Pompey, the Roman general who vanquished so much of the Mediterranean world, failed to subjugate the fierce Arabs. Later, the emperor Trajan attempted to conquer these peoples, and though he was not without isolated victories, his objective ultimately failed.
Meanwhile, these bedouin continued their ravages in various Roman provinces. The religious scene in the Middle East in the late sixth century A. It was into this world that a child was born who would change the face of the earth forever. His name was Mohammed. Mohammed, claiming to be an Apostle and Prophet from God, was gradually able to take these semi-barbarous sons of the desert, whose lawlessness was exceeded only by their daring, and whip them into a fighting force fueled by religious zealotry.
He won only fourteen converts in the first three years of his efforts. He enticed more ridicule than respect. When his movement achieved enough momentum to attract persecution, the complexion of Islam changed radically. His flight from Mecca to Medina in A. This division included the eventual reservation and formation of the nation of Israel. Today, the battle over the inheritance promised to the descendants of Abraham surrounds primarily one city, Jerusalem, and within that, one rectangular plot of land in its center—the Temple Mount.
Make no mistake about this. And, this conflict will not end until the enmity between the descendants of Jacob and Ishmael is removed. The Apostle Paul said this enmity would be removed when both the Jews and Gentiles become one people of God in Christ:. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. That is true, in part. Therefore, the New Covenant is more than just a better promise. Paul used this analogy to compare the bondage which comes from trying to earn our salvation through the works of the Law, and the freedom we now have in Christ:.
But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. Islam reflects many of the same principles as Judaism and Catholicism, including the belief that eternal salvation is predicated on faith in God and good deeds. I believe that many of the sons of Ishmael will come to the knowledge of Christ before the Jewish people.
Many are already receiving dreams and visions of Yeshua. They might very well be the ones to provoke Israel to jealousy.
God wants to bring His redemption and salvation to all mankind, ultimately restoring the earth to the peace and wholeness Shalom that existed in the Garden of Eden. This highway, therefore, represents more than just three nations. It symbolically pictures the restoration of the three sons of Noah, which is the whole earth figure 5.
To the north, this highway opens a gateway for the descendants of Japheth, who populated the Asian and European nations, to come and dwell in the tents of Shem. And, to the south, it opens a gateway for the descendants of Ham who populated the continent of Africa, to come and serve in the tents of Shem, a hidden blessing.
This is a prophetic picture of their eternal destiny. And oh, the hospitality they display when they invite us to join them for dinner. Now you stand there and answer a few questions for me!
And without waiting for my reply to any of the questions, God bellows out of the whirlwind. Unlike Noah for whom I had to provide very specific instructions on how to build an ark, Abraham acted as if he was quite familiar with the work he was about to engage.
Abraham knew to take with him wood, fire, and butcher knife. Do you think it is possible that Abraham created the opportunity, had the means, and may have had an ulterior, albeit unconscious motive? Abraham behaved as if he were in a trance. Have you read the book, Ronald? And what do you make of the fact that Abraham had bargained with me previously for the lives of total strangers in the city of Sodom but fell utterly silent when it came to preserving the life of his own child?
Though the God I love and worship is not above playfulness. If, on the other hand, Abraham can be seen as vulnerable and culpable, I can imagine that God intends for Abraham and all of his descendants to learn something.
Like any one of us, Abraham is neither above reproach, nor is he beyond redemption. That is, in his very human frailty and vulnerability Abraham was blindly reenacting an age-old practice of child-sacrifice, of stupefying sacrificial violence. If he was a man of faith, his was a blind, thoughtless faith.
That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king's daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,. The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. But in the seventh year Jehoiada took courage and entered into a covenant with the commanders of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri.
The rest of his men he put in the charge of Abishai his brother, and they were arrayed against the Ammonites. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. Eighty men arrived from Shechem and Shiloh and Samaria, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us.
But as for you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken. And they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance. Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite.
But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.
Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. As they ate bread together there at Mizpah, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land.
On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it, eighty men arrived from Shechem and Shiloh and Samaria, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord.
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