The crisis in Israel is horrific. What Hamas did and initiated is nothing less than a great evil. At the same time, what may also be called a great evil are the cheers and the justifying of horrendous evil by many Americans and others around the world.

For once, those of us who are Christian and Jew have a common verse in both the Jewish Torah and the Christian Old Testament to unite us in discernment, understanding, and our prayers. This is that passage in Proverbs 17:15:

Jewish: Mishlei – “He who vindicates the wicked and condemns the righteous—both are an abomination to the Lord.”

Christian: Proverbs – “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.”

Any time Yahweh or God in either of our holy books uses the term “abomination,” we must pause and consider the strength…the stress He utilizes to make His will known and to get our attention. We dare not ignore a word or term that denotes the nth degree of a great evil. In any language, there is no word that supersedes or is a greater superlative for how horrendous or detestable an evil is.

The actions of Hamas on Saturday, October 7, 2023, totally fit such a description. There is no need to reiterate the list of brutal, cruel, and abominable deeds that were done on that day. They were an abomination to Yahweh, God, and Allah (These are all the only words for the Deity all worship in those languages).

Image by Andrea Widburg

Yes, I include “Allah” because Arab Christians also worship “Allah” (the only word for God in Arabic), and even the Qur’an begins every chapter (except for one), “In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.” Who can imagine “the Compassionate, the Merciful” accepting or approving what was done to babies, children, the elderly, men and women—the innocent victims of such a massacre? It was another “day of infamy.”

It is incomprehensible and unimaginable that any American would not see the evil for what it was—an abomination. And yet we were confronted with so many cheering and justifying such an evil. This is just one indication of many the moral decline we are experiencing. It is not unexpected that many of us, both Jewish and Christian, will fear Yahweh’s and God’s judgment on our nation. It’s not only a moral decline, but also a rejection of true justice.

Such evils result in others experiencing consequences who are also innocent victims, such as the Palestinian Christians and Muslims who would not or do not accept or approve of such evil. Unfortunately, evil, violence, and wars create what is called collateral damage. History reminds us of how consistently this occurs.

The passage in the Jewish Mishlei and the Christian Old Testament reminds us of our common beliefs. Those common beliefs should encourage us to pray discerningly—not with malice, but with attitudes based on compassion and mercy, as well as truth and justice, for all the innocent victims and their families. We must also pray for Hamas to be judged and condemned for the abomination it has unleashed on the innocent, on the Israelis, the Jews, the world, and against Yahweh, God, and Allah.