The Land of Canaan
[SIZE=12pt]The question today is how to settle the Mid-East conflict. The quick answer is that man will not ever settle the Mid-East conflict because it is not just a battle between ideologies of men, but a spiritual war in the heavenly places for which man has no power. (Ephesians 6:12) The result of this war of wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly places is manifested in the conflicts of men’s souls in either their rejection of God’s Word or their striving to obey God’s Word. The conflict will come to a quick end when the Messiah returns with His Host and defeats all the evil forces that have sought to steal, kill and destroy all of God the Creators creation including mankind. (John 10:10)[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Let us take a quick walk through undeniable history. That history that we are commanded 137 times in the Old Testament to remember and to teach our children. He who knows the history from where they have come can control the future of where his children are going. The story of Canaan is first seen in the Scriptures after the Great Flood. All of history verifies the Great Flood, it is not fiction, it is not a fairy tale, and it is absolute truth.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth. Noah began to farm the land and grew a vineyard. From the fruit of the vineyard he produced wine and from it he drank himself into a drunken stupor. Noah passed out naked in his tent and was sleeping the effects of the wine off. Ham went into his father’s tent and saw the nakedness of Noah and went out and told his brothers. Shem and Japheth placed a blanket behind them and walked backwards into the tent and covered their father. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]When Noah woke from his sleep he knew what his youngest son had done to him. Now Noah’s youngest son was the son of Ham who was named Canaan. The Scripture does not say what Canaan had done and I have heard speculations on the matter. Whatever it was it was an evil act. It was an act that left an obvious mark on his Grandfather and it was an act consistent with his character so that Noah knew who had committed it. As a result Noah cursed Canaan that he would be a servant of servants, and Noah also said in his curse of Canaan, [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]"Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brothers." He also said, "Blessed be the LORD, The God of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant.” May God enlarge Japheth, And let him dwell in the tents of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant." [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt](Genesis 9:18-27)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]That Canaan would be a servant of Shem is important because Shem is in the bloodline of Jesus Christ. This is important to the Christian. Shem is therefore, in the bloodline of King David, which is important to the Jews. It is important because Canaan is a servant to Shem. (Luke 3:23:38)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Canaan went from this time to a land also known as Phoenicia. Phoenicia was an ancient civilization comprised of independent city-states which lay along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea stretching through what is now Syria, Lebanon and northern Israel. In the Scriptures this land comprises of Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, the western part of Jordan and southwestern Syria. [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]"The territory of the Canaanite extended from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha." [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt](Genesis 10:19)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Abraham who is the father of the Jewish nation, also known as the Israelite nation, was called by God out of the land of the city of Ur of the Chaldees. The Lord told Abraham to, [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]"Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you."[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] (Genesis 12:1) The Lord promised Abraham that from his seed He would become a great nation, and that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him. The Lord also made this vow[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt], "And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed"[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] (Genesis 12:3) Abraham obeyed the command of the Lord and by his faith he did as the Lord commanded and traveled to the land that the Lord showed him. Abraham settled in Shechem which is in Canaan. (Genesis 12:4-6) This is the land that the Lord gave to the Israelite nation, the land of Canaan which is also known as Palestine. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Abraham bore a son by his wife’s handmaid named Hagar who was named Ishmael. This was not the promised son that the Lord spoke of. The promised son was born about thirteen years later through his wife Sarah and was named Isaac. Isaac was the son who was to receive the birthright and carry forth to build the Israelite nation that the Lord had promised. Isaac give birth to Jacob for who the nation of the Jewish people was named Israel. But because of Abraham’s impatience this is the act that caused the conflict of the present day in Israel. According to custom the first born is to receive the birthright and therefor the Covenant promise of God. In the Arab view Ishmael was the first born and therefore the land of Canaan (Palestine) is there’s by right. This is not true for two reasons, one it was God’s promise to Abraham that his first born of his wife Sarah was the child of the Covenant and second Ishmael is not in the bloodline of the Messiah. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]At the age of fourteen Ishmael was driven along with his mother out of the house of Abraham. It is recorded that he lived in the wilderness of Beer-sheba and became an archer. (Genesis 21:14-21) Ishmael is recognized as an important prophet and patriarch of Islam. Muslims believe that Ishmael was the firstborn of Abraham, born to him from Sarah's handmaiden Hagar. Ishmael is recognized by Muslims as the ancestor of several prominent Arab tribes and being the forefather of Muhammad. Muslims also believe that Muhammad was the descendant of Ishmael that would establish a great nation, as promised by God in the Old Testament.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]For this reason both the Israelites and the Muslims claim the land of Canaan and neither will surrender that birthright promised by the Lord. The Truth is, and what I believe, is that Ishmael was never entitled to the birthright because the Scriptures make it very clear that the first born of Abraham and Sarah is Isaac. That King David, Joseph and Mary, and Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are from the bloodline of Isaac proves that Isaac is the rightful heir of the covenant made between God and Abraham.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]No other united nation has laid a recognized claim to the lard of Canaan. It was given to the chosen Jewish people from God Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and earth. All is His and He chooses who will possess the earth. The Jewish nation Israel possessed Canaan until the Roman dispersion. The Roman army led by Titus conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple at 70 CE. Jewish people were then exiled and dispersed to the Diaspora. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]After the exile by the Romans at 70 CE, the Jewish people migrated to Europe and North Africa. In the Diaspora (scattered outside of the Land of Israel), they established rich cultural and economic lives, and contributed greatly to the societies where they lived. Yet, they continued their national culture and prayed to return to Israel through centuries. In the first half of the 20th century there were major waves of immigration of Jews back to Israel from Arab countries and from Europe. During the British rule in Palestine, the Jewish people were subject to great violence and massacres directed by Arab civilians or forces of the neighboring Arab states. During World War II, the Nazi regime in Germany decimated about 6 million Jews creating the great tragedy of The Holocaust. In 1948, the Jewish Community in Israel under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion reestablished sovereignty over their ancient homeland. Declaration of independence of the modern State of Israel was announced on the day that the last British forces left Israel (May 14, 1948). (Wikipedia)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The day after this Declaration of Independence by the Jewish state five Arab nations, Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq, invaded Israel. They were defeated by the Israelites and again in 1956, 1967, and 1973. To this day there has never been peace in Israel and until the day of the returning Messiah there will not be peace. [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this."[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] (Isaiah 9:6-7)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]The Christian has a grave concern for the welfare of the Jewish state in Canaan. There are many reasons I could defend this statement but I will offer only one. We are both, the Jew and the Christian children of the Lord God Yahweh. By our faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, we have been grafted in to the root of faith in the Lord. When Jesus came the first time He went to the Jew first, and was rejected. Then the gospel message was given to the Gentile and we were grated into the family of God and we also are His Chosen people and are partakers of His New Covenant. (Romans 11:17-24)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Regardless of what the revisionist of history would want the citizens of the United States to believe, our nation was founded on Biblical Christian moral ethics. Our democracy will continue to fall as long as we continue to turn away from the Lord God Almighty. If God passed His judgment upon His chosen people the Israelite nation in 70 AD for their rejection he most certainly will pass His judgment upon the United States for our rejection of His Word and Command [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]“Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.”[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] (Psalm 122:6) The United States has always been a friend to Israel and God has always shed His grace upon us. That is until now under this present Administration where we have turned our back upon our only friend in the Middle East. I fear for all in my country that we are about to receive the Judgment of God that so many before us have and are no longer here.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Let us today, and every day, remember as we have been commanded to do by God the Creator, that the land of Canaan was given by Covenant Promise from God to His chosen people the Jews. That Canaan the grandson of Noah was cursed that he will be a servant to the house of Shem from whom the Jewish nation came. Let us remember that Isaac, the son of Abraham and father of Jacob, (Israel) was given the birthright and not Ishmael and his descendants hold claim to the land of Canaan. Let us remember that Scriptural Prophecy foretold that after the dispersion of 70 BC the Jewish state would be re-established and in 1948 that prophecy was fulfilled. Let us remember that in Genesis 12:3 God’s Word said, [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]"And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed" [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Let us remember that Israel, like any other legitimate nation has a right to defend its borders and its people from all aggression. Let us remember that our nation, the United States exists because we are a friend to God’s Chosen people, Israel. Let us all remember that God will protect His people and will fight the final battle with His Host and all who oppose Him will forever vanish. And let us remember to “Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.”[/SIZE]
[SIZE=18pt]Thomas N Kirkpatrick[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]First Baptist Church of Durant, July 25, 2014[/SIZE]
