In each blog, I often reference many different topics that I've already covered (or will soon cover), and maybe you've missed. Please review my blogs to read more...
CLICK HERE! for an index to previous blogs.
__________________________
Are they just stories?
There are many Old Testament stories that we have learned from the time we were youngsters in Sunday School. They were great stories at the time, but I did not understand their full implication as a child.
Most of those stories apply directly to end time events... such as the Walls of Jericho, the story of Gideon, Joseph and his coat of many colors, Noah's flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, etc. They ALL point us directly to the time we are about to be witnessing!
They are pictures, or foreshadows, pointing to the Return of Christ and end time events!
There is a story of the great faith of Abraham in the Bible. It's a story that has been told over, and over again. It really is an incredible story of faith, and overall is just an incredible read.
However...
There's much more to this story that has not been preached enough (if at all?) and it has to do with the world's current affairs.
It's referred to in the Hebrew language as the olam ebah... the ancient hatred.
Eze 35:5-6 Because you have had an ancient [H5769 - olam] hatred [H342 - ebah], and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end: therefore, as I live, says the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: if blood you have not hated, blood also shall pursue thee.
Israel and Islam
Today's headlines are filled with reports of violence all over the globe and part of the reason for that violence is the olam ebah - the ancient hatred.
Israel is usually at the center of a lot of this conflict. For such a tiny nation, it used to amaze me as to how it seems to hold center stage in our headlines.
It doesn't amaze me any longer... I know that this is all a part of Jehovah's wonderful plan from the beginning:
Deu 7:6 For you [Israel] are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Islam hates Israel and any who support her, including the USA. As many of you are aware, we've been referred to as "the great Satan" by Islamic leaders.
Christian persecution is on the rise and not coincidentally, so is the Islamic religion. Islam is spreading across the globe at such a rapid rate it will soon be the dominant religion. The radical muslims are looking for their al-Mahdi to lead them into their final caliphate and anyone that does not join them are labeled as infidels. Their religion preaches "death to the infidels"!
I've studied the koran, and have many study guides and notes to draw from. Having said that, I may post a reference to the koran [qu'ran] in parenthesis, for example (koran 9:5), but I hate posting the actual text from the koran in a public forum such as these blogs.
So, I won't do it often but...
The "Verse of the Sword" is:
koran 9:5 Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
Islam's intent with jihad (war against infidels) is global domination under sharia law. Have no doubts about it... they will attempt to accomplish this in any way possible.
If you don't believe me, look to my blogs concerning end time events. Scripture has prophesied this very thing and the great apostasy of Christendom is coming. Islam will be the dominant religion of the globe... it will be overbearing and continue with, to a much more severe degree, their doctrine of comply or die!
Islam will NOT, however, be dominant for long. Jesus, the Christ will return and completely decimate anything Islamic into dust of the wind. Jesus wins in the end!
Islam's hatred for Israel is nothing new... in fact, it's a conflict that started many centuries ago and continues to this day. Even the foundation of the Islamic religion started long ago before Muhammad come on the scene and wrote the text of the koran.
Let's start this blog by taking a look at Abraham.
Background of Abram
Terah was tenth from Noah through Shem. We are told in Scripture that he served "other" gods (Jos 24:2). He had three sons: Abram, Nahor and Haran.
Abram married his half-sister (Gen 20:12) Sarai. Sarai shared the same father as Abram but they had different mothers. This is likely the reason she could not bare a child to Abram (which we'll get into later).
They lived in Ur and later God called him to Haran (Act 7:2-4)...
Gen 11:31 Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there.
Haran (modern day Turkey) was the center of crescent worship and was a leading settlement of the Sabians, who had a temple there dedicated to the moon. The moon-goddess Ishtar was worshiped. In the hadith (an Islamic book describing actions of Muhammad) the Sabians were described as "converts to Islam".
(She has had many names over the centuries and across many different countries.)
As many of you are aware, the crescent is part of Islam's symbolism. This crescent symbol dates far back into our history.
Jdg 8:21 So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments which were on their camels' necks.
They were not only around the camel's necks either:
Jdg 8:26 The weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels' necks.
These crescent ornaments also spread into the children of Israel:
Isa 3:18 In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments...
Don't spend too much time focused on the crescent symbolism though... many nations used this symbol and I only mention it in passing. It's really not important for what we're getting to.
While in Haran, Terah dies and Abram is called of God once again:
Gen 12:1-3 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 will be blessed."
At the age of 75 (Gen 12:4) Abram, by faith did as instructed and took his nephew Lot along with him, "not knowing where he was going" (Heb 11:8).
Abram ends up in Canaan where God tells him:
Gen 12:7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he [Abram] built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.
Abram built this altar to Jehovah between Bethel and Ai (Gen 12:8), just north of Jerusalem.
After this are many other stories of his journey which you can read for yourself in Genesis but I want to skip over those and jump ahead a bit.
Abram and Lot (his nephew) return to the Bethel area and a dispute arises over water and pastures for their livestock. Between the two of them, their possessions were so great by this time, the land could not sustain their livestock together and fights break out between their herdsmen.
Abram lets Lot choose the valley of Jordan in the location of Sodom. Abram settled in the land of Canaan.
Gen 13:14-15 The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.
If you continue reading through Genesis you'll see more stories concerning Abram, but I want to skip ahead again.
Sarai has been unable to conceive a child for Abram. God promises Abram a son:
Gen 15:4 Then behold, the Word of the LORD came to him [Abram], saying, "This man [servant Eliezer] will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir."
Since Sarai was unable to conceive, she offered her Egyptian servant Hagar to Abram.
From Hagar, Ishmael was conceived and tension between Hagar and Sarai begins to develop. We will come back to this "tension" later. Sarai sends Hagar away and an angel comes to Hagar:
Gen 16:11-12 The angel of the LORD said to her further, "Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction.
"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 in the presence of all his brothers."
The NASB translates this as "and he will live to the east of all his brothers". Which we see in Gen 25:18 as east of Egypt to Assyria.
Abraham
At 99 years of age (13 years after the birth of Ishmael) God comes to Abram again and creates the Abrahamic Covenant in which Abram's name is changed to Abraham (chief of a multitude, father of many nations) and Sarai is changed to Sarah (noblewoman, mother of nations).
God tells Abraham that Sarah will conceive a son...
Abraham laughs because of their old age (Gen 17:17).
Gen 17:19 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.
This is important. God’s promise to Abraham was directly connected to the land of Israel.
Gen 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt [Nile River] unto the great river, the river Euphrates":
It was to be fulfilled through his son, Isaac, the firstborn of Sarah through whom came the nation of Israel, the Jewish people and the redeeming Savior of the peoples of the earth, Jesus, the Christ.
Pay attention to the promise above. God says He will give Abraham a son through Sarah - and bless her, and she will be the mother of nations, and kings will come from her (these are the promises Hagar will think rightfully belong to her in a moment).
Back to Sarah and Hagar
What had Abraham and Sarah already done before Isaac was born?
God promised Abraham a son through whom a multitude of descendants would follow (Gen 12:2-3).
Abraham's wife, Sarah, possessed a barren womb so she became impatient and suggested that Abraham take her handmaiden (Hagar) to give them children in order to kick-start the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 16:2-3).
Gen 16:4-5 So he [Abraham, father of the Jews] went in to Hagar [Egyptian], and she conceived [Ishmael]. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress [Sarah, mother of the Jews] became despised in her [Hagar's] eyes. Then Sarah said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me.”
Above, you can see the jealousy between Sarah and Hagar begin to develop. Putting yourself in their shoes, you can easily see how those feelings would surface. Hagar, the handmaid, had accomplished what Sarah couldn't... she conceived a son (Ishmael) for Abraham.
You can imagine Sarah feeling insignificant and Hagar feeling elevated in importance to Abraham and the promise.
When Hagar conceived, she held contempt for Sarah. Hagar was only the surrogate mother and was expected to give her child up to Sarah and Abraham as if the child were their own. Hagar likely understood the significance of her son (Ishmael) in relationship to the blessings of God's promise to Abraham, Sarah, and their son.
No matter Hagar's motivation, the Scripture goes on to tell that Abraham was clear on the custom of his day, and the covenant of his God. So Abram said to Sarah:
Gen 16:6 "Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her [Hagar], she fled from her presence.
Sarah dealt harshly with Hagar with the permission of Abraham, because of Hagar’s contempt for the covenant of God, the legal custom of their day, and her disdain toward Sarah her mistress. The severity of the harsh treatment caused Hagar to flee from Sarah’s presence.
Keep in mind that Abraham and Sarah both laughed at the prospect of Sarah conceiving (Gen 17:17, Gen 18:12). However, this whole process was no laughing matter to Hagar. Hagar eventually returned, and Abraham acted as a father to Ishmael but God had other plans.
As seen above, Sarah was to be an important part of the Covenant equation (Gen 17:15-16) and Isaac was to be born, of Abraham and Sarah, and become heir to the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 17:19).
Isaac and Ishmael
The contempt continued on after Isaac was born.
Ishmael scoffed (Paul says "persecuted" in Gal 4:29) at Isaac when Abraham threw Isaac a feast (Gen 21:8-9).
It's not difficult to imagine the animosity in this situation. Sarah noticed this and sent both Ishmael and Hagar on their way (Gen 21:10-14) which greatly troubled Abraham (Gen 21:11).
Now try to imagine Ishmael, a teenage boy being rejeted by the only father, and family, he knew. He was rejected by Abraham, who had raised and instructed Ishmael. It's recorded that Abraham had fond feelings for the boy. Imagine the deep feelings that are going to arise in Ishmael over the coming years.
God went with Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness - He promised to bless Ishmael also (Gen 17:20, Gen 21:13). Ishmael eventually took an Egyptian wife.
The Struggle Begins
This is the beginning of the olam ebah that reaches down through history to this very day. The animosity between these religions is found in daily headlines across the globe.
The argument still rages on between the three prominent religions of our time: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Christians and Jews believe that the covenant was passed on through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whereas the Islamic holy book (koran) claims Ishmael as the first position over Isaac.
Eze 35:5 Because you have had an ancient [H5769 - olam] hatred [H342 - ebah], and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end.
The passage above refers contextually to Mount Seir located in Edom which is the land of Esau (Gen 36:1, Gen 36:9).
Eze 25:15 Thus says the LORD GOD: "Because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the old [olam] hatred [ebah].
The second passage (above), and only other example of olam ebah in the Bible, shows that the hatred was passed down through the generations - that which was already established in Edom by Esau.
This hatred really amounts to a contest over the blessed contents of the Abrahamic covenant - both Jacob (later Israel) and his twin brother Esau (Edom - name from Gen 25:30) wanted the blessing from their father Isaac.
_______________________
There's more to this story and we'll dig into it in Part 2... coming soon!
CLICK HERE! for an index to previous blogs.
__________________________
Are they just stories?
There are many Old Testament stories that we have learned from the time we were youngsters in Sunday School. They were great stories at the time, but I did not understand their full implication as a child.
Most of those stories apply directly to end time events... such as the Walls of Jericho, the story of Gideon, Joseph and his coat of many colors, Noah's flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, etc. They ALL point us directly to the time we are about to be witnessing!
They are pictures, or foreshadows, pointing to the Return of Christ and end time events!
There is a story of the great faith of Abraham in the Bible. It's a story that has been told over, and over again. It really is an incredible story of faith, and overall is just an incredible read.
However...
There's much more to this story that has not been preached enough (if at all?) and it has to do with the world's current affairs.
It's referred to in the Hebrew language as the olam ebah... the ancient hatred.
Eze 35:5-6 Because you have had an ancient [H5769 - olam] hatred [H342 - ebah], and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end: therefore, as I live, says the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: if blood you have not hated, blood also shall pursue thee.
Israel and Islam
Today's headlines are filled with reports of violence all over the globe and part of the reason for that violence is the olam ebah - the ancient hatred.
Israel is usually at the center of a lot of this conflict. For such a tiny nation, it used to amaze me as to how it seems to hold center stage in our headlines.
It doesn't amaze me any longer... I know that this is all a part of Jehovah's wonderful plan from the beginning:
Deu 7:6 For you [Israel] are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Islam hates Israel and any who support her, including the USA. As many of you are aware, we've been referred to as "the great Satan" by Islamic leaders.
Christian persecution is on the rise and not coincidentally, so is the Islamic religion. Islam is spreading across the globe at such a rapid rate it will soon be the dominant religion. The radical muslims are looking for their al-Mahdi to lead them into their final caliphate and anyone that does not join them are labeled as infidels. Their religion preaches "death to the infidels"!
I've studied the koran, and have many study guides and notes to draw from. Having said that, I may post a reference to the koran [qu'ran] in parenthesis, for example (koran 9:5), but I hate posting the actual text from the koran in a public forum such as these blogs.
So, I won't do it often but...
The "Verse of the Sword" is:
koran 9:5 Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
Islam's intent with jihad (war against infidels) is global domination under sharia law. Have no doubts about it... they will attempt to accomplish this in any way possible.
If you don't believe me, look to my blogs concerning end time events. Scripture has prophesied this very thing and the great apostasy of Christendom is coming. Islam will be the dominant religion of the globe... it will be overbearing and continue with, to a much more severe degree, their doctrine of comply or die!
Islam will NOT, however, be dominant for long. Jesus, the Christ will return and completely decimate anything Islamic into dust of the wind. Jesus wins in the end!
Islam's hatred for Israel is nothing new... in fact, it's a conflict that started many centuries ago and continues to this day. Even the foundation of the Islamic religion started long ago before Muhammad come on the scene and wrote the text of the koran.
Let's start this blog by taking a look at Abraham.
Background of Abram
Terah was tenth from Noah through Shem. We are told in Scripture that he served "other" gods (Jos 24:2). He had three sons: Abram, Nahor and Haran.
Abram married his half-sister (Gen 20:12) Sarai. Sarai shared the same father as Abram but they had different mothers. This is likely the reason she could not bare a child to Abram (which we'll get into later).
They lived in Ur and later God called him to Haran (Act 7:2-4)...
Gen 11:31 Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there.
Haran (modern day Turkey) was the center of crescent worship and was a leading settlement of the Sabians, who had a temple there dedicated to the moon. The moon-goddess Ishtar was worshiped. In the hadith (an Islamic book describing actions of Muhammad) the Sabians were described as "converts to Islam".
(She has had many names over the centuries and across many different countries.)
As many of you are aware, the crescent is part of Islam's symbolism. This crescent symbol dates far back into our history.
Jdg 8:21 So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments which were on their camels' necks.
They were not only around the camel's necks either:
Jdg 8:26 The weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels' necks.
These crescent ornaments also spread into the children of Israel:
Isa 3:18 In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments...
Don't spend too much time focused on the crescent symbolism though... many nations used this symbol and I only mention it in passing. It's really not important for what we're getting to.
While in Haran, Terah dies and Abram is called of God once again:
Gen 12:1-3 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 will be blessed."
At the age of 75 (Gen 12:4) Abram, by faith did as instructed and took his nephew Lot along with him, "not knowing where he was going" (Heb 11:8).
Abram ends up in Canaan where God tells him:
Gen 12:7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he [Abram] built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.
Abram built this altar to Jehovah between Bethel and Ai (Gen 12:8), just north of Jerusalem.
After this are many other stories of his journey which you can read for yourself in Genesis but I want to skip over those and jump ahead a bit.
Abram and Lot (his nephew) return to the Bethel area and a dispute arises over water and pastures for their livestock. Between the two of them, their possessions were so great by this time, the land could not sustain their livestock together and fights break out between their herdsmen.
Abram lets Lot choose the valley of Jordan in the location of Sodom. Abram settled in the land of Canaan.
Gen 13:14-15 The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.
If you continue reading through Genesis you'll see more stories concerning Abram, but I want to skip ahead again.
Sarai has been unable to conceive a child for Abram. God promises Abram a son:
Gen 15:4 Then behold, the Word of the LORD came to him [Abram], saying, "This man [servant Eliezer] will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir."
Since Sarai was unable to conceive, she offered her Egyptian servant Hagar to Abram.
From Hagar, Ishmael was conceived and tension between Hagar and Sarai begins to develop. We will come back to this "tension" later. Sarai sends Hagar away and an angel comes to Hagar:
Gen 16:11-12 The angel of the LORD said to her further, "Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction.
"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 in the presence of all his brothers."
The NASB translates this as "and he will live to the east of all his brothers". Which we see in Gen 25:18 as east of Egypt to Assyria.
Abraham
At 99 years of age (13 years after the birth of Ishmael) God comes to Abram again and creates the Abrahamic Covenant in which Abram's name is changed to Abraham (chief of a multitude, father of many nations) and Sarai is changed to Sarah (noblewoman, mother of nations).
God tells Abraham that Sarah will conceive a son...
Abraham laughs because of their old age (Gen 17:17).
Gen 17:19 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.
This is important. God’s promise to Abraham was directly connected to the land of Israel.
Gen 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt [Nile River] unto the great river, the river Euphrates":
It was to be fulfilled through his son, Isaac, the firstborn of Sarah through whom came the nation of Israel, the Jewish people and the redeeming Savior of the peoples of the earth, Jesus, the Christ.
Pay attention to the promise above. God says He will give Abraham a son through Sarah - and bless her, and she will be the mother of nations, and kings will come from her (these are the promises Hagar will think rightfully belong to her in a moment).
Back to Sarah and Hagar
What had Abraham and Sarah already done before Isaac was born?
God promised Abraham a son through whom a multitude of descendants would follow (Gen 12:2-3).
Abraham's wife, Sarah, possessed a barren womb so she became impatient and suggested that Abraham take her handmaiden (Hagar) to give them children in order to kick-start the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 16:2-3).
Gen 16:4-5 So he [Abraham, father of the Jews] went in to Hagar [Egyptian], and she conceived [Ishmael]. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress [Sarah, mother of the Jews] became despised in her [Hagar's] eyes. Then Sarah said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me.”
Above, you can see the jealousy between Sarah and Hagar begin to develop. Putting yourself in their shoes, you can easily see how those feelings would surface. Hagar, the handmaid, had accomplished what Sarah couldn't... she conceived a son (Ishmael) for Abraham.
You can imagine Sarah feeling insignificant and Hagar feeling elevated in importance to Abraham and the promise.
When Hagar conceived, she held contempt for Sarah. Hagar was only the surrogate mother and was expected to give her child up to Sarah and Abraham as if the child were their own. Hagar likely understood the significance of her son (Ishmael) in relationship to the blessings of God's promise to Abraham, Sarah, and their son.
No matter Hagar's motivation, the Scripture goes on to tell that Abraham was clear on the custom of his day, and the covenant of his God. So Abram said to Sarah:
Gen 16:6 "Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her [Hagar], she fled from her presence.
Sarah dealt harshly with Hagar with the permission of Abraham, because of Hagar’s contempt for the covenant of God, the legal custom of their day, and her disdain toward Sarah her mistress. The severity of the harsh treatment caused Hagar to flee from Sarah’s presence.
Keep in mind that Abraham and Sarah both laughed at the prospect of Sarah conceiving (Gen 17:17, Gen 18:12). However, this whole process was no laughing matter to Hagar. Hagar eventually returned, and Abraham acted as a father to Ishmael but God had other plans.
As seen above, Sarah was to be an important part of the Covenant equation (Gen 17:15-16) and Isaac was to be born, of Abraham and Sarah, and become heir to the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 17:19).
Isaac and Ishmael
The contempt continued on after Isaac was born.
Ishmael scoffed (Paul says "persecuted" in Gal 4:29) at Isaac when Abraham threw Isaac a feast (Gen 21:8-9).
It's not difficult to imagine the animosity in this situation. Sarah noticed this and sent both Ishmael and Hagar on their way (Gen 21:10-14) which greatly troubled Abraham (Gen 21:11).
Now try to imagine Ishmael, a teenage boy being rejeted by the only father, and family, he knew. He was rejected by Abraham, who had raised and instructed Ishmael. It's recorded that Abraham had fond feelings for the boy. Imagine the deep feelings that are going to arise in Ishmael over the coming years.
God went with Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness - He promised to bless Ishmael also (Gen 17:20, Gen 21:13). Ishmael eventually took an Egyptian wife.
The Struggle Begins
This is the beginning of the olam ebah that reaches down through history to this very day. The animosity between these religions is found in daily headlines across the globe.
The argument still rages on between the three prominent religions of our time: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Christians and Jews believe that the covenant was passed on through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whereas the Islamic holy book (koran) claims Ishmael as the first position over Isaac.
Eze 35:5 Because you have had an ancient [H5769 - olam] hatred [H342 - ebah], and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end.
The passage above refers contextually to Mount Seir located in Edom which is the land of Esau (Gen 36:1, Gen 36:9).
Eze 25:15 Thus says the LORD GOD: "Because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the old [olam] hatred [ebah].
The second passage (above), and only other example of olam ebah in the Bible, shows that the hatred was passed down through the generations - that which was already established in Edom by Esau.
This hatred really amounts to a contest over the blessed contents of the Abrahamic covenant - both Jacob (later Israel) and his twin brother Esau (Edom - name from Gen 25:30) wanted the blessing from their father Isaac.
_______________________
There's more to this story and we'll dig into it in Part 2... coming soon!
Some of these excerpts are from my personal notes copied from 30+ years of studying... some of these notes are direct copies of various sources - I do not claim to have authored every word of this... it's just a mass collection I've tucked away over the years for my own personal studies... I didn't consider a bibliography at the time I directly copied small excerpts from various authors. Also, any emphasis (underlines, bold text, all CAPS, etc.) noted above was only meant to capture my personal attention as I studied...
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