Abraham had two sons…
For the most part, people think the middle east conflict is about oil and “palestinian oppression.” It is actually a case of sibling rivalry.
Abraham had two sons. In the west, most of us that have Jewish friends have heard of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham was old and had a son named Isaac, whose descendent became the Jews.What most people do not realize is that Isaac had an older half brother, Ishmael. Ishmael became the father of the Arabs.
Abraham had been told by God years before that he would have a son in whom the whole world would be blessed. Abraham was 87 years old and his wife Sarah was 77. Sarah told Abraham, ‘look, I am old and past menopause, I never had kids and it is just not happening. Here is my handmaid Hagar; have a kid with her and you will have an heir.’
Big mistake! Whenever you try to “help God’s plan” you end up throwing a monkey wrench into the works. The sons of Ishmael settled mostly on what became the Arabian Peninsula. Eventually Mohammed was born and started Islam which grew into an empire which covered most of south west Asia and northern Africa. They were at the height of their empire between 700 and 1000 AD. These good old days are glorified by the Wahhabi sect of Islam, started by the Saudis and exported to poor Arab nations with Saudi oil money.
The Jews went through a deportation to Babylon, came back to Israel, were dispersed to the four winds by the Romans and eventually came back to settle in the promised land again after WW II with the help mainly of the British and Americans.
Meanwhile, the oil companies had discovered oil under Ishmael’s son’s land and made them all rich. So now it is May 14, 1948, the British are leaving, The Jews declare the state of Israel to be founded and the Arabs attack and are repulsed by this little band of Jews.
For years before and after the 1948 western politics had been revolving around the Jews and the promised land and the Arabs and the largest oil reserves in the world. Arab politics are simple. Jews and Christians are infidels and need to be killed and Islam must become a world empire.
God told Abraham “and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Gen 12:3 later, God told Abraham about his son Isaac, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” Gen 22:18
God told Isaac ” Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;” Gen 26:3-4
It all comes down to which son you care to be friends with: Ishmael with his oil or Isaac with his blessing. The mess the world is in is all wrapped up in Ishmael’s oil and religion, so I choose Isaac.
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| Tags: abraham, arab, God, ishmael, jew, mideast |
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