on Saba.
“And yet that sword will be wielded by those who oppose him, not by those who follow him. Does he or those who follow him use the sword? Yeshua has surely come to divide so that those who follow him will be known for their love, not the sword.”
“No! You will see that he and all of his disciples will use the sword.” Judah spat into the sand. “I cannot accept this twisting of his words!”
Saba hesitated, then spoke in a soft tone.
“I cannot condemn the use of the sword, only point out what Yeshua makes plain. To live by the sword is to be subject to it, and so die by it. So you see, the sword is also madness. It is by the sword that so many have fallen, seeking an eye for an eye as is the way of the desert. Who, then, will break the cycle?”
Judah stood, enraged now. “The enemy slaughters and crucifies and you would twist the words of the Messiah who has come to set us free, both in Judea and in Arabia.”
“Do you think by using the sword we will end the slaughter, so that in a thousand years there will be less death? Yeshua’s Way is to love the enemy, even those who persecute you.”
“Evil must be loved only with force! How can you speak so flippantly about the suffering forced upon all of God’s children?”
Saba hesitated, for he wasn’t normally a man of many words. He glanced at me, perhaps looking for my support. But even I was divided by Judah’s suffering.
“Forgive me, Judah, I mean no disrespect,” Saba said. “I only speak of Yeshua’s Way, which is so easily forgotten when the harsh storms of this realm blow across our minds. But there is also another realm at hand. Yeshua teaches that those who would walk in this kingdom of great power must turn their cheek and not resist the evil man who comes against them.”
Judah stared at him, aghast. Saba continued, words flowing like honey, defying all that was known in the world.
“To resist force with force makes one a king in the realm of earth. To offer forgiveness instead makes one a prince in the realm unseen by human eyes. To forgive is to release offense. To yield. In this way the sting is not felt.”
“Sting? And what of Kahil’s butchery, and the Romans’? You would see God’s children as sand to be crushed under their feet?”
“And yet a thousand have been crucified in Israel. Yeshua has seen this with his own eyes. Still, he refuses to speak out against the Roman butchers. Instead, he teaches a way of far greater power. Can the Romans heal the heart? Can they calm the storm? Can they make the blind see? And so the whole world is made blind by planks of offense and judgment, kept in place with harsh words and bloody swords. But Yeshua came to bring sight to even we who are blind, and to set free those imprisoned by their offense.”
Judah slowly sank to his seat, calmer now. But his jaw was set.
“In your way of speaking, Rome will inherit the earth, even as Kahil has inherited the desert.”
“The meek will inherit the earth,” Saba said, quoting Yeshua. “Kahil and Rome are slaves of this master called earth. You can only serve one master. Never two. You will serve only the system of the world, or the realm of peace and love.”
Judah stared at Saba for a long time, and for a moment I wondered if he was softening, because Saba’s words reminded me of Yeshua’s Way, as they so often did. In Yeshua’s Way of peace, I had become queen at Petra.
Judah turned to me, face downcast, eyes pleading for understanding.
“Maviah…Surely you would defend Talya and the orphans with all of your might. Surely you will rise up and crush Kahil’s brutality with all of your means. Surely you don’t expect my people in Galilee to submit to crucifixion without resisting!”
How many times had I pondered this question and accepted the path of nonresistance, even as I had in Petra? But the pain in Judah’s eyes pulled my mind into a fog.
Or was I seeing clearly now?
“I beg you, Maviah,” he said. “Do
“And yet that sword will be wielded by those who oppose him, not by those who follow him. Does he or those who follow him use the sword? Yeshua has surely come to divide so that those who follow him will be known for their love, not the sword.”
“No! You will see that he and all of his disciples will use the sword.” Judah spat into the sand. “I cannot accept this twisting of his words!”
Saba hesitated, then spoke in a soft tone.
“I cannot condemn the use of the sword, only point out what Yeshua makes plain. To live by the sword is to be subject to it, and so die by it. So you see, the sword is also madness. It is by the sword that so many have fallen, seeking an eye for an eye as is the way of the desert. Who, then, will break the cycle?”
Judah stood, enraged now. “The enemy slaughters and crucifies and you would twist the words of the Messiah who has come to set us free, both in Judea and in Arabia.”
“Do you think by using the sword we will end the slaughter, so that in a thousand years there will be less death? Yeshua’s Way is to love the enemy, even those who persecute you.”
“Evil must be loved only with force! How can you speak so flippantly about the suffering forced upon all of God’s children?”
Saba hesitated, for he wasn’t normally a man of many words. He glanced at me, perhaps looking for my support. But even I was divided by Judah’s suffering.
“Forgive me, Judah, I mean no disrespect,” Saba said. “I only speak of Yeshua’s Way, which is so easily forgotten when the harsh storms of this realm blow across our minds. But there is also another realm at hand. Yeshua teaches that those who would walk in this kingdom of great power must turn their cheek and not resist the evil man who comes against them.”
Judah stared at him, aghast. Saba continued, words flowing like honey, defying all that was known in the world.
“To resist force with force makes one a king in the realm of earth. To offer forgiveness instead makes one a prince in the realm unseen by human eyes. To forgive is to release offense. To yield. In this way the sting is not felt.”
“Sting? And what of Kahil’s butchery, and the Romans’? You would see God’s children as sand to be crushed under their feet?”
“And yet a thousand have been crucified in Israel. Yeshua has seen this with his own eyes. Still, he refuses to speak out against the Roman butchers. Instead, he teaches a way of far greater power. Can the Romans heal the heart? Can they calm the storm? Can they make the blind see? And so the whole world is made blind by planks of offense and judgment, kept in place with harsh words and bloody swords. But Yeshua came to bring sight to even we who are blind, and to set free those imprisoned by their offense.”
Judah slowly sank to his seat, calmer now. But his jaw was set.
“In your way of speaking, Rome will inherit the earth, even as Kahil has inherited the desert.”
“The meek will inherit the earth,” Saba said, quoting Yeshua. “Kahil and Rome are slaves of this master called earth. You can only serve one master. Never two. You will serve only the system of the world, or the realm of peace and love.”
Judah stared at Saba for a long time, and for a moment I wondered if he was softening, because Saba’s words reminded me of Yeshua’s Way, as they so often did. In Yeshua’s Way of peace, I had become queen at Petra.
Judah turned to me, face downcast, eyes pleading for understanding.
“Maviah…Surely you would defend Talya and the orphans with all of your might. Surely you will rise up and crush Kahil’s brutality with all of your means. Surely you don’t expect my people in Galilee to submit to crucifixion without resisting!”
How many times had I pondered this question and accepted the path of nonresistance, even as I had in Petra? But the pain in Judah’s eyes pulled my mind into a fog.
Or was I seeing clearly now?
“I beg you, Maviah,” he said. “Do
Similar Books
