The Longest Year
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.
Monday, October 7, 2024 marked the one year anniversary of the violent incursion and attack into Israel by Hamas, during which the terrorist organization killed more than 1,200, kidnapped approximately 250, and triggered a year of war and bloodshed in the region. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and citizens acknowledged the somber occasion with vigils and remembrances, including several dedicated to the more than 100 hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza.
A year after the spark of the Hamas attack, the war continues to expand. Israel and Hamas remain engaged in war in and around Gaza, while Iran and its Lebanon-based proxy Hezbollah are attacking on Israel’s northern border.
Analysis and eternal perspective: Peace for Israel and the surrounding region feels impossible to attain. Candidly, complete peace as you and I tend to think about it is not attainable on this side of eternity. But a deeper peace is not only possible, but in fact promised.
Our previous story offered a reminder from Is. 26:3 about the source of our peace, but it is instructive and encouraging to consider how thoroughly the concept of peace is embedded within the gift of Jesus.
First, the foretelling of Jesus in Is. 9:6 calls Jesus the “Prince of Peace.”