​BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER

I remember having fights with my brothers when we were growing up. My older brother used to chase me around the house with a butter knife dipped in mustard because he knew how much I hated mustard. I also remember the time I locked my younger brother down in the basement because he was chasing me (for what reason I can’t remember). He kicked on the basement door until he smashed it in. We were both in trouble then! This kind of fighting among siblings is quite normal. In fact, some psychologists would probably say it is healthy. Most often sibling rivalry stops short of any real harm to either participant. In fact, shortly after a dispute the “adversaries” are usually back to being best friends. Such a short-lived dispute is not the case, however, between each of two sets of brothers in the Scriptures - Isaac & Ishmael and Jacob & Esau. Isaac is the son Yahweh promised to Abraham and Sarah. (Gen. 17:15-19) Ishmael is Abraham’s son by Sarah’s maid, Hagar. (Gen.16:1-12) Jacob and Esau are the twin sons of Isaac. (Gen.25:24-26) Yahweh told their mother Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb; and two peoples shall be separated from your body; and one people shall  be stronger than the other; and the older shall serve the younger.” (Gen. 25:23) Isaac and Jacob are the descendants of Abraham through whom Yahweh established His covenant with His Chosen People Israel. (Gen. 35: 11, 12) Ishmael and Esau, and their descendants, were excluded from this covenant. 

Ishmael was described by the angel of the Lord, “’And he will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand  will  be against him; and he will live to the east of his brothers.’”(Gen. 16:12) His father Abraham loved him but he was not the son Yahweh promised Abraham. “And Abraham said to God, ‘Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee!’ But God said, ‘No, but Sarah  your wife shall  bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.’” (Gen. 17:18, 19) Ishmael was not fond of his brother Isaac. “And the child grew  and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was  weaned. Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.” (Gen.21:8, 9) The psalmist Asaph considered Ishmael’s descendants to be Yahweh’s enemies. “O God, do not remain quiet; do not be silent and O God, do not be still. For, behold, Thine enemies make an uproar; and those who hate Thee have exalted themselves….. For they have conspired together  with one mind; against Thee do they make a covenant: The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites ….”(Psalm 83:1, 5, 6) Esau, who was also called Edom, sold his birthright to Jacob (Gen.25:30-33) and later married Ishmael’s daughter, Mahalath. (Gen. 28:9) He did not  find favor with Yahweh. “‘Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ declares the Lord. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and have made his mountains a desolation, and appointed his inheritance for the jackals for the wilderness.’ Though Edom says, ‘We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins;’ thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them the wicked territory, and the people toward  whom the Lord is indignant forever.’” (Mal. 1:24) Yahweh also was not pleased with the way Esau’s descendants acted toward Jacob’s descendants. “‘Thus says the Lord God, ‘Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred grievous guilt, and avenged themselves upon them,’ therefore, thus  says the Lord God, ‘I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off man and beast from  it. And I will lay it waste; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword. And I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath; thus they will know My vengeance,’ declares the Lord God.’” (Ez. 25:12-14) The descendants of Esau have received Yahweh’s recompense for their actions. “And Edom will  become a desolate wilderness, because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, in  whose land they have shed innocent blood. But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem for all generations.”(Joel 3:19, 20)

Ishmael and Esau are ancestors of the Arab peoples. The hatred between the descendants of Isaac & Ishmael and Jacob & Esau continues to this day, manifested in the conflict in the Middle East. The roots of their conflict can be traced to ancient  times and extend into modern times. The people Israel were exiled from their land when the Romans drove them  out in the first century. (Please note that, despite this exile, there has always been a Jewish presence in the land of Israel.) The Turks ruled the land from 1516 until 1917. During the time of the Turks’ rule “the land was sparsely populated, mostly by nomadic  peoples, poorly cultivated and a widely-neglected expanse of eroded hills, sandy deserts, and malarial marshes.” (1)  When the British began their rule after World War I they made an effort  to “reinforce the national aspirations of both the Arabs and Jews of the region.” (1) The Balfour Declaration stated that Britain viewed with favor an establishment of a Jewish homeland in this area, referred to as Palestine. At first, this arrangement was accepted by the Arabs and the Jews. However, political circumstances intervened and 80% of the land designated as the Jewish National

Homeland was taken away from the Jews and established as a new Arab land called Transjordan. (The Arabs, for various political & nationalistic reasons, decided to oppose that which they had just agreed to support.  The British caved in to the demands of the Arabs to appease the egos & nationalistic demands of the Arabs.  The fact that they were dealing with oil rich countries helped to spur on the concessions.  Under the leadership of then British Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill, they “cut away 80% of the Jewish National Home in Palestine, some 35,000 sq. miles, and created a brand new Arab entity, called Transjordan, and installed Faisal’s brother, Abdullah, as Emir.1) Once again the arrangement was accepted. However, when the Jews began returning to their homeland in large numbers, the Arabs began to fight against the establishment of a Jewish state. The British were not able to work out an agreement acceptable to both the Arabs and Jews so they turned the problem over to the UN in 1947. The UN proposed and voted in favor of a partition of the land into an Arab state and a Jewish state. The Arabs rejected this UN resolution and began a war to prevent the implementation of it. The Jewish people accepted  the resolution and declared  the independent State of Israel on May14,1948. Five Arab armies - Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq - immediately attacked Israel. Then, in 1949, Jordan, formerly Transjordan, annexed what is now called the West Bank, ignoring the UN partition. Subsequently, Israel was attacked by Egypt and Jordan in 1967 and won the West Bank and Gaza (formerly controlled by Egypt).

There is much information currently being broadcast and printed about the Middle East conflict. A majority of this information is half-truths and/or biased toward the Arab world view. The terms “occupied territory,”  “settlements,” and “refugee camps” lead  the world  to believe that the Jews have taken land  from the Arabs and have forbidden the Arabs from living  there. This is not true. Jews constituted two thirds of the population of Jerusalem in 1854. In 1906 more Jews came to the land, drained the swamps and made the land suitable for cultivation. The Arabs then came into the land in great numbers, seeking jobs, prosperity and freedom. In 1948, when the Arab armies were preparing to invade Israel, the Arab leaders encouraged  their people to leave the area in order to avoid harm during the war, telling them they could return home after the Jews were destroyed. Historical records show  that  Israel urged the Arabs to stay. Once Israel won the war the Arabs who fled were placed in refugee camps. That was 54 years ago! These refugees should have been able to make one of two choices – to move to an Arab country or agree to live in Israel under the Israeli government. Few chose the latter. The first choice, however, did not materialize for them. Most were not  welcome in the Arab controlled states in the Middle East, which comprise 99.9% of the landmass. Since they were not welcomed in the Arab-controlled states, they were forced to remain in the refugee camps, to be used by the Arabs as political pawns in the Middle East conflict. Egypt and Jordan actually controlled the areas referred to as the West Bank and Gaza from 1948 to 1967, but the Arabs remained in the camps. Several other truths are most often ignored. Arabs are free to live in Israel and those that do are granted full citizenship. The opposite is true in many Arab countries, where Jews are forbidden to live. Citizens of all faiths are free to worship freely and religious sites are open to people of all faiths in Israel. However, when East Jerusalem was under Arab rule from 1948-1967, the area of the Temple Mount was closed to Jews. (2)  Indeed, today, the Jews are not permitted to pray on the Temple Mount due to the fear of upsetting the Islamists!

The Middle East conflict has always been based on the rivalry between the two peoples – the Jews and the Arabs – both of whom are descendants of Abraham. The attitude of each people towards the other is the natural area of the conflict. While the Jews are willing to live in peace with the Arabs, the Arabs do not want the Jews to exist at all in the Middle East (or the entire world, for that matter). These adversaries will never be able to settle their differences because the real area of conflict is a spiritual one. Yahweh chose a people – Abraham and his descendants – to be His special people. “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”(Gen. 12:1-3) When the Arabs reject the right of the Jewish people to exist, they are rejecting not only the people Israel but also the God of the People Israel – Yahweh. Therein lies the spiritual battle, for whoever does not stand with Yahweh and His people stands against Him - and with satan. The world tries to reduce the conflict to man (brother) against man (brother), but be aware that it is a kingdom conflict - the Kingdom of Yahweh against the kingdom of satan.

 FROM THE BRIDEGROOM

The time is short. Do not be silent any longer. Call out My truth to the world, that they might know My love for My people, and My anger at those who wish to destroy them or who collaborate with the destroyers. Woe to them, for theirs is not a choice of peace but a choice of war – war against My people- which is war against Me … a war they cannot win.   (October 16, 2001)

CURRENT EVENTS

As in decades past, we see that concessions to the Arab/Palestinian entities has produced nothing but more concessions on the part of non-Arabs/Palestinians.  Israel has signed many “documents” with Mr. Arafat and he has yet to live up to ANY of his responsibilities.  But that is the Palestinian/Arab/Islamist way. There is only one goal and that is to kill all the Jews then Christians then anyone else who will not submit to the demonic religion called Islam.

As is clear in “From The Bridegroom”, those who are against God’s Chosen People are against God. Yes, it is a war and Islam is fighting against the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Islam will be defeated!

Those who support the Islamists are fighting against God and they, too, will lose. God’s anger is kindled against those who join His enemies...the enemies of His people. Woe to those who stand against God of Creation and all therein!  Death is sure to follow...!

God waits for you to seek His Truth!  Go to Him now and give Him opportunity to show you Truth!

“The Return to Zion,”

Bridges for Peace Teaching Letter, April, 1997.
Information from: “20 Facts About Israel and the Middle East,” by William Bennett, Jack Kemp and Jeane Kirkpatrick, www.aish.com; and “The Jews Took No One’s Land,” by Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily.com, April23, 2002