Reflections on Hamas’s Attack on Israel

Note: This podcast episode on Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel is unique for The Table. We rarely cover current events as they unfold, much less events with such personal and global significance. At times, guests display the emotion that comes from knowing victims of the attacks. We decided not to edit out these moments. Our guests long for God's protection of the innocent and justice against the wicked. There is biblical precedence for this request and the emotion that accompanies it. One need look no further than Psalm 9. We also want to remember that there is a legitimate concern for those Palestinians who are also among Hamas's victims. We hope to follow up with a podcast episode exploring this topic. One thing is clear: Hamas helps no one, Palestinian or Jew. We offer this discussion of the conflict with these reflections in mind. 

Darrell Bock: 

Welcome to The Table where we discuss issues of God and culture. I'm Darrell Bock, executive director at The Hendricks Center at Dallas Theological Seminary. 

And our topic today is the current situation in Israel, in the aftermath of the battle, really between Israel and Hamas. And so, I have two ministry experts who have had ministry experience with their organizations in Israel for a long time. David Brickner of Jews for Jesus, who's in the San Francisco area, and Mitch Glaser of Chosen People Ministries, who's in the New York City area. So I think we can say we've kind of got the country covered between the three of us because sitting here in Dallas, and we're just going to dive straight in. 

Let's talk about a little bit about the context in which we find ourselves and why this situation has emerged. What's going on? And Mitch, I'll let you lead off. 

Mitch Glaser: 

Okay. There are some very gruesome details. I don't think that this is a war or a battle like a normal war or normal battle because it's not been fought between professional soldiers. It's actually a battle between terrorists and civilians. 

The ground war hasn't started yet, and that will be slightly different, but for the most part, of the 1,300 Israelis that were killed, probably 1,100 of them were civilians. And they're still trying to figure out the numbers. And so, this is not just a war, this is a merciless attack by terrorists at a massive scale on Israelis. 

So a week ago Saturday or whenever this podcast will get out there, on October 7th, based upon the number of bodies that were recovered of terrorists, it looks like about 1,500 terrorists, maybe more, broke through the borders of Gaza. They cut through the fence, they came on gliders, they came on rafts, and they slaughtered 1,300 Israelis. 

More than 3,000 were wounded, and now the number is about 200 were kidnapped. That includes babies, moms, dads, elderly people, everybody. And as a result of these stunning, horrific, and gruesome issues that came up because nobody could really figure it out as it was happening, it took a few days really to just basically count the bodies. And I do believe the stories have been pretty verified about beheading babies and everything else. You just have to, when you're dealing with Hamas, you basically are looking at the same stream of extreme Islam, militant violent Islam. 

And so, now what we have is there were 360,000 IDF soldiers called up. And right now these soldiers are gathering on the border of Gaza. Some of course are taking care of the northern border with Hezbollah. And they're going to go in and their goal is to deconstruct Hamas, to destroy them. And so, Israel is shell-shocked. 

This is the worst catastrophe for Jewish people since the Holocaust. And so, I can't compare it to the Holocaust, but in one day to have that many innocents killed, and I don't know, David can probably describe some of the areas of attack if he wants, but the Israeli IDF, the Israeli soldiers are poised to go into Gaza and their mission will be to destroy Hamas. 

Obviously, we make a distinction between Hamas and between average Palestinian citizens and people. And our hearts go out to the families and the loved ones of the Israelis who were killed. And of course, our hearts will go out and will go out to the innocent Palestinians that will be killed. But I can promise you, Darrell, my heart doesn't go out one bit for Hamas, I believe. 

I'm praying for God's judgment to reign upon them, and I'm praying for them to be destroyed. If that makes me a lousy Christian, then so be it. But I really hope and pray that there will be a divine victory through the very faulty, inhuman idea and that this curse on the earth, the Hamas will be wiped out. 

Darrell Bock: 

By the time this is released, some of this may have happened. It's conceivable that the troops will have rolled in and we'll be hearing about what's taken place as a result. 

David, you want to add anything? 

David Brickner: 

Yeah, Mitch, I don't think of you as a bad Christian for having those feelings about Hamas because this is not a group that's just dealing with the rights of the Palestinians for a homeland, they are hell-bent on the destruction of the Jewish people wherever they might be. And they are also haters of the God of the Jewish people. 

I think it was incredibly cynical and revealing that they chose the day of our rejoicing, a Jewish biblical holiday, to attack. They are opposed to all who follow the God of Israel. And so, we need to recognize that God's judgment is already on them for the position that they've taken, for the lives that they have taken, murdered. 

And this is not just Jewish people. The innocents who live in Gaza are also dying because of Hamas. And so, we need to recognize that these people are against life itself and they're willing to take that life. And so, I applaud Israel's commitment to completely obliterate this terrorist group. 

And I think that the posture of our United States government is also laudable, to stand a hundred percent behind Israel. And I hope that the church does as well and does not fall prey to some of the equivocation that so often comes. And that's going to be a more tempting issue when the ground war begins. And there will be a call for ceasefire, there will be a call for comparing the loss of life. Any loss of life in Gaza is on the hands of Hamas because they're the ones that are hiding there behind the innocents. 

So we just need to be, and I think this has happened, that there's a renewed moral clarity in our nation, even in places that you wouldn't expect it. As we are hearing government officials and legacy media talking heads talk about pure evil. Well, that's a judgment call that has not been heard very often from the podium in the White House or the floor of the Senate or from the New York Times. But they are stating that. 

And so, in one sense, this evil has made itself manifest beyond those who should recognize it. But for us who are believers in Jesus, there's no question that this is good versus evil. This is the God of Israel versus Ha-Satan, the adversary. It's the cosmic conflict of all the ages writ large for us to see in our generation. 

Darrell Bock: 

So just quickly, just to fill some gaps for people, October 7th on the Jewish calendar, why was that significant? 

David Brickner: 

Well, it was the end of the feast of Sukkot, the most joyous feast in all of the feasts found in Leviticus chapter 23. It was the conclusion, Simchat Torah, the rejoicing in God giving the law. It's a day where the scriptures say you shall have nothing but joy. And that's what God was intending for his people, Israel and for all who are part of the grafted in blessed gentiles who worship the God of Israel. This is a celebration of God's provision for us. And at that high point of the Jewish festival, the concluding feast of all of the seven, this evil intent came into Israel to rob the command to have nothing but joy, instead giving us nothing but sorrow. 

So there's a spiritual dynamic we cannot forget about when we think about these global issues. And you see the protests going on in major cities around the world in support of what happened, which is horrifying. And it makes you realize this is not isolated to the Middle East. This is a sickness and a sinfulness that is in the human heart across the globe. And those of us who love the Lord and who love his people, need to recognize this is not a battle isolated in one. 

... Need to recognize this is not a battle isolated in one small part of the Middle East, it's across the globe. 

Darrell Bock: 

Go ahead, Mitch. I didn't mean- 

Mitch Glaser: 

Well. I agree with David's perspective, of course. Just to remind people that it was the Sabbath, it was the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, and it was a holiday. And if you read Leviticus chapter 23, you'll see that it's a no workday. And so between a Sabbath, a holiday, the 50th anniversary, this was a date that was carefully selected by Hamas. And again, the key problem with this that makes it distinct is that the attacks were not against the military. The attacks were against their neighbors who lived on Kibbutz Gaza or Aza, which is what it is in Hebrew. I mean, it was right there and right next door, two kilometers from the fence. And that was the first group that was wiped out. It was 260 or 70 kids who were at a concert and were in part of a new age festival that went there to have fun and enjoy themselves. And now their parents are waiting for some of them to come home. But they've been abducted in Gaza. 

We spoke to a relative in Israel and asked how they were handling it, and she said, "I've gone to more funerals for friends than I have in my entire life," because her kids are the same age as the kids that were slaughtered and they were friends with so many who were killed. It's innumerable. And so, again, they picked a date when defenses would be down and they killed and slaughtered children, elderly people, babies, not soldiers. Even I sometimes use the word war, but the war is about to begin. But this was not a war. This was a terrorist slaughter. 

Darrell Bock: 

One of the points that I like to make in talking about Hamas is Hamas is not interested in defending the Palestinian people. They are interested in... And I think, David, you said this earlier, they're interested in trying to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and kick them out of the land, et cetera, and are interested in any means to do so. And I know when I've spoken to Palestinian groups, which I have done, about the situation in Israel, it is this reality that, I say, you have to take into account why Israel is so committed to her own security. This is an illustration of why, and sometimes I think people forget that some of the things that people have been complaining about, the cause of it is the presence of a group that wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. And the Bible is clear... 

I want to talk about this biblically for a second. The Bible is clear that a country has the right to defend its people and the wellbeing of its people. That's one of the reasons governments exist. And so we have the idea of what's called sometimes Just War theory about the way in which battle should happen. And you're pointing out about this being not a fighting of soldiers, but an attack on people. That's a violation of what most people see to be international standards about how conflict should be fought. That's just an observation. Let me turn my... 

And you can comment on this or what I'm going to raise next, the protests around the globe raise a specter of another reality that really Jews have been coping with for almost their entire existence. That's antisemitism and the significance of antisemitism. And let's talk a little bit about that because I think the moral clarity that you all were talking about earlier is important to appreciate here because it should be a check on what has been a problem with regard to antisemitism that runs the centuries when it comes to Israel. So I'll let you go either direction. You can talk about Hamas or you can talk about antisemitism, whichever way you want to go and to whoever. 

Mitch Glaser: 

Well, I'll just speak briefly. Antisemitism, the source of antisemitism is Satan himself. He was the first one to hate the Jewish people and he has inspired that hatred. Why? Because Satan understands the role of the Jewish people based upon God's covenants. The choosing of Abraham, from the Abrahamic covenant on, the devil who can't control history, he can only interrupt it at times, but what happened is the devil was trying to destroy the Jewish people, was trying to keep the Messiah from being born. Just look at the history. If he could wipe out the Jewish people, he could wipe out the plan and purposes of God. And so I think it's important for those listening, Darrell, to at least have a... I mean, I know many people who listen to the podcast and many of them have a deep understanding of scripture, theological sophistication. And so I know that I'm speaking to many people who understand exactly what I'm talking about, that the Jewish people are not finished yet, and the plan of God through the Jewish people will continue. 

Ultimately, the Jewish people will be the light to the nations that the Jewish people are supposed to be. And if you read Romans 11 chapters 25 through the end of the chapter, you see that there's a day coming when the Jewish people will turn to Jesus and Jesus will return. It's well understood in certain circles, especially with those who take the Bible very, very literally. And we understand that the Jewish people have a role to play. The Jewish people had a role to play in the first coming of the Messiah and the Jewish people have a role to play in the second coming of the Messiah, and it's clear that the devil is trying to interrupt and counter God's plan. And so we have to understand that there is a cosmic battle. It's like Daniel 9, 10, and 11 just coming to fore. "There are principalities and powers," Paul says in Ephesians 6. 

And these things are happening and it plays out through humanity in history. So am I saying that Hamas is from the devil? Yeah, probably. Yeah. Am I saying that every individual who hates Jewish people? Well, I won't exactly call them from the devil, but I will say that it's a devilish scheme that they've embraced and that they should reject and they should repent. And so wherever it is, we had the protests in New York in Times Square, you had it in Paris, where in the north of France, an Israeli diplomat was stabbed. I mean, you had it all over the place, but probably the penultimate expression of Satanic antisemitism, which brings the moral clarity that David mentioned, occurred on October 7th. And to see that has really caused people to take sides. My prayer, and I know that I'm talking to many believers right now, my prayer is that believers will understand that when you align yourself with those who are against the Jewish people, that you've actually aligned yourself with Satan. 

It's a satanic plan. I'm not calling you demon possessed, but I am saying that it is a satanic plan. And last statement, there's a good Southern Baptist preacher that I like very much... And the Southern Baptists have such a great way of preaching. I wish I was Southern Baptist. I'm Conservative Baptist, I'm not a Southern Baptist, but I wish I was. The Southern Baptist leader said, "We need to love what God loves and we need to hate what God hates." And my prayer is that Christians will step up and be bold and will embrace the Jewish people and will love the Jewish people because God loves the Jewish people and hate the devil and hate those who embrace devilish schemes to try and destroy the Jewish people. 

Darrell Bock: 

David? 

David Brickner: 

Yeah. The greatest evil that a person can commit according to Jewish tradition is chillul hashem, the cursing, the bringing ill repute on the name of God himself. And this attack is chillul hashem because God staked his reputation on the perpetuity of the Jewish people. And so to attack the Jews is really to attack the reputation of the creator of the universe. And he has promised... He's jealous for his name and for his glory, he'll not give it to another. And so any effort to undermine, to destroy, to harm the Jewish people, that's why the scriptures say it's like touching the apple of God's eye, poking God in the eye. It is an assault on the name of the one that we love and worship. And so we need to recognize what's at stake here. It's not just an attack on Jewish people, it's an attack on the God of Israel, who is the God of all who follow the Lord Jesus. So I... 

... who is the God of all who follow the Lord Jesus. So I really feel like the foundation of this is not just the Jewish people, it's the Jewish God, and it's the God of Israel. It's the God of Jesus, his father that is being attacked. His reputation is being called into question. And he promises in the end that he's going to preserve his people for his name's sake. And so when we enter into prayer, Psalm 1:22:6 says, "shaalu shalom Yerushalayim, pray for the peace of Jerusalem." We are engaging in spiritual warfare that ultimately will establish the glory of God, his name and his purposes on the earth. So this is a momentous event in the history of the church. This is an opportunity for God's people to stand up for what God has already declared in his word he is committed to. And we have that opportunity in our generation to do that through prayer, through support, and through no equivocation on this issue. It's a biblical issue and we need to see it clearly. 

Darrell Bock: 

So one other question, and then I'll ask for prayer requests. What are you all hearing from the ground, from your people there in terms of what they're going through, what their needs are? What are you hearing from Israel itself, David? 

David Brickner: 

We have about 50 staff of Jews for Jesus who are Israeli citizens on the ground in primarily Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. And a number of our key staff have already been called up to the front lines to serve. Some of them are in the North because Israel needs to watch out for a two front war, and it seems to be escalating there, but the majority are down in the South, mobilizing on the border. There are already some of our staff who can't tell us where they are because there are secret missions that are going on to try to discover what is happening with the hostages. And it's just a nightmare. But a number of them are basically saying that the first group that's going to be called to go into Gaza are the 18 to 21 year olds. They are in the middle of their military service and they're the frontline that's going in. 

And then the next group will be those who've just completed their military service and are sharpest. But there are 300,000 reservists that have been called up. And so a lot of these people are believers in Jesus, and a lot of these people are coming into this fight with the hope of heaven. And so we want to pray and ask for prayer, especially for those of God's people who are on the front lines, who are defending with their own lives, the Jewish people and Israel. And so what our ministry is doing right now is trying to provide help for these. We have care packages that we're putting together at the Morris Rosen Center and distributing them to soldiers on the front line. Were also, because so many who were attacked in the South are still living in bomb shelters, their homes were destroyed, we're providing meals, personal needs, clothing, things like that for those who are in need. 

We are also trying to provide ministry help through distribution of the scriptures. And then special events at the Morris Rosen Center. The children are traumatized. So for example, just yesterday we had an event for children at the Morris Rosen Center where you could come and play with puppies. And so we had kids coming to have a relief from the tension that they're feeling, but everybody feels it, and there's a lot of trauma, emotional, Mitch mentioned the funerals, they're just constant on the news. Israel's a very small country. And so what we experienced here in America with 9/11, people are saying, "This is 9/11 times 10 when you consider the population of Israel." And so all of that trauma, all of those needs are multiplied by the concentration of the people. And so whether it be serving on the frontline, bringing meals and care packages, or just helping Israelis to cope, we sent out in the first few days, 66 New Testaments were requested through our website in Israel. 

And so there's a spiritual hunger as well as the needs of the people that are very much practical. We're trying to do our very best to meet those needs. And of course, our own staff, I'm praying for them because this has an impact on them just like it does everybody else in Israel. And it's hard to both care for yourself and care for the needs of those around you, but that's what needs to happen right now. So those are the prayer needs and what's happening with our staff on the ground. 

Darrell Bock: 

Mitch, what's going on with Chosen People? 

Mitch Glaser: 

Well, very similar to what David described. The needs are quite obvious. There are needs because the soldiers, when you call up over 300,000 troops, it's not like you gathered the food before you call them up. And so there's been a great need for thermal underwear and it's not so easy to get as many pairs as you want. So the IDF did their best in getting people in, but there's a lot of places where soldiers gathered before they go down to their basis or their posts. And so we're meeting them there and trying to provide. We're doing a lot of the same things that David mentioned because those are the needs. 

One little difference maybe over the years because we have a lot of Russian, Jewish speakers on our staff, because of that, we've had a really intensive ministry among Holocaust survivors. And a lot of these Holocaust survivors, they were children and some of them were at the most teenagers. And when I started with Chosen People 26 years ago and became president, there were probably over 300, 350,000 Holocaust survivors. And we had ministries all over the country to the Holocaust survivors, loving them, taking them on trips, taking them overseas, taking them on tours, cleaning their homes, helping them, feeding them, I mean, just everything. And it took 10 years before we actually saw any of them come to faith. But now we see quite a few come to the Lord. But now the number's reduced. Maybe, nobody really knows, but maybe less than 50,000 of these elderly Holocaust survivors. 

So we had a very strong ministry, the way you'll hear it either way. And so they are in the process at this very moment of being totally evacuated. They say that only about 10% of the, I don't know, 40 or 50,000 people that live there on a regular basis of whom many, many are elderly Holocaust survivors, will be out. And as David says, they're going to need a place to stay and they're going to need food. Chosen People's had a long-term relationship with many of these families. And so we're cooking and we're distributing food and praying with people and as usual, sharing the gospel. But we also had a relationship not just with the towns on bordering Gaza, but some other towns. There was one kibbutz that was in the South, and there's a town that was near that kibbutz called Ofakim, O-F-A-K-I-M, town of about 35,000 people. 

About a third of them were ultra-Orthodox Jews. About a third were Holocaust survivors, Russian speakers. And then the rest, well, we were ministering there for years doing holiday celebrations, Hanukkah, Passover, and they were very, very involved with us. And what we found out on Sunday on the eighth was that a group of the terrorists entered Ofakim and slaughtered a whole bunch of people. But five of the people that we were ministering to on an absolute regular basis were gruesomely killed. And if they were in the late eighties, they were young, they were in their nineties, and one of the men was taken as a hostage. 

We think, we don't know because they can't find his body, but he's in his early nineties. And so we have a group of traumatized elderly people, and so we have done everything we can to help these people who we love and we know well. So what we just did was we took about 30 or 40 of them to the Dead Sea. They needed to get out and we had a retreat. Most of those who came were unbelievers, but we went to the Dead Sea and we gave them some time to relax. And the conversations were very intense as you think about it. They escaped the Holocaust, admittedly very young, but they escaped the Holocaust, then they were pretty much imprisoned- 

Then they were pretty much imprisoned as Jews in the former Soviet Union. They couldn't really identify. Then during Perestroika, they left and they ended up living in Israel, which was a dream of so many of theirs. They wanted to get out and to live as Jews. And now they died as Jews in the most horrible way. Well, of course, they died, but the people who are still alive are devastated. I mean, beyond devastation. And so, the amount of post-traumatic stress and trauma counseling that we're doing, it's just going on all day and all night. 

And so, that's one. There's a lot going on among younger adults. We have a lot of young adults that we're ministering to. But this is a particular group of people that we've had a unique ministry to for years. And that's just the beginning of it all, Darrell. We learned a lot. I'm sure David learned a lot. A of us in ministry learned a lot. In New York, we had 9/11, then we had Hurricane Sandy, then we had a pandemic, then we had Ukraine and Russia, a war where I know Jews for Jesus was very involved there, still is, and so are we. And now we have this horrible thing happen. It's probably almost really the most horrible thing that happened. 

And it's not that we are battle-hardened when it comes to disaster, but we do have some experience, unfortunately now. And we know that there are at least three phases, and we're in the first phase right now, barely into the first phase, and that's the emergency phase. So right now we're throwing every piece of spaghetti against the wall, doing everything we can to try and meet people's needs physically and spiritually, emotionally and psychologically, no matter who they are, what age they are. I mean, think, you have 300,000 call-ups. Well, most of them or many of them, not most of them, but many of them are married. Many of them have kids and most of them are men because there'll be some women, but most of them are going to be men. And so, we have a whole ministry that we've been doing to these poor moms and wives that are at home, and they don't know if they'll ever see their husbands again or their fathers. 

And so, we are ministering to them. Of course they need meals and they need other things, but most of all, they need someone to hold their hand, to pray with them, to talk with them. And so, our staff is just dozens of staff in Israel. They're just going all day and all night doing this kind of thing. And so, we need the prayers of believers. And I really appreciate the support and the giving that Christians have. I mean, most of us we're getting gifts we never solicited. Money was just coming in. David, I'm sure that was true for you too. And it was just coming. And the money's important, we appreciate it, we're grateful. And I wish that some of what we're doing could be solved by money, but it can't. You can't. And so, we're grateful for the investment, and of course we need the funding because there's a lot of stuff we have to buy for people. And we have to rent spaces because there's not enough space for them to stay in different places. 

But really pray for our staff and pray for JFJ staff, Jesus for Jesus staff. Because you can only imagine... Because our staff, we're all Israelis too. You can only imagine what they're going through and now they need to give out. 

Darrell Bock: 

Let me ask you- 

Mitch Glaser: 

It's really tough. 

Darrell Bock: 

Let me ask you this question. The population of Israel is, what? I actually don't know, it's an honest question. 

Mitch Glaser: 

A little over seven, 7.3 million. 

David Brickner: 

7 million Jews, yeah. 

Darrell Bock: 

Okay. 

Mitch Glaser: 

And another 2 million who are Arabs. 

Darrell Bock: 

Okay. So there are 9 million- 

Mitch Glaser: 

At least. 

Darrell Bock: 

So 9 million people in the area. 

Mitch Glaser: 

Yeah. 

Darrell Bock: 

And on the Israeli side, 7 million Jews. 300,000 reservists. How many people are in the core army, are we talking about? Do you know? 

Mitch Glaser: 

That's a good question. You know what? I don't know. I don't think they give that information out, Daryl. 

Darrell Bock: 

Okay, well that's interesting because- 

Mitch Glaser: 

Sure someone knows. 

Darrell Bock: 

Here's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to say that probably one out of every, what, 20, 30 people has been called up in the country? And that doesn't count the people who are already in the Army. My point is, everybody is very, very closely connected to what's happening in the land. 

David Brickner: 

Daryl, I just Googled it. 169,500 active troops in the IDF. 

Darrell Bock: 

Okay, so that's 500,000, right? When you put the two numbers together. That's one in 14, have I got that right? Would that be right? One in 14 people are directly involved. 

Mitch Glaser: 

Well, you write commentaries on Acts and Luke, and you can also add, Darrell. That's amazing. 

Darrell Bock: 

Yeah, I didn't do that on a calculator. That's just off the top of my head. May or may not be right. I can't always trust the way I handle numbers. But anyway, my wife will tell you I definitely can't do that. Anyway. 

Mitch Glaser: 

It sounds pretty close. We have a saying, the six degrees of separation. Among believers, that drops to four or five. Among Jews, it's about one or two. And that's the hard part. It's not just Jews in Israel who know people who are in the army or who have died as a result of all this. We all do. Every single one of us do. And that's the difficulty, where Jews suffered as a community. 

Darrell Bock: 

Yep. Well, I just wanted to have people have, because you brought up 9/11 earlier, and the proximity issue in Israel is far more intense than anything that happened here. That's part of what I want people to realize. 

David Brickner: 

Yeah, that's fair. 

Darrell Bock: 

Yeah. Well, I want to thank you all for taking the time to kind of update us on what's going on and to think about what we should pray for. You certainly gave us a nice list of things to take into consideration, to give us the background of what's going on. We do pray for the ministries that are represented, not just from Jews for Jesus and Chosen People, but for anyone who's ministering in the area. And I imagine I might be calling you back in the future to see where things are in terms of what's going on so we can keep people informed. But I really do appreciate you giving us the time. 

Let me close this in a word of prayer. Father, we do just lay this situation before you. And if there ever was a time where people feel like they're at a loss because of the depth of pain, and the depth of evil, and the depth of the challenge of what it means to live in a fallen and broken world, it's now. 

And we just ask for your protection for those who are trying to save lives and trying to protect people. We pray for wisdom for those who are making decisions about what is going to happen and what is happening. We pray for some way to break through what is this deep level of sustained hate and evil, and that we pray that at least something good and redeeming can come out of it. But we do ask for your leading guidance of those who are on staff of these ministries and for the ministry of outreach that they're providing, may it provide some measure of communication of care and love to those who are being ministered to. And we just ask for your guidance. There's probably no situation more like this when we realize that we need what you are able to provide for us, so we pray for that. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. 

Mitch Glaser: 

Thanks for the opportunity, Darrell. 

Darrell Bock: 

You're very, very welcome. Thank you, David as well for giving us your time, 

David Brickner: 

Privilege. 

Darrell Bock: 

And we thank you for being a part of The Table, and we hope you'll join us again soon.