That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. [Esther 8:1 NIV]
For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. [Esther 9:24 NIV]
Haman is described as 'the enemy of the Jews' and in the second reference it is extended to the whole Jewish race - 'the enemy of all the Jews.' The word 'antisemitism' means hatred of the Jews. Recently, the word was popping up regularly in the news as the Labour Party under Jeremy Corban was being accused of being riddled with antisemitism. I used to describe the brutal hatred of the Jews under Hitler and tried to convey the horror of the holocaust to classes of 13 and 14 year olds in Ayrshire. I talked with some conviction of the deadly gas Zyklon B and the callous efficiency of the gas chambers at Auschwitz and other concentration camps. I am not sure that I succeeded when I tried to explain that the extermination of 6 million Jews exceeded the total population of Scotland - but that meant very little to my pupils in Garnock Academy in North Ayrshire
When I taught older young people Higher History, I explained that Hitler did not invent antisemitism. It had been around in Europe for centuries. In the German town of Wittenberg most closely associated with Martin Luther, the founder of the Protestant Reformation, there is a statue of a 'Jew's pig' or 'Judensau' in German. It depicts a rabbi looking into the rear end of a pig. This is a very old statue - from the 13th century and it demonstrates that the Jews were mocked and despised away back then. This can be seen from the association of Jews with pigs (despite the fact that pork was offensive to Jews). Because the Jews kept themselves distinct as a race and maintained their own cultural and religious identity, they were seen as different from other Germans.
Alfred Rosenberg was one of the influential thinkers and writers in Germany in the early 20th century and he spoke about the Aryan race (or Nordic races) as being at the top of the racial ladder. According to this pure Germans were the racial elite and other non -Aryans such as Romani, Poles, Slavs, Blacks and Jews were at the very bottom of the racial ladder. The Nazis included physically and mentally disabled in this group. They were described as untermenschen or sub-human. This helps to explain the profound hatred of the Jews who were considered an inferior race and yet were successful, influential and often wealthy.
Hatred of the Jews was not restricted to Germany. In France, there was a national scandal when a German officer was accused of being a traitor and selling state secrets to the Russians (the Dreyfus Affair) If you have ever watched the musical entitled, 'Fiddler on the roof,' you will remember that it is all about the persecution of Jews in Russia. In March 1881 the Tsar Alexander II was assassinated and the rumours were deliberately spread that the Jews were responsible for his death. "Pogroms" were planned and organised attacks on Jewish property in different parts of Russia. The Jews found that their possessions were looted and their property was burned and destroyed. In some places Jewish women were raped and there were also murders of Jews.
So the book of Esther deals with an issue which runs throughout history. Haman was described as 'the enemy of the Jews' and there have been many Hamans throughout the world and across the centuries. Hitler was the best known but he was able to capitalise on deep-seated resentment against Jews in 20th century Germany and this existed in other parts of Europe.
To conclude our Day Share on this subject - we could write much more - we can turn to the message of the New Testament in relation to this. Here are some verses. I am writing from a bedroom in Skiddaw Street, looking out on the concrete base for the marquee where thousands have listened to Bible teachers at many Keswick Conventions. So we will start with the verse from which Keswick has taken its strapline.
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [Galatians 3:28 NIV]
This is what it means to be 'in Christ.' By God's grace, we belong to the Church which is His body in which Jews and Gentiles have equal standing. The blessings which were part of Israel's heritage are now opened up to both Jews and Gentiles.
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
[Galatians 3:29 NIV
The Jews will come into the blessings which we enjoy by faith in Jesus the same way as we have come. The Church comprises Jews and Gentiles on an equal footing.
What should be our response to antisemitism in our world today? Surely we cannot condone it - even if we accept that there have been injustices committed by the Israelis. I have spoken with a dear brother who is involved in a Christian ministry with Jewish people who are living in many parts of Britain and Europe. They still suffer from racial hatred and they often live their lives in fear. The Society for the Distribution of Hebrew Scriptures takes a Christian stance in this issue. I asked Tom Rice from the above society (SDHS) to contribute to this Day Share as I recognised that the subject matter was close to his heart.
Antisemitism is on the rise all over the world. It did not begin with Hitler, nor did it end in a bunker in Berlin - it is very much with us today. Jewish people are continually being ridiculed and singled out for attack. Sadly, some who name the name of Christ have also imbibed the world’s attitudes concerning Israel and the Jewish people.
As a Gentile believer, I owe an immense debt of gratitude and love to the Jewish people from whom the Scriptures first came. Paul himself, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, says in Romans 3:2 ‘unto them were committed (entrusted) the oracles of God.’ As believers, what should our attitude be to the Jewish people? We can only go by the Scriptures and what the apostle Paul says in Romans 11. There, Paul is speaking to Gentile believers about the Jewish people when he says, ‘have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.’ Paul is reminding us that through Israel’s fall, in rejecting their own Messiah, salvation has come unto the Gentiles that Israel may be provoked to jealousy.
The question is, does the Church provoke the Jewish people to jealousy? Paul also says, ‘For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. It is interesting that Paul says ‘through your mercy’, that is through the mercy of believers in Christ. What a responsibility these words place upon us. We have been shown mercy by Israel’s Messiah, our blessed Lord Jesus and now we are to show mercy to His beloved ancient people. How can we approach the Jewish people in anything other than love for this is how the Lord has dealt with us.
Tom Rice from SDHS.
[Photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash]
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