Burning Hawk

During the Gulf War, a massive psychological operation campaign took place. Known as 'Operation Burning Hawk', it was designed to force the Iraqi Army to surrender before any shots were fired.

The plan was simple. Destroy a town in southern Iraq through precision air strikes. Then drop over 29 million leaflets to every town to the north which said:

WE HAVE COMPLETELY DESTROYED THE TOWN TO THE SOUTH.

SURRENDER BY NOON TOMORROW OR YOU WILL ALSO BE DESTROYED.

It was amazing to see hundreds of Iraqi soldiers coming out of buildings and foxholes in single file, AK-47s over their heads, ready to surrender to the more powerful army. An estimated 40-60 % of the army deserted their posts and fled!

I read stories like that and think, "if I were in that situation I would surrender too!"

But the fact is, that when it comes to God, I don't always surrender.

In Jeremiah 44:2, 10 it says,

"This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw what I did to Jerusalem and to all the towns of Judah. They now lie in ruins, and no one lives in them...yet to this very hour no one has shown remorse or reverence, or chosen to follow my decrees that I gave you."

It gets worse. The people visibly shake their fists at Jeremiah and say (v. 16),

"We will not listen to your messages from the LORD! We will do whatever we want."

How sad that when God drops leaflets in my life warning of imminent danger, that I would refuse to listen to them. Some of my friends would say, "Well that sounds like a mean God, who would destroy you for not listening to Him." To which I reply, "He isn't the one destroying me, but I am destroying myself" (v. 7).