Exodus

The apostle Paul, after informing Christians that we have access to the full armor of God, requested prayer for His work; Ephesians chapter 6 states:
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--
19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Centuries ago, God promised to give a land to Abraham - His covenant to His chosen people has not changed, and even today, a nation, called Israel, reflecting the name of Abraham's grandson, Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, occupies a sizable portion of the land entrusted by God. Those of us who are not Jews, by virtue of a Jewish man named Jesus, have been brought into a relationship with our Heavenly Father through Him.  We can stand with the original chosen people, as well as with those who have accepted Jesus as Messiah who are facing opposition. 

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Certainly, the headlines emerging out of Israel and the brutality of the Hamas offensive against Israel are disturbing. And, we are reminded of areas of conflict and persecution around the world. In the midst of a turbulent world, we must respond with diligence and determination, as the book of Jude teaches:
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction;
23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

You may be familiar with what is known as the Armenian Genocide, in which 1.2 million people in that country suffered death at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.  It started in the year 1915.  

Many Armenians, including Christians, are enduring another season of persecution today. Lela Gilbert, Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom at Family Research Council, who has been a guest on The Meeting House, wrote a recent piece for the Religion Unplugged website giving an appraisal of the conflict taking place including this group of people.  She writes:

The small Armenian Christian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh — locally known as Artsakh — has long been part of historical Armenia. However, since December 2022, Artsakh has been under siege by neighboring Azerbaijan, and the world has largely ignored a prolonged assault on that peaceful community of 120,000 souls.

Gilbert notes that President Ilham Aliyev — a close ally and confidante of Turkey’s neo-Ottoman leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan — is responsible for this deadly aggression.

Gilbert writes:

And now, Artsakh’s Christians are being driven out of their historic homeland on a one-way journey to Armenia.

It is noteworthy that Armenia was the world’s first Christian nation, declared as such in the year 301. While the phrase “ethnic cleansing” is increasingly used to describe Artsakh’s plight, few, if any, major news sources have taken note of the religious persecution that fuels the Azeri blockage.

She adds, in a piece published on September 26:

Following months of siege, Reuters reported last week: “Azerbaijan sent troops backed by artillery strikes into Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday in an attempt to bring the breakaway region to heel by force, raising the threat of a new war with its neighbor Armenia.”

Once the Azeri military offensive was launched, thousands of terrified Armenian civilians fled their ancestral homes, seeking whatever shelter they could find — praying for rescue. Then, on Sept. 24, the Azeris finally opened the Lachin Corridor to evacuees, providing only a one-way journey to Armenia. In a matter of hours, hundreds of cars jammed the roadway. And most of those who left knew that they probably would never return.

This region has been the center of conflict for quite some time, dating back to the days of the former Soviet Union, to which Armenia and Azerbaijan both belonged. CBN News reported on that same day:

Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"This is an area of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, that has been contested for many years," said Dr. David Curry of Global Christian Relief. "It has historically been filled with Armenians, Armenian cultures, the Christian faith."

While it's been internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, the area has been ruled by ethnic Armenians for three decades.

Two U.S. officials traveled to the region and met with Armenia's prime minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday. He told them ethnic cleansing is "happening right now."

A CBN article from last week estimated that some 100,000 "ethnic Armenians" have fled.  That article relates:

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan calls it "a direct act of ethnic cleansing." He says without concrete action soon by the international community, they are just "creating moral statistics for history."

"The exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh continues as a result of Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing policy. Analysis shows that in the coming days there will be no more Armenians left in Nagorno-Karabakh. This is a direct act of ethnic cleansing and deprivation of a homeland, as we have been telling the international community for a long time," he said.

The article goes on to say:

Joel Veldkamp of Christian Solidarity International calls it a refugee crisis of immense proportions.

"Many of them are fending for themselves. Many of them we've seen are sleeping in their cars or sleeping in tents or sleeping in the streets of the city of Goris, which is close to Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia," Veldkamp said. "Armenia is not a rich country by any means. This is going to be an enormous refugee crisis, an enormous challenge for all the eight organizations working to help these people."

Furthermore, according to CBN: "There is a fear that Armenia itself, one of the oldest Christian countries in the world, is probably the next target for the Islamic regimes in Turkey and Azerbaijan."

Ideologically-driven, spiritually-centric violence is nothing new - yes, there is a spiritual component to conflicts that we see in many parts of the world.  Christian persecution is common throughout not only the Middle East, but in other countries, as well.   And, in so many instances, a radical view of Islam is driving the violence.  That is certainly true currently in and around Israel. It's the case involving Azerbaijan and the attempt to drive out people related to Christianity. It's a form of spiritual bullying and we have to be in prayer for the persecuted, for those being oppressed for their religion. 

While Christians believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation, our goal is not to exterminate those who oppose us, but to win them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Our desire for their eternal souls should outweigh hostility that we feel or experience.  We must be intent on praying for those who are aligned with our spiritual enemy and to love them into the Kingdom.  We should also be steadfast in the Spirit and confront the forces of evil using the weapons of our spiritual warfare that God has given to us.