Solomon Rosenberg, his wife and their two sons were arrested and placed in a concentration camp. The rules were simple. As long as they did their work, they were permitted to live. When they became too weak to work, they would be exterminated.
Rosenberg watched as his own father and mother were marched off to their deaths and he knew that his youngest son David would be next because he had always been a frail child. Every evening Rosenberg came back into the barracks after his hours of hard labor and searched for the faces of his family. When he found them they would huddle together, embrace one another and thank God for another day of life.
One day he came back and didn’t see those familiar faces. He finally discovered his oldest son, Joshua, in a corner sobbing and praying. “Josh, tell me it’s not true.” Joshua turned to his dad and said, “It’s true. Today David was not strong enough to do his work and so they took him away.” Mr. Rosenberg then asked, “But where is your mother?” Joshua could barely speak and finally uttered, “When they came for David, he was afraid and cried and so mom took his hand and went with him.”
When I read this true account from the Holocaust my thoughts went to God. My thoughts went to Immanuel or God with us, our God who takes our hand and walks with us. I am reminded of the Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Even when we are faced with the darkest and hardest circumstances in life, God is there. May we never forget that fact. May we always know that He is right there going through all this with us. We are told in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave us or forsake us. Find comfort there today!
Any thoughts?
Such a powerful story. What an awesome illustration.
Good story Jim. I sure pray that if I am ever called on to do something similar that I will be strong enough to say, “You can take my body but you can’t take my soul.”
A moving story and a great reminder to be wholly committed to Christ in spite of circumstances. Comfort and confidence is found in Him.
Thank you!
If god never forsakes us, what in world was a whole family, almost a whole race of people, doing in concentration camps. Was that god being benevolent?
That is a good question that I would say falls under the problem of Evil.
To that I would say:
1. Evil is not a thing but a choice (Concentration Camps were results of many wrong choices)
2. God has given us a share of his power when he gave us the power to freely choose. (Again with free choice comes the possibility of evil choices)
3. God’s response to evil was/is the cross of Christ. In Christ we find salvation. (Salvation for today and hope for a future in Heaven where there will not be things like concentration camps or evil.)
4. We have wrong assumptions that come from questions like: Why do bad things happen to good people? (Bad things happen to all people and all races – it is all a result of either Adam’s Original sin or other sins made today or at the time things happen)
a. Who says we are good – the Bible does not – Romans 3:23
b. Is all suffering bad – how do we know good if we do not know bad?
c. Who knows any reasons that God does what he does? That was God’s answer to Job.
Just my thoughts but really do not intend on debating this
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