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.
