.
(All ESV)
Genesis 16:11 “And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen." “.
Ishmael was the first son of Abram and Haggai, the Egyptian servant to Sarai (Sarah) who became Abram's (Abraham's) concubine. Ishmael was half Egyptian and although the firstborn, lost his rights he had as the eldest heir. Isaac became the heir to Abraham and it still causes war!
. Ishmael was to be like a “wild donkey” (“ass” for you into KJV). This description is given in Job 39:5 "Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, 6 to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place? 7 He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver. 8 He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing. “
. This description befits the Bedouin Warrior which was Ishmael and his descendents. Bedouins herd livestock and are transient, moving with the herd and the seasons. They still make up about 10% of the Arab people. But, the Bedouin is only the prototypical descendent of Ishmael. Most Islamic peoples of today fit the “wild donkey” description. God promised Haggai that he would multiply her peoples as well, and he certainly did! Ishmael's line in early times occupied all the area east and south of the Dead Sea. The following sons of Ishmael have become Arabs of today (their history is difficult to trace):
. Genesis 25:12 “ These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.”
. Nebaioth's line was to become “Nabataeans”, an Arab group living in the southeast of Canaan. Kedarites were tent-dwelling nomads living in the Syrian area desert who were Arab war-mongers. Dumah's line were Arabian Arabs called “Adummatu” by the Assyrians. Hadad or Hadar became part of the Edomites. They were Arabs as well. They lived west of the Dead Sea in what's now Saudia Arabia. Tema is in northern Arabia. The line of Jetur lived on the west bank of the Jordan River, waged war against the Israelites and were defeated. King Saul wiped out the Naphishites who lived on the Transjordan. (God had commanded that all tribes be wiped out). The Kedemah were another Arabian Tribe. Surely the Arab nation was prophesied with the following words Job 39:6 “to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place? 7 He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver. 8 He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing. “
. You can see that almost all the present-day Arabs are descended from Ishmael and if we look at the Egyptian mother, that includes Egypt and the Nubians as well. These people are today the Muslims which give the world so much trouble! They are surely as “wild donkeys”!
. Why does the battle still rage? It's for that strip of land the size of Delaware which has all types of terrain: snow capped mountains to deserts from thriving waters to the Dead Sea. It's the land of milk and honey, but has no oil! It just seems that God had a plan and we know he did. Eternal ownership of that land will be decided in one great battle called the Battle of Armageddon. The forces of Christ will forever claim ownership!
. The fierce Muslim was described early on by God in Genesis 16:12b”... his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” God allowed it to happen. It's part of His plan for mankind. Two peoples, cousins, will wage war throughout history for that tiny strip of land sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Who owns it? It belonged to the descendents of Abraham Genesis 1:7 “And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess." “ Unfortunately, that means Jews and Arabs, but then there's the birthright! God bestowed the birthright to the line of Isaac. It continued on through Jacob's (Israel's) line and Joshua who in later days, entered Canaan Land, defeated the squatters and took possession of the land granted to the Jews by God.
. Although Arabs were squatters, Palestine never had possession. Palestine was never a nation. Palestine is just an unfulfilled dream. Palestine was always a description applied to the various races who occupied that area of the world. It was ruled by Assyrians, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, and Ottomans, but never Palestinians. The “Land of Milk and Honey” belongs to the rightful owners... the Jews, who've returned to their homeland and made a great nation in 1948. Now the prophecy of Revelation can be fulfilled!
No comments:
Post a Comment