Sometimes God Doesn’t

July 1st, 2014

My fears became a reality when I received a message from my friend Rabbi Yehudah Glick, who lives not far from the place of the abduction of the three teenagers. He informed me with painful words that the bodies of Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali had been found buried near Hebron. Immediately, three words from the Hebrew Scriptures came to mind that are difficult to read at times like these: וְהֵן לָא ve’hen lo
(but if not). As much as I stood on my faith and hoped and prayed that God would do what I asked, sometimes God doesn’t.

Since hearing about the kidnapping of Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali I have thought about three teenagers in Scripture named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were thrown into a fiery furnace but came out unscathed, without even the smell of smoke on their garments. How amazing and miraculous it would have been for the story of Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali to end in the same way as that of their predecessors so long ago, but maybe their lives were on a parallel path. Since hearing about the untimely and tragic deaths of these three young men by the hands of terrorists three words spoken out of the mouth of three Hebrew boys in Scripture keep ringing in my ears: וְהֵן לָא ve’hen lo (but if not). Maybe these three words tie the testimonies of the six teenagers together.

This article was originally published at Breaking Israel News. (Click this image to view it there)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace because they would not bow down before the golden image set up by an insecure king. Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali were thrown into a fiery furnace of hate, violence, and death because they would not bow down to the fear of the threats of a terrorist group named Hamas (violence) set-up by an insecure Palestinian Authority government. For those who don’t know, Hamas is a Hebrew word meaning violence, and it’s found in the same Bible as the words וְהֵן לָא ve’hen lo (but if not).

There is no doubt that both sets of teenagers were ready to face their deaths in the fiery furnace rather than compromise their faith by bowing down to any authority that does not honor their God. I am sure that the three yeshiva students were aware of those difficult words found in the Hebrew Scriptures they studied every day. More than likely they knew them by heart—וְהֵן לָא ve’hen lo (but if not).

As Israelis water God’s garden with their tears because of this tragic massacre, I pray that they will hear the words of three Hebrew boys named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and be reminded of Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali, who were faced with the fiery furnace and no doubt did not bow down.

“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not—וְהֵן לָא ve’hen lo—let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18).

Sometimes God delivers his people from the fire and smoke of the furnace of pain, difficulty, violence, or even death, and sometimes God doesn’t. In either case, we must be people who learn to say and to mean these simple but powerful and profound words that in my humble opinion were in the hearts, minds, and mouths of our three modern-day Hebrew boys—Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali—just as they were in the hearts, minds, and mouths of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—וְהֵן לָא ve’hen lo (But if not). Even if God doesn’t deliver us from the hands of violence (Hamas), let it be known that we will not bow down!

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