This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ’You say about this place, ‘It is a desolate waste, without men or animals.’ Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets Jerusalem that were deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voice of the bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, ‘Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good, his love endures forever.’ ‘For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before.’ Says the LORD.

The prophet tells us that in the very place of desolation, in that same place, there would be hope and prosperity again. This is a life lesson. This is the triumph of life over death, our claim to the future. Hope, born of our trust in God, is our assertion of identity, our rage against injustice, our antidote to despair. The words of the prophet weave amongst the sprouting tree in the top left-hand corner, signalling this hope, this insistent expectation of emergent new life.

Some look at the rebirth of Israel as that emergent new life. Now they have a homeland, the Jewish people have a new status in the world. As Israel has flourished and ancient Biblical promises seem to point to God’s continued love for her, Jews are no longer seen as cursed by God, so cannot be abused so freely.

But where was God for this particular young man? Is the claim that this is God’s just judgement really fair for such a boy?

I do not think so!

I can find no evidence to support that claim.

As many intelligent, well-meaning people have explained the Shoah as God’s judgement on the Jews for not accepting Jesus as their messiah, or God’s justice against Jewish disobedience, then this serious charge must be examined.

What is God’s Judgement like?

The Bible rarely uses the idea of judgement to describe God. If it does, this is always tempered by mercy because it asserts that mercy triumphs over judgement. God has many other attributes and functions more prominent than judgement, which we could explore. The Bible is not a legal document either but it does describe the purposes of God’s actions and the parameters for our consequences.

Deuteronomy is a book of covenant very much like others of its time. It outlines the terms of the covenant drawn up between God and Israel before she enters their promised land. Like other such documents, it adds a list of consequences if the covenant is broken.

The Divine plan was that there would be prosperity and joy in the promised land. God would carry His ‘bride’, Israel, over the threshold and institute feasting and celebration in the marital home. If Israel is faithful, heaven would open and cover her with blessing. If she’s not, then there is a terrible list of ‘curses’. Here the original Hebrew word, which is translated as curse, is arar, which means to execrate, that is, censure, condemn, denounce, reprehend. The curses are actually a reprimand or rebuke. They are not a supernatural pronouncement that marks out a people or person for harm.

The problem is clear. Only idolatry will earn the Divine reprimand. This is because in Biblical analogy, idolatry is likened to adultery or prostitution. The purpose is to return Israel to marital faithfulness with her God. Exile is the ultimate tragedy because when Israel leaves her land, she leaves the shelter of her home where her covenant with God can find ultimate fulfilment in absolute blessing.

Jeremiah’s Blueprint

Jeremiah’s account helps because he was the prophet prior to Israel’s first exile. The first exile provides us with unique insight and gives us the blueprint for God’s reprimand.

There are simple steps.

The problem is Israel’s persistent idolatry with its horrible, harmful occult practises. God desires to restore the covenant partnership, so warns Israel of the consequences of their occult activity. They have ample opportunity to remedy the situation. The choice is Israel’s. However, if they persist in idolatry then there are consequences, which match their activities. In the end, God sets merciful parameters for exile explaining how to avoid loss of life. The choice is still Israel’s.

In all this, God promises to remain faithful to Israel. He reassures them that exile will not last. They will return home and He gives them physical signs to confirm this. He also warns those that administer the exile that they will be held to account for their treatment of His people.

Israel prospers in exile. She returns to her God and then, at the appointed time, to their home. This happened before the common era.

Jeremiah’s blueprint is clear. Events like the Shoah do not teach us about Divine reprimand, but about human injustice. No Biblical judgement allowed the torture of ‘my beautiful boy’. No edict from God permitted his abuse. No curse had left God’s lips. No. God was not in his killing but with his living.

So, why did the Nazis kill him? Why did Nazi Germany put so much energy into destroying a harmless, useful minority? Perhaps, the answer to this question is in the nature of idolatry?

Anti-Semitism: Why the ancient Hatred?

Idolatry is more than making a representation of a god and bowing to it. Mysticism might be correlated with idolatry. The mystic sees the gods as aspects of the natural world which man can manipulate for his own benefit. Even our approach to keeping the commandments, or prayer, can take on magical functions that are somehow needed on high. Rabbi Sacks explains it.

Absent God, and we tend to end up worshipping ourselves. What distinguished monotheism was its insight that the only thing worthy of worship is the Author of all. The worship of less than all — be it science, reason, class, race, nation, wealth, power or fame — is idolatry.

He warns us that the prevailing culture of our time worships ‘the self, the me, the I.’

Perhaps, this explains why those people who oppose the concept of God, or who prefer to exalt humanity to a type of divinity, may persecute His people in some way. We might even conclude that such assaults reveal an antipathy to God. Some say that those who attack Israel are really attacking God. The Jews are a thorn in their flesh because together they persevere in holding on to the Book of the Covenant. Wherever they are, their presence is a persistent witness to the existence of an eternally faithful God who is before and above all things. This is not about their perfection, or lack of it, but about their identity as a people uniquely associated with God.

It might seem odd to say that this attack can come from the Church but it does have a violent history against the Jewish people culminating in its institutional acceptance of the Shoah. There were many wonderful, individual Christians who risked their lives to protect Jews and who died with them in the camps. They are memorialised as Righteous amongst the Nations. However, the Church, as a powerful institution, did not oppose the Nazi regime. In fact, Nazi interpretation of Lutheran teaching meant that the extermination of Jews met with a sympathetic response. Even after the war, in 1948, the German Ecumenical Church asserted that the Shoah was God’s judgement on the Jews for rejecting Jesus. They added that those whom God had used would be judged far harsher.

Since then, very slowly, common ground has been found between Church and Synagogue. This is helpful for both. However, anti-Judaism is still taught from some pulpits and perhaps, without meaning to, they create the right environment for breeding anti-Semitism. A teaching that assumes that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s affection can cause some anxiety. If He can exchange one faithful people because they will not accept Church doctrine, He can reject anyone when they fail. The message leaves us doubting God’s faithfulness.

So, this drawing catches Israel in a painful vortex. She is victimised in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

May our generation come to a better understanding.