Israel's Rights vs. "Cast Out the Bondwoman" ?

In recent days, we've learned that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has agreed to a limited Palestinian state. (I myself was taken aback somewhat when I read this, as Mr. Netanyahu has been repeatedly described as 'hawkish'. I'm assuming that his reversal of position here was a result of United States influence/pressure (?) experienced in his latest meeting with President Obama.) One of the conditions is that the Palestinians agree to remain un-armed. Not surprisingly, this is not going over too well on the Palestinian front, last I heard.

Having recently posted on viewing a situation from the opposing side (see article), thus getting a differing perspective from my earlier one, I'm more prone to attempt that same approach in other matters now. I can't say I enjoy doing this, and I believe real caution is in order when so attempting, but in search of truth and justice, such investigations become mandatory. Issues can weigh heavy with me, even if I myself am not immediately involved. Or ever involved ! But sometimes I am compelled, as the apostle Paul wrote in Acts, to "search these things out for yourselves".

President Obama's Cairo address included the topic of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I believe. In posting about that speech, therefore, my thoughts turned in this direction. As a Bible-believing Christian, I pretty much had the basics down pat, I thought, regarding Israel's right to its land. Numbers 34 opens with a clear and definite description of the boundaries of the land (Canaan) promised to the Israelites by God. It's right there, in black and white. In fact, if you back up to Genesis 12, we see that Abraham (called Abram at the time) and his posse "went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came." And at that point the LORD informed him that "...Unto thy seed will I give this land..." All you Bible students out there know the simple math of Abraham, Isaac, then Jacob - whose name was changed to Israel. Biblically, it was in the Divine cards, so to speak, for specific lands to belong to the Israeli people. And if you check out a basic map of this clearly-outlined-by-God territory and overlay it on a map of the Middle East today...do I really need to tell you where we find ourselves? (map)

About two years ago, I was thrown a curve.

Reading an article entitled "American Apocalypse" , I was presented with a perspective on 'Biblical prophesy' and 'end-time events' that seriously contradicted anything I'd ever heard, or been taught. The thing of it was, the article made sense to me. Still, I would've balked, kicked and screamed my way out of it, if relevant Scripture hadn't been included. But it was. Now, I can't quite accept the cut-and-dry version of evangelical, mainstream Bible teaching concerning certain events anymore. And one of those events is the outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.

It took a little doing to backtrack and locate this article, but I've done so, and am re-reading it. I'd forgotten the whole thrust of dispensationalism factoring into my newly-considered end-times position. I used to work in a Bible bookstore, and I remember seeing that volume (by Clarence Larkin, was it?) about dispensationalism. Never got into it, though. All things are summed up in Christ, and I've always felt that it's all about Him. Other areas of Scriptural study just have never really appealed to me all that much. Too many charts or something, in this one. Plus, don't call me a dispensationalist, or a Methodist, or a Baptist, or any other 'ist', thank you, I believe in Jesus, and Him alone. When it comes to Christ, why do we need to subscribe to the tenets of various movements, organizations, and denominations? Some form of identity security or what?

As I see I'm heading off on a tangent, let me rope myself back in. Because I really, really get aggravated when it comes to 'religious organizations', and rules, thou shalt's and shalt not's, and any other form of structure that can turn a living organism into an organization. Yeah, it's the rebel in me, the wild child, but I want to be free! And when the Son sets you free...you don't need an 'ism' or an 'ist'. His grace is sufficient. (Too scary for some, I know, but He can help you get over that.)

So...back to dispensationalism.

The prodigy of John Nelson Darby's theology, dispensationalism became more widely known through the publication of Charles Ingersoll Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible in 1909. A key element of this teaching is that all Scripture, especially prophecy, is to be interpreted literally, and Scofield taught that a prophecy may never be 'spiritualized'. With this in mind, then, the land promised by God to Abraham and Israel must ultimately come into their (Israel's) physical possession, exactly as detailed by the LORD. Additionally, it is a Scriptural statement that God's Word will not pass away, and that He never changes, nor lies. So, Scofield and Darby notwithstanding, most Christians would see things this way anyhow. As did I.

"Christian leaders are zealous to ensure that U.S. foreign policy continues to be dictated by the interests of Israel without regard for the consequences in terms of Islamic reaction," writes Stephen Sizer, the above-mentioned article's author. He adds that dispensational belief in the futility of peace treaties between Israel and its Middle Eastern neighbors, and God's blessings on America while she supports Israel in all endeavors, is "deeply destructive" to American interests worldwide.

I remember being floored when I read these statements a couple of years ago. They fly in the face of everything I've ever believed. Yes, they sound logical but are they spiritually accurate? How could I even dare to consider...but as I've moved on in my life, I try to squelch knee-jerk reactions. Give things time, let them marinate a bit...so, bug-eyed and in mild shock, I filed this in the back of my mind, to be re-examined at a later date.

Which seems to have arrived...

No doubt, the world appears to be heading towards an eventual Armageddon. John Hagee made a comment during one of his televised sermons that a weapon has never been developed that wasn't eventually used. (I haven't researched that, but he's an intelligent man, and seems to know what he's talking about. So I'm goin' with, he's right...) And Israel is the hot spot of the world. It's not lookin' good. When all nations converge on Jerusalem, right?

But I've often been unwilling, even unable to concede to what seems obvious to many, if not most. Those twelve spies sent out by Moses judged according to the obvious, and their demise was swift (Numbers 14:37) - but Caleb had a different spirit (v.24), speaking and believing in faith, and lived, entering the Promised Land with Joshua (v.30). (Now, these Scriptures do refer to obtaining the land promised, against all odds - they could be used to in fact disprove the point I'm trying to make. The angle from which I'm approaching this scenario is, not judging according to obvious circumstances. Daring to see a different way.) So I wonder, with the Lord a day is as a thousand years...there may be more time than we think, and it may be that events transpire in a manner other than what we have heretofore believed, or thought. I know this sounds blasphemous, and I am not saying anything other than, I wonder...either way, God's plan and purposes will come to pass, of a surety, know this.

ooo

Now, one thing we all do know is that there exists an old and a new Covenant, Biblically speaking. We are told, in Galatians 4, that Abraham's two sons, one by a bond woman and one by a free woman, represent these two Covenants. The son of the bond woman Hagar was in the same rank with the Jerusalem that then existed, the physical, earthly city, and a type of the old Covenant "...which gendereth to bondage" (v.24). Now that old Covenant was struck on Mt. Sinai, and gave us law. Not grace, people, law...! Be clear on that! "...which gendereth to bondage." Scripture records here, "...Cast out the bondwoman and her son..." (v.30) (as was done to Hagar and her child {Genesis 21:10} ), because the slave child shall not inherit along with the child of freedom, the child of grace and promise, which is the new Covenant, the "Jerusalem which is above" (Gal.4:26).

There are two Jerusalems.


What I wonder is, when the bondwoman and her son were cast out, what they stood for was cast out as well - and since what they stood for was old Covenant, and the physical Promised Land description resides in old Covenant 'territory' language - is it possible that the temporal fulfilment of such language has also been invalidated? If this is so, then perhaps there really is a New Day for the Middle Eastern countries. Perhaps there will be another answer, a different and unexpected door that will open up.

ooo

I had never understood exactly what 'Zionism', or 'Christian Zionism', was. Now, Zion itself, I understand, with rejoicing! But this other...wasn't sure, but figured it must be good...right? Now, I question that cautious conclusion.. Mr. Sizer has this to say: "Increasingly, Dispensational Christian Zionism is being perceived as a deviant heresy which is subservient to the political agenda of the State of Israel." The Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism denounces the movement as 'extreme', 'detrimental to...peace' between Palestine and Israel, and as reducing the Gospel of the grace of God in Christ to an ideology of empire and militarism. It rejects the teachings of Christian Zionism where they facilitate such action and attitude.

The good part is, and my heart thrills to this next - the Declaration doesn't stop at just refuting Christian Zionism, but presents to us the better way. We are urged to pursue the 'healing of the nations' through the 'gospel of universal love, redemption and reconciliation taught by Jesus Christ.'

ooo

I suspect that I sound naive and uninitiated. This may be. But truth bears looking into, and one has to start somewhere. In the course of my doing so, I happened upon a site on which a statement was made about the disregard for the plight of the uprooted and homeless Palestinians. Considering this crisis from that perspective, I've began searching out information and articles relevant to this subject. Next on my agenda, approaching from the Palestinian perspective...

Having said all the above, I ask my readers to bear in mind that I'm only putting it out there - thoughts, ideas and questions. And if backed up against a wall, my only response, if one was required, is that I believe that Jesus Christ is the great I Am. He holds the future in His hands.

This Moment in Time: Obama in Cairo

Tomorrow, President Obama will touch down in Cairo, Egypt, to meet with the Egyptian president and address the issue of U.S.-Muslim relations. (By the time you are reading this, the 'tomorrow' of which I speak will be at least yesterday, or the day before...) I had an entirely different set of plans for today, but as I read an online article in USA Today, reporting on Obama's four-nation Middle East tour, a sense of profound import weighed upon me. I have never experienced anything quite like it before.

History in the making, and far more than many, involved in the daily business of life and survival, are cognizant.

This moment in time is engaging me in a way such as I have never been. Though I did not vote for him, from the moment of President Obama's victory, I knew something was different, for me personally, as concerned this new Commander-in-Chief. Though supporting our former President George W. Bush, and though that President was in my heart, I was not engaged with him in the way that I realized immediately I was and would be with Barack Obama. Something has changed. Perhaps it is the man himself, but I tend to think it is just as much, the times. "To everything there is a season, and a time..." (Ecclesiastes 3:1. KJV) We, as Americans, as people, and as a world community are standing at a threshold, about to step over it. We are at a moment when anything, when all things are possible.

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"What's new here is that people are listening to this president," said Shibley Telhami, a professor at the University of Maryland. "They heard him empathize with their issues. They heard him express an understanding not only of their religion and culture, but their issues." (source)

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We, too, must be willing to listen. Not carelessly, nor without caution. Not forsaking the call of our heart, nor our God, but I tell you, I read once that the attitude of the Savior is a listening attitude, and New Testament Scripture tells us as well, through the words of the apostle James, "...let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath..." (James 1:19, KJV). This Greek word translated into the English 'hear' involves the element of understanding. (Strong's Concordance, Greek #191). Listening in order to understand, while we hold our tongue and let anger take a hike for quite awhile. These instructions are presented to us in connection with the 'word of truth', from God the Father of lights, the Giver of "Every good gift and every perfect gift..." (v.17). He may have something to say to us, something other than what we expect. We may need to be willing to reconsider previous attitudes and approaches.

President Obama's approach to the Muslim world has spoken to me. I was surprised to learn that "people in Egypt and across the Islamic world want a better relationship with the United States", according to vice provost Ali Hadi of the American University in Cairo. Hadi said that"the entire world, including the Arab and Muslim worlds, was very sympathetic," after the September 11 attacks on the United States. And 76% of the respondents to a recent Gallup Poll indicate the importance to Americans of US-Muslim relations. (The monkey-wrench-in-the works here may be that too many Americans think 'extremist' when they hear the word 'Muslim', and don't realize that only 2-3% of the Muslim population fall into that category. Though the carnage wrought by this percentage is and has been great, the numbers of such violent men and women are relatively small, and we as Americans need to make it a point to remember that.) With American standing improving somewhat in the Middle Eastern world, and hopes in some of those countries rising as concerns our new President's making a difference for good, this may be the time in history when a door is opening that we cannot afford to shut. We cannot shut it with closed minds.

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"We are a growing minority, and we are misunderstood and misrepresented," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "The president is helping to undo and break down stereotypes of Muslims and also break down stereotypes of Americans." (source)

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About a year ago, a man showed up at my place of employ, with whom I one day got involved in a conversation about then-candidate Obama. This man told me that Barack Obama would win the election, which I already believed anyway, so that wasn't so unusual, except for the certainty with which he said it, and what else he added to his prediction. He told me that Barack Obama was 'from above', and was sent to fix America's problems.

After this conversation, I never saw the man again. No one else that worked with me recalled seeing him. He hadn't been there that long, so perhaps that wasn't so unusual either, but...I think it was.

Like many, I have also heard that President Obama is the Anti-Christ. Around the same time as the above incident, I was given a print-out of an email, sent by a pastor's wife, declaring absolutely that this was so. The message had an alarmist quality to it, frantically calling all to prayer. I was wary of the message, and essentially disregarded it, but kept it on a 'back burner'. There have been moments when I've thought, Hmmm...I can see how this may be true. If it is, I don't think any amount of praying will stop such an event. I don't think. However, I do think that the best course of action at this time is to heed the Scripture that tells us to "...judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts..." (1 Corinthians 4:5, KJV) There comes a moment when God shows up, and you know.

In the meantime, I wonder if it might not behoove us to avail ourselves of this declaration from the celebrated 1 Corinthians 13, that love (charity) "...believeth all things, hopeth all things..." (v.7). This may be the only way America can be restored, and move forward. It may seem foolish to some, but God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.

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Thank you for stopping by....please return for my next post, in which I will address, briefly, the Israeli-Palestinian situation.