Gaza

 

Before the Battle of Mons Graupius in northern Scotland in 83 A.D., the Roman historian Tacitus attributed to the Caledonian chief Calgacus a speech in which he famously said Roman armies "make a desert and call it peace."

The above is a photo of Gaza, taken in February this year, months before Israel's current "final push" to wipe out Hamas, which Israel's leaders say is the only way to secure peace.

Not quite desert yet...but getting there.

But Gaza makes me remember most of all Jesus' lament over Jerusalem as He went to death at the hands of its leaders, Roman and Jewish:

"If you had known...the things which make for peace !  But now they have been hidden from your eyes" (Luke 19:42).

The many photos of Gaza also remind me of Jesus' characterization of the enemy, that "...the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy..." (John 10:10).

Does today's Israeli campaign in Gaza mirror Calgacus' words about the actions of Rome's armies ?  Of Jesus' words about satan's actions ?