It has often been stated that the one man-made object that can be viewed by the naked eye from space is the Great Wall of China. This reality is a splendorous indictment regarding man's stay on earth. Allow me to explain. The wall is splendorous in regards to its size and the scope of such a project. The indictment within the same statement is the testament to man's brutality to his fellow man that would inspire the need for such an edifice in the first place.

The Chinese are not alone in the ingenuity of their attempts to protect themselves. There is a fascinating portfolio of walls that come down to us through the ages. Some were larger, longer and older than others. Many are familiar to even a casual student of history.

Hadrian's Wall spanning northern England for 73 miles was built by the Romans to "wall out" the Scots and Picts from Latinized England. Conversely, the Berlin Wall of Cold War fame was built to "wall in" the East Germans from escape to "the West."

Some walls are made of brick and stone, while other ramparts are simply psychological in nature. The "Iron Curtain" of the last century was a composite of brick, wire, moat and at times simply a very real mental and emotional blockade thwarting any crossing of an understood line of demarcation. All walls have a common element, which cements them together through the ages. It's called fear—fear of what's on the other side.

Now in the 21st century a new wall emerges. It will be built by people not known for their walls. In fact, for hundreds of years, they were the ones literally "walled in" to the ghettos of Europe by others. Now the Jews of Israel hold the keys as they pursue building a barrier between themselves and the Palestinians.

Los Angeles Times staff writer Megan K. Stack brings to light the details in an article dated June 17, 2002, entitled, "Israel Gives in to Fence." In the land that has long been famous for the walls that came tumbling down, a new barricade is going up. Let's take a closer look at this development through the reporting of Megan Stack and at the same time learn some important lessons for those who would build walls.

A new wall for old enemies

In this claustrophobic part of the world, where any meaningful breathing room is seemingly exhausted, Stack reports, "this spring, Israel is doing something it has long avoided; building a wall between itself and the swath of desert, orchards and hills known as the West Bank. Barbed wire and motion detectors, concrete barriers and razor wire are sprouting steadily over the rough ribbon of land." Bulldozers continue to flatten dirt along the northern frontier. It is considered a very real possibility that soon the Palestinians of the West Bank will be completely walled off from Israel proper.

The prime minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, was deeply opposed to such a project until the recent round of homicide bombings that have killed scores of Israelis. Why? No matter how many roadblocks, checkpoints or military incursions into the West Bank, the radical Palestinian snipers and homicide bombers keep on coming through desert, over old farm roads, and through the back alleys of adjacent urban areas between Jews and Arabs.

Now Sharon embraces the plan for a structural separation. Such a wall will be 10 feet tall. It will be made out of concrete or high wire fencing. Additional deterrence on either side of the wall will be a six-foot high stretch of barbed wire; a six-to-eight-foot ditch with a sand bottom to show footprints. Surveillance cameras will be monitoring the entire area. Welcome to the Holy Land!

It wasn't always like this

But it wasn't always like this. Reporter Stack writes how the Israeli mayor of Kfar Sava "visited back and forth with his counterpart in the nearby Palestinian village of Kalkilya. They spoke of a shared sewer system, garbage routes, a hospital, and a day care center for Palestinian mothers. In those days, Palestinian workers set out at dawn to tromp the dusty road to Israel. They hung around on the roadside, waiting for foremen to come by with offers of farm and construction work."

But since the beginning of the current Intifada, all that has changed. As Stack reports, "just a few months ago a young Kfar Sava girl was killed when a Palestinian sniper opened fire on a group of students." This town is situated just a short walk from the West Bank. Now the mayors don't talk. As Mayor Yitshak Wald of Kfar Sava bluntly states, "All of us wake up in the morning, wondering what day we are coming into. The fence is a must." Now, the Israeli armed forces guard the nearby highway to protect highway workers from the snipers firing their bullets from nearby fields.

On the other hand, the Palestinians regard the very same fence with a completely different view. They feel that any such barricade will further strip them of employment, freedom of movement, dignity and perhaps most importantly, the land itself.

The barrier wall is already being detected as absorbing more land than originally intended. Stack quotes Nabil Kukali, a Palestinian economics professor, as lamenting, "It's apartheid; they are putting us in prison. I swear to God we suffer every day." His life of spending four hours to get through Israeli checkpoints just to get to work is about to become even more complicated.

Perceptions are unique

The complications do not merely rest on the Palestinians but the Israelis as well. The whole project is so controversial even within Israel that they are having a difficult time coming up with a name for this deterrence structure. In different circles it is given various titles such as an obstacle, buffer zone, fence and border. Perhaps much of the confusion goes back to the initial question as to whether the structure is "walling someone in or walling someone out." Perhaps Israeli Defense spokesman Yarden Vatikay, who simply called it a "security perception," gave the most accurate title.

Perceptions are indeed unique. The great lesson of history is that all walls are ultimately breached. The Persians of old found a way to go under the seemingly impregnable 100-foot high walls of ancient Babylon. The great walls of Constantinople that stood against all comers for 1,000 years were finally breached by the invention of the cannon ball.

The Berlin Wall of the Cold War that divided the two great economic systems of capitalism and communism finally outlived its "security perception;" it was finally overwhelmed one evening by ordinary German citizens who said enough is enough, as they broke through the greater wall of psychological fear. Now pieces of that wall of fear are sold as souvenir trinkets of a bygone era.

Thinking beyond the immediate need

Before any wall is put up, those who would build it must weigh the long-term consequences. Yes, there may be immediate gains. But other factors come to the fore that may not have been at first considered due to the momentary desperation of events.

For example, the Israelis may ultimately seal the fate of "the Jewish settlers" in the West Bank. How will Israel exercise sovereignty over and provide security for these scattered groups that dot the West Bank on the other side of the new wall? Is it possible that the settlers will have to come back to the other side of what is referred to as the "green line" that was the pre-1967 borders of Israel?

Beyond that, such a wall does create in a real sense acknowledgment of another peoples' territory. By laying down such a line in the sand, can that same line be used later to establish a permanent state? Is that what Israel wants? Last of all, and perhaps most importantly, it's one thing to put up a wall. Indeed it consumes financial and human expenditure to do so. But to sustain and maintain such an edifice is where the real investment comes into play. Sometimes such walls should never have been built in the first place or have outlived their usefulness, but we keep them up simply because "they are there."

Long ago, God spoke to the tribes of Israel in Deuteronomy 28 in a series of pronouncements often called "the Blessings and the Curses." As the wandering tribes of Israel were about to settle permanently into the land, God wanted to make sure they never forgot that He was ultimately their Deliverer.

These statements of blessings and curses are not simply historical anecdotes—they continue to have prophetic significance to our day. God still has "unfinished business" with Israel, of which the Jewish people are but one part.

Deuteronomy 28:52 offers the warning, "They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you."

Amazingly, the nation of Israel today, which is host to some of the most religious people on earth, is also smitten with many of the same ills of immorality and biblical lawlessness that plague much of the rest of Western society. Much like America, Israel has a veneer of religiosity. But scratch the surface a little deeper, and a different morality is pervasive. For every holy spot in Jerusalem, there is an alternative lifestyle spot in Tel Aviv. When a nation increasingly separates itself from its God-given heritage, no walls, no armaments and no military strategy can thwart the will of God as revealed in His Word.

"For Jerusalem's sake I will not rest"

It is a time of trial for the peoples in the Middle East. Many nations are offering peace plans and solutions to an age-old problem. Many people are vigilant in their determination to break down the walls of suspicion and terror. Suffering occurs on both sides of those walls.

But there is one major party not mentioned in your local newspaper who is going to make a significant difference in the politics of this region. It's none other than God Almighty! Even when heaven above seems quiet on proceedings down here below, God is working behind the scenes.

Isaiah 62:1 declares, "For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns." That is not Jerusalem's story today, so it must be speaking of the future.

Ultimately, God is not going to forsake Jerusalem. In fact Zechariah 14:4, speaking of the returning Messiah, declares, "In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives." No man-made device can either "wall in" or "wall out" the God of Heaven from performing His final rescue plan for spiritual Israel, the Body of Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:16), or the unfinished business of restoration He has for the physical descendants of Abraham and the peoples of the whole earth.

Exactly what will occur after the literal return of Jesus Christ to this earth? At that time, "in that day," God proclaims wonderful events will take place. There will still be walls, but not made out of mortar or wire. Isaiah 26:1-2 proclaims, "In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks. Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in."

Isaiah 60:18 further defines these future times: "Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise."

The people of the Middle East, and for that matter the people of the entire world, will come to understand there is really no practical defense other than surrendering to God, and allowing Him to fight their battles. God's will being done on earth as it is in heaven will remove the walls from the land, when salvation will be offered to Jew and Arab alike.

What walls are we building?

Until that time, here's an important concluding thought for each of us to consider in our personal lives. What walls are we building about us, whether knowingly or unknowingly? And if we are building walls, why? Are we walling people out or walling people in? Or are we perhaps walling ourselves in by a long-term commitment to hold that barrier in place?

Have we thought out exactly what demands will be placed on us, as well as on those we consider our antagonists? Walls can take up a lot of space and take up a lot of us. The lesson of history is that walls don't always end where they begin and they never really hold out everyone forever.

As another wall is being constructed in the Holy Land for seemingly justifiable reasons, my mind goes back to another time and another conflict not too long ago. It is the historical snapshot of one man in front of another wall making an earnest request to the keeper of the wall. It is in his request that the spirit of Isaiah 30:21 is heard loud and clear—the spirit of "this is the way, walk in it." The man was Ronald Reagan and the request was, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

Little did President Reagan realize that he was on to something even bigger than what reared up behind him at that time. Just imagine an entire world without walls. Just think about it, because God does. He longs for the day when all the walls will come tumbling down. How about us?