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CHURCH LETTER
'Jacob dreamed, and a ladder was set up . . . '
In times of great change fear raises its ugly face and causes anxiety and division in people's lives, often rupturing the peaceful co-existence of diverse peoples in a settled community. Our cover picture shows a well-known story of a man who sought a birthright that was not lawfully his. By deceit and cunning he disrupted his family and community life, and it is this story which has an earlier beginning that is still being outworked in the wider community today - the story of Jacob and Esau!
Jacob's dream does not figure largely in this Letter and we have introduced it here because it was a turning point in Jacob's walk with the LORD, bringing understanding that that which he had stolen by deceit was to become his by the sovereign choice of the LORD - man's efforts to obtain what God has intended from the beginning will lead to fear, anxiety and, more often than not, death and destruction. In his dream Jacob heard of that Sovereign Choice that was made to Abraham, and through Jacob's father Isaac was now passed to him:
" I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go . . . . I will not
leave you until I have done what I have promised you . . . . Then Jacob
made a vow, saying, `If God will be with me then the LORD will be my God'. "
Full belief and trust had not yet come, and Jacob would fall back on his own strength yet again, but come it would as he found that even his own strength would be `touched' by God, and this would finally change him. Here we must leave Jacob for a while and trace our steps back to the beginning of this sibling rivalry which has continued down through the centuries for, sadly, it has confused the minds and words of true Christians who have listened to the fears of people instead of listening to the Word of God. And so we turn our thoughts to Abraham and his family of Isaac and Ishmael, whilst not intending a chapter-by-chapter exposition of this story of sibling rivalry between the children of the first Patriarch.
Abram, as he was then known, was told by the LORD to leave his country and go to a land God would show him and:
" I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name
great and you will be a blessing . . . . and all people will be blessed by you. "
And so Abram journied into the land where the Canaanites were living, to Shechem on the Plain of Moreh. Once again he heard the LORD speak: `to your offspring I will give this land', and Abram built an altar to the LORD who appeared to him. This was the place in Samaria where Abram built his first altar, where Jacob built his altar following his dream and where Jesus would later minister to the Samaritan woman - all three were life-changing events affecting not only the people concerned but affecting events for ages to come!
Long years now lay ahead for Abram and his wife Sarai and still they were childless, and so Sarai suggested that Abram would sleep with her handmaid. Perhaps this would be the answer, a surrogate mother to bring forth that promised son. Abram agreed, Hagar became pregnant and the Genesis narrative tells us that Hagar, now to become a real mother, despised her mistress. As the bearer of Abram's child Hagar no longer expected to be treated as a handmaid, a slave. Sarai angrily reacted and berated Abram: `You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering . . . May the LORD judge between you and me'. Abram, content now with a coming child, shrugged off any responsibility and replied, `Your servant is in your hands, do with her whatever you think best'. This story is of course familiar to us. Hagar, now ill treated by Sarai, fled into the desert, and there `near a spring in the desert' on the road to Shur on the way back to her native land of Egypt, an angel of the LORD found her and said: `Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going'. Hagar replied, `I am running away from my mistress, Sarai'. Hagar was told to return and submit to Sarai, with the promise that:
" I will so increase your descendants so that they will be too numerous to
count, and you shall call the child you bear Ishmael. "
Hagar returned to Abram and at her allotted time gave birth to a son and named him Ishmael. Abram was by this time 86 years old!
And so the years continued, and when Abram was 99 years old the LORD appeared to him and said: `I am El Shaddai' - the title of the all-bountiful God with the power to provide all the needs of his people on their journey. Now God confirmed His Covenant - that Abram would now be called Abraham, that he would be the father of many nations and that He, El Shaddai, would establish this as an everlasting Covenant: (Genesis 17:7-8)
" I will establish My Covenant as an everlasting Covennat between Me and
you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your
God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan,
where you are now an alien, I will give you as an everlasting possession to
you and your descendants after you, and I will be their God. "
Nothing could be clearer! No interpretation was needed! No second opinion sought! No underlying `real truth' to be dug out by future theologians! A clear unambiguous Everlasting Covenant was made between God, Abraham and his descendants for generations to come. God alone would establish this and He, God, `will be your God and the God of your descendants'! Also within that Everlasting Covenant was the `Gift of God' of the whole land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants as an everlasting possession!
But with this comes a command - that as a sign that this Covenant is between El Shaddai and Abraham he, Abraham, and Ishmael must be circumcised. Abraham, now 99 years old, and his son Ishmael then underwent this act as a sign that they were the family of God. Then comes more from El Shaddai, for He speaks of another son to be born, and this child would be born by Sarai, now to be called Sarah. Unbelieving Abraham falls on his face nd laughs: `Surely not to a man 100 years old and through a wife who is 90 years old':
" Then God said: `Yes, and you shall call him Isaac. I will establish My
Covenant with him as an Everlasting Covenant for his descendants after him.
" As for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him
fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers and I will make him into a great
nation. But My Covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to
you by this time next year. "
And so it happened! Isaac now entered the family of God and the seeds of sibling rivalry were sown, which lasts still to this day. The boys grew, and in time Sarah saw that Ishmael was mocking Isaac. She said to Abraham: `Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac'. Abraham was clearly distressed but he listened to what God said to him, that he should do as Sarah said and send them away. And so Hagar and Ishmael were sent out from the family with only food and water for their journey. Hagar, understanding their dire situation, that in the blazing desert heat they would both die, placed Ishmael under a bush and broke down, weeping aloud in her desparation. Again an angel of the LORD appeared and reassured her that Ishmael would survive, and on opening her eyes she saw a well before her. After drinking from the well they continued their journey down to Egypt, and in the fulness of time she found an Egyptian wife for Ishmael.
Bitter, unremitting strife between the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael lay here in this story and continues to this day. At first reading the whole story seems to be, at the very least, unfair. Ishamael was the first-born - to him the family inheritance must surely come in due course? But the natural social order had been overturned by the Choice of God for the younger would inherit the Covenant promises not the elder. Sarah and Isaac were well content but for Hagar and Ishmael this reversal of tradition implied a stigma - the elder son of Abraham seemed to be unworthy to inherit - and so the seeds of resentment and revenge were sown. However to read the narrative at this level would show a superficial reading, superficial because the narrative tells us that Ishmael will be blessed by God no less than four times, twice speaking to Hagar in her distress and twice speaking to Abraham. This is a clear message that once again needs no interpretation or a seeking of a subtle meaning: God has established that Ishmael remains Abraham's son and will receive the blessings that arise from that position! However there is a subtle message within the dialogue between God and Abraham: Abram gave Ishmael his name, whereas he was told that Isaac `will be called `your offspring'. Ishmael was rightly promised the natural wealth and prosperity of the elder son, whereas Isaac was given a Covenanted inheritance with the entrusted responsibility of keeping that Covenant given to his father and confirmed by God to him!
The subtle message that is brought out is that the Sovereign God in chosing one son for a specific destiny did not reject the other. Both were equally part of Abraham's family, loved and equally cherished, but each one was called by God's choice onto a different path for His will and purpose. Envy, jealousy and pride now led to a continued bitter strife between the siblings, and this has continued down the corridors of time - the use of the word `corridors' speaks of a narrow, closed in and prejudiced understanding of the Scriptural recording of these two sons of Abraham and Sarah. This sense of the love Abraham had for his two sons is in direct contrast to Sarah's thoughts and feelings, as can be seen in Scripture's recording of these events. Sarah insisted that Hagar and Ishmael be sent away, whilst Abraham in distress asks of God: `If only Ishmael could live in Your presence'. Why, then, `the choice'? Once again the narrative speaks a clear message: Ishamael was strong, he would be a man of the world, cunning and deceitful. He would be `a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him', whereas Isaac, quiet, unobtrusive and obedient - even to the point of trusting his father when he was to be offered as a sacriifce - was prepared to wait for the Covenanted promise made by God to his father, of which he was the inheritor. A clear unmistakeable principle stands out here: God choses those who cannot do naturally what others could do in their given ability.
And so the two sons of Abraham separate into their own personal journeys. Isaac accepts the wife his father Abraham sent his servant to find amongst his own people, and in due time two sons are born to that union. `Ishmael dwelt in the wilderness of Paran and his mother (Hagar) took him a wife out of the land of Egypt' and in the fulness of time twelve sons, twelve tribal leaders, are born to him (Genesis 25:13-14). Out of the union of Isaac and Rebecca came forth Esau and Jacob, twin brothers, with Esau coming first followed by Jacob grasping his brother's heel. Isaac had prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer and his wife Rebecca became pregnant. The babies jostled each other in her womb and so she enquired of the LORD `why is this happening to me?'. The LORD replied:
" Two nations are within your womb and two peoples from within you will be
separated . . . . . . and the older will serve the younger. "
And so the earlier sibling rivalry between Isaac and Ishmael would continue through the two sons of Isaac, Esau and Jacob: (Genesis 25:27-28)
" The boys grew up and Esau was a skilful hunter, a man of the fields, while
Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling among the tents. Isaac loved Esau but
Rebecca loved Jacob. "
Not only were the boys different in temperament but the tension between them was increased by their parents' individual preferences for their sons. Bringing the rivalry to a head Esau returned from the hunt hungry and tired, and smelling the stew Jacob was cooking he asked for a portion. Jacob saw his opportunity to gain dominance over Esau, who paid a very high price for indifference to his inheritance. Satisfaction of his immediate need led him to giving away, selling, to Jacob his inheritance: `I am at the point of death, what profit is my inheritance to me?'. And Jacob said, `Swear to me this day', and Esau swore in agreement, selling his birthright to Jacob. The narrative continues: `Jacob rose up and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright'! Esau, a man of the fields, was no match for the subtle Jacob!
The story now moves to Isaac, who now old and blind asks Esau to hunt for some venison and make a meal in preparation for Isaac's blessing to him as his eldest son. Rebecca, as cunning as her son Jacob, seized the moment for him to receive that blessing, sealing the birthright that Jacob's deceit won for him. Rebecca persuaded Jacob to agree to the deception by dressing in some of Esau's rough clothing. But Isaac, old, feeble and blind as he was still had doubts: `Is this son kneeling before me really Esau?'
" Jacob replied: `My father'. Isaac replied, `Yes, my son. Who are you
(which son)? Jacob said to his father, `I am Esau your eldest son. I have
done as you asked me'. "
Israel, still uncertain, questioned Jacob again, only to hear Jacob claiming the LORD's help. But Isaac was still unsure and said to Jacob, `Come near so I can feel you and know that you are indeed Esau'. Then after touching the hairy goatskin Isaac said, `The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau'. And so Isaac blessed Jacob, sealing the birthright purchased from Esau by deception. Was there still doubt in Isaac's mind, for following the blessing he again asked the same question, `Are you my son Esau'? Again came Jacob's deceptive words, `I am'.
And so the blessing was bestowed on Jacob: (Genesis 27:28-29)
" May God give you the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth and an
abundance of grain and wine. May nations serve you and people bow down
to you. Rule over your brothers and may your mother's sons bow down to you. "
The deception was soon discovered when Esau returned from the hunt, bringing the provision for his father's meal which was to be followed by his father's blessing. He said to his father: `Let my father arise and eat some of his son's venison, that you may bless me. Isaac asked him, `Who are you' only to hear the words, `I am your son Esau' and Isaac trembled violently'. Once the full deception was brought out Esau cried out with a loud and bitter cry, saying to his father, `Bless me also, my father', only to hear Isaac's response, `Your brother came to me in deceit and took your blessing'. Esau, full of bitter rage, cried out, `Twice Jacob has taken my lawful position, first my birthright and then my blessing. Have you not a blessing for me?' But Isaac could not retrieve the blessing given to Jacob: `I have made him lord over you and made all his brothers his servants. What is left for me to do for you, my son?' Esau bitterly replied to his father: Do you have only one blessing? Bless me too, my father. Then Esau wept aloud'.
A more tragic story of a family split in bitter vengeful despair can hardly be imagined outside the fertile imagination of the novelist. Hearts go out to the blind, ageing Isaac and understandably to his aggrieved son Esau, a strong simple man, a man of the fields, now reduced to bitter tears through the duplicity of his younger twin brother. But Isaac did unexpectedly bring forth a blessing for his distressed son who had been so deceitfully robbed of his birthright: (Genesis 27:39-40)
" Your blessing will be away from the earth's richness, and from the dew of
heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother.
But when you grow restless you will throw his yoke from off your neck. "
Isaac found within him two blessings concerning birthright and inheritance - which is to say there is at the very least a contradiction within this story, for surely Isaac had only one inheritance with its associated blessing to pass on. Further doubt comes when considering blind Isaac's words when blessing Jacob: `Who are you, my son . . . are you really my son Esau . . . the voice is Jacob's but the hands are Esau's . . . are you my very son Esau?' and so he blessed him. Three times Isaac gave Jacob the opportunity to admit the truth, and three times Jacob continued in his deception. As this was to be a Covennated blessing, passing down the very words of the LORD given to Abram his father, would such a deception be allowed? Surely not! A Covenant between God and man has at its centre righteouness, integrity and truth! Isaac held a sacred Covenant to pass on, and through God's words given to Rebecca he knew `the elder shall serve the younger'. The birthright was to be given to Jacob the younger twin brother and therefore Isaac knew he was blessing the right son. He accepted the deception, trusting not in his natural frailty but the Word of God alone. And so cunning Jacob was given the inheritance he had stolen and received from his father Isaac the blessing: `The elder shall serve the younger'.
That seemed to be the end of the matter but Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed Jacob: (Genesis 27:41)
" And Esau said in his heart, `The days of mourning for my father are ending,
then I will slay my brother Jacob'.
Furthermore, Esau told his mother of his intent. She then told Jacob, `Now therefore, my son, obey me and arise and flee to my brother Laban in Haran'. And so Jacob in fear of his life, and after receiving yet another blessing from his father Isaac, fled to Haran, `to the house of your mother's father Bethuel'. The two brothers now went their separate ways, otherwise the revenge that Esau sought would have resulted in Jacob's death and the Covenant line broken. However we have the Word of God and therefore know that this account of Abraham through to Isaac and his two sons is one of the most beautiful accounts of the LORD's redemptive purposes for His people - which continued down through the ages to reach its sure conclusion between the two brothers, Esau and Jacob, the sons of Isaac son of Abraham, to whom was given the Covenanted Word of the LORD.
On leaving Beersheba, his father's house, Jacob on his journey stopped for the night at a place he would come to call Bethel. Here he had a dream and heard the voice of the LORD, `the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac', which was to be the turning point of Jacob's life! Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern people and to the house of Laban, the son of Bethuel and brother of Rebecca, Jacob's mother, where he stayed for twenty years. However, one day he heard that Esau was coming with four hundred men. Jacob, terrified and as cunning as ever, did all he could to divert the coming attack, which he knew would end with his death. That night would change Jacob's life for ever as God intervened and brought Jacob into His purpose. Jacob, still terrified, had sent over the ford of Jabbok all he possessed to Esau, hoping this would appease him - `and Jacob was left alone'. Once again Jacob was to face something that he himself had to deal with, for there all alone `he wrestled with a Man until the breaking of day'. And when He (the Man) saw that He could not prevail against Jacob He touched the hollow of his thigh, which was then put out of joint:
" And He (the Man) said, `Let Me go, for the day breaks'. But Jacob said,
`I will not let You go until You bless me'. And He said, `What is your
name?' And he replied, `Jacob'. Then He said, `Your name shall no
more be Jacob but Israel . . . . because you have struggled with God and
with men and have prevailed. . . . .'. Then He blessed him there. "
Jacob's name had a meaning of `contender', which had defined his life; he had contended for the birthright . . . he had contended by deceit for Isaac's blessing . . . he had contended with Laban and he had indeed contended with men and prevailed but now he had contended with God, and had prevailed - until God touched his thigh and took away his natural strength. His name was changed to Israel to remind him always of a greatly needed lesson - from henceforth he was dependent upon God for all things for he carried the responsibility of God's Covenant. A heavy responsibility indeed if he used his natural strength instead of his new dependence upon the LORD!
And so we come to the climax of the account of this truly disfunctional family with its jealousies, deceptions, intrigues and bitter sibling rivalry which threatened to end in death, for `Jacob looked up, and there was Esau coming with his four hundred men'. The last time the brothers were together, twenty-two years earlier, Esau had threatened to kill Jacob. This time this normally quick-tempered, sometimes violent man ran to meet Jacob and embraced him, then together they wept for joy! The tension was released and we now read of a previously unthought of act - Jacob bowed down to Esau seven times! He prostrated himself before Esau, as did his whole family, and on answering Esau's questions he called him `my lord' five times, calling himself `your servant'. This was total self-abasement following on from wrestling with a Man over Whom Jacob could have claimed a victory until his thigh was touched. Jacob could contend with everything, even God, until his thigh was touched and his natural strength broken. And so he came to Esau, not in self-confidence but in his new name, Israel, a new man totally dependent upon God!
At first Esau refused Jacob's gift, only to hear Jacob's response: (Genesis 33:10-11)
" `No, I pray you, if I have found grace in your sight then receive my gift
from my hand, for I have seen your face as though I have seen the face
of God, and you were pleased with me. Take my blessing that I bring
you for God has dealt graciously with me and I have enough'. And Jacob
so urged him that Esau took it. "
We have mentioned before the use of the expression `see your face', and here we note its double use. Earlier, when Jacob stole Esau's blessing from his blind father, Isaac used only his natural facilities of touch and smell in giving Jacob his blessing, but here Jacob's words to Esau `seeing your face is like seeing the face of God' referred to his wrestling with a Man, when at the end of that struggle `Jacob called the name of that place Peniel . . . for I have seen God face to face and my life, my soul is preserved'. At last Jacob understood! He saw there was no need for deception in stealing Esau's blessing for there had been a second blessing given him by Isaac as he was about to flee from Esau's anger:
" May the LORD Almighty, El Shaddai, bless you and make you fruitful
and multiply you . . . May He give you the blessing of Abraham, and
to your seed forever, that you may inherit the land where you are a
stranger, which God gave to Abraham. "
Isaac's second blessing to Jacob was given by him knowing that this son was Jacob! Isaac didn't intend to disinherit Jacob, neither did he intend to hand the Covenant Blessing to Esau! Each son received what was right for them, as chosen for them by God! Isaac was not deceived, neither was God! Now at last Jacob, transformed following his meeting with `a Man', could see face to face that which he had been blind to in his selfish desires. Jacob gave back to Esau the blessing he had stolen from him all those years earlier - not just as a blessing but as a gift of all the wealth accumulated by the blessing. At last Jacob understood and accepted that second blessing which was intended for him by God, a blessing of Covenanted responsibility for him and his descendants in a Land.
Now we can begin to draw to a conclusion this Letter on the LORD's great redemptive work for the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael, and also a conclusion to the bitter rivalry which had spawned such great enmity between them over the long centuries of history. For a brief moment the rivalry had ceased between Isaac and Ishmael when Abraham, at the age of 175 years `breathed his last and died at a good old age, full of years, and was gathered to his fathers. Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre .. . Abraham with his wife Sarah'. Years later came the death of Isaac `who lived 180 years. Then he, Isaac, breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him'.
However if we finish here it would be to leave a mere Bible Study and not a Letter, for in the lessons of this Letter we seek an application for our life today. Not only Europe but the whole world is in a state of fear and anxiety which frequently erupts into open conflict, therefore it is natural for people to take sides in order to find refuge, a sure defense against those seeking to overthrow another's established culture and traditions. But if indeed Europe and the whole world is in a state of fear and anxiety we need to take our eyes off Europe, and indeed the whole world, for what is emerging is the end of the Ages and the sighting of the `two legs' of Nebuchadnezzar's statue with its ten toes. At the centre in between those two legs lies Jerusalem, and the nation of Israel which is entrusted with its care until the Messiah returns to His people so that the fulness of `blessings from Zion' may flow out to the peoples of the world.
Although for centuries there has been rivalry between the two so-called `peoples of the Book', this sibling rivalry has only intensified since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the taking of Jerusalem by the British forces in 1917 - and further by the Balfour Declaration of the same year. Certainly since the Crusades of medieval Europe - which established the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Crusader States of Outremer until their fall to Saladin in the 13th century - the whole area was a nomadic wasteland outpost of the sprawling Ottoman Empire. The sibling rivalry of the offspring of Abraham lay in the dust of history, but clearly it still simmered in the `memory bank' of the two siblings for it was centered on the two blessings given by Abraham, and later by his son Isaac, that the older son would serve the younger but that both would be blessed with the blessings from heaven for both sons were loved by their respective fathers - and as we have seen earlier, both sets of siblings had accepted that, for they came together to bury their fathers. Ishmael had become the father of twelve tribes who enjoyed the wealth of the area they populated. Esau became the father of the Edomites who lived within those lands and enjoyed prosperity until the line died out upon the death of the last of the Biblical Herods, an Edomite. By that time the descendants of Esau had inter-married and assimilated into the wider semetic tribes of Ishmael. Therefore when we talk of sibling rivalry we understand that the weakened line of Esau is to be seen within the descendants of Ishmael, for Esau was `so to speak' in the loins of his father Isaac - which brings us back to the rivalry between Isaac and Ishmael, long since healed at the burial of their father Abraham.
We must leave this sibling rivalry for a moment and turn to contemporary times and the continual Middle Eastern crises upon crises which have led to outright wars following the so-called `Arab Spring' - which has quickly turned into `Winter', for that is what it is. Samuel Huntingdon, in his book `The Clash of Civilisations', published in 1996, wrote that it was not the result of Biblical sibling rivalry but the clash between two powerful political entities. The clash came with the Western powers continuing their eastward imperial conquest against the continuing westward thrust of the Ummah of Islam. In between was the Unconditional Covenanted Promise given by the LORD to Abram, confirmed and entrusted to Isaac, and later Jacob to whom the Covenanted Blessing had been given. `At the appointed time' the Covenant Blessing was stirred up within the hearts and minds of the Founding Fathers of modern-day Israel which was established in 1948 as the State of Israel, and finally in 1967 with the Declaration that the city of Jerusalem was the undivided, eternal capital of Israel. The Founding Fathers came from the Ashkanzi branch of Jewry, which following the Great Diaspora had settled in western Germany and northern France, the lands of the Holy Roman Empire. Later they were pushed eastward into Poland through the break-up of that Empire whilst the Sephardic branch moved into the more immediate eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. The Ashkanzi were heavily influenced by the Enlightenment with its cry of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, and they took this ideology and its values into the formation of the democratic modern-day State of Israel. Israel is therefore seen by the Muslim countries of Islam to be the vanguard of the imperial Western nations and to be the frontline of the perceived destruction of the Ummah of Islam.
Within Islam itself there is no direct claim to Jerusalem, other than through the waxing and waning of conquest. The Quran merely says, regarding Mohammads `night journey and ascension on a miraculous steed', that it was to `the fatherest Mosque', and according to the Hadith, the `probable sayings' of Mohammad, which were compiled long after his death, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was that `fatherest Mosque'. On his triumphal journey to Jerusalem in AD 637 Caliph Umar 1st, the second Caliph after Mohammad's death, found a small prayer house on the Haram Al-Sharif and built a mosque in an area which is often destroyed by earthquakes, and so the Al-Aqsa was finally built in its present form. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is therefore a political statement, a `red line' against Western Imperialism, of which the nation of Israel is the supposed vanguard. Without a doubt all of this is within `His-story' as the LORD opens the way for the spiritual Covenanted Promise given to Abraham and confirmed to Isaac and Jacob to be fulfilled. This is causing fear and anxiety throughout the Ummah of Islam which has the natural blessings of Ishmael, which later were given to Esau by Jacob. That action led to their reconcilliation at the burial of their father Isaac - as had happened in an earlier time when Isaac and Ishmael were reconcilled at the death and burial of their father Abraham.
Western Christianity, that is, the moral arm of Western imperialism, has repeatedly stirred up and stoked the fires of this sibling rivalry between Isaac and Ishmael - and incredibly so since the 19th century when the true `Body of the Lord', becoming alive to to its `Jewish Roots', joined with religious `Christianity' to establish the Kingdom of God in Israel through the poitical State wars of the West. This Letter is written in the hope that some will come to an understanding and therefore pray and work towards the full restoration between the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael - that they will be reconcilled at last, not through the death and burial of their father Abraham but through the death and resurrection of the Father's Son of Promise, which Blessing was entrusted to Isaac and Jacob for the restoration of all things, including the descendants of Ishmael, for both are loved by the Father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Selah
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