Focus Point # 9

It didn't take long for Satan to recognize God's next move. God moved in a man who lived in....Yep, the Ur of the Chaldese. That had to be about the last place on earth to find a man of faith, a spiritual leader, the father of the Jewish race. A new race of people! Up until Abraham everybody was Gentile, including Abraham himself. One day he woke up as a Gentile and that same night he went to bed as a Jew! What brought about that miracle change? One word: FAITH!

Now remember, faith, as far as God is concerned, is non-meritorious. All people are born with faith. It's a part of our everyday life. We express faith in the food we eat, the medicine we take, in the drivers of the "other car," in the airplanes we ride and we express faith that either there is a God or there is not a God. Evolutionists believe in the "Big Bang." Creationists believe in "intelligent design." All of us have faith. No one will be rewarded because he has faith.

When God, in a very wicked, evil and perverse environment revealed Himself and His will to Abram, Abram said, "I believe you Lord, I'll do your will." God counted, or reckoned that faith as righteousness and right there on that day Abraham became a man that pleased God. And on that day he became the one God would use to be the father of the Jewish race. (Read Romans chapter 4)

If Satan had any question as to who his target should be, that question was answered loud and clear when God appeared to Abraham, recorded in Genesis 12:1 - 4a. Seven promises:

ONE.........A land - Verse 1
TWO........A great nation - Verse 2
THREE.....God's very own blessing - Verse 2
FOUR......A great name - Verse 2
FIVE........A blessing to others - Verse 2
SIX..........A blessing to those who bless him (and his Seed) and a curse to those
who curse him (again, his Seed)
SEVEN.....And in Thee (the coming Lord Jesus) shall all the families of the earth
be blessed.

Satan probably had a much greater insight to these promises than Abraham. Certainly Satan had some clue about the "Seed" of Abraham and the Seed of the women in Genesis 3:15. He's no dummy!

There's not a shadow of doubt in my mind that all through the Old Testament anti-Semitism is satanic and evil. But one of the most interesting things about this divine revelation to Abraham was the fact that anyone, any person or even any nation that curses Israel will be cursed by God Himself. And believe you me, there are many nations who have taken an active roll in cursing Israel who have yet to experience the curse of God. As that great preacher R. G. Lee preached so many times, "Payday Someday" - every nation will be cursed. when? I don't know the date, but the literal seven years of Tribulation, I think, will be the time!

But back to the Old Testament. The life of Abraham was the birth and infant stage of the Jewish people. All during those forming years they were more or less nomads with no land or no borders. The experiences of Abraham were tests from God rather than temptations from Satan. Tests from God are circumstances and experiences God wants us to have to help us to grow and mature. Temptations from Satan are things he (Satan) puts before us to get us to fail and loose.

As you read through Genesis you read of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and of course Esau. The conflicts between Jacob and his kids and Esau and his kids set the stage for the conflicts that still exist today. Israel was a nomad race of people and were until Joseph was sold into slavery and became the Prime Minister of Egypt. After Joseph is gone a Pharaoh arises who "Knew not Joseph" and the Jews are held in bondage.

Their numbers were growing under the care and protection of the Egyptians. What better protected place for God to put them until their numbers swell into the millions! True, they were slaves, but that was the protection God used to keep them from being wiped out by other nations.

Satan saw a chance to wipe them out - once and for all! In slavery they were multiplying like crazy so the Pharaoh said, "If we get into a war, the Jews are numerically strong enough to join with the opposition. So we will weaken them slowly into extinction with a massive abortion campaign." (Exodus chapter one).
Pharaoh told the midwives to kill all the male babies at birth. That's when Moses became a "basket case" and his mother floated him up the Nile. Moses was found, of course, by Pharaoh's daughter.

Well, Satan is thwarted again. But you know him and you know he will never give up! Was the intense hatred for the Jew born in the hearts of Islam? No, no, a thousand times no! It's satanic - and let that be a warning to all of us. Anti-Semitism is an evil act against the divine will of God.....period!

Blessings,
Bro. Bob