Two years ago when Nancy and I were in Israel, we visited the Golan Heights. From the peak of Mount Bental we saw stunning vistas stretching deep into Syria and Israel and all the way to Lebanon. These hills to the east of Israel have been strategically important and the Israelis annexed them in 1981 following their earlier victory in the Six Day War. The USA finally officially recognized this action in March of last year.
Prior to Israel’s seizure of these towering hills, Syria used them as a staging area to lob many rockets into Israel in an attempt to “drive them into the sea.” For the most part, the Jewish state was powerless to prevent these unprovoked attacks and suffered the consequences with both human casualties and property damage.
During the time these hills were in Syrian control, however, Israel had a spy in Damascus who rose undetected to personal friendship with the Syrian President, El-Hafez. The intelligence provided by Elie Cohn was critical to Israel’s protection and survival during those years.
On one occasion, Cohn was allowed to visit the highly secure area on the Golan Heights to see firsthand the gunnery emplacements and connecting tunnels. One common complaint from those who manned these camouflaged bunkers was the unbearable heat that built up in the afternoon sun.
To solve this problem, Cohn suggested an ingenious plan. He recommended that they plant eucalyptus trees to provide shade which would considerably lower the temperatures in the bunkers.
The trees did, in fact, accomplish this mission, but they accomplished a much larger one for the Israelis. Unbeknownst to the Syrians, as these trees grew, they stood out like sore thumbs on the barren hillsides and marked exact locations for counterattacks. It was some time before the Syrians realized how the Israelis suddenly discovered their well concealed positions.
The Syrians also eventually discovered Cohn’s true identity and publicly hung him. His story has been recorded in his biography, Our Man in Damascus, as well as in the movies: The Impossible Spy from 1987 and The Spy from 2019.
This story serves as a stark warning for all Christians. Too often we do stupid things like planting trees on barren hillsides that make us easy targets for our enemy. Through indulgence in pornography, blasphemous movies, filthy television, and slanderous social media, we open ourselves to direct attacks by the one whose agenda is totally dominated by killing, stealing, and destroying.
As children of a holy God, we are to avoid not only evil itself, but even the very appearance of it. Unfortunately, many of us harbor habits and attitudes which are far more dangerous than shade trees. Envy, bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred and the like are all much more destructive than any eucalyptus sprout. We even fertilize them regularly as we rehearse in our minds all the reasons we have for holding on to them. In addition, we ingest mind altering drugs and alcohol that reduce inhibitions and empower temptations.
These cherished and unconfessed sins are nothing short of waving a huge bright flashing flag signaling our weaknesses to the devil. How much better to cut those eucalyptus trees to the ground by repenting of such deadly evils before they become our undoing.
As we review the events of history, let us not only add them to our mental filing cabinets, but let us learn spiritual lessons from them as well. God has much to teach us if we are open to learning.
Cutting down some trees, George