Mission in the Context of Palestine-Israel

Reflections from the Book of Ecclesiastes

Tony Deik

The founding of the State of Israel is remembered by the indigenous people of Palestine as the Nakba (catastrophe).¹ To establish the Jewish state, the Zionists had to ethnically cleanse Palestine from its indigenous population, expelling more than 750,000 Palestinians (among them my grandfather and his family), depopulating more than 500 Palestinian towns and villages, and committing no less than 24 massacres against the Palestinian people. The result was the occupation of 78% of historical Palestine in 1947–1949.

In 1967, Israel occupied the remaining 22% of historical Palestine: The West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, referred to as the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Today, life in Bethlehem, where my family has been living for at least a millennium, is marked by Israeli military checkpoints, 8-meter-high apartheid wall, confiscation of land, continuous expansion of settlements, forced separation of families (what my family and I had to go through for around two years), illegal military arrests in the middle of the night, water shortages, and the list goes on and on.²

Sadly, all these atrocities and injustices go unnoticed for many evangelical Christians in the West—even some of those living and working in Palestine-Israel. Instead, the actions of Israel against the Palestinians are justified and interpreted as acts of divine faithfulness. One of the main reasons for this—in addition to issues of theology and biblical interpretation—is how evangelicals see (or rather fail to see) the reality of injustice and oppression in Palestine-Israel.

In what follows I draw upon the ancient wisdom found in the book of Ecclesiastes to shed some light on the importance of seeing injustice and oppression in missional praxis, especially in the context of Palestine-Israel.³

A Missional Reading of Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes is one of the most challenging biblical texts to understand. Interpreters have conflicted on how to approach it and make sense of its message. For some, Ecclesiastes provides practical, faith-based answers to the grim realities of life (be merry and thankful, and enjoy life while it lasts). Others consider Qoheleth⁴ a representative of a type of ancient skeptics that deny the goodness—if not the very existence—of God.

In this article, I interpret Ecclesiastes using a missional framework. The rationale for this is two- fold. First, the Bible tells the story of the mission of God (missio dei) “under the sun,” and I believe Ecclesiastes is part and parcel of this grand narrative. Second, I find the interpretative clue of the book in its conclusion. “The sayings of the wise,” the narrator tells us, “are like goads” (Eccl 12:11). This, for me, summarizes Qoheleth’s speech. Like a goad moves an animal, so should Qoheleth’s words move the reader into action. One of the actions the text intends to move us towards is seeing the injustices committed under the sun.

Qoheleth’s Observation of Injustice and Oppression

Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well … I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed—with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power—with no one to comfort them. (Eccl 3:16, 4:1; NRSV)

Many Western commentators are quick to declare that Qoheleth in such passages is only descriptive; he notices injustice and oppression but does not do anything about them. For example, Roland Murphy asserts that Qoheleth “simply registers the fact without condemnation,”⁵ and Tremper Longman concludes that Qoheleth “does not personally engage the subject or enjoin others to resist the oppressor. He simply resigns himself to the situation.”⁶

Such interpretations miss a crucial point, that is; the importance of seeing and understanding situations of oppression and injustice. Furthermore, upon a close examination of the text, it is clear that Qoheleth is doing much more than merely “registering the facts.” In what follows I highlight three main elements in the way Qoheleth sees injustice and oppression.

1. Qoheleth understands the causes of oppression and injustice

Qoheleth not only notices injustice and oppression, but he understands their root cause. He does not name out the sins of the oppressed as the cause of their afflictions, nor does he merely feel sorry when he sees “the tears of the oppressed” (4:1a). Rather, like an intellectual with penetrating analytical skills, he recognizes the power imbalance between the oppressor and the oppressed as the cause of the affliction of the downtrodden: “on the side of their oppressors there was power” (4:1b). He also understands that this is part of a bigger system of oppression, or “a hierarchy of powers”⁷ which goes all the way up to the king himself (5:8–9). This oppressive hierarchy of powers, for Qoheleth, is the cause of “the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and right” (5:8).

2. Qoheleth’s observations challenge unjust and oppressive systems

Some Western commentators believe that Qoheleth does not challenge the systems perpetuating injustice and oppression. Rather, he simply observes and records the miscarriage of injustice without being personally engaged with the subject. These interpretations miss the fact that by pointing out the perversion of justice (and writing about it!), Qoheleth is implicitly challenging the unjust and oppressive political and legal systems. It should be remembered that in ancient Israel the king was ultimately responsible for political and legal justice.⁸ Therefore, by writing about the perversion of justice in ancient Israel and exposing the system of oppression and the hierarchy of powers behind it, Qoheleth is challenging the rule of the king himself.

3. Qoheleth’s observations call for compassion with the oppressed while condemning the acts of the oppressor

Not only does Qoheleth understand the reality of injustice and oppression and its socio-political causes, but what he wrote calls upon the reader to extend compassion and solidarity with the oppressed. For example, after he observes “all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun,” and “the tears of the oppressed” (4:1), he emphatically repeats twice that there is “no one to comfort them.” This undoubtedly carries an implicit call to stand by the oppressed. Moreover, Qoheleth does not hesitate to refer to the acts of oppression as “evil deeds” (4:3b). This indicates that he is doing much more than “simply registering the facts.” Describing oppression as “evil deed” is rather a condemnation of the act.

Scholars are right to note that Qoheleth mainly observes injustice and oppression. However, his observations are so deep and penetrating that they (i) expose the root causes of oppression and injustice, (ii) challenge unjust political and legal systems, and (iii) call for solidarity with the oppressed while condemning the acts of the perpetrator. This, in a nutshell, makes up what it means to observe injustice and oppression for Qoheleth.

How does this affect the way we do mission in Palestine-Israel?

While the book of Ecclesiastes does not offer us a full missional paradigm, it does provide us with the initial steps that are often missing from our missional praxis; that is, seeing and understanding injustice and oppression. Many Christians, especially among evangelicals, refuse to see the oppression of the Palestinians or the root cause of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. They either relativize the pain and suffering of the Palestinians or they blindly support and defend the State of Israel—both with their theology as well as their missional praxis. This is the reason behind the assertion of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that “evangelical Christians are Israel’s best friends.”⁹

Qoheleth challenges us to see the reality of oppression and injustice. Instead of taking the side of Israel—a nuclear power supported by the world’s greatest powers—we are challenged to understand the hierarchy of powers that has been causing the expulsion and oppression of the indigenous people of Palestine since 1948. It is my hope that the evangelical church in the West comes to the realization that it has unfortunately become part of this hierarchy of powers, both by providing theological justification to the Israeli occupation and, in many cases, by offering material aid to the Israeli government and military.

My hope is that repentance will come sooner than later, and that the evangelical church will undergo a radical shift in understanding what is happening in the Middle East. Instead of defending and justifying the acts of the perpetrators, I pray that the church would assume its missional role in challenging structural injustice and oppression, condemning the acts of the aggressor, and standing in solidarity with the oppressed.

The views and opinions expressed in these papers are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect an official position of INFEMIT. We seek to foster reflection through conversation, and ask you to be respectful and constructive in your comments.

1. For more about the Palestinian Catastrophe (Nakba) of 1948, or what Israeli historian Ilan Pappe rightly calls the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, see Ilan Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (London: Oneworld Publications, 2007), and Nur Masalha, The Palestine Nakba: Decolonising History, Narrating the Subaltern, Reclaiming Memory (London: Zed Books, 2012).
2. For an introduction on the situation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip since 1967, see Ben White, Israeli Apartheid: A Beginner’s Guide (London: Pluto, 2014).
3. This article is based on a recent book chapter I wrote: Anton Deik, “Justice in Ecclesiastes (3:16–4:3 And 8:10– 17): A Missional Reading from and for Palestine,” in Reading Ecclesiastes from Asia and Pasifika, eds. Jione Havea and Peter H. W. Lau (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2020), 69-84. The book chapter presents an in-depth exegesis of the main passages related to justice and oppression in Ecclesiastes.
4. Qoheleth is the Hebrew word used to refer to the author of Ecclesiastes. The word is mentioned in Eccl 1:1 and is often translated as “the Teacher” or “the Preacher.”
5. Roland Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Vol 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word Books, 1992), 37.
6. Tremper Longman, The book of Ecclesiastes, Vol. 23, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 133.
7. Murphy, Ecclesiastes, 51.
8. Longman, Ecclesiastes, 127.
9. https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-evangelical-christians-are-israels-best-friends/ (Accessed, March 2019).