ISHMAEL, AMMON, MOAB, AND ESAU (EDOM) THE ARAB NATIONS

Today we will take a brief look at the origin of the Arab nations, their blessings, and relation to Judah/Israel

BIRTH OF ISHMAEL

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 (God Pays Attention); 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. Genesis 16.11-12 KJV

Abraham impatiently did not wait for God’s promise of a son with Sarah would result with them birthing a son through Sarah’s handmaid Hagar. This son was named Ishmael (God Pays Attention).

Afterwards Sarah became despised in Hagar’s eyes because she felt that Ishmael should receive the blessing of the first born son of Abraham. Sarah dealt harshly with Hagar and she fled into the desert pregnant with Ishmael.

BLESSING UPON ISHMAEL

The angel of the Lord saw Hagar in the desert and told her to return and submit herself to her mistress Sarah. Then Hagar received this promise and BLESSING UPON ISHMAEL from the angel of the Lord:

And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. 

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. Genesis 16.9-12

Note the irony that Hagar was instructed to return and submit to her mistress Sarah. The word ISLAM means submit! Until the Arab nations accept their Jewish brothers and submit to their first born status there will be conflict in the Middle East. This has been the history of the conflict.

We also see that Ishmael will be a wild man with his hand against every man. We see this in the terrorist side of Islam.

PROMISE TO ABRAHAM THAT THE COVENANT WOULD BE ESTABLISHED THROUGH ISAAC

And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! 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.

And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. Genesis 17.18-22

It is interesting that both Jacob and Ismael before him birthed twelve tribes. God has blessed the Arab nations with great wealth in oil. He also has blessing for them in the future when they recognize that Jacob is the covenant son.

SARAH BANISHES HAGAR AND ISHMAEL

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman: in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, “What ailes thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.”

And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. Genesis 21.9-21

There is a lot of information here. God told Abraham to listen to Sarah and he took Hagar and Ishmael out into the desert and left them with little provision. This seems very cruel. Did Abraham trust God and believe that God would take care of them?

One thing we can say is that this was a father abandoning his son. It is interesting that the religion of ISLAM says that “God has no son.” Could this go all the way back to their father Abraham abandoning them? I think so.

History as we have seen in previous postings plays a large role in personality and identity of individuals and nations. The Arab nations act angry as a man whose father has abandoned them. In Arabic on the wall of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem it says “God has no son.” This is part of their personality.

This word also promises that Ishmael will become a great nation. In reality, their true father God, has not abandoned them. At this time in history they simply do not acknowledge the Son of God Yeshua as the Messiah. They just see Yeshua as a prophet.

The bottom line is that the Hebrew Scriptures were written more than 1500 years before Mohammad started the official religion of ISLAM. God has not forsaken the Arab nations and He has a plan for them. It is very difficult for them to yield or submit to their brother Isaac/Jacob to whom God has established His covenant at this time. Only the second coming of Yeshua will bring peace to these brothers on a large scale.

When both Jew and Arab receive Yeshua into their hearts they can achieve peace in this day. These two half -brothers will someday live in peace but it is still the cause of conflict after thousands of years—all described in the Holy Bible!

ISHMAEL FATHER OF TWELVE TRIBES

Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham:

And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations. Genesis 25.12-16

To be honest it is difficult to track the tribes of Ishmael but certainly Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yeman, and Oman are connected to Ishmael. I also find it interesting that ISLAM sounds like ISH-LAM.

AMMON AND MOAB CHILDREN BIRTHED THROUGH LOT AND HIS DAUGHTERS INCEST

And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

 And the firstborn said unto the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.”

And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yester-night with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day. Genesis 19.30-38

Ammon today is the capital of Jordan and both Ammon and Moab historically lived in the country now called Jordan. Currently Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel. Egypt, the birth place of Hagar also currently has a peace treaty with Israel. Will these treaties hold up when the next war erupts?

ESAU IS EDOM

Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth. And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel; And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan. Genesis 36.1-5

Edom then, is Esau, the twin brother of Jacob. In their life-times Esau and Jacob appear to have reconciled after Jacob returned from Lebanon. Historically, however, afterwards they became bitter enemies.  It appears that Edom is part of present day Jordan. In scripture EDOM is represented as the nations which come against Israel.

THE MOON GOD

So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks. Judges 8.21 NKJV

Another interesting item is the verse above found in Judges. The Midianites lived in the area now known as Saudi Arabia. In this verse we see that the camels had crescent moon ornaments on their necks.

This of course is the symbol of the nations of Islam. Many say that Christians, Jews, and Moslems worship the same “one God” but that is not truth. Islam is worshipping the ancient Moon God. They also say “God has no son.”

Therefore it is obvious that we Christians worship a different God than Islam does. Jews worship the same God as Christians but they have not accepted Yeshua as their Messiah and cannot come to terms how Yeshua and God are Echad. This word Echad means God is ONE, but in Hebrew it indicates a plurality.

Yeshua said He was equal with the Father, but that the Father was greater than Him. These may seem like small issues but they are the cause of much division. When Yeshua returns all will be put into proper order. It is also interesting that Yahweh has given us His word for instruction which explains all these issues. BUT—only if we allow the Bible to interpret itself and ACCEPT it as truth will we see it.

Having a basic understanding of the above issues should help us to understand the current end time events and conditions in the Middle East. These three religions have clashed throughout history. Much blood has been shed and will continue to be shed until Yeshua comes and establishes the Millennial Kingdom. Men cannot live peacefully together. He will come and teach us.

Finally, it is interesting that the word of God says the following in Leviticus 17.10-14:

And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourns among you eat blood.

And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunts and catches any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eats it shall be cut off.

Life is in the blood. Only blood can make atonement for the soul. Mankind is always shedding his brother’s blood all the way back to Cain and Abel (Genesis 4.1-15). Our Father God sent His only son to make atonement with His blood for our sins. It is the only way to salvation. Blood must be shed. When will we learn? Not until after the Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20-22). Our most difficult lesson lies ahead.

The topic of blood in the Bible is very interesting and worth study: http://burningbush647.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-shedding-ofinnocent-blood.html