Session Four of the Patriarchs

September 30, 2008
Session Four
Eyes on Isaac
 
Today's video session was absolutely amazing!!! I was blown away by the information that Beth put together in her presentation. I wish you could have experienced the passion she portrayed on the stage. Today she gave us a lot of information about Islam. She added so much information, and it made me hunger for more! Beth believes that it is our duty to educate ourselves on the beliefs of Islam so that we can understand the wars going on in the world around us.
 
The intention of our study today is to be biblical rather than political. Our biblical understanding, however, will lend insight to some of the political aspects of "holy war" in our troubled world. Islam is the 2nd largest world religion next to Christianity. Ishmael was the leader of the people of the Middle East. He had twelve sons that made up twelve tribes. Look at the table for the genealogy of Abraham. On this table, Jacob is the father of the twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob was renamed Israel). His tribes were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Zebulum, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. Now, this will not make sense when you first glance at it because we have thirteen names. You have to remove Joseph from the tribes because he received a double blessing from his father. So, he had to pass his blessing down to his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. They became part of the twelve tribes. Then, you have to remove Levi because this tribe was not allowed to own land. The descendants of this tribe were the Holy Priests who kept the temple.
 
Genesis 25: 12 – 18: Ishmael and his descendants:
Ishmael's descendants became Arabian nomads or Bedouin.
Ishmael had strong ties to Africa through Hagar (16:1) and his wife (21:21)
Mohammed was born in 570 AD in Mecca. Islam believes that scripture is referring to him in John 14: 16 when it says, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever –"
However, verse 17 goes on to explain that the Counselor to be given was the Holy Spirit, not Mohammed. " – the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him , because it neither sees him nor knows him.&nbs p; But you will know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."
Muslims believe that Mohammed received messages from Allah in 610 AD. Allah is not meant to be viewed as the same God as Yahweh that we worship. Even Muslims will tell you that they do not believe Allah is Jehovah/Yahweh. There are some terms you need to understand from Islam:
al-Lah means "The God"
is-Lam means "submission"
qu-Ran or ko-Ran means "Book of Law"
So you can see from the fundamental terms of the faith that Islam is a worship of submission to the one they believe to be "the god". They worship by following a book of law. The term Christian means "of the anointed one". So the Christian faith is a belief in the anointed One. There is a huge difference between believing and submitting to law. Islam does not include a personal relationship with Allah. There are over 90 names in the Koran and none of them translate intimacy. Most of them are names of fear.
The Biblical Roots of Political Conflicts Involving Ishmael's Descendants:
1. Ishmael's Insecurity: No matter how blessed we've been, our natural tendency is to want the blessing we do not have. In Genesis 17: 20, God promised to bless Ishmael: "And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him." However, Ishmael was not the promised child that fulfilled the covenant between Abraham and God. Isaac was the child born into God's plan. If you recall, Ishmael was born to H agar and Abraham after Sarah stepped in and tried to handle things her way. So, Ishmael grew insecure because of his heritage and he longed to be the covenant child. According to Dr. Ergun Caner, "The entire Islamic religion is based on making Ishmael the inheritor of the promise." Over 2200 years after the events on Mount Moriah, Mohammed changed the character in the historical scene from Isaac to Ishmael. Islam believes that Ishmael was the one offered on the mountain as a sacrifice to God. However, scripture specifically says, "Then God said, 'Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." This story was passed down from generation to generation for 2200 years and never changed. Then Mohammed decided that it should be changed, and it was for the Muslim faith.  
2. Ishmael's Hostility:  
Compare Genesis 16: 11 – 12 to 25: 18. Genesis 16 reads: "And he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." Genesis 25: 18 reads: "And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers." The first verse is referring to Ishmael and what the angel shared with Hagar about her son before he was born. The second verse refers to the descendants of Ishmael and what actually came to be. Time has an uncanny way of turning a he into a they. We unearth an important application when we ask ourselves: What do we want our descendants to be like? Let's pursue becoming what we hope our descendants will be. Have you ever noticed that generations of families follow the same suit? It is so difficult to break the cycle of something you live in all of your life. If you watch your parents do it, you will probably do the same thing. Your children are watching you. "You" will turn into "they" as your children and grandchildren carry on the lessons you teach them through your life. It is important to decide that you will not allow unhealthy habits to pass down for the people you love to live out.
 
Islam has a strong hostility towards Christianity. Islam feels that our belief system is blasphemous because they do not believe God can have a son. Importantly, Mohammed also wrote in Sura (chapter) 4: 157 – 159 of the Koran that Jesus was never crucified. A Sura in the Koran is equal to a Chapter in The Bible. Sura 1 of the Koran states that Allah was neither begot or could beget. So, they feel he was not born and could not father.
They beli eve Christians live in the "train of blood", chiefly because of the crusades. In other words, they view us as a violent people. Loving individuals help break long-term stereo-types.
 
Followers of Islam have no feeling of eternal security. They believe that a martyr is the only one promised the security of eternal life. However 1st John 5: 13 states, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life."
 
We are the spiritual offspring of Abraham, and through Abraham all nations are to be blessed. Though nation may war with nation, individual Christians can become part of that blessing by making our goal to win individual Muslims to the love and security of Jesus Christ.