom and I would make our trip to Erla’s grocery store, where Jack would lean over the deli counter to hand me one of Erla’s famous hotdogs—a snack to tide me over until the shopping was done.

When I was an elementary student, Jack was one of the local VFW members who would demonstrate to our class the proper way to fold and care for the American flag. I can still see the 80 year old WWII veteran folding Old Glory, a gymnasium filled with 8-year-olds sitting at rapt attention, mesmerized by the depth of respect this man had for our country.

As a young man, I developed a friendship with Jack. He was the teacher, I was the pupil. On afternoons like the one I described, we would sit in the living room of the home he built back in 1948, as he regaled me with tales of Cass City’s past. He would sit back in his chair, one leg draped over the other, one hand engaged in telling an animated story, the other gently petting a snoozing cat.

To me, Jack embodied all his generation – the greatest generation—was known for: strength of character; a good work ethic; devotion to family; loyalty to community and country. He was a man who had a story for everything, and shared it with anyone willing to listen.

In 1940, Jack enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. By that time, World War Two was a reality for most of the world, with the exception of the United States who would be forced to enter it a year later, following the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was on active duty in the South Pacific, where he saw active duty at Guam and Guadalcanal.

One of the gifts I received when he passed away is also one of my greatest earthly treasures—a scrapbook full of black and white snapshots from his time in the South Pacific. The photos are of a tall 23-year-old with a full head of hair and the broad smile that won him friends his entire life.

As a 23-year-old myself, it is a strange feeling to look at these photographs from the war that made so many American boys into men. Although Jack was an enlisted man, he and many others like him left all they ever knew, charging ahead into an unknown future against an enemy they had never met before.

I remember bits and pieces of many of the tales Jack told me about that period in his life. He remembered exactly where he was on April 12, 1945, the day President Franklin D. Roosevelt died. During the 2008 election, when John McCain and Barack Obama faced off for the White House, Jack told me about the time he sat next to McCain’s father on a train ride during the War. Of course, Jack remembered the conversation clearly after more than 60 years had passed.

 In 1946, Jack was honorably discharged from the Marines and returned to his beloved hometown, where he married his wife, Ruth, two years later. The couple would be blessed with three children in the ensuing years.

From the time Jack returned to Cass City, he was an active and integral member of the community. He served on the Cass City School board; was a founding member of both the Cass City Historical Society and the local VFW post; and was the authority on the history of Cass City and the surrounding area.

I learned a lot from Jack. By the time we became friends, he was not as active in the community as he once was; but the care he had for the town he loved continued on, and serves as an example to me of how a person should take an active role in the civic life of their community.

In October 2011, Jack passed away at the age of 93. To say that I miss him would be an understatement. His passing left a void in my life and the life of our community. Even now, three years after his death, I still find myself saying, “I wish I could ask Jack about…” But I am thankful for the friendship we had, and the stories he shared.

Besides thanking a veteran for their service to our nation, maybe one of the greatest things we can do on Veterans Day is to tell the stories of the veterans in our lives who have passed on. It is, after all, the memory of their willingness to sacrifice that compels us to continue defending the land of the free.

Happy Veterans Day, Jack. Thank you for your friendship and your example.

A Jewish Girl from Hackensack

My blog posts are not usually as long as this one. I thought that this story, however, merited a few extra lines. I think you, too, will enjoy reading her story.

With the sun casting its final rays of day on the Las Vegas skyline behind her, Rhoda sits at her dining room table reminiscing about her eclectic life of 91 years. I first met Rhoda a couple of months ago at a get-together, where she mentioned that she was the originator of the famed magazine Seventeen.

Rhoda--1940s

What I knew of her story intrigued me, so I asked for an interview, which she kindly granted. The following is the story of Rhoda—a remarkable woman with an equally remarkable and distinctly American life.

The daughter of a Jewish immigrant father and an American mother, Rhoda Friedman was born and raised in Hackensack, New Jersey. Life in a small town was idyllic for her.

It was in 1939, however, that as a 15-year-old senior at Hackensack High School, tragedy struck her happy life. An explosion occurred at the local tire factory, where two men were killed, and her father was among the injured. “My father was in a coma for nearly 5 months. Then I realized that he invested his money, but had very little savings. So, we had to turn our beautiful house into a two-family house. My mother had to sell all the things the pawn shop would buy.

“In the meantime, I was going to go to Wellesley [College]. We could never afford to go to Wellesley. This is the beginning of my life. I finally realized that I had to be an important part of the family.”

This realization took her to the guidance counselor at Hackensack High School, Ms. Bennet. “I said, ‘Ms. Bennet, what do I do?’ She said, ‘We’ll get you a scholarship.’”

At that time, The Woman’s Club of New Jersey was looking for a female student to send to New York University. Ms. Bennet told her that the organization “would like someone to go to their school of business or the school of retailing…to a school a woman could find a career in”.

Rhoda remembers vividly the day she arrived to be interviewed by the Woman’s Club board and assembly. Upon her arrival, she found herself among several other girls. She would later find out that many of these girls were from prominent New Jersey families. Rhoda had a secret weapon, though: style.

“I was very crafty, so I made myself a very nice hat from the form of my mother’s hat, and added a brim, and a nice bow on it to match a black outfit I had that I wore to [synagogue] services. One of my friends loaned me a handkerchief, and one of my friends loaned me a handbag, and everyone wished me well.” As she walked into the interview room, the ladies present turned their eyes to the stylish young woman from Hackensack. 

“Where did you get that hat?” asked one of the interviewers.

“I made my hat,” came the reply.

“Don’t you buy hats?” another asked.

“I can’t afford to buy hats,” Rhoda replied.

She explained that she was in a unique situation for someone seeking a scholarship to the prestigious NYU. “I’m here because I need you; and maybe you’ll need me.” Impressed and a bit taken aback by the confidence and directness of the young woman, the ladies invited her to lunch, saw to it that she arrived safely home, and the interview day was over.

Two days later, Rhoda was paged to Ms. Bennet’s office. “Come right into my office, Rhoda!” she said, feigning displeasure. Then, with a wide grin, she spread her arms for a hug as she said, “You’re in!”

Rhoda’s entrance into New York University was a triumph, but her time there required hard work. She made money by working in her dormitory as a student matron, grading papers for professors, and other means. The college freshman also had an early taste of anti-Semitism at her new school.

Rhoda and her roommate became fast friends, but her roommate’s father, the president of a large railroad company, was not convinced sharing a room with a Jewish girl was a good idea. “[Her parents] came into my room and interviewed me—now that was being interviewed!” she said. “The only people they had seen were the so-called ‘people with the horns’,” she said, referring to the oft repeated claim that Jews were demons in human flesh. Thankfully, their Jewish phobia soon melted away, and Rhoda became a friend.

In 1943, at the age of 19, Rhoda Friedman graduated and was awarded The Alumni Key, the honor bestowed upon the student with the best grades. She soon found out that her abilities and her mind were in high demand. “I was invited to the chancellor’s house for lunch. At the lunch is the brightest student from med school, the brightest student from law school, the brightest student from education—you name the school, they picked the most outstanding student from there,” she said.

A.I Namm & Son

At the meeting were the “big whigs” from the university, businesses, and other sectors of society. “And then, out of the blue, is this big man with a stunning woman, who owned a store in Brooklyn. I had never been to Brooklyn!” she said. “And he owned a big department store I had never heard of. And they bid on you, and the money they bid went to the university!”

The “big man” was the owner of A.I Namm & Son Department Store, and he won the “intellectual auction”, beating out Hearn’s, Gimbels, and other big name department stores. He then offered Rhoda a sizable salary, one she couldn’t refuse; and Rhoda Friedman became the newest member of the Namms Department Store empire.

In the meantime, New York Mayor Fiorella H. La Guardia came calling. “Rhoda, I need you,” he said. “You got spirit, you got looks. I want you. Do you have nice warm clothes? You’re going riding in an open car with me. We’ll go to Brooklyn, go to the Bronx. We’re going to rallies for the men in service.” Mayor La Guardia took the wide-eyed 19-year-old to factories where she would give speeches—sales pitches for war bonds.

New York Mayor La Guardia

“I worked for Mayor La Guardia for about two years,” she said. “Then I get a call from Bert Nevins, and he sounds like La Guardia. I said, “Mayor, are you trying to pull something? What do you want from me now?” After assuring her it was not the former Mayor of New York, but Bert Nevins, one of the country’s publicity and marketing geniuses, he arranged to meet Rhoda at The Plaza Hotel.

“In walks a pudgy, little guy smoking a cigar. He says, ‘You’re hired.’” Unaware of what she had just been hired to do, Rhoda questioned him. Nevins wanted a woman who was aware of current Hollywood fashions and trends who could make the fashion industry known. Rhoda was introduced to major fashion, business, and other female contacts in her new position as Bert Nevins’ “new icon”.

On one fateful day, Nevins informed Rhoda they would be going to a very important meeting. “ It’s one of the biggest publishers in the world,” he said. “Behave yourself. Don’t come up with any big ideas. Just sit there. I’ve gotta figure out what it is they want.”

At 9 a.m. on the day of the meeting, Rhoda walked into the board room, briefcase in hand. Inside the case was a phone book, which she sat on to make her small frame look taller. The meeting soon began and the chairman informed those in attendance that they were all in trouble with their client.

Walter Annenberg

Soon, a tall man entered the room. Rhoda would later learn that his name was Walter Annenberg, and he was not a happy client. His publications, which were primarily concerned with the lives of movie stars, were not doing well.

“How are we going to increase circulation? How?” he asked angrily.

The 22-year-old raised her hand, defying her boss’ orders. “First of all, all your publication names are too much alike,” she said.

 “What?!” he snapped. 

“Secondly,” she continued, “I was reading in The New York Times last night--”

She was cut off by the angry voice of the publishing giant. “I don’t care who reads what in The New York Times!”

“Sir,please,” she said. “I was reading last night, and I found out in a small squib that Booth Harkington’s book, Seventeen, is public domain today; and I advise us to call the legal department and pick it up right now. You can take Stardust magazine or any other magazine you have, and turn it into a whole new world for people that are teenagers.”

“In my office!” he shouted at her.

Once inside the office, he calmed down. “Tell me about this idea you have,” he said.

“You know,” began Rhoda, “I’ve had an idea for a long time, and today it’s right.”

“Tell me how this should be developed,” the tycoon said. “We’ll meet, we’ll work it out. You just gave birth to a magazine.”

The year was 1944. A year or so after that, one of the country’s biggest manufacturers of clothes came to Rhoda with an offer she couldn’t refuse. She would have a radio show, and other resources available to her by which she would reach the American teenager.

Rhoda worked for the company, hosting “The Teen Timer’s Club” on The Bluet Network, while continuing to work with Walter Annenberg as a contractor.

You won’t find much when you Google Rhoda’s name. She was largely a behind-the-scenes component of the entities she worked for. “I sold ideas for money,” she said, referring to the fact that her name never appeared on the mastheads or histories of Seventeen.

Rhoda holds a recent edition of Seventeen, with the
Las Vegas skyline behind her

In 1947, Rhoda married her husband, Ray—a union that lasted until his death 65 years later. The couple had two daughters who are highly respected in their fields.

Today, Rhoda is an active nonagenarian. When she’s not walking her dog, attending Bible study, or helping around her synagogue, you can find her working with the Anti-Defamation League, serving on the properties committee of her community, or helping a friend in need.

“Each day,” she said, “I try to find something good to appreciate and look forward to.”

I Can't Do This!

Well, here I am, just one week away from boarding a Las Vegas-bound plane, and beginning the next adventure in God’s plan for my life. I will go from Cass City to “Sin City”, from a fairly typical Midwestern setting to a completely different world, from comfortable to waaaaayyyy outside my comfort zone!

“How do I feel about all this”, you ask? 

Honestly?

Scared. Uncomfortable. Inadequate. I can’t do this!

And do you want to know something? I’m learning to be content with these emotions.

That’s right. It used to be that, had I heard someone describe their feelings about an upcoming ministry opportunity in this way, I would say something like, “Don’t worry. I think you are very capable”, or “Be confident. You can do this!”

The truth is: I can’t do this…not in my own strength, anyway. I’m too scared, too uncomfortable, and far too inadequate for the task ahead.

This morning, I read about a man who was called outside of his comfort zone. He, too, was scared, terribly uncomfortable, and was about as inadequate as a person can be.

He was a murderer on the run—a man whose past haunted him wherever he went. In fact, he finally escaped to a place far from his home, where he intended to spend the rest of his life humbly caring for his family and shepherding his father-in-law’s sheep.

But one day God called him do something that was miles outside of his comfort zone—lead God’s enslaved people out of Egypt. He didn’t want to. In fact, he came up with every excuse he could think of not to do what God was telling him to do.

“I’m a murderer! The people won’t listen to me! What if they don’t believe that You’ve spoken to me, God? I have a sp-sp-speech im-im-immmm-ped---impediment, Lord. Please send somebody else to do this!”

But each time he raised an objection, God’s response was the same. He didn’t say, “Don’t be silly, I believe in you! You can do it, pal!” Instead, the man was reminded how powerful his God was, in contrast to his own weakness.

God showed the man miracles—turning the man’s walking stick into a vicious snake, then turning it back into a stick; causing his hand to become leprous when he put it inside his cloak, then healing it, again.

He reminded the man that He Himself was the one who made his mouth, and that He makes the mute, the deaf, and the blind. The man’s speech impediment was not a fluke, but a divinely crafted part of his being that would be used for God’s glory.

That man became one of the greatest leaders in all of history. His name was Moses.

While God is not calling me to lead His people out of exile (thankfully!), I am learning the same lesson that Moses learned: In our weakness, HE is strong.

“…My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

--God (2 Cor. 12:9)

God doesn’t deny our weakness—He emphasizes His grace and strength.

I am terribly inadequate for the task set before me. But “such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God”.

Praise the Lord for our inadequacy and His strength.

Thank you for your prayers, support, and words of encouragement.

Next stop: LAS VEGAS!

Promises, Promises...

Winston Churchill once said, “No thoughtful man can deny the fact that the Jews are, beyond any question, the most formidable and most remarkable race which has appeared in the world”.

There have been many throughout history, and even today, who would disagree with Mr. Churchill. Adolf Hitler is, perhaps, the most infamous anti-Semite the world has ever known, and his hate-filled rhetoric blaming the Jewish people for the world’s ills led to the destruction of over 6 million Jewish people.

Had any other people group gone through a holocaust of that proportion, I do not believe they, would ever recover from such a blow; but not so with the Jewish people.  Just three years after World War Two ended, something happened that few, outside of those who knew their Bibles, ever thought possible. May 14, 1948—after more than eight centuries, Israel became a nation again.

Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine

As Churchill said, the Jewish people are both formidable and remarkable. To illustrate this point, consider this: The Jewish people make up a meager 0.2% of the world’s population, yet 22% of all Nobel Peace Prize recipients have been Jewish .

“Overall, Jews have won a total of 41% of all the Nobel Prizes in economics, 28% of medicine, 26% of Physics, 19% of Chemistry, 13% of Literature and 9% of all peace awards. Jews have been recipients of all six awards.”

Some say this is a “conspiracy”. The fact is it is a conspiracy—a divine one, not one secretly devised by Jewish people; it is God’s very plainly laid out plan. Anyone who desires to know about it may pick up their Bible and turn to Genesis 12.

12 Now the LORD had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,

From your family

And from your father’s house,

To a land that I will show you.

2 I will make you a great nation;

I will bless you

And make your name great;

And you shall be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,

And I will curse him who curses you;

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

If you remember, Abram later was named “Abraham” by God. God calls Abram out of his homeland, Ur of the Chaldeans in southern Babylonia—he separates Abram from the world. He calls him to be the beginning of the next stage in His plan of redemption for mankind.

These three verses are known as the Abrahamic Covenant. God makes several promises to Abram and his offspring, which are “unconditional”, that is God makes all the promises and they are not hinged on the obedience of Abram or his future family—the Jewish people, the nation of Israel.
Let’s take a look at these promises.

A Land (v.1)—God tells Abram, in verse 1, to get out of his country and to go to a land that God will show him. In verse 5, we learn that this special land is the land of Canaan. God sets the boundaries from the river of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish) in the south to the Euphrates in the north (Genesis 15:18). In addition, God promises the Land to Abraham’s biological descendants forever (Genesis 13:14-17). And when the timeless God says “forever”, He means forever!

 When we hear people claiming that the land was taken from the Arab people, the Palestinians, we must remember what God has said. He did not give the land to the Arabs, or the Irish, or the Germans, or the Poles. He gave the land to the Jewish people to be their possession forever. We need to let the Word of God be our authority on all matters, especially how we view what is happening in the headlines.

A Great Nation (v.2)—Abram, at this time, has no children. In fact, he would not have children at all during the prime of his life. One of the most famous, astounding stories of the Old Testament is when God tells Abram and Sarah—he 100 years old, and she 90— that they are going to have a baby. Not long after, Sarah conceives and eventually gives birth to a son, Isaac. And so the Jewish nation begins. Every person who is born Jewish is a descendant of Abraham, and is a continuation of God’s promise to make Abraham a great nation.

A Blessing (v.2)—God promises to bless Abram and make his name great. He blesses him in a few ways. First, Abram was a very wealthy man. In Genesis 13:2, we read that “Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold”. He also knew God personally. In Genesis 15:6, we read that Abraham “believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness”. In modern terms, we would say that Abraham was “saved” –he had a personal relationship with God. His name is revered by all three monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam— to this day.

A Unique Promise (v.3) – God made a promise to Abraham and his descendants that He has never made to another people. He said, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you…” Later on, God says to Abraham’s descendants, the nation of Israel, “…he who touches you touches the apple of His eye”. This promise, as all the others we’ve mentioned this morning, have not gone away. God has not backed out on his promises to Israel.

Think about those who have dared to curse Israel, who have dared to lift their hands against her. They are all either non-existent, or at least not nearly as powerful as they once were—Egypt, Babylon, Rome, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, Haman, Hitler, Hussein, bin Laden, etc.

Personally, I believe one of the greatest reasons the United States of America has been blessed all these years is that she has blessed Israel; she has been a friend to her. Now, we see an administration that has turned the relationship between us to a cool one, at best. God is faithful to His promises. He will bless those who bless Israel, and He will curse those who curse her.

A Blessing to the World (v.3)—The most important promise made in the Abrahamic Covenant is found in the second part of verse 3. God says, “And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”. This promise includes people like me—Gentiles.

How have we been blessed by Israel, the Jewish people?

The Jewish people have either created or discovered the following: the first polio vaccine, insulin, color photography, the Law of Thermodynamics, the sewing machine,  blue jeans, the song “God Bless America”, chemotherapy for childhood leukemia, the Barbie doll , the biological pacemaker, the Microsoft Windows operating system, and voice mail just to name a few.

Obviously, we have been very blessed materially by the Jewish people. But the real blessing this verse is referring to is a blessing that is available to everyone, but very few accept. It is a spiritual blessing—the blessing of the coming Messiah.

The fulfillment of this promise of blessing to the world is summed up in what is probably the most famous verse in the world—John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take the penalty of our sin upon Himself. Romans 3:23 tells us that “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. That means not one of us in this room this morning can claim that they have not sinned against God, that they have not disobeyed God in their thoughts, words, or actions. God says we all have.

And there’s an even greater problem. God’s Word tells us that the penalty for sinning against God is death. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death”. This means, certainly, that we will all die physically. But it also means spiritual death—separation from God for eternity in a place called Hell.

The Bible tells us that none of our good works—helping the poor and sick, going to church, giving money, being baptized, taking communion—none of that will save us from our sin and Hell. God calls our good works “filthy rags” (Is. 64:6). They aren’t going to help us out of Hell.

This great blessing we are talking about came through the genealogical line of Abraham, when, over 2,000 years ago, a little Jewish baby came into this world. God told His mother to name Him “Jesus”, which means “Savior”.

Jesus Christ lived a sinless life and willingly went to the cross where He was crucified for us. As a sinless man, He was able to take the penalty for our sin upon Himself. And as God, He rose from the dead three days later, proving that He has victory over death—all of this is prophesied in the Old Testament. God tells us that those who “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

The question is, “Have you taken part in that blessing”? Many people go to church, know about Jesus, and even believe that Jesus existed. But that’s not enough. Have you ever made a decision to trust Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? He is the only One who can forgive you of your sin and promise you eternal life in Heaven with Him.