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Israel and the Nations

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 unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

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... (Gen. 15:18; 17:7, 8, 18-21a).

Genesis is the book of origins or beginnings. The Hebrews referred to this book by the first word appearing in the Hebrew text -- Bereshith -- translated in the English text, "In the beginning." The title appearing in English translations today though was taken from the title given to this book in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament). And the translators of the Septuagint took their title from a word used in each of ten verses which begins ten separate parts of Genesis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1; 37:2). The Greek word genesis -- meaning "generation," "birth," "origin" -- appears in each of these verses; and the English title, "Genesis," is simply a transliteration of this word. All things associated with man and the earth have their origin someplace in the book of "Genesis."

There is a beginning in relation to the earth (Gen. 1:1), and there is a beginning in relation to man in this book (Gen. 1:26-28). And the beginning of God's revelation relative to His purposes for the earth and man begin to unfold in Genesis. It matters not what particular point of beginning man wants to pursue -- creation, fall, redemption, origin of nations, languages, etc. -- he will always, without exception, have to go back to this one source, given by God through Moses.

The importance of understanding beginnings is to be seen in the character of God, the One existing before all things and by Whom all things were brought into existence (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-17). The infinite God, unlike finite man, does not change. He brings things to pass within the scope of predetermined plans for predetermined purposes which will ultimately be realized.

The manner in which God looks at matters after this fashion is set forth in Rom. 11:29: "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance ['without a change of mind']." God does not, He cannot, change His mind concerning the reason He brought into existence all that presently exists. When God establishes a matter -- a point of beginning -- there is a plan and purpose in view, and God will always follow through with His plan and purpose to a predetermined, accomplished goal.

To accomplish predetermined goals, God never gets in a hurry, as man is too often prone to do. God waits, sometimes millenniums, before He acts. And His actions always have preestablished bases, which can always be traced back to particular points in the record of the beginning of all things, to particular points in the Book of Genesis.

God, for example, from His original promise in Genesis concerning a Redeemer for fallen man (3:15), waited two millenniums before He called one man out of the human race to be the channel through whom the Redeemer would ultimately be brought forth (Gen.11:31; cf. Gen. 12:1-4). Then God waited another two millenniums before He actually brought the Redeemer forth. The Redeemer was brought into the world when "the fulness of the time was come" (Gal. 4:4) -- not before, not after.

Then God is waiting two more millenniums -- six millenniums from man's creation -- to ultimately fulfill His plans and purposes for bringing man into existence. A pattern is set forth in the opening verses of Genesis concerning how God restores a ruined creation, the time involved, and what God does following restoration. The ruined creation was restored entirely through Divine intervention, God performed this work over a six-day period, and He then rested on the seventh day (Gen. 1:2b-2:3).

God, following this pattern, is going to work another six days to restore a subsequent ruined creation -- man (along with the material creation). And, as in the original pattern, He will then rest on the seventh day. Each day in the latter restoration though is 1,000 years in length (II Peter 3:8). God is going to work 6,000 years and then rest the seventh one-thousand-year period, which will be the Messianic Era. And all Scripture falls within a septenary arrangement after this fashion, having its origin in Genesis (ref. the author's book, WHAT TIME IS IT? Ch. III).

Beginning with Abraham

Today we are living very near the end of the 6,000 years allotted to man, and things happening in the world -- especially the Middle East -- clearly point to the fact that man doesn't have much time left. Man's history began in the Middle East, and it will also end in that same part of the world at the conclusion of Man's Day, at the conclusion of man's allotted 6,000 years.

The prophets have already recorded what's about to happen, and the stage is rapidly being set for all these end-time prophecies to be fulfilled -- prophecies recorded throughout Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. That which is happening in the Middle East today, from a prophetic standpoint, is like a hand in a glove or like the pieces of a puzzle being set in place. And once all things are in place, the Church will be removed and that which the prophets previously recorded will rapidly come to pass.

The geographical focal point for God's dealings with man is the Middle East. It always has been, and it always will be. And the key to understanding what's presently happening and what's about to happen in that part of the world, which will affect all parts of the world, is understanding the place which Israel occupies in relation to the surrounding nations insofar as God's plans and purposes are concerned.

The only way to properly understand these things in their correct perspective is to go back to the Book of Genesis and pick up at the beginning, which is really the only way to properly understand anything in its correct perspective in Scripture. This book alone contains the foundational material necessary for a proper understanding of events in the Middle East, both present and future. And this foundational material begins to unfold in Genesis with the call of Abraham after 2,000 years of human history.

1. Through Abraham

In Genesis, chapter eleven God called one man out of the human race to be the channel through whom His plans and purposes for bringing man into existence would ultimately be realized. God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees; and through Abraham God set about to 1) effect man's redemption (the Redeemer would come from the loins of Abraham), 2) reveal Himself to man (through the prophets, and in His Son [Heb. 1:1, 2] -- all descendants of Abraham), and 3) manifest His blessings upon the nations of the earth (awaiting the Messianic Era, wherein God's plans and purposes for the restoration of this earth and man's creation, recorded in the opening verses of Genesis, will ultimately be realized).

God, by calling Abraham from Ur for specific, revealed purposes, established not only a division between Abraham and the remainder of mankind but also a means by which God, from that point forward, would deal with the remainder of mankind. Abraham was called for special and particular purposes which would affect the remainder of mankind; and following Abraham's call, the remainder of mankind would accordingly, without exception, always be dealt with in relation to God's dealings with Abraham and his seed.

After Genesis, chapter eleven, though individuals and nations who are not of Abraham's lineage occupy a prominent place in Scripture, the central point upon which Scripture focuses never changes. The focal point remains on "Abraham and his seed," and individuals or nations are dealt with only in relation to God's dealings with this one man and his progeny.

Within the framework of God's dealings with mankind following Genesis, chapter eleven, Abraham had more than one "seed." God had decreed that he would be "a father of many nations" at a time when he had only one son (Gen. 17:5); and this would ultimately be fulfilled, not through the birth of this son alone, but through the birth of other sons as well.

Abraham became the progenitor of those nations descending from Ishmael, his firstborn (by Hagar); and he also became the progenitor of the nation descending from Isaac, the son of promise (by Sarah). Then he also became the progenitor of those nations descending from the six sons of Keturah and from Esau (the son of Isaac but the father of a separate nation than the nation descending from his brother, Jacob).

2. Ishmael, the Sons of Keturah, Esau

Ishmael though, unlike the six sons of Keturah and unlike Esau, received God's special blessing relative to his seed being multiplied: "And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold I...will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation" (Gen. 17:20; cf. Gen. 16:10).

Descendants of the sons of Keturah can be traced only to a limited extent in history (the descendants of Jokshan and Midian possibly more so than the other four). Then their separate national identities become lost, mainly, it appears, through intermarriage with the descendants of Ishmael (the Iraqi people of today would dispute this, claiming to be descendants of Midian instead. This though is questionable).

And the Edomites were the descendants of Esau, who occupy a prominent place in the Old Testament. The ancient kingdom of Edom lay south of the Dead Sea; but beyond the first century A.D., the Edomites, as a separate people, disappear from the pages of history. The territory occupied by ancient Edom is today part of either Jordan or Israel.

The Ishmaelites though have continued as a separate race of individuals since the birth of Ishmael, 4,000 years ago. Not only have they continued to possess a separate national identity, but they have been multiplied within the scope of this identity to the point that today they comprise many nations; and all of this is in direct fulfillment of God's promise in Gen. 17:20.

Essentially, the descendants of Ishmael (allowing for an assimilation of descendants from other sons of Abraham, et al.) are the Arabic people of today; and these people presently populate all the countries stretching from Morocco in northwest Africa to the Persian Gulf in the Middle East. The present Arabic population of the world is well in excess of one hundred million.

Mohammed, in the seventh century A.D., claimed descent from Ishmael. And today, most Arabs throughout North Africa and the Middle East will voice this same claim with Mohammed (e.g., Anwar Sadat openly claimed his descent from Ishmael before traveling to Israel in 1977).

Though other descendants of Abraham (save Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's descendants through his twelve sons) occupy their place in history, they have ceased to exist as separate and distinct families of nations. But the descendants of Ishmael have not. Rather, the Ishmaelites have been multiplied in complete keeping with God's promise, and their origin can be traced all the way back to Abraham's firstborn.

3. Isaac

Isaac, on the other hand, is the progenitor of the people we know today as the nation of Israel, the nation springing from the loins of Abraham through Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's twelve sons. And it is this branch of Abraham's seed around which Scripture centers, not the other descendants of Abraham.

The other descendants of Abraham occupy their place in Scripture only in instances where they are dealt with in relation to God's dealings with the descendants of Abraham through Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's twelve sons (they are actually looked upon as Gentiles in this respect, and this is the manner in which all the Gentile nations are dealt with in Scripture). In such instances, Scripture centers around the descendants of Abraham through the son of promise but it also focuses upon another descendant or other descendants of Abraham as well.

In the preceding respect, the sons of Keturah and their descendants (apart from their association with the Ishmaelites [and apparent amalgamation into this branch of Abraham's seed]) do not occupy a place of particular or special prominence in Scripture, though they are mentioned in several instances. However, Ishmael and Esau do occupy places of particular and special prominence; and when one moves into the present day and time, along with viewing Biblical prophecy, Ishmael alone occupies center-stage in this respect.

Ishmael and Isaac

Thus, to understand what's happening in the Middle East today (or, for that matter, what's about to happen), one must understand, first of all, that which is recorded about Ishmael and Isaac in the Book of Genesis. This is fundamental and primary, for everything rests upon that which God has revealed in the beginning of His revelation to man about these two individuals.

Then, with this as foundational material, one must understand the direction in which God led the descendants of Isaac and the direction which he allowed the descendants of Ishmael to take over the past 4,000 years insofar as a knowledge of the one True and Living God is concerned. The descendants of Isaac were led in one direction, but the descendants of Ishmael were allowed to go in an entirely different direction. Both, after 4,000 years, are monotheistic, but that's where the similarity ends. Their separate religious beliefs are diametrically opposed, one to the other. And that which is held by each, within the framework of their beliefs, is a major governing factor in the actions of both at the present time.

Resultingly, in the Middle East today, there are two half-brothers who have differences of a nature which make it impossible for them to co-exist after a peaceful fashion. There was no peace in the tent of Abraham when Ishmael and Isaac tried to dwell together 4,000 years ago, and there can be no peace in the Middle East today when their descendants find themselves trying to do the same thing.

The whole matter, at its beginning point, can be traced back to the Abrahamic Covenant. This covenant involved a seed and a land, and only the son of Abraham which God recognized as the heir could have any claim on the land in the covenant. The other son was given no recognition whatsoever insofar as the covenant was concerned.

God, in making this covenant with Abraham, rejected one son and accepted the other; and to Abraham and the accepted son (along with his lineage), God gave a clear title deed to a tract of land in the Middle East for an everlasting possession.

Then the religious differences which came into existence at a later point in history -- with the advent of Islam in the seventh century A.D. -- really involve the same thing and can be traced back to the same point. These differences can be traced back to Genesis, to the revealed identity of the seed of Abraham who, along with Abraham, holds the title deed to this land.

1. Isaac's Claim

The nation descending from Abraham through Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's twelve sons, according to the clear teaching of Scripture, is the only nation on the face of the earth with a clear title deed to the land of Canaan in the Middle East. God said, "...in Isaac shall thy seed be called" (Gen. 21:12).

God gave this land to the progeny of Abraham through Isaac by an unconditional covenant before Isaac was even born (Gen. 15:18-21; 17:7, 8, 21). Then God reiterated the covenant to Isaac (Gen. 26:3, 4), and later to Jacob (Gen. 28:13-15). And for those who recognize the validity of Scripture, no question can exist concerning who owns the land of Canaan in the Middle East. It belongs to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob alone -- to the nation of Israel.

However, all do not recognize the validity of Scripture and thus the validity of Israel's right to this land. Resultingly, on May 14, 1948, when Israel announced her independence, dwelling in and possessing a portion of the land in the Abrahamic Covenant, trouble erupted; and not a single day of peace has existed in the Middle East since that time.

Within hours after a nation emanating from the loins of Isaac was born in the midst of nations emanating from the loins of Ishmael, seven surrounding Ishmaelite nations which had previously banded together to form the Arab League (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Trans-Jordan [later called Jordan], Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Egypt) attacked this new nation. And thought the attack eventually ended in failure, the attitude of the surrounding nations has never changed; and the attitude of these nations will remain unchanged throughout Man's Day.

(Several of these surrounding nations are not as openly hostile as others today. However, hostility among all the Arabic nations does and must exist during the present time for reasons which become obvious when one understands the Islamic [central religious faith of the Arab world] mind-set in relation to Israel [ref. also Gen. 16:12]. And basic tenets in this Islamic mind-set, bringing this about, have their roots farther back than the founding of Islam, for basic tenets in the Islamic faith have their origin in a corrupted understanding of that which is revealed about Ishmael and Isaac in the Book of Genesis.)

The wars of 1956, 1967, and 1973 followed the Arabic nations' initial war against Israel in 1948. And between these wars, and since 1973, a continuous state of war has existed -- one often breaking out into open hostility (street fighting, border skirmishes, Israeli air retaliations, etc.).

Problems between the Jews and the Arabs have intensified significantly during the last several years, since the beginning of what is called "the intifada." This is a name given to the Palestinian uprising over Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, territories captured during the Six-Day War of 1967. However, this continued occupation of these two territories is only the immediate problem. Should this land be relinquished, the problem would not be resolved. The land of Israel itself would then become the central issue. A Jewish nation existing in that land is simply not acceptable to the surrounding Arabic nations.

(The peace efforts by Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt -- traveling to Israel in 1977 and, in 1979, jointly signing a peace treaty with Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel -- were not efforts shared by other Arab leaders or those in their countries. Even in his own country, Sadat's popularity fell dramatically after the peace treaty with Israel had been signed. And he was assassinated by Moslem extremists in 1981, resulting in rejoicing in the streets of Arab cities throughout the Middle East, for, in their way of thinking, he had betrayed the Islamic faith.)

In short, to state the matter another way, since May 14, 1948, with the announcement of Israel's independence by David Ben Gurion, the world was set on a particular course from which there could be no departure. And a deteriorating, explosive situation has existed in the Middle East since that time -- a deteriorating, explosive situation of such a nature that it cannot be defused by man.

2. Ishmael's Claim

The thought during modern times should be expressed more in the sense of The Moslems' Claim. However, the matter must first be traced back to Ishmael, then from there forward to the Moslem nations in the world today.

All of the Arabic nations (except Lebanon) are Moslem nations (with various types of governments), though they are by no means the only Moslem nations. Moslem nations stretch in an unbroken line from Morocco eastward to Pakistan, and back northwest through Afghanistan and Iran to Turkey. Then most of the nations in North Africa lying south of the Arabic countries along the Mediterranean have a population which is predominately Moslem.

Also, elsewhere in the world, this religion has become firmly entrenched in almost every country, though it occupies a minority status in almost all of these countries. There are over 800,000,000 Moslems worldwide today, and it is one of the fastest growing religions in the world.

This religion though was founded in the Middle East, and that remains its center today. Its three most holy places -- Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem, in that order -- are in the Middle East. And these holy places occupy a significant role in Islamic worship and life.

Israel in the Middle East finds herself completely surrounded (except for the Mediterranean on the west and Lebanon along the country's northwest border) by Moslem Ishmaelite nations; and beyond these nations to the north, east, and south are other Moslem nations -- some Arabic and some non-Arabic.

(Lebanon is comprised of numerous ethnic groups of people, with approximately as many Christians [includes all "Christian" sects and denominations] as Moslems. Lebanon though is officially recognized as an Arabic country -- with Arabic the official language, etc. -- and has been the home of numerous Palestinians since 1948 [along with Syria, Jordan, and the disputed West Bank and Gaza Strip territories]. Because of the presence of a large Palestinian population in Lebanon [mainly southern Lebanon], many of the problems between Israel and her Arab neighbors over the years have come from this country.)

The present alignment of nations in the Middle East could not, under any circumstances, be considered something which just happened through a random course of events over a period of centuries. It is no accident or coincidence that Ishmaelite nations surround Israel at this particular point in history; nor is it an accident or coincidence that these Ishmaelite nations, with only Lebanon as an exception, are also Moslem nations; and to carry the matter beyond that, it is also no accident or coincidence that nations lying beyond the Arabic nations, on all three sides, are also Moslem nations.

(Also note Gen. 16:12, which points to hostility on the part of the decendants of Ishmael. The latter part of the verse, "...he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren," should literally read, "...he shall dwell over against [implying hostility toward] all his brethren.")

Israel presently lies in a sea of Islamic nations, with a hostile Moslem half brother dwelling in the countries which immediately border her land. And the reason for this can only be looked upon as the same reason for the Nephilim being in the land of Canaan when the Israelites left Egypt under Moses, or the same reason for Russia's and Antichrist's impending moves against Israel during the coming Tribulation. The present state of affairs can only be looked upon as a well-developed plan by Satan himself, centering around his unchanging, single purpose relative to Israel: "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance" (Psa. 83:4).

A) Islam and the Abrahamic Covenant

Israel is not the only nation which looks to the Abrahamic Covenant for the title deed to the land which God gave to Abraham and his seed. The Moslem nations also look to this same covenant and regard Ishmael, rather than Isaac, as the son through whom the promises were to be realized. To accomplish this though, they have had to change what had previously been recorded in the Genesis account relative to Ishmael and Isaac -- for God rejected Abraham's request, "O that Ishmael might live before thee!" and instead said, "...my covenant will I establish with Isaac" (Gen. 17:18-21).

And this is exactly what has been done. In fact, those of the Islamic faith so change the clear statements in the Genesis account that they even look upon Ishmael, rather than Isaac, as the son who was offered as a burnt offering on the mount in the land of Moriah in Genesis, chapter twenty-two. Thus, in this respect, the Islamic faith, in places of this nature, is simply a corruption of revealed truth as given by God through Moses and the prophets.

The descendants of Ishmael by birth though are not looked upon as those who, alone, possess the title deed to the land in the Abrahamic Covenant. They do not view the "seed" of Abraham as pertaining strictly to Abraham's lineal descendants in this respect. Rather they look upon all Moslems, by faith in "Allah ['God,' as He is called by the Moslems]," as being "children of Abraham"; and these "children of Abraham" (in this particular case, "the Palestinians") are to possess the land for "Allah," who owns the land. The Moslems would thus look upon their initial right to the land after this fashion.

B) Religious Dominance of the Land

Though their primary claim would go back to a corrupted understanding of the Abrahamic Covenant, Moslems actually seem to place the emphasis on their post-Mohammedan occupation of the land (Moslems think mainly in the sense of either pre-Mohammedan or post-Mohammedan with respect to time and events). Within the framework of their Moslem faith, the land presently occupied by Israel has been possessed for "Allah" in post-Mohammedan times by those of the "true faith." And from that point on, this land (the central part of the land in the Abrahamic Covenant, the land in and around Jerusalem), rather than being strictly a territorial matter per se, becomes more of a religious matter. It becomes a matter of control through religious dominance within that territory.

From the seventh century until modern times (when British forces under Gen. Allenby took the land from the Ottoman Turks in 1917) the Moslems occupied that land (save for two periods during the 11th-13th centuries when the land was taken from the Moslems and controlled by the "Christian Crusaders"); and a tenet of the Islamic faith regards land which has been occupied by Moslems and brought under Islamic control as land belonging to "Allah," which must always remain under Islamic dominion and control. Should the land ever be lost, then what is called Jihad -- Holy War -- becomes necessary, for the land must be recovered for "Allah" (which is what occurred after the "Christian Crusaders" took the land).

The wider Islamic goal is world conquest, with the entire earth ultimately being brought under subjection to "Allah" through Islamic dominion and control (and the thought of Jihad is present here also). Apart from this wider goal though, a primary interest at the present time among Moslems, especially those in the Middle East, is centered around one small tract of land, which belongs to "Allah" but is presently occupied by "infidels" -- Jews, who the Moslems hold to be inferior and subservient to them.

The whole matter of non-Moslems, especially Jews, dwelling in and controlling matters in this particular tract of land is humiliating for those of the Islamic faith; and the defeat of the Arabic nations surrounding Israel in four major wars only adds to that humiliation. Because of how Moslems view their right to this land, Israel's presence as a nation in the Middle East is looked upon by Moslem nations as a personal affront to them. And that is the reason for the continuous "state of war" which has existed between Israel and the Arabic nations in the Middle East since May 14, 1948.

Arlen L. Chitwood, The Lamp Broadcast, Inc., Norman, Okla.
E-mail: alchitwood@icnet.net.