Every War in The World in The Last 4,500 Years Was Started by The Descendants of ISHMAEL & ESAU

💭 How much pain must have been suffered by the descendants of Ishmael and Esau, down the centuries, because they nurtured feelings of rejection and resentment instead of accepting the roles God determined for Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau?

God chose the descendants of Jacob/Israel to be His special people, to bring salvation and knowledge of Himself to the world.

In Genesis 25 v7-18. We read of the death of Abraham, how both his sons buried him and how God blessed Isaac. When the death of Ishamel is recorded, the names of his descendents are listed and the fact that they lived “near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers. “

These descendants of Ishmael are reckoned to be the Arab people.

In Genesis 27 we read of the impending death of Isaac and the deception by which Jacob supplanted Esau and received the blessing,

So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, "Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness-- an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed."

When the deception came to light Esau was, predictably, angry.

v34 When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me--me too, my father!" But he said, " Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing." Esau said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!" Then he asked, "Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?" Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?"

v38 Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father! " Then Esau wept aloud. His father Isaac answered him, "Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. Be lord over your brothers, But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck."

v41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob ."

Remember that Jacob became Israel.

Esau’s anger influenced his decisions - Genesis 28 v6

Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman," ………. v8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.

Genesis 36 details how Esau then acted upon his anger; indeed, his whole life was influenced by this as was his location and his line.

v2 Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan : Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite-- also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan.

v8 So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir. ….. v12 Esau's son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Adah. …….. These were the chiefs among Esau's descendants:

The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam and Amalek.

Remember the name of Amalek and notice what is said of him elsewhere; Numbers 24v20

Then Balaam saw Amalek and uttered his oracle: "Amalek was first among the nations, but he will come to ruin at last."

Amalek reappears in the story of the Exodus ; chapter 17

v8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands." ….. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. …… 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, " Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."

This was not forgotten; it is recorded in Deuteronomy 25

v17 Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the LORD your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!