By Jason Charles on 8/15/2019 (5 years 129 days ago) Israel/Zionism
Scripture tells us that Esau rejected His birthright, and thus the Abrahamic promise and covenant was handed down to his younger twin brother, Jacob. While Esau became hated by God for his rejection and intermarriage with Canaanite women, Jacob strove with God, winning His blessing. As such the blessing of Abraham proceeded down through Jacob’s lineage instead of the eldest. Yet despite the waywardness of Esau, God honored His promise to Esau who later became the supremely wealthy nation of Edom. In fact, God gave a special commandment to Moses and the Israelites to leave them alone as they were passing through on their way to the Promise Land in Canaan.
“And the LORD spake unto me, saying, Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore: Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.” Deuteronomy 2:2-5
This verse demonstrates that God honors His promises to Abraham despite his decedent’s poor choices down the line. The promise is an extension of who God is, and His character, and is not reliant on the abilities of others to maintain their part of any covenant he had made. Especially considering the Bible ascribes horrific crimes against the Canaanites. Remember this verse because we will address it later, but first the True meaning of the Abrahamic covenant.
Understanding the Abrahamic Blessing
The Abrahamic promise has become wrongfully mis-associated with land and bloodlines due to the reemergence of modern Israel and the broad application of Genesis 3:12 being taught in churches today. This verse is made to stretch the personal blessing of Abraham given by God, into a universal doctrine that states Christians must abstain from all criticism of Israel if you are to receive God's blessing on your life.
Genesis 12:1-3 reads,
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 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. Genesis 12:1-3
By virtue of this passage Christians are expected to extend unlimited favor to the Jews, and most especially support their right to be in Israel by any means necessary. Yet this is an impossible rendering of the verse considering the verse plainly says “that in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” The Abrahamic blessing isn’t for Abraham and his seed at all, but for everyone in all the earth.
So what is the Abrahamic promise exactly? And who could fulfill such a promise? Well Paul tells us what and how in Galatians,
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:28-29
It becomes obvious, only Jesus can be the realization of the Abrahamic blessing.
The Gospel of Matthew and Luke purposely trace Jesus back to Abraham for this reason. The Gospel of Luke going back even farther, all the way to Adam and God. This is to show that yes, Jesus is the seed of Abraham and fulfills all the qualifications for the Messiah.
As Paul points out, to be Abrahams true seed and true heir of the promise, is to be in Christ. Genesis 12:3 has nothing to do with land, nothing to do with a future blessing given to his progeny, but instead an everlasting blessing given to “all families” in the entire world.
It would stand to reason that to reject Jesus is to reject the true meaning of what it means to be a child of Abraham, and as such, also reject the Abrahamic blessing revealed to us as Jesus Christ.
So the question is, if both the modern and antiquity Jews rejected Christ and rejected their blessing in Abraham, then whom have they covenanted with in its place. The answer is they went the way of Esau, forging their own covenant with the world’s systems and the God of this world Satan, as Esau did with the devilish nation of Canaan.
Going the Way of Esau
Now what is interesting is Paul tells us in Romans 9 that “not all of Israel is Israel,” meaning not all those that call themselves Jews are Jews, because real Jews would follow the Abrahamic tradition towards its completion in Jesus Christ becoming Christians themselves, right? Of course they would, if they sought God in Truth.
Paul in Romans 9, reminds us that there were many Hebrews like Esau who fell away from the faith. First in Romans 9:6 Paul tells us not all that call themselves Israel were of Israel,
Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Romans 9:6
This was true in the Apostles time as it is now.
Matthew Henry brings a wonderful commentary on this passage of scripture, writing in the 1600’s he astutely points out the obvious relation between God and the Jews, insomuch as they were only special because they were counted as the seed of Abraham and inheritors of the promise.
“…He lays down this proposition-that they are not all Israel who are of Israel, neither because they are, etc. Many that descended from the loins of Abraham and Jacob, and were of that people who were surnamed by the name of Israel, yet were very far from being Israelites indeed, interested in the saving benefits of the new covenant. They are not all really Israel that are so in name and profession. It does not follow that, because they are the seed of Abraham, therefore they must needs be the children of God, though they themselves fancied so, boasted much of, and built much upon, their relation to Abraham, Mt. 3:9; Jn. 8:38, 39. But it does not follow. Grace does not run in the blood; nor are saving benefits inseparably annexed to external church privileges, though it is common for people thus to stretch the meaning of God's promise, to bolster themselves up in a vain hope.
…As to his divine nature, he is the Lord from heaven; but, as to his human nature, he is of the seed of Abraham. This was the great privilege of the Jews, that Christ was of kin to them.” Matthew Henry
He is exactly right, the only privilege that Abraham and his decedents had was that they were known of God as the seed that would one day culminate in the life of Jesus Christ, who alone was the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise.
While Abraham and his descendents did indeed become great and wealthy nations, and did inherit the parcels of land that God had established for them during the Davidic Kingdom, they didn’t all receive the fullness of Abraham’s blessing which was the promise of the coming Messiah. Many, if not most Jews rejected their Messiah and thus entered into God’s curse. In a sense they rejected their entire birthright, in much the same way their cousins in Edom rejected their birthright.
Conclusion
To bring this all full circle with what we stated in the beginning, we need to mention how the untouchable empire of Edom finally fell. While Edom was once protected by God as stated in the opening paragraph, it was the Priest/King, John Hyrcanus that was allowed to march against the Edomite nation almost 100 years before the birth of Christ. When Hyrcanus conquered the Edomite nation he caused the males to circumcise, and forced them all to convert to Judaism. The first time this had ever been done.
“Hyrcanus, who had been confirmed by the Romans in the possession of the important seaport of Joppa, subjugated other Syrian towns, such as Berœa (Aleppo). He marched against the fort of Madaba, on the banks of the Jordan, which had always been hostile to the Hasmoneans, and conquered it after a six months' siege; he also conquered the town of Samaya (Samega), on the Sea of Galilee, of special importance on account of its geographical position. He then proceeded against the Samaritans, who had always sided with the enemies of the Jews. He conquered Shechem, one of the most important towns of Samaria, and destroyed the temple on Mount Gerizim (21st Kislew = December, about 120). After victoriously ending the war in Samaria, he proceeded to subdue the Edomites, always a menace to the southern parts of his domains. With funds which he is said to have obtained from David's sepulcher he hired foreign troops, dismantled Adora and Marissa, the strong places of Edom, and forced the Edomites to accept the Jewish religion and submit to circumcision. This is the first instance of forcible conversion in Jewish history. In this Hyrcanus allowed his zeal for the Jewish cause to lead him to take a step which later wrought harm; for to the Edomites belonged the family of the Herodians, who were to bring about the ruin of the Hasmoneans.” (Jewish Encyclopedia)
This was the beginning of the end for the Jews, and their blessing under the Abrahamic covenant. As mentioned in the above text, the Herod family, who were Edomites came to power in Jerusalem as result of this conquest. Herod the Great was given power over Judea by the Roman empire, who waged a war on His behalf to set him up as King of Judea in Jerusalem.
This merger of nations and bloodlines happened just before the life of Christ, where the Jews where intermingled with the decedents of Esau, and unbelievably they were even ruled over by an Edomite in the form of King Herod.
This was symbolic of what was to come, the complete rejection of Christ. God was methodically destroying the purity of the Jewish lineage by intermingling the two bloodlines. He was setting the stage for the coming Messiah, the Destruction of Jerusalem, and also the annihilation of the Old Covenant.
Edom was extremely wealthy, had a knack for commerce, and excelled in the art of political administration, talents that were recognized by the Romans. In fact, Herods father Antipater was praised for these abilities first and promoted,
“When Pompey of Rome invaded Palestine in 63 BCE Antipater supported Pompey's invasion. Antipater allied his family with the rising power of Rome. The Roman leaders recognized the organizational and administrative abilities of Antipater. In 47 BCE Julius Caesar appointed Antipater procurator of Judaea and made him a citizen of Rome.” (sjsu.edu)
Then Herod himself a little later as well,
“In Rome Herod appeared before the Senate and impressed the members with his abilities and loyalty to Rome. The Senate made Herod the king of Judaea and authorized a Roman military expedition to establish Herod's rule in Judaea. Octavian became acquainted with Herod from this visit.” ( sjsu.edu)
It was this Edomite system of wealth and power that the Pharisees and Sadducees had pledged themselves too. Herod ran the money changers and the Temple. It was this Edomite system of governing and power, all headed under the authority of Rome that brought them power.
So, when we read about the Sanhedrin in the Gospels, and their bipartisan call towards the crucifixion of Jesus, who all hailed Caesar as their only King, in John 19:15 we see that this call was consistent with the everything that was happening in the religious and political establishment of that time.
But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. John 19:15
The religious and political order of the Jews had rejected their God, their Messiah, and their birthright under the Old Testament. The Jews were pledging themselves to the power structure of Rome and Edom, that had come to dominate Jerusalem at the time. They wanted the money, power, and authority of this world. This is why even to this day there is a great conspiracy behind the Jews, the Rothschilds, the Zionists and the reestablishment of modern Israel after the two world wars. They have covenanted with the cult of Canaan and the gods of Canaan. Mystery schools, sex cults, child-sacrifice, the whole 9 yards, it is this cult that rules the world to this day through the powers of the world. The talents of the Herods live on and have brought this cursed people much in the way of earthly power.
The god of this world is behind it all, as the sustainer of the cursed people who mingled themselves into the bloodlines of the Edomites 2000 years ago. As Jesus in Revelation states to the Apostle John, it is they that call themselves Jews, but are really not.
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Revelations 3:9
It is bad enought the Jews rejected their Abrahamic blessing, and went the way of Esau, but now many in the church are rejecting their blessing as well because of their idolitary of Israel. Simply amazing how deceptive the devil can be, be warned Christian.
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