The Battle Between Two Brothers

Hebrews 13:1  Let brotherly love continue.

A battle of epic proportions between two brothers has been brewing for thousands of years, yet many modern day rulers have sought to foster a peace agreement to no avail.  The bible prophesies is often overlooked, many seek to establish their own guidelines for a structured peace between between the brothers.  The battle is among the nations established by the twelve princes or rulers of Ishmael and the twelve tribes of Israel. The Arabs and the Israelis have been fighting since time immemorial, more than four thousand years,  over that tiny plot of land called Israel. Their battle is not one of flesh and blood, but of spiritual things. The Bible states that the last great battle will pit Israel against the rest of the Middle East and its allies.  It is this battle, that if Christ did not intervene and fight for his ‘brothers’ all would be lost.

When the son of man shall come in his glory, and all of the holy  angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory; and before him, he shall gather all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a Shepherd divides his sheep from the goats: (Matthew 25:31-32).

To many, this verse reference a point in time when Christ returns to judge the world at the last day.  There are several peculiarities  in this judgment day verse that cause it to stand apart from the other judgment day verses.   This verse indicates that Christ is returning to the earth with his Holy angels.   Who are the Holy angels and where is the throne of his glory?

For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat,' and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the Nations, and parted my land. (Joel 3:1-2).

Most of us in school were made aware of the scattering of the Jews, but we failed to see the biblical implications of the acts.  How did it all begin and why have they remained mortal enemies for thousands of years?  It was jealousy and resentment, plain and simple! And man’s failure to believe and trust in God.  The same scenario is played out in the world today. Lets Take a look at how things unfolded:

In Genesis 11:29 we are introduced to Abram and his wife Sarai.  The introduction began with   the family going into the land of Canaan and dwelling in a place called Haran.  One important piece of information that is important to this narrative is in Genesis 11:30  But Sarai was barren; she had no child.  Abram was being selected for a mission and this mission required that Sarai, his wife give him a son. 

Genesis 12:1-3  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

Abraham was given a timetable of possession of the land, but nothing was said about when the child was to be born. In this chapter, Sarah takes matters into her own hands, for she has been childless ten years since the promise of a child was made.  The story is about the two women, Sarah the infertile wife and Hagar the fertile slave.  In Genesis 16 we see Abraham and his wife Sarah panicking about not having an heir yet, and so they decided (at the urging of Sarah) to take matters into their own hands and have Abraham sleep with his wife's pagan/Egyptian servant Hagar. The result of that union was a son they named Ishmael.

Genesis 16:11-12  And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.  And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

Fourteen years later, Sarah gave birth to a son.  Genesis 17:19-21  And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. 

Ishmael mocked those who maintained that Isaac would be Abraham's chief heir, and said that as he (Ishmael) was the first-born son he would receive two-thirds of the inheritance. Upon seeing the danger to Isaac, Sarah, who had till then been attached to Ishmael  insisted that Abraham cast out Ishmael. Abraham was obliged to put him on Hagar's shoulders, because he fell sick under the spell of the evil eye cast upon him by Sarah.

Based upon the promise of  God, Abaraham entreated for his first born son, and God relented and promised a blessing a blessing upon him, but it was Isaac, whom with the covenant would reside.  Let's recap the story.

Eldest son of Abraham by his concubine Hagar; born when Abraham was eighty-six years of age (Geneses 16:15-16). God promised Abraham that His blessing should be upon Ishmael, who, He foretold, would produce twelve princes, and would become a great nation (Geneses 17:18-20). Ishmael was circumcised at the age of thirteen (Geneses 17:23-26). When Sarah saw Ishmael mocking her son Isaac, his brother, younger by fourteen years, she insisted that Abraham cast out Ishmael and his slave-mother. Abraham reluctantly yielded, having provided them with bread and a bottle of water. Ishmael was about to die of thirst when an angel showed his mother a well, repeating to her at the same time that Ishmael would become a great nation. Ishmael dwelt in the wilderness, apparently, of Beer-Sheba, where he became a skillful archer; later he settled in the wilderness of Paran, where his mother took him a wife from Egypt (Geneses 21:8-21). Both Ishmael and Isaac were present at the burial of their father, Abraham. Ishmael died at the age of 137. He had twelve sons, ancestors of twelve tribes that dwelt "from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest to Assyria" (Geneses 25:9-18).

This jealousy and resentment between Sarah and Hagar and their sons Isaac and Ishmael created an unparalleled hate which has set off wars and atrocities for four thousand years. It was the title deed to the land of Israel, which God promised to Abraham's lineage, that has been the source of the friction between the Jews and the Arabs right up to the present day.

The Arabs claim the Jews cheated them out of their birthright and the Jews claim the Arabs are trying to steal their God given birthrights.  What you believe is whether you believe in the Holy Bible, the Koran or nothing.

It was customary in those ages, in the development of God's plan, to displace the elder with the younger, Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-7,25), Isaac and Ishmael (Genesis 16:1-2; 17:18-21; 21:1-5), Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:19-26) and Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48:14-19) are a few recorded instances.  Abram also was the youngest and inherited his father’s blessings.

There were two promises given to Abram by God, (a) that he would make of him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, make him a blessing, bless those who blessed him, and curse those who cursed him;  (b) that in him should all families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3).  These promises were subsequently renewed on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:1-18). These promises were subsequently fulfilled in, (a) the covenant dedicated at Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:1-8), (b) the new covenant (Galatians 4:22-31).

Genesis 16:12 He will be a wild man; his posterity would be rude, un-subdued, and opposed to the restraints of city life; as the Arabs in their native country always have been.  His hand--against every man; they would be robbers and plunderers of such as should fall in their way. They would dwell in the presence; though opposed to all nations, they would never be exterminated or dispossessed; and they have continued to inhabit Arabia down to the present day.